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
David ...

In my opinion, and as a die hard chile lover, nothing ... nothing, can top the chiles from Hatch and Dixon.

 I used to visit a friend in Sante Fe, and while there, I would eat myself through every chile place I could find.   There used to be a place in downtown Sante Fe that was like an old Newberry's five and dime. They served a medium sized bag of Frito's cut length-wise and added a liberal portion of red chile gravy that they poured over the Frito's.  My god ... what a taste experience. So very hot ... but so good you just can't stop eating it.

Then there was another place that had the best huevos rancheros in the world ... made with the green Hatch chiles. Zowie ... another hot one that had you sweating even on a snowy day. So good!

Now that I no longer travel to Sante Fe, I just order the ground chile from the link I left in my last post. I use it for a lot of cooking that calls for chile powder. With its unique taste, its one of my better "secret" ingredients. 

I was wondering David ... have you ever attended a concert at the outdoor venue in Sante Fe? Chesky did a number of recordings from there that reside in my collection. 

On tonight's listening session with the new SR Black fuse in the amp: While more transparent and showing all the promise of the other Black fuses in the system, there is that slight over brightness and hardness typical of an unbroken in SR fuse.  What I heard tonight tells me that once its broken in ... new levels of musicality will be achieved ... and a lot more there, will be there. :-).  

OP


Charles ...

Thanks for sharing your experience from the live concert with Roy Hargrove.  Nothing like live, that's for sure. Especially sitting near the front where you can actually hear the instruments in their natural state. The flugal horn is such an amazing instrument ... great for jazz. So is the oboe, by the way. Check this album out:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/HOWARD-RUMSEY-LP-Lighthouse-All-Stars-Vol-4-Oboe-Flute-1956-Contemporary-RI-...

It only comes in mono, but not to worry, its great mono and the sound is right there too. Its available on CD to if interested. 

I think I mentioned before that my friend Robert and I attend concerts at a  local church that consists of our city's professional symphony orchestra with solos played by very talented high school students. We sit in the front row right between the piano and the string section. Wow! If only massed strings could sound like that on my stereo system. Just beautiful. 

OP
Hi Frank,
Thank you for the recording recommendation,  well recorded mono is just fine with me. Honestly when you hear live unamplified music as I did that night it sounds like hugh,warm and beautiful mono. There's very little sense of musician placement precision it is rather vague. The overwhelming effect (at least for me ) is the gorgeous blending of the instruments with resulting richness and harmonics. Dynamic energy and the musical pace and flow just grab you.  My foot just spontaneously taps and my head nods in time with the music,  its as though you can't control this reaction 😊

This type of listening experience always reminds me that the High End audio direction towards ultra detail just misses the boat IMO. My recent visit to Axpona in Chicago confirmed that in a number of rooms. To be fair there were rooms that got it right. Frank,  I hope you , Robert and David have a wonderful time at the Newport show. I look forward to show impressions from you all.
Charles, 
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