Synergistic Red Fuse ...

Dave,
Thanks for sharing that review although I have to say that it affirms what many posters on this thread had discovered for themselves . This review will give a wider audience for music lovers seeking an effective audio product to improve their listening experiences. His finding the source components more demonstrative of the Black fuse than the power amplifier matches my outcome. No doubt that this is very likely brand and/or component dependent.

I did not use the Synergistic Research AC duplex. Mine are the Avatar Audio Afterburner 8 but they certainly were quite an upgrade over the stock unit. I agree with the reviewer in that these types of products are exceptionally high value and cost effective choices.
Charles

Hi Charles,

I posted the review with the hopes of providing information primarily to prospective buyers as you say, but also to those that already bought the Black fuses but may have some curiosity remaining.

I have used the pre-SE Teslaplex receptacles for years. One was actually zapped by Ted on SR’s Tesla coil while I watched during a visit to their factory back in 2010/2011. Very impressive to actually see this.

The Powercell 10 UEF/FEQ I recently purchased from a friend included the "SE" version of the ’red’ receptacle and I recently replaced one of the older non-SE receptacles with that "SE", mounted in an Oyaide WPC-Z billet aluminum housing with CF plate running to one of my side-by-side yet independently-wired-and-breakered 30 amp lines, leaving the well-broken in non-SE red receptacle on the sister 30 amp line for use in the interim and for later comparisons.

After 10 days of burning in the new "SE" receptacle using an extension cord to the fridge in the garage, I moved the Powercell’s power cord over to new SE receptacle. Not a night-and-day difference like many of SR’s products, but a nice improvement in refinement of the upper-mids/treble. I imagine that the Black UEF receptacle may yield the same level of improvement (or more) over the red SE receptacle but don’t know without comparison.

I have used the PorterPort (very good, a steal for the price, and still available from Albert Porter here on Audiogon), a couple of early Oyaide versions, and Hubbell non-nickel hospital-grade receptacles in addition to the SRs. The PorterPort is a fine sounding receptacle, very neutral sounding (not to imply lean or threadbare, but balanced sounding and true-to-the-music), while the SR Teslaplex receptacles are more dynamic and forward sounding with more ambience and space (the SR sound). I didn’t cotton to the early Oyaide receptacles that I tried. Can’t speak to their newer offerings.

I imagine that there are many fine-sounding receptacles out there today, including the Avatar Audio model that you use. I think that the metal type used for the prongs, the backing plate, and the ground strap (both for the sublayer and for the plating), as well as the type of material used for the housing play the major role in differences in sound between them.

There is one other thing I will share regarding my limited experience with receptacles: Different receptacles do indeed impart a different sound in my system and I feel that it is advisable to select the one you prefer early on, as it may alter later decisions on tuning choices, i.e. power cords (and the metal composition of plugs/IECs) and even ICs and speaker cables. Just my opinion as is everything in audio. YMMV.

Best to you Charles,
Dave

Kind of funny to hear folks arguing against fuse directionality in view of the audibility of fuse direction. But not only fuse direction but also interconnect direction. And I'm referring to unshielded interconnects, you know, to eliminate the same tired argument that the directionality of cables is ONLY due to the shielding. 

Best wishes 

geoff kait

Hello Dave,
Thanks for sharing your insight and observations based on various products in your system. What has struck me is that these various system tweaks/accessories have a very prominent accumulative positive effect. In my personal case, premium  fuses and AC wall outlets, component stands for vibration management (Star Sound), upgrading capacitors (Duelund and Jupiter) and component grounding (via the Tripoint Troy) all= superior musical sound quality . I’m sure there’s is some good fortune/luck factor involved but the end result has been immense satisfaction and frequent (and long) listening sessions. Tube selection/rolling has been fun and certainly rewarding. 

Once you have determined that you’re very happy with your components and speakers for the long term, these audio accessories/tweaks help extract their full sonic potential.
Charles

"Once you have determined that you’re very happy with your components and speakers for the long term, these audio accessories/tweaks help extract their full sonic potential."

Exactly Charles. Understanding this in its entirety is fundamental to good purchasing decisions, regardless of where one is along the journey.

Best to you Charles,
Dave