Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Addendum to previous post regarding directionality of SR fuses, in particular the Black fuse.

This is an excerpt from the Stereo Times review of an earlier SR fuse that addresses the subject of fuse directionality (of SR fuses) as apparently SR see it. Maybe SR has changed it's mind about directionality, who knows.  I do know that HIFi Tuning used to claim that their fuses were not directional but would burn in properly no matter which way they were inserted.  Of course, HiFi Tuning has since recanted.

"Finally, the Synergistic Research Quantum fuses are put on the Tesla coil both directions, which they claim makes them not directional. That would be convenient, but I have found that not true. I find the lettering on the fuse runs opposite of the direction of the fuse that sounds best. This is not a major factor, but with their exceptional realism, it is not one you would want to forego."

wolf-garcia ...

Pleeeze!!! Don't diminish the size of the fuse I sent mapman. The appendage I sent was 1.25 inches and not the paltry "half-inch" you alluded to. We Italians are sensitive to such things.  :-)

Nice to see your humor in the thread, wolf. 

geoffkait ...

Nope, no instructions, no arrows. You just put it in and let the equipment tell you what's best. 

By the way .... I'm getting sound from records now that I never thought I'd ever hear. If you have a phono stage that takes a fuse, be sure to put a SR Black fuse in there. Here's the deal ... the AT ART-9, for the price of a $120 fuse  has gained at least $1000 in sound quality. No joke. 

Oregonpapa wrote,

"By the way .... I’m getting sound from records now that I never thought I’d ever hear. If you have a phono stage that takes a fuse, be sure to put a SR Black fuse in there. Here’s the deal ... the AT ART-9, for the price of a $120 fuse has gained at least $1000 in sound quality. No joke."

Now that you mention it, I don’t use any fuses in my current system. That would be a what, $2000 improvement in sound quality? Did I luck out or what?

The Synergistic Research Black fuse is definitely directional. This is coming directly from Synergistic Research in a call I placed. They suggest the flow of current to go From the "S" end to the "R" end.

The Stereo Times article was about the earlier Synergistic Research SR-20 fuse. I have several of those fuses and the Black fuses are much better. I did not find there to be nearly the direction difference with the SR-20 fuse. To me it was a small difference and not huge.

Geoff:
 Actually the Synergistic Research fuse may improve the sound better than no fuse or a piece of straight wire. It's time to get your headphones cryo treated! I had my Sennheiser 650 treated and I like what I hear.

David Pritchard



David Pritchard

Davidpritchard wrote,

"The Synergistic Research Black fuse is definitely directional. This is coming directly from Synergistic Research in a call I placed. They suggest the flow of current to go From the "S" end to the "R" end."

Of course it’s directional. That’s kind of my point. All fuses are directional. All wire is directional, at least if it’s metal. It’s just that some fuse manufacturers are late to find out, like HiFi Tuning and SR, and maybe some still haven’t found out. So, the 64 thousand dollar question is...drum roll...are they SR right? Is that the best sounding direction, with current flow from S to R?

davidpritchard also wrote,

The Stereo Times article was about the earlier Synergistic Research SR-20 fuse. I have several of those fuses and the Black fuses are much better. I did not find there to be nearly the direction difference with the SR-20 fuse. To me it was a small difference and not huge.

So, not to beat a dead horse, but SR was wrong then about claiming it wasn’t directional, no?

Davidpritchard also wrote,

"Geoff:
Actually the Synergistic Research fuse may improve the sound better than no fuse or a piece of straight wire."

Really? That’s a pretty bold statement. How so? I have no fuse, by the way, not a straight wire. No fuse, no fuse holder, nothing. Maybe two Black fuses would sound better than one, eh? ;-)

Davidpritchard also wrote,

"It’s time to get your headphones cryo treated! I had my Sennheiser 650 treated and I like what I hear."

Been there done that. I was one of the first to get into cryo big time. That was about twenty years ago. My Sennheisers were also completely naked, no grills no internal foam. Plus the WA Inductor Chips. The Stephan Arts headphone cable was also cryo’d of course.

cheerios