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
 
wolf_garcia said

"Reading a review of a new Pass amp last night I noticed it has NO fuses…I suppose you can add one later..."

correct- I place a fuse on top of my Pass amp in a very careful north/south orientation 
Hi David, 
Your comment about fuses and AC wall outlets compared to tube rolling rings much truth in certain circumstances. I've had the good fortune to audition 11 different brands of 300b tubes in my SET amplifier  (these include generous loans from fellow audiogon members ).  Each is unique, some subtle and others are quite obvious. The SR fuses (Black and Red ) elicited a greater sonic impact on my system than quite a few(but not all of them ) of the 300b tubes. These terrific fuses are far less expensive than those tubes.  The very best 300bs have a bit more impact but definitely at a cost. 
Charles, 
Charles,  thanks for that last comment.  If these fuses have that kind of impact in the coincident gear, the decision to invest in these fuses becomes pretty easy.  Since I have stock fuses in nearly everything, the improvement should be pretty substantial. I intend to proceed in a very slow deliberate fashion however, replacing one fuse at a time, allowing break in to occur before proceeding with the next purchase.  I am also intrigued by some of the comments on the AM beeswax fuses.  I can't help but wonder if they might not be a superb choice for the franks.  Beeswax in a fuse is the kind of wacky stuff Jerry comes up with that causes some to smirk, but I have never seen his stuff fail to deliver.  At any rate, I will have an SRB fuse for my CSL by next weekend.  I'll probably proceed to the sources, and finish with the Franks. 
My neighborhood friend Charles just stopped by with only One SR Red 3 Amp Fuse. I wanted him to hear a new dac that I put into my system. The sound was good, but not that engaging. We tried different filter settings on the dac and different digital cables. We were just bored. I then changed my two year old Telos fuse in my Absolare preamp for the SR red. The sound was good and then I switched the fuse around. OH MY the system went from boring to lively with an organic quality that I never had before. It was at least a 50% improvement. Next week he will bring the black SR fuse over. I am just tongue tied. I never heard an improvement like this before. I can't believe the shear organic and transparent quality yet its not bright and the dynamics are explosive, but controlled. Who would have thunk. I told this to my skeptic friend Doug and of course he does not believe me what so ever. I don't blame him as I can't believe it as well. I am always open to new things as I was already using a good fuse in the Telos. I can't wait until next week.
Jeff (Jwm),
I'm not surprised that Doug remains skeptical about the fuse swap tonight and the significant improvement due to the SR Red fuse. I like Doug a lot but he is the classic example of the "tech mindset" that holds an adamant stance based on principle rather than listening. I don't care about people who form an opinion rather than actually listening to something , well that's their problem not mine. 

The impact of the SR Red fuse was of the same substantial  scale as in my system despite our very different system components and room environment. I'm looking forward to you adding a SR fuse to your DAC. I'll bring a Black fuse over to you soon and see what you think of it. 
I'm glad you took the opportunity to simply hear the fuse in your own system and make up your own mind. 
Charles,