Audiophile Fuses
- Thread starter MylesBAstor
- Start date
I have a Yellow and I don’t think it is cold nor over detailed at all. I don’t regret my money at all. Changes in sound quality are obvious, and I don’t like the cold over detailed thing, but I won’t climb the fuse mountain or I’ll climb it slowly because every two years or so there’s a new one, better and more expensive.
Could someone who has tried both QSA and SR fuses kindly share some insights on how the different models compare / rank? I have a new amplifier here with no fewer than 4 fuses and would be loathe to spend more than say $200 on what is ultimately a sacrificial component. Not least of all after the customary mad nos tube buying frenzy that I typically embark on when buying a new item…..
@orengonpapa did on another forum. I think he is honest but a bit biased toward SR, even if maybe he didn’t realized it yet. 
There is the natural warmth of acoustic instruments and voices which I want to hear my system reproduce. There is added (artificial) warmth which some components and cables feature which tends to romanticize everything, obscuring nuances and detail. And then there is "neutral" which is supposed to neither add nor subtract anything from the signal. In practice however I find many components/cables described as "neutral" to lack or subtract the natural warmth of music so that string and woodwind instruments for example sound more metallic and less like wood. A pet pieve of mine is the Rhodium plating on many connectors which to my ears often drains much of that natural warmth and imparts a cooler, more clinical than natural sound. I've herd "neutral" and artificially warm solid state amplification, but have yet to hear amplification without tubes somewhere in the chain that fully reproduces the natural warmth of music. In my system at least the SR Orange fuses maintain that natural warmth, while the Acme Silver ones do not. Haven't tried the SR Purple or Quantum Science fuses yet.
A very sad reply on your part. If you had time to type your response above then you could have easily explained in one or two sentences what each means to you. We are all in pursuit of the best sound we can find. We can always learn new or even old terms.
@Willgolf I think it's something that can't be described in text or given a dictionary definition, but has to be experienced in person by hearing contrasting tonalities.
That said, I played classical piano on a good piano for nearly a decade as a child and have attended hundreds, if not more, live performances over the decades in a wide variety of venues and sound qualities. So the warmth of most acoustical instruments and good sound set up are something that is effectively inbred, just like the adult skier's instincts built on having started when they were two come naturally. Beyond that, each of our hearing is different. Some people prefer what's often tonally called "neutral," which is typically associated with very high levels of clarity and detail. That's not necessarily because they prefer a "live" in-front-of-the-stage sound, but because that's how their hearing works. For those people, it's not a criticism, just one of the realities of life. That's why I and others keep saying, to each their tastes.
That said, I played classical piano on a good piano for nearly a decade as a child and have attended hundreds, if not more, live performances over the decades in a wide variety of venues and sound qualities. So the warmth of most acoustical instruments and good sound set up are something that is effectively inbred, just like the adult skier's instincts built on having started when they were two come naturally. Beyond that, each of our hearing is different. Some people prefer what's often tonally called "neutral," which is typically associated with very high levels of clarity and detail. That's not necessarily because they prefer a "live" in-front-of-the-stage sound, but because that's how their hearing works. For those people, it's not a criticism, just one of the realities of life. That's why I and others keep saying, to each their tastes.
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Agree - it is subjective. I also took lessons/played classical piano for a decade or so as a child, and am particularly sensitive to the reproduction of piano tone. Whenever I audition equipment at an audio show or dealer I always take several piano recordings. My experience has been that if a component reproduces natural (to my ears) piano tone it tends to get the rest right.
@orengonpapa did on another forum. I think he is honest but a bit biased toward SR, even if maybe he didn’t realized it yet.
Where? I’m familiar with his SR Orange review, but not comparisons with QSA.
50 pages devoted to can a fuse have a sonic signature. I can not comprehend how a fuse could not have a sonic signature. Everything has s sonic signature. Especially a link device based upon dissimilar metals and pressure contacts. It has to have an impact. It can not be inert.
I believe he liked the QSA yellow better than the SR orange. However, when he got the new demo SR purple in his mind it was right and day difference versus the QSA yellow. It should be noted that SR is providing him fuses for review. I don't think there is skin in the game.
Where? I did a search on WBF for his name and only got this thread, but I know he had a thread of his own somewhere.
The thread was taken down by Audiogon. Even Frank was not sure why. It could be because some people believed he may have been purposely promoting SR's new fuse but not really sure.
If you want more information and many comparisons between SR and QSA try the QSA thread under misc on Audiogon.
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