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
... the More Than a Fuse dramatically increases the impedance from 0.2 ohms to 10 ohms at 10 MHz, thus increasing high frequency noise-rejection fifty fold over that of a conventional fuse.
Bill, as a point of information an 8 inch length of medium gauge wire will have an impedance of about 10 ohms at 10 MHz. And of course an AC mains fuse will be in series with far greater lengths of wire than that, taking into account the AC wiring in the component, in the power transformer, and in the power cord. Also, the power transformer itself can be expected to have far too little bandwidth to pass frequencies that high.

...And because the Platinum Reference “More Than a Fuse” also reduces ultra high frequency noise by up to 46 dB or more, a ratio 200 times that of a typical fuse...
46 db corresponds to a voltage ratio of 200 times, so this statement implies that a typical fuse provides zero noise rejection. I don’t doubt that :-) However, without a statement of what frequency the 46 db of noise rejection occurs at, and in what kind of circuit application, and without a basis upon which to determine if that unspecified frequency has any reasonable likelihood of having audible consequences in typical applications, the statement is meaningless. I would feel certain, however, that in the case of an AC mains fuse the associated AC wiring and especially the power transformer would provide far greater noise rejection than their fuse would.

The bottom line: While I take no position on the efficacy of their fuses, these statements are misleading techno-babble.

Regards,
-- Al
grannyringGeorge, to answer your question;

That answered nothing, as I asked for fuse manufacturers links, who state the claims made that their fuses will improve the sound of your audio. 

I’ve seen you post links before, why do you not do them now? Is it that your just posting hearsay and not the words of the fuse manufacturer themselves?

Cheers George
I improved my system by about 20% of what the fuses have done by replacing the 6SN7 cathode follower tubes in my amps today. I had 1950s GE tubes which Andy of Vintage Tube Services stated they are mediocre at best. He told me to stick with RCA and Sylvania tubes. I purchased a pair of Sylvania 6SN7 GTB 1950s tubes. The manufacturer told me that the cathode follower tubes all sound the same.  Wrong.  The improvement was immediate. Superior ambience, greater micro-dynamics, clearer sound. Sounds a lot like the benefit of the fuses but not as dramatic (the bass, mids and macro dynamics sound about the same other than the enhanced clarity).

As to comments about audiophile designations, I am probably only a borderline audiophile based on my having mostly decades old equipment, 10 year old CD players (EAR Acute), analog gear (VPI TNT VI, Benz Ruby 3 other than a modded SME IV arm from 1989), 15 year old custom amps, preamp, phono stage, 23 year old speakers (Legacy Focus & Sig IIIs), 50 year old 2nd system with highly modded Dynaco ST70 and 18 year old highly modded CD player. The only changes I’ve made in the past 10 years are to the tweaks, Hallographs, Stillpoints, Fuses, Duplex Outlets, Wiring and a Bryston 20 amp isolation transformer. I’m more concerned with the music than the sound which is why I have 42,000 records and CDs. I spend more time listening to music than watching TV despite having a 75" 4K 1 year old Sony with all the software, channels and Android apps one could want.


Hi fleschler,
Andy is a very knowledgeable and reliable source. I’ve bought from him in the past and was pleased with his tubes and service. As I’ve mentioned in this thread previously, the SR Black fuses were sonically more impactful than some tube swaps that I’ve done. As with you my music listening hours exceeds my television viewing. You certainly have an  "enormous " (and I am sure wonderful sounding) library of recordings 😊.
Charles