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?
I’m laughing because there is no warranty on my amps or preamp. They are Grover Huffman custom designs of which there are four or five made. Obviously, the amps are operating just fine with the higher rated SR fuses and Elliott of SR suggested that I use them because of the huge draw on turnon due to the huge capacitors..
If you read previous posts, they indicated by someone who appears knowledgeable that there exists a range of up to 400% in melting points which may or may not be the same thing as amperage. SR states that their fuses are different than standard fuses and should be chosen accordingly based on the equipment needs, not just as the manufacturer stated.
I am quoting the prior posts below for your edification:
Jon, sorry that you’ve experienced this issue. I have no particular suggestions beyond what Sgordon1 has said (although you indicated that you’ve already performed step 1 of his suggestions), but the following may have some relevance:
I took a look at the detailed technical info for the 0.25A 250V 5x20mm fast blow fuses manufactured by Littelfuse, one of the leading makers of non-audiophile fuses. Interestingly, they offer at least four different series of fuses of that specific type, designed to various combinations of UL, IEC, and other standards, which have "nominal melting points" (defining the combination of current and time that will cause the fuse to blow) ranging from 0.0166 amps squared-seconds to 0.042 amps squared-seconds. That’s a difference of a factor of 2.5, even though all of those fuses are from a single manufacturer and all are 5x20mm fast blow fuses rated at 0.25A 250V.
If the stock 0.25A 250V 5x20mm fast blow fuses in your amp are rated at or near the upper end of that 0.0166 to 0.042 range, and the unspecified rating of the SR fuse is at or near (or even below) the lower end of that range, it would certainly seem to account for what happened. If you call SR, you might ask them if they can tell you what the nominal melting point of that fuse is, in amps squared-seconds.
and this one:
Gpgr4blu, I’m sure Tsushima1 is correct about the physical size and voltage rating of the fuses that are required for your ARC gear, but to clarify about the voltage ratings: The 500v and 250v ratings refer to how much voltage a fuse can withstand when it blows. The voltage a fuse will "see" when it blows (i.e., the voltage that will appear between the fuse’s two contacts) will be the full line voltage. So the higher that rating is the better, everything else being equal. Under normal operating conditions the voltage appearing across fuses having these kinds of ratings will be a very miniscule fraction of a volt. And when the component is turned off the voltage appearing across the fuse will be zero.
HOWEVER, I would disagree with a couple of important things that have been said just above:
1)I would strongly recommend against substituting a fast blow fuse of somewhat higher current rating for a slow blow fuse of somewhat lower current rating. Some time ago, in connection with this thread, I looked at the detailed "melting point" specifications that are provided by the major manufacturers of garden variety fuses. That spec defines the approximate combination of current and time that will cause the fuse to blow (actually, in terms of current squared x time, which is proportional to energy). The upshot is that such a substitution stands an excellent chance of causing the fuse to blow almost immediately. Especially in the case of a mains fuse, where brief but very large "inrush currents" may occur at turn-on.
2)Earlier in the thread there were multiple anecdotal indications that the unspecified melting points of SR fuses are probably a bit lower than those of garden variety fuses having the same current rating (i.e., indications that the SRs blow a bit more readily). And it would seem expectable that in general a fault in a component that would cause a fuse to blow is more likely than not to result in a very large current increase, rather than one that is just slightly greater than the rating of the original fuse. Especially in the case of a mains fuse. So for both of those reasons I would suggest using a 6.3A slow blow in a 6A slow blow application, and an 8A slow blow in a 7A slow blow application. And likewise if an SR fast blow is substituted for a stock fast blow.
It is the melting point (blow point) that determines the amperage. If they blow and the other don't, they're wrongly rated. Do not up the amperage as you don't know what your getting, and your warranty of the equipment will be void as well.
I'm quoting myself from 12/22
As to the blown main amp fuses, SR Elliott is sending 8 amp fuses
because my big amps have a massive pair of capacitors each as opposed to
multiple small caps like most modern amps. He said that the big caps
draw a big instant load and the fuses have to compensate (the SR fuses
are rated for typical loads at 5 amps not my big loads).
I haven't blown a fuse in 15 years in my amps except when a book fell and took out 3 of the top 6 output tubes. My amps have twin 3" wide X 7" high caps, very big for 125 watt tube amps. SR fuses may have different melting points as it has been pointed out in a previous post, the variance in melting points for fuses range as much as 400%. So Littlefuse and Bussman fuses may have high melting points whereas SR may have a low melting point. There maybe even more idiosyncratic characteristics of fuses which I don't know about; however, I feel confident that an 8 amp fuse in my amps won't hurt them by not blowing if another accident occurs.
Goodness lots of the SR fuses blowing. No doubt that cost is figured into the pricing due to all the replacements going out? I have read on various threads at several sites folks blowing there $100+ SR fuses. Replacing a 5 amp fuse with 8 amp? Hope this is not an issue with your gear and design down the road when the fuse may really be needed?
I don't know if I still need to replace the remaining 2 rail fuses in my amp. My system has never sound so good. Like what Frank said, I just don't want to leave home and play one song after another. It doesn't just make sound but it makes MUSIC! Not sure if it was the copper that I stripped off from the outlet, the new SR black outlet or the 2 black fuses that I put into my amp. I will probably take the fuses out once they are fully break in to find out how good the outlet really is. The first day sounded really bright and loud. The second day was worst, vocals sounded horrible. It was like trying to sing when you have a cold. I hate that sound. I expected the break in period to be longer but now it sounds really good already. I am not sure if it will get even better. Also, I thought I was just going to get more bass and better soundstage from what you guys were saying by installing the SR black outlet. I did not expect to get increase details, better dynamics, more 3D sound and most important of all it is more musical now. I have a feeling this effect will get magnified as you add more fuses or other SR devices to your system. Just my 2 cents and I want to go back to listen to music now:)
The best to you and your Mom. She's a very fortunate woman to have a son such as yourself, David. So many children of our advanced Seniors won't expend the time, finances or energy until the time comes when its too late. That's when one of the Universal Laws dawns on them ... and that is that discipline weighs ounces and regret weights tons.
dlcockrum ...
On the SR Atmosphere level III PC's ... They replaced some very highly regarded PC's that were in the system for about five years or so. Initially, the SR's gave an overall improvement. Then, just like the Black fuses, I heard the abnormalities.
I started a thread in the A'gon cable forum regarding the SR Atmosphere PC's. Here's the link:
Since adding the SR Atmosphere PC's to the system, and a few months after attending the Newport show, I acquired a pair of Von Gaylord "Return of The Legend" speaker cables and two Von Gaylord "Return of The Legend" IC's. The combination of the two makes of cables in the system was a real match made in musical heaven.
For those of you not familiar with Ray Leung, the designer of the Von Gaylord products, I can tell you that he's a real gentleman and a genius of a designer. I was completely blown away by the natural tonal balance and the overall sound in his demo room at the show. Here's a link to his site:
These are my experiences and they are real in my system and room. Other’s have stated similar observations with SR’s power products, including Ted Denney III and Eliott Nommensen of SR as well as any reviewer that has written about them.
I have been using SR’s cords, cables, receptacles, and Powercells for about 7 years now and have always found that, when new, they undergo a initial period of sonic unpleasantry before settling in. I always suspected that this was due to the Tesla-coil zapping that started with the Tesla line, but I find that even disturbing the SR active-shielding cords, cables, and MPCs requires an overnight settling period. Made it really tough to compare their different cables and cords during the brief trial period of the "free-loaner" program offered by SR dealers prior to the more recent 30-day money-back trial period offer. I have been told that the new Atmosphere Graphene power cords are even more sensitive. Maybe Frank will write on his experiences with his Atmosphere power cords...
I will say that the effects of the Black fuses were much less pronounced in my amps, both in terms of the break in anomalies as well as their ultimate benefit to my system’s sound. YMMV.
If your amp is SS, it won’t hurt a thing to leave it powered up for a few days.
I’m confident that it all will work out for you either way, but expect that you will hear differences/improvements once the fuses and receptacles are undisturbed for a few days or longer.
dlcockrum I hope what you stated concerning black fuse break-in is not true for me. The first 5 amp pair I used sounded great from 2.5 to 12/13 hours until they blew. I just received 8 amp fuses and played them for 4 hours. They sound great. When you said fourth day, does that mean running your equipment on for four days or 96 hours continuously? I won’t reach running my equipment for that amount of time for maybe 6 weeks. I don’t want to leave my amps on continuously for that long. Based on your comment will I I be suffering bad sound for 5+ weeks or just 4 days?
I did not have that experience with the black duplexes. On one system it sounded good and got better over a week. The other sounded awful to start, mediocre at 30 hours, broken in sounding at 150 hours. As to the Teslaplex SE duplexes, the three I installed sounded great at inception and got somewhat better over time. They never sounded worse over break-in. They were replacing 22 year old medical grade Hubbles.
My goodness what a wonderful Christmas present to read the above posts. First I did get to spend both morning and evening time yesterday with my Mother who turned 93 in November. She recently changed her Synergistic Research Atmosphere Tuning Module from the original Red to the new Green. More detail in sounds such as solo guitar. Chet playing his guitar sounds even better now. The positive effect of a satisfying music system is clearly shown in my Mother's attitude towards aging and dealing with day to day life. She did not become an audiophile until age 88! She often comments on her pre and post audiophile life.
Nyame is absolutely correct about thinking in terms of the whole system. In fact concerning cars, do not forget that as it is important to replace tires as a set, it is also important to routinely get those tires and wheels balanced twice a year. Very similar to periodically cleaning your stereo system's connectors. The household's new Honda Accord did not impress me at speeds above 40 mph. With 5000 miles on the car I had the wheels rebalanced. Wow! It now drives smooth as silk and quiet at 75.
My sincere wish to all who read this thread is to have a satisfying and joyous 2017 and to start that by having a satisfying and joyous today.
Re: SR Black break in, my experience is that they sound glorious when first installed, super punchy and robust bass, excellent dynamics, etc. This is the time to check direction and listen for the more open, focused, and dimensionally-correct soundstage. A few hours later, well, the sound turns dreadful. Wanders all over the place over the next three days (just as Frank says), still brittle and two-dimensional the whole time, but then, on the fourth morning, BAM. Gets even better after that in a more subtle way. Found the same to be true of the SR receptacles, power cords, and Powercell.
fleschler, I use Hollographs in the rear corners (behind me), and agree that they add a bit of image focus and expansiveness to the soundstage when rotated properly. They actually hurt the sound when placed behind my Thiels, as did the HFTs, the latter intolerably bright, but good results in bringing the soundstage forward with no loss of depth when placed at tweeter height behind me. Suspect this is an anomaly specific to my speakers and room.
Well I’m up to 230 hours on my black duplexes. Sounds about the same as yesterday. The is blacker backrounds lowering the noise floor for LPs & 78s in particular. There is better transient response superior highs and tighter bass. The mid-range while cleaner is not tonally different.
The black fuses should increase the positive changes but I remember they brought the mid-range sweetness that I thought was magical like a Mac 30 amp. I should be getting them by Thursday.
a25105. Try reinserting the fuses the other direction. I found that after only 2.5 hours a huge difference. By any chance did your system sound more forward brighter and tonally thinner? That’s what the black duplex also sounded like at the beginning. Try the other direction. I heard a darker fuller more distant sound with great slam detail and warmth. It got slightly better after 12 hours til they blew. It’s possible that it just won’t sound good until they break in. It seems these tweaks are idiosyncratic unlike Hallographs which sound great when placed wherever they should be in the room.
I dont understand why most audiophiles don’t address their listening room adequately or overdampen them while the Hallographs take so much of the work out of creating a closer to optimal listening environment. They are not cheap but less costly than one high end cable. Frank, Robert, Tom Port all rely on them too.
What I really meant was I would pay the seller to break in for me if there is such a service. I would like to know how the device sounds immediately after I inserted it to my system and be able to enjoy it right away if it is good.
Just installed 2 more black fuses to my amp and it sounded horrible. Hate going through the break in process. Will install the black outlet today.
Frank, I was able to hear all the differences at the Newport show but my friend said he could only a couple of those changes. I remember he said he heard no differences about the black box that was sitting on the floor.
I have a "friend" like that too. The last time he heard my system, I had to endure two hours of him telling me how crappy my system sounded. Some folks just have no social filter, I guess. Funny thing is, we both have the same model of speakers. We both use tube electronics throughout our systems. My electronics are the modern variety (ARC) and his consists of Bob Hovland's modified classic stuff (Marantz).
In listening to my "friend's" system, he gets no sound stage to speak of. Everything is presented in a straight plane between his speakers. I hear no depth, nothing on either side of his speakers and no 3-D imaging to speak of at all. I will say though, he gets good clarity and tonal balance.
When he was listening to my system, his main "gripe" was that it was too holographic, and that the holographic part wasn't on the recording at all. He claimed that the deep sound stage, the instruments playing to either side of the speakers and the 3-D imagining were nothing but distortions being caused by my system ... mainly by the ARC electronics.
I kept telling him that what he was hearing was an accurate reproduction of the event. On one of my reference stereo jazz recordings for example, the piano was to the left and behind the sax player. The bass player was to the right and behind the trumpet player. The drum set was slightly to the right and behind the piano player. The musicians were spread out with each one a different distance from each other ... and that's the way the microphones picked up the sound. I even showed him the cover of the album that had a picture of the group in the exact positions replicated to a "tee" by my system. He remained pat in his opinion.
So, here's a guy who's system sounds really good, with excellent clarity ... but kind of uninteresting, telling another guy whose system is amazing (to my ear of course), that his system sucks. Why the difference? I don't get it at all. I guess that's why they make Fords and why they make Chevies.
Frank, Your story about your time at the SR demo in Newport and that guy's sneering reaction reminds me of an old "friend" I used to hang around with back in the day.
I have more than a sneaking suspicion that that sneering guy heard the difference but thought it wasn't enough to justify the cost, just like my friend. He had this cognitive dissonance about hifi and it's costs and the better my systems got, the more angry and distant he became. Some people are just weird that way. Or the guy you spoke to had tin ears.
Nyame, I agree that the more upgrading of fuses in one’s audio system the greater the impact on sound quality. Given the the innate caution or skepticism people have towards fuses(or tweaks in general) most aren’t willing to commit to this degree. I understand that reservation and it’s human nature. People are more comfortable with "try one first and see/hear what happens ". This was my initial approach to using premium quality fuses a few years ago.
If for example someone needs 5 or 6 fuses the cost can rise significantly, the majority of people will reject the "all fuses at once" method. I would have been very hesitant to begin this way in all candor. With 20/20 hindsight the result of entire system of fuse upgrading is now quite apparent. For some folks it’s a challenge to try even a single fuse, so I understand the common question of "where do you place the first fuse".
Factor in the fact that some listeners report no improvement with upgraded fuses and/or lack of "satisfactory " technical explanations and I can appreciate again the dipping toes into the water mindset, It's easy for me to enthusiastically recommend better fuses due to my terrific outcome of having them in my system's components. Charles
I hope you won’t mind if I make one or two minor adjustments to your statement above:
"So, unless everything is addressed from the room itself, to the equipment rack, to footers, to fuses, to tube dampeners, to the furniture in the room, to our listening position, to AC quality, to cabling, to the tow-in of the speakers .... it all makes a difference. So if there are those who haven’t had success, and also haven’t taken the time to address all of the issues listed above, its no wonder they can’t hear the improvement that "INSERT ALMOST ANY AUDIO DEVICE HERE" can ultimately make.
^^^ When Michael Fremer did his factory tour of the Audio Research plant, part of the tour was a visit into ARC's listening room and an interview with ARC's chief listener Warren Gehl.
During Fremer's interview with Warren, Fremer pointed out the cable lifters under the speaker cables. Fremer kind of scoffed and asked Warren if they really worked. Warren's answer was ... "everything works." That's my take ... "everything" is a component including the room itself.
So, unless everything is address from the room itself, to the equipment rack, to footers, to fuses, to tube dampeners, to the furniture in the room, to our listening position, to the tow-in of the speakers .... it all makes a difference. So if there are those who haven't had success with ONE tweak, and also haven't taken the time to address all of the issues listed above, its no wonder they can't hear the improvement that one fuse can make.
This reminds me of last year's Newport show and the demonstration in the Synergistic Research room. Ted Denny played the system with most of the SR tweaks installed. It was as if we were listening to a wall-to-wall Imax theater of sound. It was truly great. Then Ted removed the SR tweaks and played the same music over again. Everything just collapsed. Still good, but not near the room filling sound. Then he brought the tweaks back into the room and everything blossomed again.
The guy sitting next to me turned to me and asked if I could hear any difference. When I said yes, it was night and day, he just kind of gave me a little sneering laugh and said ... "well I didn't hear any change at all." He left me wondering what he was doing at a hifi show. So, it seems that no matter the improvement, there are those who just cannot hear it, or won't admit it. Its one of the great mysteries of the audio hobby, I guess.
This fuse thread has singlehandedly raised the level of expectations
as to what can be achieved on these audiogon forums. Who would have thought that the humble fuse
could attract and hold the attention of so many for so many moons. I certainly didn’t. However, in spite of the
large variety and volume of posts, there is an area which in my opinion has not
been adequately addressed.
It is the concept of seeing the various components in the
chain as a system. The practice of replacing a fuse in the source component
only currently appear to be very popular. Some argue that best results are
obtained by upgrading the power amp. Even members who have many years of
experience in our hobby are guilty of this insular view.
I remember when I purchased my first car. As the tyres started to wear (due to high mileage) I would change
the worst one and wait until one of the othersfailed before replacing it.
After about 5 years I realized it was much better to replace tyres in pairs. I
would put the 2 new ones on the front and leave the remaining 2 partially worn
tires on the rear axle. It took me
another 5 years to finally realize that the way to go was to change all 4 tyres
with 30,000 miles on them. This way provided better performance, was safer and was
more economical. It is what I regard as the system approach.
When I decided on a fuse upgrade (before this fuse thread began),
I upgraded my CD player, Preamp and power amp all at the same time. 2 in the CD
player, 1 one in the preamp and 4 in the power amp. I turned on the system (no
warm up) and was surprised at the level of improvement. There was a massive
increase in fidelity, similar to a major component upgrade. This is what
happens when one treats the entire system.
Upgrading a fuse is effective because it improves the power
supply of the component. It is important to realized that the electrons in the power supply are the very same electrons flowing through your
speaker cable to your loudspeakers. We do not know why fuses have this effect
on a power supply, but we know it does. We
also know that power flows through the entire system and optimum results will
be achieved only when every fuse in the chain has been replaced and the power
is cleaned up. To replace the fuse in one component is like having 4 defective
tyres and replacing only the one that is punctured.
I have read reports by individuals who tried a red or black
fuse in a single component and report that they did not hear any improvement,
or even any change. If you hear no difference your system lacks resolution. It
is as simple as that. I am fairly certain they would hear a significant difference
had they changed all the fuses in their system. On hearing this change they
will be forced to accept the fact that the fuses are an upgrade. Once they get
to this first hurdle (the realization that fuses can improve fidelity), they
can proceed to find the reasons for the lack of resolution.
No connectors are best. High quality connectors are better than average or poor connectors. Few will direct solder like myself, or use the clamping speaker connection suggested, but these are best sonically speaking.
"
Want to hear an improvement on the order of what these high end fuses deliver? Ok, get rid of the binding posts! "
Agreed. But your sentence is not yet complete.
How about " Want to hear an improvement on the order of what these high end fuses deliver? OK get rid of the binding posts AND the RCA input connectors. Replace with higher quality connectors."
I have a friend who does exactly what you suggested with hard-wiring. I haven't heard his system as he lives in Utah and I live in California. But, he tells me about these improvements all the time. In fact, he's the friend who changed out the binding posts on my speakers for a quality set of Cardas copper binding posts. That was a significant improvement right there.
A good quality breaker costs about $40 and replaces the on/off switch that carries its own cost. No, a great quality circuit breaker will not impact the sound any more than a quality power switch.
Another big area for improvement in amps are the binding posts. Want to hear an improvement on the order of what these high end fuses deliver? Ok, get rid of the binding posts! No kidding. I know most won't ever go for this for many reasons, but the improvement is substantial. Ok this is for out of the box designers and builders. Build tube amps/amps with the output transformer leads running out to a nicely designed Teflon post that is built to clamp the tranny leads to the speaker cable. The only role the Teflon or wooden post plays is to clamp! Certainly a professional designer could design such a part that is simple to use and rugged. I use Teflon bolts, nuts and washers to accomplish it. Very notiicable and like all fuses, connectors no matter the cost, all degrade sound. Yes I hard wire my power cord and ICs to my DIY tube amp for best sound:)
^^^ Octopus sauce? Sounds like a rustic Italian dish to me. Man, I love Italian food. I always add a few anchovie fillets to my basic tomato sauces to improve depth. You can't detect the anchovies, but its a great "secret" ingredient.
Hope you have a terrific family dinner tonight. :-)
@oregonpapa 1) Thanks for the welcome and advice. 2) I was only gonna try it for a few minutes. ;^) 3) Don't tell my insurance company!
Happy Holidays! I'm listening to the Harry Belafonte Christmas CD as I cook Octopus sauce for a generations old traditional Italian Christmas Eve feast. Now moving on to stuffing the shrimp.
Not a good idea using a solid copper plug in place of a fuse ... especially if your fire insurance isn't up to date, or if you can't afford new equipment to replace burned out circuits.
As a newbie, if I wanted to try a premium fuse to see if I can hear an improvement, where would be the place to start - with source components, pre-amp, or amp? Or maybe I could try removing the fuses and closing the circuit with copper temporarily to test. Would that make sense?
Bill, am I correct that it must cost the manufactor more money to install a high quality on/off switch circuit breakers vs the instillation of fuses. If that's the case now much more would the high quality on/off switch circuit breakers cost a manufactor?
True Charles, but on the one topic of fuses in amp design I would like to see more effort in their elimination. Status quo seems to rule the day in amp design with fuses. BTW it is very easy to mod most existing amps to eliminate the fuse with an on/off breaker switch.
I can accept the concept of sound quality hierarchy of no fuse-premium fuse-standard fuse infuse in that order. Its become clear to me that based on listening, the fuse seems to be a bottleneck in terms of sound quality. The upgrade fuses in my components simply and consistently improved the sound.
If I were to ever commission the building of custom components from scratch I’d go with a circuit breaker. In the here and now with my current components I’m very happy with upgrade quality fuses. It "may" be an advantage that my components require only one fuse as opposed to several/multiple fuses per component. I do believe however that this is just one variable among numerous others that affect the sound. I've heard components with fuses that sound as good or better than those that eschew them. So many factors determine the final sound quality of audio products. Audio is fascinating. Charles
I have shared this before and want to bring it up again as it is a topic that is very interesting to me. The designer of Tube Research Labs equipment taught me fuses, all fuses, degrade sound no matter the audiophile brand. He never put fuses in his highly regarded tube amps and preamps. He built his gear with high quality on/off switch circuit breakers. I now do this as a mod to my tube gear for the best possible fuse - no fuse. This seems like such an obvious design idea and I am floored more do not adopt it. I can tell you from experience the breaker worked wonderfully on two occasions when needed and the amp simply turned off.
The sound of no fuse is superior to all fuses regardless of the cost. Remember the cheap contacts and holders that secure those fuses also impact the sound. Paul of TRL always bucked conventional thinking in his designs and was a brilliant designer. This small design idea coupled with many, many others made for exceptional sounding gear.
Thank you so much for your wonderful post. You've made my day. Very humbling, I must say. :-)
It's been really nice to share the things that work in my system with fellow hobbyists, especially those folks who actually take the time and go through the expense of actually trying the suggestions. Its satisfying when other's get great results from these suggestions as well. This thread has turned out to be an excellent vehicle for that sharing.
Its all about getting us closer to the music we love so much.
This is such an interesting hobby where under normal circumstances its so expensive to attain significant improvements ... the kind of improvements that would usually take a major equipment upgrade, that when you find a simple tweak like a fuse for 120 bucks, people need to know about it. That's my take, anyway. The friends made along the way? ... well, that's a super bonus.
I want to wish everyone who has participated in this tread a very Merry Christmas.
I would would also like to convey my best wishes to David Pritchard and his dear mother. David, along with Charles 1dad, were two of the foundation stones on which this thread was built.
I always found David's recommendations to be 100% accurate and because of two of these recommendations I was able to make worthwhile improvements to my system in 2016.
His first recommendation was the SR grounding block which worked wonders in my system. His second recommendation was the SR black A/C receptacle which I installed about 6 weeks ago.
Absolutely agree with Dave and Charles. Thanks to Frank who started this thread that let us learn about different tweaks that can be apply to our systems. Even though some of these things are system dependent and might not work for you but he still treated everyone with respect here. He is always here to answer your questions when you need him. Last but not least, who doesn't enjoy chatting with others who have the common interest as yourself? Happy holidays and happy listening to you all!
Hi Dicockrum, That was a very nice (and accurate) acknowledgement concerning Frank. I agree that the outreach and response involving many participants of this thread is an overwhelming sucess. We have improved the sound of our audio systems with the excellent Black fuses and have delightfully made new friends. The sharing of information regarding numerous recordings and exposure to new/unfamiliar musicians is but one wonderful byproduct due to this terrific thread. Thanks again Frank. Merry Christmas to you all. Charles
150 hours on my smaller living room system. It sounds so musical and non-audiophile (as in high end systems at audio shows). The Signature IIIs highs are now totally integrated with the rest of the frequency spectrum. The rear tweeter always (15 years) stood out and sounded a bit hissy. Not now. It doesn't have the tweaks or isolation transformers, Hallographs or Stillpoints of my main system. I ordered the black fuse for it. This system is just so satisfying that I didn't think about the missing the large room sound, additional ambience and detail of the main room. Plus, the living room is a better sound room and the sound radiates beautifully throughout the front end of the house. All this from a couple of duplexes, black and red.
As to the blown main amp fuses, SR Elliott is sending 8 amp fuses because my big amps have a massive pair of capacitors each as opposed to multiple small caps like most modern amps. He said that the big caps draw a big instant load and the fuses have to compensate (the SR fuses are rated for typical loads at 5 amps not my big loads). He also said he heard many stories concerning the idiosyncrasies of the black duplexes and fuses although my situation is rather unique. If David Prichard finds success in mixing duplexes and I've done the same in my living room system., I can do the same in my main system although that has separate 20 amp dedicated power lines rather than share the same power line as in my living room.
I want to congratulate you and thank you for a wonderful thread that has brought many a new satisfaction with their audio experience.
The one year anniversary of this thread came and went with no fanfare, but I encourage you to review the entire thread as I did over the last two days and appreciate what you have done here for the many audiophiles that have found great success by simply trying these products and, even more impressively, graciously acknowledging the virtues of the feedback from those that did not.
You have endured the personal ridicule of flat-earthers, atheist, and those insatiably intent on ruining the pleasure and enthusiasm of others (often the three are of one mind and one voice) with grace and dignity in order to share your genuine experience with an audio product that you feel deeply about. All because, and only because, you care enough to put yourself on the line to bring new and great products to light.
Again, thank you very much for your contribution here and I wish you a very Merry Christmas and a blessed New Year.
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