Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Gents,
At the risk of being the denier of Oregonpapa’s experiential views on all things fuse and power cord-related, my experience has been quite different. The Red Fuse provided no sonic improvement in my system, none at least that could discern. I have auditioned a dozen power cords in my system with no benefit, although none admittedly cost more than a few hundred dollars. It has been a fool’s errand trying out these tweaks. That said, I have rolled NOS tubes in my preamp that have made very obvious changes in the sound. Some favored the LF and some the HF and some yielded a sublime mid-range response. These tube-rolling experiences were far from subtle, manifesting their sonic impact within a few bars of the music. Their effect was immediate. Other than with new speakers, the notion of "breaking in" gear, such as fuses, IC's and power cords laughable. 

My take is that this fuse and power cord business is reflective of the paranoia and insecurity of lots of audiophiles who are guilted into trying foolish tweaks thinking that such electrically illogical tweaks will reveal the sort of performance that their systems are somehow currently masking. Frankly, think about it for a moment... what is the logic in thinking that a fuse will make any difference, regardless whether it is cryo treated or not?

By all means, give these tweaks a try so long as can get your money back if they don’t please you. But don’t waste your time listening to the pablum on this forum "informing" you of what ought you to be hearing with them in your system. If they improve the sound in our system, keep them. If not, send them back. Cheers, Whitestix

To recap Whitestix:  Many of us are paranoid and insecure. We are somehow guilted into trying foolish tweaks. Break in is laughable (we are all stupid). Better fuses are illogical if we just think about it (we act on emotions, not logic).  
Well, that's a fine entrance, Whitestix. Please list your components, cables, power supply in detail, and we will tell you why you can't get anything out of it. And, is your thinking from the AVA tradition?   

On the basis of David's list above, I would add the following as benefitting from the SR Red and now replaced with SR Black fuses:

Bryston BDP-2
Bel Canto DAC 3.7
Primaluna Prologue Six

whitestix:

I am glad you tried the Synergistic Research RED fuse. As you did not hear an improvement I hope you were able to send it back for a refund.

I have done a lot of tube rolling and enjoy that part of the hobby. In the 6SL7Gt family, I am sure I have over 10 types. Of those the 1959 Hamburg Germany, Valvo, and the Italian Fivre do something special in the Zana Deux amp. The Tung Sols, National Unions, RCAs, Sylvanias,Brimars, Mullards, CBS, Hyltrons, etc.not as much change. Unlike the Red and Black fuses discussed in this thread, none came with a 30 day trial.

It is interesting that not many people seems to think that tube rolling is a fool's errand . I think rolling tubes , fuses and A/C wall outlets all change the sound in my systems.

I also think Power cords can change the sound of a system especially once one begins evaluating products not of the entry level category.

I find it interesting and sometimes money and time saving to read what others have tried. Especially those who make changes in a systematic way and then have the talent to articulate the sonic changes they experience. None of us have the time to try all the tubes, fuses , or power cords out there.

Because of this thread I have tried the Black fuses and they have improved the sound of my systems. So I reported my results.

At Head-Fi.com I read about 6SL7GT tubes used in the Zana Deux amp. I tried a lot of the tubes and reported what I heard.

I hope you will list the components that did not respond to the SR RED fuse. It is possible you will save other owner's of the same equipment some time and money.


I do not understand when some people experience a different result than others, they feel compelled to cast negativity towards those persons.


andynotadam:

Thank you for listing your components that responded to the SR Black fuse. I do think publishing specific component results will be helpful to future readers of this thread.

David Pritchard