Audiophile Fuses
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
I would like to think so. Technically it is, but everyone seems to think 2-channel is speakers.
I've never heard that distinction before.
Stereo listening, whether headphones of speakers, has always been 2 channel, as far as what I've always heard. And I post on quite a few forums, belong to the largest audiophile society in the world, attend several audio shows per year, visit brick and mortar stores, etc.
The only thing I've ever heard of not being considered 2 channel, is systems with more than 2 channels: home theater, surround, quad, etc.
I'll have to pay more attention to new terminology. I don't want to find myself talking past anyone.
Hi Simon,
Maybe in my part of the world it is such. Anyway, I don't really bother with all this terminolgies. I just enjoy my music, call it whichever way you want is what I'd say to all. LOL. Happy listening.
This fuse from Synergistic Research, the Orange model, really takes time to be completely stable, and I still don't know if it really is, despite more than 500 hours of operation. Its behavior, from the first moments until at least five days ago changed a lot and frequently, going from presentations with a very high-pitched, shiny and disembodied sound, which prevented me from using the Valhalla XLR at risk to pierce the eardrums, even another with a very closed sound and very present low frequencies. The first five days were critical, and the changes were daily and constant. I even suspected that the quality of the energy was varying, instead of the sound of the fuse (and the rest of the system). However, as the hours passed, the behavior stabilized, the songs lost their excessive brightness, gaining body and sound mass, intensity, balance, until the sound returned to what it was before (with the $0,30 fuse), but with more detail, focus, wider soundstage and better defined spatial image. I believe that the extremes were the points where there was more improvement with the entry of this fuse. The bass definition is remarkable, and the treble setting is fantastic for what I were used to. The midfielders were not left out, but I found the improvement less noticeable.
The entry of Orange optimized features that don't have much value to me, but the fact that it brought everything I described without changing the timbre, the balance, the harmonic body and, with that, the substance of the music, makes it a beautiful upgrade. This is because, being what seems to me a device that doesn't interfere harshly in the general sound, it raises the level of the equipment in which it is and, therefore, it doesn't fail to bring an effective improvement. And, as I bought in the "buy 2, take 3" promotion, it cost close to $100.00, which, for the price standards I'm used to, is something very cheap and excellent cost-benefit, but without completely transforming a system. It improves, it doesn't correct.
Since I left SaxSoul's fuses, to never return, I've completely lost my references, so unfortunately I cannot say how Orange behaves in Ayre alongside other fuses, such as Hi-Fi Tuning, Furutech and others of audio grade pattern.
The entry of Orange optimized features that don't have much value to me, but the fact that it brought everything I described without changing the timbre, the balance, the harmonic body and, with that, the substance of the music, makes it a beautiful upgrade. This is because, being what seems to me a device that doesn't interfere harshly in the general sound, it raises the level of the equipment in which it is and, therefore, it doesn't fail to bring an effective improvement. And, as I bought in the "buy 2, take 3" promotion, it cost close to $100.00, which, for the price standards I'm used to, is something very cheap and excellent cost-benefit, but without completely transforming a system. It improves, it doesn't correct.
Since I left SaxSoul's fuses, to never return, I've completely lost my references, so unfortunately I cannot say how Orange behaves in Ayre alongside other fuses, such as Hi-Fi Tuning, Furutech and others of audio grade pattern.
Felipe, Blue58's SR Blue fuses took a few hundred hrs to sound of their best. What a torture test!
With the 19 fuses I have in my system, I cannot really face that, so have stuck w my Blacks.
And at the rate SR replace their top models, the 500 hrs needed to burn in means the moment that's done, the new top color fuse is launched Lol.
With the 19 fuses I have in my system, I cannot really face that, so have stuck w my Blacks.
And at the rate SR replace their top models, the 500 hrs needed to burn in means the moment that's done, the new top color fuse is launched Lol.
I started one Orange in an active Quad speaker on my desktop for two weeks, thinking it would be close to ready when put in a preamp in my living room setup. But there it took almost another two weeks for it to really jell, open up, and that seemed to come out of the blue. Based on that, I put the other two in a Lampi TRP dac and Paul Hynes SR4 LPS a few days ago.
The trick has been figuring out the right direction with each, SR instructions notwithstanding. With the dac and preamp, it’s seemed fairly obvious: one direction sounds somewhat contained, the other much more open and relaxed, even when new. The LPS, which is feeding an iFi spdif iPurifier between Oppo and dac, is trickier. Perhaps that’s because its influence is once or twice removed. One direction seems smoother amd more relaxed, while the other seem more precise and forward, though more screechy. The strange thing is that the screechy direction is the one that an ohm tester shows as continuous, i.e. the direction of flow. Which means that a second of the three Oranges was mislabeled. Btw, there’s an interesting thread on PS Audio forums about fuse directionality — https://forum.psaudio.com/t/current-flow-fuse-direction/15203/31.
The trick has been figuring out the right direction with each, SR instructions notwithstanding. With the dac and preamp, it’s seemed fairly obvious: one direction sounds somewhat contained, the other much more open and relaxed, even when new. The LPS, which is feeding an iFi spdif iPurifier between Oppo and dac, is trickier. Perhaps that’s because its influence is once or twice removed. One direction seems smoother amd more relaxed, while the other seem more precise and forward, though more screechy. The strange thing is that the screechy direction is the one that an ohm tester shows as continuous, i.e. the direction of flow. Which means that a second of the three Oranges was mislabeled. Btw, there’s an interesting thread on PS Audio forums about fuse directionality — https://forum.psaudio.com/t/current-flow-fuse-direction/15203/31.
Tell me about it Felipe,
I almost threw the Orange fuse out. It's taking such a long time to burn in and the sound keeps changing at such a fast rate. I'm peservering though. Hope by some miracle it opens up sooner. The potential is there though.
The only fuse I have in the system is the one on the Ayre QB-9. I made sure to install it on the correct side (indicated on the card that came with the fuse) and put it on. But, as Ayre is connected 24/7, the burn-in period was relatively quick. Even so, there were times when listening with the Nordost Valhalla XLR was impossible, as the treble went too far and hurt the ears. Over time this became normal and the fuse gained a splendid balance. I'd like to try this fuse with beeswax that they talk about so much, but in Brazil it would come at a very high price.
SR is highly adept at marketing. All companies requires a continuous roll out of new products in order to grow, and who better than audiophiles to take advantage of due to our continual cravings for the next great thing? My guess however, is that you can take any of their current fuses, take them to McDonald's, have Ronald McDonald bless them, and call it a new model. I seriously doubt any new model would be significantly different in a meaningful way from their current line. You're better off taking a magic marker and put a new color on your fuses and voilà, you too now have a new model! Please excuse my skepticism, but SR is the poster child for these sorts of marketing ploys. As they say, YMMV.
Doubt is not evidence, just trolling (in this context). I tried the SR Blue back when it came out and after a few hundred hours burnin was ready to toss the stereo system out the window for how tonally cool and emotionally uninviting it was. I couldn't sell it fast enough. Instead, I went with the Audio Magic Ultimate beeswax, which is much the opposite. Now, with the Orange it's exactly the opposite, with all the good things of the Blue plus some warmth. I don't feel the need to go for the 50% more expensive AM Ultimate in some new gear, although I'll probably make a comparison if I come across another.
IMHO anyone who posts on fuse threads should clearly state their fuse religious status - believer, non believer or agnostic.
I am currently in the agnostic field, as I fear to use non specified fuses in my expensive equipment and as such do not feel motivated to carry fuse listening tests. However, considering I am a power cable believer I can find many technical reasons why a fuse can affect sound quality - the fuse is much more susceptible to electrical variations than the power cable. However our eyes and audiophile mind are tailored to size, not to microphysics, and we find difficult to accept that such a small element can make a difference.
I am currently in the agnostic field, as I fear to use non specified fuses in my expensive equipment and as such do not feel motivated to carry fuse listening tests. However, considering I am a power cable believer I can find many technical reasons why a fuse can affect sound quality - the fuse is much more susceptible to electrical variations than the power cable. However our eyes and audiophile mind are tailored to size, not to microphysics, and we find difficult to accept that such a small element can make a difference.
Sounds more skeptic than agnostic. Yours is a fair question though. The best antidote is a listen, which for 30 days, most of which will be needed for burn in, can be had for the price of shipping from Highend Electronics or the Cable Co., unless someone has an extra to loan.
Regarding fuses I agree completely with @ack.
Some years ago I removed all fuses inside the cases and replaced the internal mains wiring from the mains inlet to the transformer with AWG 11.
I had no single issue and never looked back.
Much more PRAT, slam, dynamics, the maximum undistorted volume is much higher, simply more fun
Matt
Some years ago I removed all fuses inside the cases and replaced the internal mains wiring from the mains inlet to the transformer with AWG 11.
I had no single issue and never looked back.
Much more PRAT, slam, dynamics, the maximum undistorted volume is much higher, simply more fun
Matt
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Hope you have the system well fused on the way to the gear you rewired. The mod to my Oppo 203 removed its fuse, but otherwise I have a regenerator in the path to everything. One never knows...
All I can say is that other than the preamp (where the difference was marginal, ironic really despite more fuses needed), upgrading stock to SR Black has been highly productive and I wouldn't go back.
But I also have sufficient willpower to not feel obliged to go Blue or Orange. Esp since I object to such a short time gap from Blue to Orange. Love the SR sound, hate the SR marketing.
But I also have sufficient willpower to not feel obliged to go Blue or Orange. Esp since I object to such a short time gap from Blue to Orange. Love the SR sound, hate the SR marketing.
Yes, I have.
When I am traveling even for a weekend I switch the system completely off.
Matt
I must have had one or two power cuts per week in the 2 years I've been running my gear using 19 SR fuses. Not one has ever blown. It does help I run a powerful balanced transformer that maybe provides an extra level of protection, and I did upgrade whole house breaker to 100A.
Still, fingers crossed, no blown SRs yet.
Still, fingers crossed, no blown SRs yet.
From my records and what I find online, the Black came out in the latter half of 2015, the Blue came out in late summer or early fall 2017 and the Orange came out in fall 2019. Two years may be annoying for those of us invested in a tweak, but it doesn't seem a particularly short turnover given the nature of the product, as opposed to a full scale component model. And to SR's credit, the retail price of the Orange went up only $10 over what the Blue had been. I'm glad for the SR Orange, as it is saving me money vs. AM Ultimates with some newer gear.
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