Synergistic Red Fuse ...


I installed a SR RED Quantum fuse in my ARC REF-3 preamp a few days ago, replacing an older high end fuse. Uhh ... for a hundred bucks, this little baby is well worth the cost. There was an immediate improvement upon installation, but now that its broken in (yes, no kidding), its quite remarkable. A tightening of the focus, a more solid image, and most important of all for my tastes, a deeper appreciation for the organic sound of the instruments. Damn! ... cellos sound great! Much improved attack on pianos. More humanistic on vocals. Bowed bass goes down forever. Next move? .... I'm doing the entire system with these fuses. One at a time though just to gauge the improvement in each piece of equipment. The REF-75se comes next. I'll report the results as the progression takes place. Stay tuned ...

Any comments from anyone else who has tried these fuses?
128x128oregonpapa
I've had fuses in gear that remained unmolested for decades and simply nothing degraded…example…a 1961 Fender Bandmaster guitar amp that I abused for 25 years, and an even earlier Deluxe…fuse? Shcmuze! If there was degradation it didn't seem to have any effect on the sound of those amps, but there was no reason to check…imagine how well they would have worked with new Littlefuses! Or maybe they would have lost some of their charm…hmm...Nyname is incorrect as it's doubtful I'll ever become a better person (simply too late), but, again, regardless of the belief that the electrons zipping to and fro in the Magic Fuses touted around here will somehow infect the adjoining gear bits with Better Soundstaging, it simply defies logic that those "happier" electrons are gonna do squat. Vibration, EFI/RMI, etc., are likely utterly irrelevant as regards hair thin fuse wire, but are very important to those who market to the ones concerned about that. The elitist argument of "my rig and ears are simply better than yours" is generally wheeled out in times of desperation when a clearer explanation of what is actually happening is unavailable. Maybe just clean your fuse holders and get back to me.
Quoting Oregonpapa:
" They don't bother me a twit ... not a twit. After spending over 50 years in commissioned sales my skin is about a foot thick. I eat rejection for breakfast and come back at lunch and dinner for more."
Put another way:
--That's my opinion and I'm sticking to it.  Now don't annoy me with the facts.--


Fuses should not degrade, they should blow when required. Some here have gone so far (overboard) as to state that if your gear can be affected by a change in fuses, cords, etc. then there's something wrong with your gear: it's crap.

Saying that, then a fuse that degrades is crap as well. Why would anyone put a crappy fuse in such a vital area, knowing it's going to fail long before (if ever) required? It would also affect performance long before it ever blows.

Some counter arguments simply don't make sense. Not even on first blush. These boutique fuses seem to address the failings of cheap fuses by a more robust construction with attention paid to the rigors a fuse goes through when doing it's job, simple as it's been made to believe.

The only argument I see is how much of your hard earned cash are you ready to part with for the improvement. I've wasted more money on CD's that I ended up not liking than what would be needed to buy some SR Black fuses. I know the improvements made in my system with some old HiFi Tuning Silver fuses but I'm still on the fence as to amount of  improvement I'd get with SR Blacks for the price they charge. That's my only concern since I know fuses matter. 

If metallurgy is important in cable terminations, let alone wiring, then why not fuses? I just got so big an improvement with my speaker cables going from copper spades to rhodium over beryllium bananas on the amp end that it leaves my head wagging in disbelief. Again, why not fuses? Some of these counter arguments are becoming zombie like in their ability to be knocked down, only to come back again and again.
There should be a spin off on TV called The Aurally Dead.

All the best,
Nonoise
Why would anyone put a crappy fuse in such a vital area, knowing it’s going to fail long before (if ever) required? It would also affect performance long before it ever blows.... These boutique fuses seem to address the failings of cheap fuses by a more robust construction with attention paid to the rigors a fuse goes through when doing it's job....
Precisely. Which raises the question of why we have seen multiple reports in this thread of SR fuses blowing when they shouldn’t, and perhaps in many cases having to be chosen at current ratings higher than stock.

Regards,
-- Al


By the way, if any of you are Mel Torme' fans, I listened to this CD all the way through tonight. Its Torme' in his prime and a really, really good recording:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/Swingin-On-the-Moon-Verve-Mel-Torme-Torme-Mel-Good-/332150919452?hash=item4d...

Torme's is truly one of the great American song stylists. Its worth the entry fee to get to know his music.
Just ordered.  My 1st Torme CD.  :-)  Trying to discover artists before my time.

@oregonpapa Do you have any Dean Martin recommendations?