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?
oregonpapa
Dear Al, Ralph and geoffkait ...

Your interesting technical dialogues are always informative and enjoyable to read.

But .... .

Is there anything to be said for just using one's ears to assess whether a tweak makes an improvement, causes a subtraction, or just doesn't make any difference at all? Especially if one knows the sound of live music and that is what any given system is compared with?
I've said it before ... I don't know the difference between a resistor and a capacitor, other than the capacitor stores energy and ... and ... what was it that a resistor does again?  

All I know is, upgrading from the HiFi tuning fuse that was in my amp, to the original SR Red fuse that started this thread was not subtle by any means. It was so much of a positive change that it motivated me to start this thread to begin with.  

A good friend whose ears I trust heard the improvement without knowing what the change was the moment he walked into the room to start a listening session.

Then with the conversion over to the SR Black fuses, the stage was set. It was like upgrading to a far better pre-amp or amp without the outlay of many thousands of dollars.

Then, the SR High Frequency Transducers (HFT's) really locked everything into place like never before. I don't know how these little things that stick on the walls work ... I only know that the little buggers are fantastic.


So, there are those of us out here who really don't need to know "why." We only care that it "does."  And that was the point I was trying to make with the purveyor of PA systems for the home environment, Wolfie Cotton Ears.

In the meantime, Mr. Record, who hears like a dang bat, is coming over for dinner and a listening session tonight. He always brings his latest thrift store finds, both vinyl and Cd's. So ... I'm looking forward to this evening.

Take care, guys.

OP
 
Sorry folks but I just don't view Al as a troll,  simply doesn't fit.  Significant differences between his approach, substance and comportment as contrasted with Garcia.  Two entirety different levels in my opinion. 
Charles, 
Hi Frank,
I have many of the Harold Land recordings you posted but not the "Hear Ye Hear Ye " with Red Mitchell. I’ll rectify that in short order 😊. Land is definitely underappreciated as a masterful tenor saxophonist.
Thanks,
Charles,
Agree with Charles regarding Al.  Al is only trying to figure out how and why the fuses works. Nothing more nothing less. 

Btw, one page over he is assisting another person on fuse sizing, and has always been a big help on this forum. 

I have never seen a helpful troll.
Max Planck warned against the mental state of "knowing" that gets us stuck.  He noted that constantly striving to understand is the remedy, and observation is important, even if it contradicts theory, and even if total understanding is unreachable.  My tendency is to know the fuse can't make a difference, but Max was no slouch, so whether it's subjective perception or engineering, I'll strive to stay in the striving state.