2. amps-preamps
  3. 1448317474

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?
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dlcockrum's avatar
dlcockrum
2,190 posts
 
Hi Al,

A fine and balanced summary as always.

I will be surprised if anything more than what you stated is ever discerned about this topic.

Best to you Al,
Dave
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,088 posts
 
Yep, that’s pretty much it. Thanks again Al. You are the voice of reason and always a gentleman. We could all use more of that!

There is much more to be learned about the topic.
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 
I asked this question a little while back and I don’t know if anyone responded. Hard to keep track with so much traffic. Anyway, let me ask again: I got the new fuses but when I went in to replace the fuses, I see the stock ones are in the standard fuse holders but also have (thin) wires soldered at both ends of each fuse. Anyone else seen this set up in their gear? A bit reluctant to break the solder joints to replace the fuses since the amp is still under warranty.
mapman's avatar
mapman
22,088 posts
 
I've seen that done on various pieces over the year.    It makes for a better electrical connection which is always a good thing as has been cited  though makes replacing harder.   You would have to check the specific devices warranty to see what any impacts of changing yourself  might or might not be. 
kalali's avatar
kalali
1,977 posts
 

Thank you mapman. I’m going to leave it alone for now and use the fuses if/when I really need to.

By the way, I mentioned this fuse "magic" to my brother a couple of weeks ago and suggested he try them in his older Magnepan 1.5QR speakers by replacing the stock (tweeter) fuses. I don’t consider him an audiophile type of person but he appreciates good sound. Besides, he hardly ever takes my advice seriously on anything. Well, I guess he took my advice this time. He called me yesterday literally 5 minutes after he had installed the new fuses in the Magnepans and had only played one song. He was literally freaking out about how much better they sounded. He said they now sound just like they sounded when had bought them together over 25 years ago. He simply could not believe replacing the fuses could make such a dramatic difference. And these were just the red ones not even the blacks. Go figure.

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