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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
gpgr4blu
1,081 posts
 
I owned an MGB in college. My buddy owned a Jag about 3 years later. Both were outfitted with Lucas electrical including headlamps and rear lamps. We came to appreciate 2 phrases famous in Britain:
1- Lucas Electrical -otherwise known as the "Prince of Darkness".
2-If Lucas made guns, the world would never be at war.

OK back to the thread. 

uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Big amps have big inrush for sure but surely if fuse rating is correct what difference should it make as to who/what fuse it is if it can handle that inrush?
Even though I can hear sq differences with SR fuses it is a poor show if they do not behave as the rating on them says compared to an el cheapo Bussman fuse for example!

My concern on that would be if i replaced the fuses in a piece that was under factory warranty still with higher rated fuses by SR or similar and then something occurred which caused internal damage to the equipment.
I am not sure how closely manufacturers spec out their fuse ratings for protection...would going from 2.5 to 3a say really make any real world difference internally?
almarg's avatar
Ag insider logo xs@2x
almarg
9,670 posts
 
In the case of SR fuses, my perception has been that the rationale for going up one or two rating increments from stock has simply been that a number of users (at least 8, as I recall) have reported in the Red Fuse thread and other fuse-related threads that SR fuses having stock current ratings blew unnecessarily. While I can only recall one instance in which someone reported that an up-rated SR fuse blew unnecessarily.

That suggests, IMO, that the combinations of current and time which would cause an SR fuse to blow are more similar to those of a typical stock fuse having a somewhat lower current rating than they are to a stock fuse having the same current rating. Which is why I had said in the Red Fuse thread that IMO it makes sense to go up one or two ratings. Other opinions differed in some cases, as Nonoise pointed out earlier, and unfortunately there is room for differences of opinion because the detailed technical information that is provided by Littelfuse and Cooper Bussmann defining the blow characteristics of their fuses (nominal melting point in amperes squared x seconds, and graphs of maximum current vs. time) are not provided by SR and most or all other boutique manufacturers. With the warranty concern cited by Uberwaltz also being a consideration.

Regarding PS’s questions, I suspect from the wording of his posts as well as the rating of the fuse that he is referring to a DC rail fuse, rather than a mains fuse. Which means that inrush current at turn-on probably won’t be much of a concern, if any. However it sounds like he is considering going from a 1 amp stock fuse to a 1.25 amp HiFi Tuning fuse, and I have no idea whether the rationale I cited above for going up a rating or two in the case of SR fuses would be applicable to HFT fuses. On the other hand, though, intuitively it doesn’t sound like much of a difference to me, so IMO it is a reasonable course of action.

Regards,
-- Al

geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
Innocent question: How do you know a fuse blows unnecessarily? A fuse blows, any fuse, because the energy, the current, for whatever reason, exceeded the fuse’s capability. It did it’s job. I suspect it would take a lot of effort to get to the bottom of the so called fuse blowing. If memory serves all fuses, stock and aftermarket fuses, have been documented over the years on various fora as having what appears to be “premature failure.” So I tend to doubt it is an SR issue per se. Especially in light of the fact all these horror stories of fuses blowing are quite anecdotal. Going up in rating does carry some risk, you know, since damage to electrical components can occur. 
imgoodwithtools
236 posts
 
I don't blow fuses. I blow up preamplifiers. Lol

I should have known better, but I was pondering what some of the best solid state amplifiers from 20 years ago sound like compared to some of today's best. I started a new thread. Immediately half of the responses are If they measure competently, the amps should sound the same. Ugh. Can't these people hear? Do they listen??
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