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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?
128x128oregonpapa
jetter
3,039 posts
 

Hi Frank,

Thank you for that very clear explanation.  I have often read about your new music discoveries and your love of music does come through your posts.  On your and Charles' suggestion I have gone to utube and watched/listened to a number of the tunes presented in this thread. 

I do hope that there are not too many people who read these threads who are getting caught up in an endless upgrade cycle because they think it is the only way to audio nirvana.  A number of posters (not necessarily on this thread) have not so subtly insinuated that if you haven't owned countless pieces of costly equipment you cannot have the knowledge to know if you have a good system.  Lets face it, good equipment is astronomically priced compared to when we were younger.

The greatest tweak of all is to be able to be satisfied with what you have and as you said, enjoy the music. 

George



almarg's avatar
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almarg
9,670 posts
 
Well said, Mapman, Frank, & George.

Best regards,
-- Al

wolf_garcia
6,719 posts
 
Oregonpapa, you do seem delusional as I'm absolutely certain that fuses, when working properly, can't and don't provide any sonic improvement, and in the case of SRs poorly designed fuses they can and have provided the act of surprisingly melting, which unfortunately does have audible effects. The manufacturers of these things know this, and also know they can market these insanely profitable faux upgrades by simply claiming they work, regardless of any actual technical support for these claims. There are  plenty of fans of useless audio tweaks who's personal insecurity requires validation from others of their "special listening skills," and I get that. I'm on the front lines of live music as a concert mixer and producer and among that crowd of working professionals there simply isn't room for fantasy among the people who actually make music…well, most of them anyway...but there is room for ear wax removal kits and I've been using that stuff for decades. Highly recommended.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Wolf Man wrote,

"...but there is room for ear wax removal kits and I’ve been using that stuff for decades. Highly recommended."

You’ve been using it for decades? I’ll bet you have. It’s all starting to make sense now as to your difficulty hearing. I imagine you remove ear wax the size of golf balls, no?

One can’t help wondering if all of the naysayers, the fuse denyers, are of a certain age when their hearing is pretty much shot, you know, nothing above 8 or 10 KHz.

😀
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Hello George (jetter),
I agree with you regarding the fun and discovery of sharing recordings and introducing unfamiliar artists.
Regarding audio systems and upgrading there seem to be 2 general approaches of equal merit.
1 Buy /replace components to improve one’s current sound quality.
2 Keep the current components and attempt to maximize their capabilities.

I have gone both routes over the years and had sucessful outcomes.
I’ve decided that my current system is the best I’ve owned and after 7 years of joy this is very likely my final system. For this reason I want to extract all or nearly all it has to give sonically. Vibration management, better tubes, capacitors, fuses, wall AC outlets have all been exceptionally gratifying tweaks.

IMO it has elevated the "very good " to the tier of superb, resulting in even a greater and deeper level of listening pleasure.

George, these are needless to say personal choices we make. I can only attest to my experiences, in my case the tweaking and selected upgrading of parts and accessories has been utterly rewarding. As we all can appreciate, to each their own. I spend many hours listening to music and enjoy every moment of doing so. 
Charles
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