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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
david_ten
5,480 posts
 
@alexberger Thanks!

I think it’s best to always try the fuse in both directions, unless what you hear with the first direction sounds absolutely correct to your ears. The opposite direction has always sounded not-quite-right and it is immediately apparent.

Further, one would need to also figure out and know the direction of the flow of current through the fuse holder to be absolutely certain about any ’absolute’ directional recommendations.
geoffkait's avatar
geoffkait
23,365 posts
 
There’s no connection between lettering direction and fuse direction. It’s random. One or two fuse companies control directionality during manufacturer but most don’t as it’s a lot of trouble so you have to try them both ways. Audioquest and a few other companies control directionality for cables and power cords during manufacturing, thus the arrows. 🔚
fleschler
2,008 posts
 
I'm rather surprised that the SR Blue fuse didn't sound nearly settled in after placing it in the correct direction within an hour.  About a year ago, I blew an amp resistor which took out a blue fuse.  After replacing it, it sounded about the same as a broken in fuse.  Between replacement, I used my older SR black fuse.  The blue was immediately better.
alexberger
905 posts
 
I have more time to listened my system this weekend.
My amp with Blue fuse sounded good balances.
Compared to Red fuse, I recognized better high frequency details, better layering and separation, bigger and deeper bass.
The difference is very notable but not a huge as I was expected.
agisthos
504 posts
 
A nice jump over the RED fuse. But when testing direction I realized I may have been using my old RED fuse backwards for years.

When the BLUE was installed backwards it was similar in tonality to my RED (but better), but it was still better when reversed. Which means my listening test to install that RED fuse years ago was sloppy...
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