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?
128x128oregonpapa
Hi Jond,
6.3 amps is a very large value for a preamplifier  (must have a huge power supply ). My gut feeling would be slo blo. Are you able to get in touch with the manufacturer to answer your question?  
Charles, 
@charles1dad  I certainly can contact them in the meantime took another look and its F6.3A on one side and 250ma on the other. Guessing the F is for fast blow but the numbers are what's confusing me as 6.3A and 250ma are totally different values are they not? I may be misreading the 250ma part the engraving is incredibly hard to make out its a .75 inch fuse. Thanks.
Hi Jon,

It’s most probably a 6.3 amp 250 volt ("250v" rather than "250ma") fast blow fuse, in the common 5 x 20 mm size (the smaller of the two physical sizes SR offers, the other being 6.3 x 32 mm). If the internal filament is a straight piece of wire, rather than a spiral coil or a flat conductor having substantial width, that would provide added confidence in my assumption.

Good luck. Regards,
-- Al

Aha Al that makes perfect sense as I could make out the 250 and was just guessing ma but volt makes sense so that must be it and yes it is indeed a straight thin piece of wire. Thanks!
Karmapolice:

I have done the RED versus Black fuse orientation in the SACD player-seven fuses and the amp - one fuse. I found the Blackorientation to be the same as the Red. Those fuses were easy for me to get to and so I did the experiment for myself and other fuse users. Of course there could be exceptions. Some of the previous posts have given detailed sonic descriptions of a backward fuse. It is an out of phase- focus sound.

jond:

I look forward to your sonic impressions of a new fuse. You have already taken a step many audiophiles have never done- you removed a fuse!  You also now know how to read the fuse identification information. You are thinking for yourself. What a great experiment awaits you. You can try an audio product for 30 days and if not happy return it easily for your money back.

I congratulate all readers who have tried the Synergistic Research  Red or Black fuses for taking a liberating step forward. I also congratulate all who auditioned the fuses but for whatever reason sent them back. Returning products that do not meet expectations is also liberating!

Enjoy the music.
Enjoy the challenge of improving your music system.

David Pritchard