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
There are quite a few perfectly good reasons why some people don’t get good results or the results they’re looking for with some audiophile tweaks. Now, I’m willing to list those reasons. Are you sure you want to go there? ;-)
wolf_garcia ...

Thanks for the info on Ed Davis. Much appreciated. Over the years, I've had the good fortune to meet some really great guitarists, Ted Greene being one of them. Kudos to you if you know who Ted Greene is. He actually played for me and a large group of my friends at my home several times. We lost a great one with Ted's passing. Here's a link:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zDuee6blvj8

On your system and the SR fuses: I have no way of knowing why they are so effective in the majority of the audio systems of folks posting in this thread and why they have no effect in your system or mapman's system either. All I can say is, I have posted nothing but the truth as I see it and hear it.

Why did the fuses fail (blow) in your system, and so far (knock on wood) have not failed at all in mine? I did my system completely with SR RED fuses before switching them out for SR BLACK fuses with no failures at all. That's a total of ten fuses, all of which worked perfectly. 

geoffkait ...

I, for one, would be interested in your assessment as to why some folks get good results and others don't.  I don't think its the quality of the equipment being used, as we have posters here with really high end stuff .. to wit, labtec's Wisdom speakers. Could it be the room?

One thing I have noticed with several of the fuse naysayers, is that they have not payed attention to speaker placement. That leads me to believe that perhaps they haven't paid much attention to the rest of their setup as well.

 As we crazy audiophiles have discovered, everything .... everything makes a difference one way or another. A good example was a guy on another audiophile site who said I was crazy for thinking fuses could make a difference. I asked  him to post a picture of his system and he did. It consisted of an old Pioneer receiver and he had his speakers jammed right up against the wall. Go figure.  

OP
Oregonpapa 7.13.16

I've spent some time this morning trying to analyse what would motivate someone with "labtec's' pristine qualifications (audiologist, psychologist, sales trainer and financial planner) to make such a convoluted attack on not only me, but Ted Denny, SR in general and upon others posting here"

Why did Mark  David Chapman shoot and kill John Lennon, a man who promoted love, peace and beautiful music?  

Fortunately we can still enjoy a few miracles like Jackie Evancho.

There are many things we will never understand.
^^^  Beautiful response, nyame.

And yes ... Jackie Evancho is definitely a miracle. And its a tribute to you that you recognize this.

The first time I saw Jackie sing, she was only ten years old. Her voice was so mature and beautiful that I got goose bumps on my arms and the tears started to flow from my eyes. I realized that she was an old soul. All I could think of was the miraculous gift that God had bestowed upon this beautiful little girl. The way that she expresses herself with her hands as she sings is a miracle in itself.  Simply amazing. 

Take care ...

OP
Its possible the folks who hear a big improvement had some issue with their other fuses to start with. How just re-seating a fuse alone could change the sound has already been mentioned.

I have no problem with people saying a product can improve the sound or did for them.

But when I hear only that it WILL improve your sound (or else there is probably something wrong with you), that is when I disconnect because that is never a realistic thing to assert.

These things always depend. The possible outcomes when making a change is always better worse or none.

My outcome was none. So was Wolf’s apparently.

Its possible that we are biased one way but obviously others may be equally biased the other way.

It always helps to avoid absolute pronouncements and keep things real.

Especially when there is no well understood objective reason for claimed performance.

What sounds good or better or not is ALWAYS just an opinion, no more or less valid than any other and frankly there is little in these fuse discussions but opinions since the facts are few and far between when it comes to establishing any truly unique value.

The point is nobody really knows why these fuses would sound better. That does not mean that they can’t, only that it is not a foregone conclusion by any stretch that they will.

Trial periods provide a much needed insurance policy for what may as well be seen as "magic" for all practical purposes, but does not change the facts.