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
After a solid week of using the fuse in, what I deem, is the "proper" orientation in my system, I've got a pretty good handle on what it's done to the sound.

First it's added for space and dimensionality to the sound.  Like, layers and layers.  It's easily confirmed by placing the old fuse back in place.  The soundstage collapses noticeably, and the and while it's still pleasant mostly, the highs harden, and there's an obvious loss in layering.

Second, the fuse simply expands what is there.  It doesn't change the tonality of the system, or emphasize detail, or add smoothness.  But, it does offer the ability for more detail to be heard, by opening up the sound field, and music seems smoother, because of the ease that detail is heard.  Bass is deeper, but again, not emphatically so.  There's just more of everything.

Its not a fuse I would recommend for a piece of gear someone is not happy with.  It doesn't seem to change the tone or character of a piece of gear.  It just brings out more of it out, and allows it to sound more effortless.  On my Parasound P7, the same light and open character of the preamp is present with the stock fuse as it is with the Synergistic Black Fuse, but the music with the Black Fuse sounds effortlessly expansive, and a good deal of the strain and compression is gone, making long listening sessions when Roon flips between beautiful to bad recordings far easier and more pleasurable to deal with.

Now, if I can figure out how to get the glass top off my Wadia 321, I'll get another Black Fuse in there, and see if the effect can be duplicated.

Thanks again, to all who contributed to this thread.  It's been a big help to keep an open mind, and has ultimately led me on a path that allows me to enjoy listening to music even more than I already did.

Regards,
Jason
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Great review jason,your results mirror mine.......and many others. I was extremely skeptical that these fuses could make any difference, let alone the marked improvement they did. I've never played with their direction as my system is sounding so good I don't want to mess with it. Congrats on your success with them and happy listening!
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Juvenile.
Some people are good at snark: the rest should keep their day job.