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
I saw that iFi AC thingy too and it looks interesting. With their track record on cleaning up jitter they may be onto something.

As for the infrared treatment that Telos does, don't conflate that with the standard work they do for Brimar fuses.

All the best,
Nonoise
Actually, it appears the far infrared thing might be conflated with the “standard work”they do for Brimar fuses after all. The Brimar fuses are not only gold but 72 hrs deep cryo’d ❄️ ❄️ and 48 hours “quantum heat treated.” Which, you have to admit, sounds a lot like uh, infrared heat treatment. 🔥
I was going to wait 'till the weekend to talk about the Brimar fuses but from the Telos site, the fuses are subjected to:
  1. -196ºC cryo process to achieve maximum stress relief of the highest requirement caused by soldering and molecular sequence alloy conductor distribution during production of fuse. Quantum X2 fuse are cryoed twice at -196ºC under precise controlled environment (with a resting period of 12 hours in between).
  2. The Quantum X2 are all run in using Telos 3rd generation Quantum Burning Technology (QBT) which has a frequency response of 0-100khz. The Quantum X2 fuses are run in with 27V, 0.8A, 70 watts power module continuously at broadband width signals to optimize its fuse conductor. This process enables stability in transmission of power.
This is similar to what they do to the Brimar fuses, which benefit greatly from it. The difference is the Brimars are cryo'd for 72 hours and the Quantum burn is done for 48 hrs. The infrared, I believe, is used on something else. I saw it mentioned on the site previously but couldn't locate in the time needed to write this.

All the best,
Nonoise
is there some general belief among audiophiles that ceramic fuses are "better" than glass?
Yes. It's also a general belief with applications that demand better fuses in general: avionics, military, aerospace, medical, etc. 

All the best,
Nonoise