Jtubes, which direction do you have the Red dust facing in your P300? With the writing on the fuse going left to right (the way you read a sentence), or the writing going right to left? I have my P300 on Stillpoints Ultra Mini Risers, which works extremely well, although I’ve moved them around under the unit and found the sound changes. The Absolute Sound had an article on several different footers in the December 2015 issue, and the authors found that the exact placement of the footers affected the sonics considerably, which is the same as my experience, and explains why some people just think most footers "tighten up the bass" when they do so much more than that: they clarify the rhythmic patterns in classical compositions and remove "haze" from around instruments and increase liquidity.
It’s striking though, that we have the same conclusions, given that I have the NCF outlet in one dedicated circuit at the wall and the SE in the P300, whereas you have them reversed. You’d think that there’d be differences in the overall sound, but here we are with the same observations. Apparently, the P300 has a decided preference for which SR fuse delivers the most true-to-life sonics. So, others with other PS Audio regenerators (and even newer ones) can try out the Black AND the Red. I have to give props (credit) to SR for that 30 day trial. That really shows their confidence in the product, although it does make me smile that manufacturers get someone else’s $20 unit and then charge $250 for it. I can see why people are cynical, but given the only thing they’d lose with the SR products is the shipping costs, I can’t see why anyone would mouth off without simply buying and trying.
Thanks for clarifying that you can put a GTX and a Black in the P300. I’m going to give that a go at some point. I don’t use the FIM outlet unless I need more than 2 items plugged in. However, I may swap out the SE for a Black after I’m sure everything else is broken in, which won’t be for a few weeks (I like to make sure things are COMPLETELY broken in) at least. Also, I’ll be putting the Venom PS8 into the system in another week, at which point it will have 400 hours on it. I think my P300 had Multiwave I on it. I once had a P300 and upgraded from Multiwave I to Multiwave II, but even though I had great electronics, I didn’t notice a significant difference.
By the way, I also found the Black fuse, when installed in the P300 to have a (slight) hardness to the sound. I went back and forth a couple of times before I settled on the Red fuse, but now I’m happy with that.
And Jea, why not extend the same offer to Jtubes you did to me? (Sorry, tubes, not to put you on the spot: it’s just that you might have an easier time getting to the outlet than I do. I’m loathe to move my Shunyata Cobra speaker cables, THEN the record albums, THEN the bookcase itself, in order to get to the outlet. At least for the next 2 months. I want to listen for a while, and quick changes, I find, can cause me to reach incorrect conclusions about what I’m hearing. And I don’t consider my listening "subjective". I consider it observational. I consider my emotional reaction to be subjective, but I can clearly hear what a component (even a wall outlet) shaping the sound in some way, without having an emotional reaction if I’m in "detective mode" ( a former profession, which requires one to be pretty detached, but observant).
Really enjoying your input a LOT. Where are you located in the US (if you’re in the US!)? I’m in Connecticut.
Incidentally, I have NOT noticed less sparkle in the highs or a more monochromatic color. Brass sounds quite good on the Black outlet, as does a tuba, and a glockenspiel. Are your amps solid state or tubes, just out of curiosity?