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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
jay23
210 posts
 
@georgehifi 
Seeing they advertise here just get Synergistic Research to personally post here and back these claims of the "fusers" of transformation of system sound quality and the direction-ability of these fuses. It could only help give these "fusers" and the fuses some credibility.

Cheers George

What gets me is these totally non technical "fusers" think they know more about what make an amp or dac work better or worse than the electronic engineers that designed and built the equipment they are using. And that these $150 fuses have some magical power that can't be measured.
It's like them saying to the gullible potential fuse purchasers here, that they know better than the likes of Nelson Pass ect ect who designed the equipment.

Cheers George

Synergistic Research states everything you are asking for on their website. Why would they waste their time replying to you here, if you can't read or comprehend it on their website?

And the "fusers" already gave you proof of an EE and designer that admits that fuses make a difference. That makes your point null.
georgehifi's avatar
georgehifi
10,312 posts
 
Synergistic Research states everything you are asking for on their website.
No they don’t personally, it’s hearsay.

Directionality change in fusing is obvious to me (and to my friends). There is no "subtlety" in the difference. I don’t give a rat’s ass why. From out of phase to in phase as if the polarity were reversed. Choose in phase or suffer poor sound.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RmyucZa6wD0&feature=youtu.be&t=11

Cheers George
prof
3,468 posts
 
nonoise,

There are a huge number of audiophile tweaks out there, why would I be compelled to single out this one to take my time testing?  And I'm not an EE, and also don't have easy access to testing equipment.  So, like anything else, whether it's tests of car performance/mileage or whatever, I look to relevant experts with the test equipment to do these things, and from my layman's vantage point, note who makes claims and why, and who disputes them and why, and their relevant expertise.   And also understanding the basics of the scientific method helps me identify when someone is appealing to an unreliable methodology.

To the extent it's useful or I care to, I will use blind testing in my own decisions. 

But it's not accurate to think I'm some absolutist about all this, as if I'm saying we all have to blind test everything we do.  Hardly.  That's utterly impractical!  I have been into high end audio for most of my life and I have had many things in my system I don't bother blind testing.  Even some tweaky stuff.  For instance, I wrote a long thread detailing my attempts to build an isolated platform for my new turntable.  That definitely took me deep in to tweaky areas.   I did my best to satisfy the side of me that likes to see some objective evidence, so I used some basic seismometer apps and other methods to ascertain any drops in resonance.  

And I use tube amps....hardly the stuff of Hard Core Engineer Objectivists who want strict accuracy. 

The issue arises when it comes to making claims, or the general level of confidence that is warranted in a belief.  What if any of the steps I took actually had an audible impact on my new turntable?  The honest answer is: I don't know.  I could measure differences in the vibration transfer with and without the new platform.  But did this change the output of my system?  It's too cumbersome to possibly blind test, but hey....no big deal. I'm not trying to please anyone else but myself.  And doing all that work scratched a theoretical "itch" and was also fun and satisfying.

But I'm not going to go declaring that I COMPLETELY CHANGED THE SOUND OF MY SYSTEM AND ANYONE WHO CAN'T HEAR THIS HAS EARS MADE OF CLOTH!  

If anyone cast a skeptical eye on my methods I'd simply say "Yup, I can see the warrant for the skepticism.  I agree I don't have a solid basis for presuming any sonic changes occured." 

I find it no problem to admit my fallibility, and when I really don't have a high level of evidence and confidence in something.  But should it be suggested to other people "hey, maybe you could be wrong...not ARE wrong...but could be wrong, like I've been before, and like science tells us to look out for..." then their reaction is to get upset, cast aspersions at anyone daring to challenge their experience as the Final Arbiter Of Truth!




uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Prof
Actually you have it all backwards I am afraid
Not one of the pro fuse users, to my knowledge, are stating that just because they hear a difference then everybody must do and get upset when they do not.
It is actually the naysayers who are up in arms because they cannot hear a difference and so insist it must be impossible for anybody to hear a difference.

THAT is what the majority here are upset over, being repeatedly told they cannot possible be hearing what they are hearing.
Just check some of the fervent posts from the non believers.....
prof
3,468 posts
 
fleschler,

Directionality change in fusing is obvious to me (and to my friends). There is no "subtlety" in the difference. I don’t give a rat’s ass why.


Well if you remain so incurious and don’t give a rat’s ass about understanding the phenomenon...which would include the variable of human perception....I guess there isn’t much to discuss.

So...uh...thanks for the contribution?

@jay23,

Do you blind test the changes?


First, please see my recent reply to nonoise where I expand on my view of blind testing.

We can not blind test everything, that’s entirely impractical. So a reasonable heuristic is that when you *really* want to be careful about understanding a phenomenon, or when it comes to claims that are in any way extraordinary, to the degree they are not backed by a consensus of people in the relevant field of expertise for instance - if these are areas in question - then waiting for more evidence based on appropriate controls is reasonable.

So why aren’t we having this discussion about the possible audibility between speakers?

Because virtually no relevant experts in the field of audio engineering, human perception etc, dispute that speakers sound different. Different designs produce easily measurable changes in the signals that reach our ears, and they fall within the scope of difference well known (and studied) to be audible.

That’s not the case with, say, boutique audiophile AC cables, or audiophile fuses, etc. What you have there is for the most part anecdote.

The type of sonic changes I make to my sounds fall well within known parameters of audibility. Usually for instance I’m boosting a sound a minimum of 3dB.

Back to my view of the audiophile fuse issue: I’m not saying an audiophile fuses can make no sonic difference. (People throw up strawmen like that when they are too emotional to give a more reasoned response to what I actually write).

I don’t know if a fuse can make a difference or not.

What I do know:

1. It’s an area of dispute among people more knowledgeable about electronics than I am. So that’s a red flag.

2. Therefore I’m left only with the usual anecdotal claims by audiophiles that the tweak "clearly made a difference in my system!" But the problem is that exact claim is made, using the same method of "just put it in your system and try!" that lead people to claim "everything makes a difference" from markers on CDs, to ringing discs to all manner of tweaks that have little basis in sound science. In fact just this appeal to simply "trusting my experience" is used in support of every single far out claim you can name, from faith healing, to psychic powers, to every single dubious nostrum anyone has ever peddled.  That's a problem.

So....I have reasons to be cautious about accepting the claims about audiophile fuses. And little about the audiophile fuse phenomenon rises above the rest of the audiophile tweakerverse....so I don’t see any reason to spend time on this tweak vs any other.

But...simply point out the scientific facts about human fallibility, note that I am fallible and have been shown wrong, and that we are all fallible and can make mistakes in our perception, and this seems to send some people into fits. It’s pretty odd.








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