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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

Showing 17 responses by grannyring

grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
The man is a very talented designer, thinker, innovator, marketer, salesman and communicator. I am impressed with the company and  product lines he has formed.  True American success story.  As Audiophiles we should recognize here is one company that is cutting edge and world class.  He has my great respect. Well done. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Can we stop it with the name calling? Have we lost all ability to respect each other and show basic manners and kindness? Seriously, even the internet should be a place we show civility and self control.  If not, l plead with the moderators to continue removing 
posts and rude posters. This cannot turn into a place of anger and name calling.  This site should aim to be better.  We get enough of this crudeness in life. Can we please leave it out of our hobby? 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Playing “ Manhattan Moods" now and have been enjoying for a couple of months thanks to Charles. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Thanks for the link LAK. No doubt many of us have heard the SQ improvement a fuse can bring. For me, the SQ improvements that come by just avoiding fuses in gear is also very real. Well chosen circuit breakers are indeed a great option. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Very easy to hear the difference. Thanks for the link of the a/b comparison.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
What happens when a boutique fuse sounds better than a new Littel Fuse? This has happened in my rig. Just a lowly SR Red Fuse made a new Littel Fuse sound, well broken. George have you even tried one in your system? You have a nice rig and I just wonder if you have tried first hand. Perhaps you have and I missed your comparison.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Agreed Wolf.  Also nothing wrong with not hearing or appreciating sonic improvements and nuances in Audiophile systems. Plenty of my friends cannot and stick with Sears speakers and electronics. 

Many folks think paprika is paprika is paprika.  I and thousands of others can taste the difference a quality paprika makes. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I generally like @wolf_garcia posts.  He is a funny guy to boot. However, the only people who “know about such things” are those who have tried it.  If it sounds better in your system, then wonderful. You know first hand for yourself.  If you tried and no difference, then they are not a good or smart purchase for your rig.  Pretty simple stuff.  If you have not tried in your own system, then you really have no idea.  
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Pretty sure anyone can return the fuse and get their money back. So free for anyone to try. I am fuse free now. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Ok, it is imagined. Impossible to argue against that if one’s mind is set on that perspective. Rather judgmental of scores of people with different experiences than yours. Perhaps it would be reasonable to consider the best of other fellow aphiles. Rather healthy way to approach life and relationships. Perhaps just consider other aphiles as reasoned, intelligent, and capable as yourself?  There must be some in the rather large group of say “thousands” of upgraded fuse owners world wide? 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
@geoffkait

The answer to your very good question is over 75,000. That is over 75,000 folks including many PHDs, doctors, lawyers, musicians, pastors, moms, dads, engineers and well you get the point. Just fellow humans that have families and lives and are really no different than George or any of us. There is no such group as fusers. Way to diverse a population to apply that narrow thought to.

There are many modifiers and builders also using upgraded fuses. The same ones that understand capacitors also make a difference beyond just adhering to spec. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I think it is reasonable to assume upgraded fuses won’t improve the SQ of all systems nor will they improve SQ at the same level in all systems. However this does not mean they won’t make a positive SQ change in some or even many systems.  
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
LOL! Understand.  
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
I was skeptical also.  I no longer am based on actually modifying and carefully listening to gear where I removed fuses  and also added aftermarket fuses. The point I’m trying to make is I actually took the time, did the work, listened very carefully and in the end learned something. 

 However I have put countless hours into modifying gear and listening to the results. It is actually one of my passions and I have learned that parts do in fact sound different including fuses. 

 If anyone here has modifying or building skills I highly recommend that you try bypassing your fuses just for a listening session to hear the results.    The fuse is playing a sound quality roll and listening bias has nothing whatsoever to do with it.

I suppose it’s easy for me to now understand as I have spent so much time under the hood with parts like fuses.
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Yes agreed. I am confounded as to why folks don’t understand the importance of a fuse in terms of sound quality. Bypass one and listen as you will quickly understand it is a bottleneck.  Why don’t these same folks argue that a similarly sized diode, IEC prong material  etc.., also don’t make a difference?  What about those small, thin wired resistors? They all make a difference.  What about small value caps? Come on folks try for yourself. All these parts matter.  What about those short binding posts? Short wire runs from a board to an amp’s output binding posts? You bet they matter and quality materials and design make a difference. 
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
This is also Truth Liz! Michael Green turned me onto this fact. Good point.  
grannyring's avatar
grannyring
6,436 posts
 
Chuck has it right. Fuses can change the tonal direction of a system enough that your system may become be too detailed and resolving for your particular tastes. Conversely, other high end fuses can tip the tonal character to the warm side. The bottom line is they do impact the overall tonal balance and sound of our systems in a noticeable manner. I have heard it over and over. I use upgraded fuses to dial in my system’s tonal balance to my liking. They impact the resulting sound much like cabling can. So yes, some would call this impact dramatic. It certainly can be dramatic for audiophiles that intimately know the sound of their rigs and find these sonic and tonal changes important. Small changes to an audiophile can be dramatic in terms overall music enjoyment.

Fuses are simply another part in the power supply of our gear. I hear changes in sound quality when upgrading IEC sockets, wire, caps, inductors and diodes all located in the power supply. Parts matter folks. The blades in our IECs make a difference even though they are only an inch or so long. Same with diodes, resistors and certainly fuses. Most easy to understand and hear for those who build, mod, swap, listen and intentionally want to learn about parts and their influence on sound.

Perhaps these nuances are not important to you? That is fine for you and the topic of fuses should be of no interest to you then. Not sure why some folks want to make it unimportant to others who are just different from you? The sonic impact of fuses is undeniable based on user, actual user, reviews and testimonies. Overwhelming, near universal enjoyment of what these fuses bring sonically, with so very few outliers not hearing the sonic impact. So very few. The aggregate experience of music and gear lovers has already proven fuses have a sonic impact. The crowd of doubters who have not experimented and still say “no way” is rather hard to take serious. They just don’t know.
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