The new Synergistic Research BLUE fuses ....


New SR BLUE fuse thread ...

I’ve replaced all 5 of the SR BLACK fuses in my system with the new SR BLUE fuses. Cold, out of the box, the BLUE fuses stomped the fully broken-in SR BLACKS in a big way. As good as the SR BLACK fuses were/are, especially in comparison with the SR RED fuses, SR has found another break-through in fuses.

1. Musicality ... The system is totally seamless at this point. Its as if there is no system in the room, only a wall to wall, front to back and floor to ceiling music presentation with true to life tonality from the various instruments.

2. Extension ... I’ve seemed to gain about an octave in low bass response. This has the effect of putting more meat on the bones of the instruments. Highs are very extended, breathing new life into my magic percussion recordings. Vibes, chimes, bells, and triangles positioned in the rear of the orchestra all have improved. I’ve experienced no roll-off of the highs what so ever with the new BLUE fuses. Just a more relaxed natural presentation.

3. Dynamics ... This is a huge improvement over the BLACK fuses. Piano and vibes fans ... this is fantastic.

I have a Japanese audiophile CD of Flamenco music ... the foot stomps on the stage, the hand clapping and the castanets are present like never before. Want to hear natural sounding castanets? Get the BLUE fuses.

4. Mid range ... Ha! Put on your favorite Ben Webster album ... and a pair of adult diapers. Play Chris Connor singing "All About Ronnie," its to die for.

Quick .... someone here HAS to buy this double album. Its a bargain at this price. Audiophile sound, excellent performance by the one and only Chris Connor. Yes, its mono ... but so what? Its so good you won’t miss the stereo effects. If you’re the lucky person who scores this album, please post your results here.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/ULTRASONIC-CLEAN-The-Finest-Of-CHRIS-CONNOR-Bethlehem-Jazz-1975-NM-UNPLAYED-...

Overall impressions:

Where the RED fuses took about 20 hours to sound their best, and the BLACK fuses took upwards of 200 hours of total break-in, the BLUE fuses sounded really good right out of the box ... and that’s without doing anything about proper directional positioning. Not that the BLUE fuses don’t need breaking in, they do. The improvement continues through week three. Its a gradual break-in thing where each listening session is better than the last.

Everything I described above continues to break new ground in my system as the fuses continue breaking in. Quite honestly, I find it difficult to tear myself away from the system in order to get things done. Its truly been transformed into a magical music machine. With the expenditure of $150.00 and a 30 day return policy there’s really nothing to lose. In my system, its like upgrading to a better pre amp, amp, CD player or phono stage. Highly recommended.

Kudos to Ted Denney and the entire staff at SR. Amazing stuff, guys. :-)

Frank

PS: If you try the SR BLUE fuses, please post your results here. Seems the naysayers, the Debbie Downers and Negative Nellie’s have hijacked the original RED fuse thread. A pox on their houses and their Pioneer receivers.

Frank



128x128oregonpapa
Jay ...

If SR released the Purple fuse next month I'd hold off on buying them ... while shaking my head at the same time. Two years from now I'd be expecting it.

Personally I don't want SR or any other manufacturer to stand still, rest on their laurels and get stale. Even though I'd be perfectly happy with the system as it sits, I look forward to my next tweak. How about you?

I agree. I am just saying Synergistic could have easily handled this better, and I have empathy for those that recently bought Black fuses in the sale, that want to upgrade and are beyond the return period. I would be upset, and can understand how some people would be pissed.

By the way, right now I'm listening to Willie Nelson's "Phases and Stages." Willie's in the room. :=)

Frank

💪<--shakes fist! 😁
Ah very good guys. I was hoping this new thread would be more positive and more on point. And ... it is. :-)

imgoodwithtools ...

There is no way that you're a Debbie Downer. Not even close. You're one of the good guys. Your reports are always on exactly what you hear in your system. Honesty is always appreciated.

kykat ...

I've had that Chris Connor double album for many years. Its one of my favorite albums in the collection. Like I said, its mono ... but you won't mind a bit. In fact, you're gonna love it. I hope its as mint as the seller says it is. 

Jay23 ..

That Willie Nelson CD was really great, however after he left there was a lingering strange aroma wafting through the room.   I can't quite put my finger on it.  :-)

Frank
"If SR released the Purple fuse next month I’d hold off on buying them..."

I will take that bet Frank. ;>)

Dave
As I’ve expressed on another thread, I purchased several of the Blue fuses. And, as I usually do, I place them into the modestly priced NAD C325BEE, as - for an inexpensive (dirt cheap is a better descriptor) integrated - it shows improvements easily.
I placed one fuse in the "front" position. While I did not hear the improvement instantly (due to removing my CJ equipment, which meant moving around the Nordost interconnects and Shunyata speaker cable, which always means: a two hour wait for the cables to "settle" again), I DID hear the improvements rather easily after that. It was not an immediate case of "wow-it-blew-my-mind-man," but it demonstrated great promise within a few hours of steady listening. The Ring Cycle really RANG out, Motown actually sounded good (not merely "passable) and The Fifth Dimensions Greatest Hits was intelligible, lyric-wise. (Not that it’s bad, otherwise, but I usually have to listen to hear the words clearly on quite a few cuts.). I gave it two days with that one fuse, and after being duly impressed with CD after CD, I then decided to put in the other two fuses (the NAD takes 5 fuses, which, amusingly, means that the fuses cost more than the integrated did when brand new). So, technically, the NAD is now at the $900 integrated level when adding in the cost of the SR Blues. And there are two more fuses if I want a fully-loaded NAD. Do I? I don’t know. $450 is a lot for fuses, and there are miles more of fuses in my system if I want to hear if further purchases yield far greater improvements. But ’In for a penny, In for a pound’ keeps running thru my mind...

So. The other two fuses. Well, this time, it took longer to enjoy the very same music, as the sound went "backwards" from how good it sounded before (the fuses in the "newer" position, lessened the transparency, musicality and the articulate diction so apparent previously, for around 48 hours), but now that No. 2 and No. 3 have passed the 50 hour mark, I’m impressed with what the NAD can sound like with the fuses, although,
so far, the only songs I’ve heard are the Fifth Dimension’s "Aquarius/Let the Sunshine In," and "The Girls Song," and Maria Callas. I will say that the Townshend Isolation Pods underneath the NAD  eliminate any vibration shimmying the amp made for a profound difference in the sonics as well, but they’ve been under the NAD for weeks, so I was somewhat used to the improvement overall. Vibration masks improvements, in my experience, which can account for differing opinions in equipment reviews, even when then reviewers have "really good" racks. The bigger the room, the less vibration seems to mask differences in the entire sonic picture, in my experience. (I heard a so-so setup system in the house of the Meow-Meow cat commercial composer back in 2003, but I’d brought along my Nordost Quattro Fils interconnects, Arcam CD player and Shunyata Python, and found myself saying, "so THIS is what the Arcam REALLY sounds like? SHIT, Man!" His room was 10 x 30 x 50. You could be forgiven for thinking he had higher priced Avalons and some exotic electronics instead of the crappy receiver he had. It was THAT good. I was floored, disgusted and thrilled that he could get better sound out of those three pieces of equipment that I had even come close to. Room is not EVERYTHING, but it sure counts, as Robert E. Greene of TAS has said many, many times.)

Although I like the 5th Dimension’s music catalog, I’m usually able to read a magazine while sitting in front of the system when I listen to their CD. This is part of my acid test when I get better cabling, footers or anything I’m thinking of buying: can the music make me sit up and listen, or do I have to strain like mad to get involved with the music (not the sound: just the music itself) because it lacks nuance? Well, judging from 10 minutes of listening just to the 5th’s CD, I couldn’t even focus on the magazine (and anything that can draw me away from The Absolute Sound, circa 1976, when the reviews were stellar, is a positive outcome). Words that start (or end) in "t," "d" and "p" - especially a word like "picked" which, on the NAD, can sound like you had a mouth full of mushy food and therefore couldn’t form the entire word without spitting it all over the table (or your friends), were extremely clear. And continuous even (McCoo takes a breath, and you hear it, which isn’t the norm on this CD). This effect makes a singer sound more "real" than "recorded." And the musicality factor was noticeably better. (By this I mean instead of pastel tones, you get primary colors, without euphony.) This is far better performance than the Furutechs (which can make the NAD sound "hard," bleached out and a bit sterile) or even the Blacks, which, despite the fact that I bought 5 or more of them, never quite won me over in the NAD. They seemed slightly dull, tonally speaking. I LIKED them, (somewhat) but in more modest equipment, they never shined. (Things shine more in my Hurricanes and in CJ - as well as the ARC - (when I had it) equipment. But not the Blacks, not in this system, at least. I don’t think one need have the higher priced spreads to get good sound: I enjoy music more now than when I had such luminaries as the Goldmund Memesis 9 and the Jadis equipment of the early 90s, along with a Versa Dynamics 2.3 turntable with all the other (equally) expensive stuff I had (several generations of WATT/Puppies, even more Goldmund equipment). I listen more to the music now and experience it more soulfully then back then. It helps not to be dazzled by gazing upon the "Luminaries" as I used to call my Versa/ Goldmund/ WATT/Jadis/VAC/ Convergent equipment. I’m sure that these days, were I to re-purchase them, I would enjoy them much more, but I’m wandering here...

I’d suggest buying the Blues and give them their 30 days trial run. You won’t be very "blue" for long, even though the price does make you pause. I was prepared to not like them (I mean, who wants to shell out $300 - $1,000 for fuses?!? I sure don’t). But, being fair, they sound good on my Arcam CD players (the FMJ 23 and DVD 27 something or other). And that’s just sitting on the rug with some Stillpoint Mini Ultras underneath them and some type of chopping board material under that. (I’m afraid to put them on the Finite rack: I might so wild and replace everything in the CJ, Hurricanes, and the Arcam and I really cannot afford that type of output just so I can cry thru Fifth Dimension songs, never mind the entire Khachaturian Ballet.
I know that Imgoodwithtools and a few others have had a different experience, and I think it’s important that ALL experiences be honored. That’s what the forum is for: for all of us to express our viewpoints. Otherwise, we’d sound like a certain audio magazine, where rarely a discouraging word is uttered any more (such a contrast from its first 20 years).
My experience mirrors Oregonpapa’s so I have to encourage people. And SR has had - in my experience - a couple of ’only-in-certain-positions-on-certain-pieces-of-equipment’ prior generations. The Black line, for example, was different for me than for some other posters. I had to really LISTEN -make that STRAIN - to feel good about the purchase. And they were far cheaper! I did not have to strain this time. You’ll have 30 days to love - or be indifferent to - them.
@gbmcleod 
The trials and tribulations, the slings and arrows, the ups and downs.
What you've described is textbook sleuthing in the audio maze that can be both frustrating and rewarding, with the latter the ends that justify the means. No one said it would be easy but once you've gotten there, it's worth that extra effort. 👍

All the best,
Nonoise