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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
parabellum
21 posts
 
@sorlowski 

Your findings are pretty much in line with mines. Actually, I have first installed a Blue one for the main fuse (the one you can change at the back of the amplifier) about 4 months ago and it made a change very similar to what you experienced. See my earlier posts.

Ever since I became a believer that not only a fuse can change to sonic character of a given component, but that furthermore it can make it sound even better. Now convinced that my amplifier still can be improved, I decided to slowly change the fuses one by one as funds allow. I have 2 pre-amp board on my integrated and both of them use 2 fuses each. Do the maths, it's costly. But still, I installed another blue in one of the socket and it made a surprising difference. I was skeptical that by changing only one out of four would bring positive results, but hey, it did. The change it brought by inserting a first fuse was a better bass response, sounds is less bloated and cleaner, and the highs are more lifelike. I just can't wait to hear the difference when I insert the remaining 3.
koestner
672 posts
 
Does anyone thing there will be a "Buy 2 get 1 FREE" coming up?
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
Please read to the end. Changing a fuse, not a happy ending. So, I wanted to go another level in my fuse upgrade, on a particular amplifier of mine ( I have many amplifiers ). In this particular case, an ADA PF 2501. Has been working fine for months now, but decided to upgrade to a new, better fuse. Anyway, pushing in slightly, and turning the rear fuse holder 1/4 turn, counter clockwise ( generally all that is needed ), the actual fuse holder appeared loose, and it now had play. Did not think anything of it, as I have upgraded the fuse once before, many years ago. Plugged the amp back in, and nothing. Put the prior fuse in, and nothing. Disconnected the amp, moved the amp to my table ( not easy for me anymore ), opened her up, and noticed the fuse holder was directly mounted to the power supply circuit board, and was now broken loose from it. Too much for me to handle. Called a few local shops in my area, but no one wants to work on it, as I had explained to them the situation. So, this upgradetitus I seem to have ( I am in good company here ), has giving me a very good boat anchor. These ADA amplifiers bring very little money, and when I had gotten it, I got it at a deal, from a customer upgrading his entire system ( a wealthy New Yorker ). Unit was like new, as I had originally installed it. It still is like new. Not a terrible loss. Anyway, I have a question. I have opened many amplifiers throughout my time, to do mods, upgrades, and such. This is the 1st amplifier I ever opened, to my recollection, that has the main power fuse holder, mounted directly to a circuit board, instead of the rear, front, or an internal chassis panel. Anyone have experience with other designs such as this ? Based on my experience here, I think it to be a stupid design, although I understand the " shorter signal path " thing. BTW, I have opened this amp before, as I isolated the HUGE toroidal from the chassis, and never gave this fuse holder design, a 2nd thought. Thank you very much, and...Enjoy ! MrD. 
uberwaltz's avatar
uberwaltz
13,381 posts
 
Well that sucks Mr D.
Sorry for that ruination of a day.
No I cannot say as I have ever seen that style of mounting the main fuse holder before but I am sure someone will have.
The question is, can you solder it back onto the board? Is there enough to work with?
I hope so as a terrible waste otherwise.
mrdecibel
3,065 posts
 
Thanks, uber.....This ADA thing happened a few months back, but thought I would bring it up now. Unlike speaker fuses and their holders, which I admittedly, bypass often on some older gear, I will never bypass the mains fuse ( fire, danger, etc ). The amp weighs 70 lbs, and I am just not looking forward to lifting it again, at this point. The holder is above the board, and this board is not easy to get to ( at least, not easy for me ). The holder, although loose, is still somehow connected to the board. This is better left to a local ( central FL ), capable technician, who has a strong back, with proper lifting techniques, lol. For an amplifier that retailed at $4K, and is built extremely well, imo, it is a stupid thing to have happened. Enjoy ! MrD.
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