Audiophile Fuses

[bazelio]

My experience was quite the opposite. Swapping a Blue for a Black fuse in my Spectral preamp reduced the noise floor and improved the speed of transients - across the board. One of the best moves I’ve made. I intend to swap in Blue fuses for the rest of my gear at some point.

Your experience is not the opposite as I have not tried a Black fuse at all. I only compared the Blue to my stock amplifier fuse. Your experience only tells me the Black fuse creates even more damping than the Blue. I'll cross the Black off my list as well.

 

[bazelio]

Take a look at my review of the AM Ultimate beeswax vs. SR Blue on page 54 and see if there’s anything there that works for you. I use the Ultimate in a PS Audio DirectStream and a P15, and await a pair for ATC active speakers. If they turn out to be of interest, a search online will turn up best pricing. I’m not aware of anyone allowing retuns on those, though.

No returns on a $200+ fuse is pretty rough.

 

[highstream]

Yes, one of the pitfalls of audio is not all auditions are free. Helps keep the second hand market abuzz. I took about a 33% loss on my SR Blue, but gained some knowledge that is and will save money in the long run.

 

[ddk]

The final verdict for me with an SR Blue fuse in my EAR 890 is ..... I still prefer the stock fuse and I've requested an RMA for the SR Blue.

The SR Blue was run in for at least 500 hours all told in my fuse burner and the final A/B testing vs stock revealed to me that burn in *did* matter but the end result was simply not to my liking. In summary, the SR Blue produces what can best be described as a more damped sound vs the stock fuse. On the plus side, the nominal noise floor is certainly reduced. However, overall extension, micro-dynamics (perhaps most notably), and subtle textures (think of dragging a guitar pick across the strings, etc) have suffered. Reverb and decay are still muted by the SR Blue, which results in what some *might* consider a more focused soundstage, but to me sounds less natural, less room filling. You are left with these sort of voids or dead spots between instruments particularly in smaller jazz arrangements where, with the stock fuse, the cymbal decay or horn ambience in the recording venue will fill them in.

It was an interesting experiment. I'm glad I tried it, as I'd have always wondered if I hadn't. But, no, the SR Blue is not a keeper. Not for me.

Other final thoughts:

1. The effect of the fuse is much less significant than the effect of different power cords. By the end, the A/B listening between uses isn't an immediate "WOW" effect. I had to sort of "catch on" to the changes over the course of 15 minutes or so, but once I did, then I couldn't unhear them. Whereas, in the beginning before burn in, the SR Blue was immediately worse.
2. The SR Blue does seem directional, believe it or not. For me, there was a "more damped" direction and a "less damped" direction. But neither were suitable as both were too deleterious.

EDIT: I have a strong suspicion that Beeswax fuses also have a damping effect, which likely wouldn't be to my liking. I'm fairly uninterested in testing other audiophile fuse memes at this point, but never say never.

The basic do nothing powercords you’re using allow you to easily hear the scary side effects of such tweaks that some with audiophile cords might go for to compensate for colorations of their powercords. It’s a rabbit hole!

david

 

[kennyb123]

Your experience is not the opposite as I have not tried a Black fuse at all. I only compared the Blue to my stock amplifier fuse. Your experience only tells me the Black fuse creates even more damping than the Blue. I'll cross the Black off my list as well.

I’ve used 3 different audiophile fuses in my Spectral preamp, in this order: HiFi-Tuning Supreme, SR Black, SR Blue. The Supreme was a massive improvement over the stock fuse. There were improvements in qualities Spectral is known for: transparency and speed. The stock fuse had clearly been restraining the goodness my preamp was capable of bringing forth.

The Black proved to be even more transparent than the Supreme. Again transparency and speed improved.

This repeated again with the Blue, which was stunning to me given how much things had improved with the Black. I’m guessing the Blue is as close as one can get to no fuse, but I imagined that was the case with the Black and yet SR still found a way to significantly improve on it.

It’s my view that the Blue allows one to better hear what their component truly sounds like. So if one is hearing a dulling of transients with it, then they are most likely better hearing what this component sounds like - and maybe the stock fuse was adding a coloration that is being missed. Stock fuses are crap and should have no place in a high end audio component.

 

[spiritofmusic]

Ha, I took the plunge on 18 fuses, and at the reduced end-of-line prices, that made the Blacks a palatable proposition re total outlay, the Blues too pricey.
I’m enjoying the Blacks so much I have no compulsion to visit the Blues.

 

[kennyb123]

I just swapped Blue fuses for the Black fuses in my Spectral amp. Even with less than 24 hours on them I can say they were worth every penny. I don’t think that saying that a veil has been removed comes close to describing what has occurred. It’s more about every note and beat being more aligned with where it should be musically. There’s just a greater rightness and ease at not having to work to hear what’s going on. It’s as if my amp is able to be quicker, more effortless and more precise.

 

[Ron Resnick]

. . . It’s more about every note and beat being more aligned with where it should be. . . .

What in the world does this mean? Please explain.

 

[kennyb123]

What in the world does this mean? Please explain.

There’s greater coherency in timing and spatial positioning. I can hear more clearly when contact is made - and more clearly hear the resultant natural decay. It’s more right in the sense that there had been some smearing/blurring/veiling previously. Even with synthetic instruments, starts and stops are clearer and more precise with greater separation and delimitation. This helps to more clearly convey what the musicians are doing.

I appreciate you challenging me on this as it’s really hard to explain. I just keep hearing this greater coherency that brings about this sense that I’m hearing a more precise reproduction of how these instruments are supposed to fill the space.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Interesting. Thank you.

 

[bazelio]

The overdamped sound of the Blue fuse could be interpreted as greater precision, I suppose. I simply heard less ambience, particularly in terms of decay, blunted transients, and less texture vs stock. It added up to less believability. And it's a guess on both of our parts, but I don't buy the notion that the Blue is providing a clearer window in to the sound of a component. Because, intuitively, it seems to me that if this were the case then the Blue would not be directional. After all, then which direction is more true to the innate character of my component? How can anyone possibly know? We can't. We're supposed to pick the direction we prefer the most as per Synergistic Research.

 

[kennyb123]

I simply heard less ambience, particularly in terms of decay, blunted transients, and less texture vs stock. It added up to less believability.

Completely opposite outcome in my case. The improvements each each of these areas has actually been taking my breath away. I could not be happier with the benefits of going from Black to Blue.

And it's a guess on both of our parts, but I don't buy the notion that the Blue is providing a clearer window in to the sound of a component. Because, intuitively, it seems to me that if this were the case then the Blue would not be directional. After all, then which direction is more true to the innate character of my component? How can anyone possibly know? We can't. We're supposed to pick the direction we prefer the most as per Synergistic Research.

Odd logic. That some report Blue to be directional doesn't seem to dispute my assertion that Blue provides a clearer window relative to stock fuses (or relative to the Black and Red fuses). I base this on my own experience of swapping in these fuses. And also on the reports of friends with good ears who have experimented with these as well.

 

[bazelio]

Completely opposite outcome in my case. The improvements each each of these areas has actually been taking my breath away. I could not be happier with the benefits of going from Black to Blue.

As I said, my comparison was stock to Blue. Not Black to Blue. The Black fuse must be subpar.

Odd logic. That some report Blue to be directional doesn't seem to dispute my assertion that Blue provides a clearer window relative to stock fuses (or relative to the Black and Red fuses). I base this on my own experience of swapping in these fuses. And also on the reports of friends with good ears who have experimented with these as well.

It's actually pretty simple IMO: The Blue asserts itself on the sound. This is audible by simply reversing the direction of the fuse. [SARCASM] But hey, maybe I should obtain some of stock fuses from my equipment manufacturer, glue some opaque paper to the glass, and sell them for $100 each. That'd be a heck of a bargain, since they out perform the Blues, right? [/SARCASM]

 

[kennyb123]

As I said, my comparison was stock to Blue. Not Black to Blue. The Black fuse must be subpar.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts on the Black, which you've never tried. You've certainly helped those deciding whether to try these fuses to better understand how much weight to put on your impressions.

 

[barrows]

The overdamped sound of the Blue fuse could be interpreted as greater precision, I suppose. I simply heard less ambience, particularly in terms of decay, blunted transients, and less texture vs stock. It added up to less believability. And it's a guess on both of our parts, but I don't buy the notion that the Blue is providing a clearer window in to the sound of a component. Because, intuitively, it seems to me that if this were the case then the Blue would not be directional. After all, then which direction is more true to the innate character of my component? How can anyone possibly know? We can't. We're supposed to pick the direction we prefer the most as per Synergistic Research.

Actually untrue, we can easily "know". The most interesting comparison will be the sound of the Blue fuse vs. the sound of no fuse at all. This is quite easy to accomplish as a listening test. Bypass the fuse by placing a copper tube of 5 mm OD in the fuse holder. This is the only test which will compare the sound of the fuse vs. no fuse at all, and reveal the true sound of the component without any fuse.
Of course you may not want to keep the bypass in place indefinitely, for safety reasons, but for short term testing there is virtually no risk in doing so, unless you think an internal failure of the component is likely at any second...

 

[Uk Paul]

Does any one here have any experience with Verictum fuses from Poland yet?

 

[Sablon Audio]

Does any one here have any experience with Verictum fuses from Poland yet?

Audiophile Bill tried them a couple of years ago but iirc preferred SR Black

 

[Uk Paul]

Thanks, I have some here and so far they seem very good, but I have not used SR here at all so can't compare, maybe Bill can add his thought's?

 

[bazelio]

Actually untrue, we can easily "know". The most interesting comparison will be the sound of the Blue fuse vs. the sound of no fuse at all. This is quite easy to accomplish as a listening test. Bypass the fuse by placing a copper tube of 5 mm OD in the fuse holder. This is the only test which will compare the sound of the fuse vs. no fuse at all, and reveal the true sound of the component without any fuse.
Of course you may not want to keep the bypass in place indefinitely, for safety reasons, but for short term testing there is virtually no risk in doing so, unless you think an internal failure of the component is likely at any second...

But then we'll just start rolling copper tubes and talking about their differences... OFC, OCC, cryo treated... The horror.

 

[Audiocrack]

I inserted the AM ultimate beeswax SHD fuse in my Kondo g-1000 linestage about two weeks ago. No sound I am afraid; the new fuse apparently blew up immediately. A new one is underway so still hope to be able ro report my findings later on.