My REF250 specification is a 7A Slo-Blo but since SR RED doesn't offer that size, so been using a 6.3A Slo-Blo. Now waiting for my 5 SR BLACK from theCableCo. Hmm!
Synergistic Red Fuse ...
I installed a SR RED Quantum fuse in my ARC REF-3 preamp a few days ago, replacing an older high end fuse. Uhh ... for a hundred bucks, this little baby is well worth the cost. There was an immediate improvement upon installation, but now that its broken in (yes, no kidding), its quite remarkable. A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, and most important of all for my tastes, a deeper appreciation for the organic sound of the instruments. Damn! ... cellos sound great! Much improved attack on pianos. More humanistic on vocals. Bowed bass goes down forever. Next move? .... I'm doing the entire system with these fuses. One at a time though just to gauge the improvement in each piece of equipment. The REF-75se comes next. I'll report the results as the progression takes place. Stay tuned ...
Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
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Jon, it seems you could pin the problem down for both SR and Ayre by getting all four versions of the ,25A Littlefield fuses for next to nothing and see what blows and what doesn't. If none blow, then SR probably has anot issue.. If some do and some don't then SR and/or Ayre would know how to be more specific about their products. Since you're without fault, someone owes you restitution, and the tests would help make your case and assign probable cause. As for the SR Black, my results were so obvious that I've ordered one for an old Classe CA-300 that I'm giving to my new-son-in-law just to give him a better product even though he's no audiophile. Curious that we've seen so few theories on what is happening electrically. |
Maybe lesson learned is Slo-Blo has larger tolerance so safer to roll than a Fast-Blo unless one is willing to roll the dice. Another thought is audiophile fuses is anything not from the manufacturer. A Bussmann is definitely a safer bet than one from Ace Hardware with unknown origin. In Audiophile world, both are non audiophile fuses. |
Jon, if you choose to pursue Electroslacker's suggestion, you can order the Littelfuse fuses I referred to from the industrial electronics distributor Digikey, via this link. As you'll see in the listing, though, only the 0.0166 and 0.04 amps squared-seconds fuses are stocked. The intermediate value fuses (0.024 and 0.032) and also the 0.042 fuse are special order. I believe that Digikey doesn't impose any minimum dollar requirement for an order, and as you can see in the listing all of the fuses other than the 0.042 (which isn't necessary, if you get the 0.04 fuse) can be ordered in quantities as small as 1. I also checked distributors Newark Electronics and Mouser Electronics, but they too don't stock the intermediate values, at least for fuses made by Littelfuse. Regards, -- Al |
It seems to me that there is always a risk when using an audiophile fast blow fuse in an amplifier, since the "nominal melting point" is unknown (compared to major fuse manufacturers who publish their specs). With amps that use a slow blow fuse, the very nature of said fuse allows for a brief period of over-current. It seems like less risk to use an audiophile fuse with unknown specs. Provided that the fuse being used has the correct rating specified by the manufacturer. @audiolabyrinth, IYE, were the SR fuses that blew prematurely fast blow fuses or were there reports of all SR fuses blowing? |
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