The Synergistic Research Orange Fuse ... Further thoughts.


Here are my observations after several weeks of burning in the new SR Orange fuses:

1. The sound has a more relaxed presentation. 

2.  Clarity - There is less grain. I thought I had this beat, but evidently not. 

3.  The soundstage has expanded further and instruments and performers are more well-placed inside the stage. The presentation is a lot more three-dimensional. 

4.  More articulation on voices. Vocals are more organically human in nature. While listening to Kevin Mahogany sing "Skylark," I hung on every note and word in the lyrics. Massed voices, like those heard on the Norman Luboff Choir's "But Beautiful" album, are more delineated. The solo instruments are more present than ever before also.

5.  There is a definite improvement in dynamics. Drum solos place the drummer right there in the room with you. Rim shots, bongos, congas and big bass drums are amazing. So are vibes. Cal Tjader and Victor Feldman ... Welcome to the party. 

6.  There has been a further improvement in tonal accuracy. String instruments have taken on a new dimension.  

7.   Among other improvements, there has been a slight amount of welcome warmth added to the mid-bass. The music, as a result, has become more emotionally involving. A little more tube-like in a very nice way.

8.  More meat on the bones overall. Massed strings are beautiful.  Bach's "Air on a G String" ... simply beautiful.  

9.  Lastley, I can set the volume control lower and get the same volume in sound as before.

Overall ... the new Orange fuse is a real winner in my system. 

Highly recommended. 

Frank

128x128oregonpapa
These guys seem to come out with a new improved color fuse every year which starts to make me question the whether there are really material improvements being made or it's more driven by a marketing approach to drive sales.  I'm not saying fuses don't offer performance improvements (I use a SR Blue myself) but I'm not feeling any motivation whatsoever to replace the Blue with an Orange.  In general I prefer to see manufacturers stick with an excellent product for a longer cycle and only introduce a newer model when transformational improvements are really being engineered.  How much technical advancement meat is left on the bone to improve a fuse???

In all fairness I have not tried an Orange vs the Blue but the pattern I'm detecting in marketing is sending a caution flag my way.  Perhaps I'm alone in this view.
@three_easy_payments
It's more like every other year. The colored outlets are the between years. They color the sound a little differently each gen and those that need the "latest & greatest" bite. 🎣
david_ten ...

"Frank, how did you conduct the comparison? Thanks."
I had the Blue fuses in the system for over two years. I pulled them out and installed the Orange fuses. Then, I listened to the difference.
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New, upgraded fuses appearing on the market for some reason seems to irritate people. Especially people who have never tried them in their system.

Do we hear the same irritations when other manufacturers upgrade their equipment? How about the ARC REF-75 I bought right before the "SE" version came out? Same thing with my ARC CD-7 before the "SE" version came out? I opted to sell the two items and buy the SE versions. Yep, there was a considerable improvement in both cases. Same with fuses.

Time marches on ... as does advancements in technology. If that weren’t true, we would still be driving 1938 Fords and Chevies ... or using buggy whips to drive our carriages.

Frank