Synergistic Red Fuse ...

If anyone is looking for an inexpensive, but high quality, equipment rack, I recommend the Pangea Vulcan:

http://www.audioadvisor.com/prodinfo.asp?number=PGVULRK

I just got one, and love it. It is very easy to assemble. I was pleasantly surprised at how much it improved the sound, especially with the addition of Herbie's Audio Lab Cone/Spike Decoupling Gliders:

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/spkrfeet.htm

I also highly recommend Herbie's Tenderfeet:

http://herbiesaudiolab.net/compfeet.htm

I have a problem with using the black duplex. I have only been using CDs to burn in the system. After 140 hours, I used my LPs for an excruciating hour of trial. The sound on about 10 mixed jazz, classical and pop records of great reknown sounded dynamically flat hashy sounding with really noisy record surfaces and not as interesting as CDs. I experimented with mixing the components into the two dedicated black and red SR duplexes. Immediately the LPs sounded better. The best combo was the two monoblock tube amps into the black duplex and the Bryston isolation transformer with all the other equipment and distribution box into the red. My wife felt this combo also yielded better results for CDs after I decided the best combo of duplexes. (I didn’t torture her with the LP hour). Unfortunately, this combo also lost the blacks excellent ucolored high end ambience and decay retrieval. The sound while more dynamic in macro sense lost micro inflections. Sort of a warmer tubey sound but thoroughly enjoyable for my wife’s rock or my vocals and strings.

I know that the black fuses in the amps will rocket my sound and enjoyment quality.from my too brief 10 hours of listening to them I will ask SR tomorrow if the combo of 20 amp Bryston iso trans and big 125 watt tube mono-blocks doesn’t work on the black duplex even though it works just fine on the red duplex with standard or black fuses. Oh man those black fuses reduced my LP noise on bad vinyl and increased the tonal and dynamic balance to a fantastic level as well as totally cleaning up the sound of any source. FYI. my analog front end consists of a modded VPI TNT VI. modded SME IV. Benz Ruby 3 and custom subminiature tube phono stage with an audiointerface SUT.

It’s interesting that in my living room system.i have the amp into the black and other equipment into the red (same 15 amp circuit on opposite sides of the wall). That combo is working well. I will probably spring for a black fuse for the Dynaco ST 70 too

fleschler,

thx for reporting.  Please continue to keep us posted.  My black duplex should arrive tomorrow.

fleschler ...

Could it be that the resolving power of the Black Duplex is revealing something that you haven't heard before in your LP playback like a rising top end in your cartridge, or perhaps revealing a brightness in your IC's and/or PC's connecting up your phono?  I'm not saying these are the problems, its just a suggestion. 

On mixing the outlets:  David Pritchard has done exactly that in his three systems to good effect. He's really been the go to guy on the outlets. He's been mighty scarce around these parts lately. Hopefully he will be prompted by your post to chime in here with his valued opinions

If you want, Robert and I can bring over a few of our "reference" albums and give a listen.  Robert hears like a bat, and as you know, he's not one to dance around the truth. So if there's something other than the outlet causing the problems Robert will be able to hear it. 

Take care ...

Frank