Who’s up for a $2800 fuse?

[highstream]

The Synergistic Research (SR) Purple fuse is the best sounding fuse I've had in my system. It is significantly better than the QSA Yellow fuse in the application I chose for testing (Modwright PS 9.0 Power Supply). While both are more resolving and articulate than the SR Orange and AHP fuses I had used previously, the QSA Yellow has a cool, clinical sonic signature, and is bright on some recordings. The SR Purple by contrast is balanced (never bright), and has a naturally (not excessively) warm sonic signature. I'm done.

My tastes seem similar to Cellcbern’s: I value a degree of warmth as a starting point. That’s why i found the SR Blue unlistenable and the Orange a great improvement (I haven’t heard the Purple). My question is, Going up the QSA line, such as to the Purple and Red, is there some warmth, or are they more refined versions of cool or neutral? Thanks,

 

[2glory]

The Red is about 30% better than the purple. The SR purple is on par with the QSA violet. Ted hit a HR with the purple.

I don’t find the yellow cool or bright at all.

 

[highstream]

My question is, Are the purple and red warm or not? A cool or neutral fuse is not better than an OEM fuse to me.

 

[2glory]

neither are cool or warm. They both unleash your components DNA to hear them better. The Red does it way better.’

 

[highstream]

So “neutral?” All components are intentionally designed for tonality, among other characteristics. The idea that a component is pure pass through, as some reviewers like to say, is nonsense, something they couldn't possibly know.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

My tastes seem similar to Cellcbern’s: I value a degree of warmth as a starting point. That’s why i found the SR Blue unlistenable and the Orange a great improvement (I haven’t heard the Purple). My question is, Going up the QSA line, such as to the Purple and Red, is there some warmth, or are they more refined versions of cool or neutral? Thanks,

Wow, I use the SR blue on both my amps to great effect. It is warmer and smoother sounding than the SR black. I tried an SR Orange but it sounded both more open, detailed and brighter. I stuck with the SR blue. Same with the SR blue duplex outlet. Love the SR blue. The SR black duplex was noisier/hashier with lower volume/loudness than the SR blue. I did not try the SR orange duplex.

 

[highstream]

Wow, I use the SR blue on both my amps to great effect. It is warmer and smoother sounding than the SR black. I tried an SR Orange but it sounded both more open, detailed and brighter. I stuck with the SR blue. Same with the SR blue duplex outlet. Love the SR blue. The SR black duplex was noisier/hashier with lower volume/loudness than the SR blue. I did not try the SR orange duplex.

I agree that the SR Orange is a little on the bright side up top, at least compared to the Audio Magic Ultimate Premier, but from what I understand it was designed to be warmer than the Blue, with a lower end bump, as OregonPapa put it in his thread initiating review on Audiogon. To me, the Blue’s effects were aggravating, making me want to throw my system out the window. Instead, I sold the fuses and replaced them at the time with AM Ultimates. The Orange was a breath of fresh air and an improvement over the Ultimates. I filled the system with Oranges, until picking up three AM’s on sale recently (there’s now a new version called Commander, at $300). I’m interested in getting a straight forward answer(s) about the QSA Purple and Red’s degree of warmth or not, since the price of admission is extraordinarily high.

 

[SeagoatLeo]

I agree that the SR Orange is a little on the bright side up top, at least compared to the Audio Magic Ultimate Premier, but from what I understand it was designed to be warmer than the Blue, with a lower end bump, as OregonPapa put it in his thread initiating review on Audiogon. To me, the Blue’s effects were aggravating, making me want to throw my system out the window. Instead, I sold the fuses and replaced them at the time with AM Ultimates. The Orange was a breath of fresh air and an improvement over the Ultimates. I filled the system with Oranges, until picking up three AM’s on sale recently (there’s now a new version called Commander, at $300). I’m interested in getting a straight forward answer(s) about the QSA Purple and Red’s degree of warmth or not, since the price of admission is extraordinarily high.

Well, we obviously have different equipment since I have SR blue in 3 amps (2 systems) and they all sound GREAT! Smoother, more open and warmer sounding than the SR Black and SR Orange. The SR Orange sounds worse than the standard cheap fuse in an EAR 864 my friend has. My late belated friend Frank Pernice (Oregonpapa), never met a tweek he didn't try and like. He got sample SR fuses and always replaced the older versions with new ones. His system had so many Perfect Path Technology products (pasted everything, Omega-E Mats, boxes, plugs, etc) that he had a way too smooth system with very irregular frequency response. It was pleasant and he liked it, which is what counts. We shared music (he had great taste) together with my and his friends (mutual) but preferred our audio systems.

 

[Cellcbern]

Well, we obviously have different equipment since I have SR blue in 3 amps (2 systems) and they all sound GREAT! Smoother, more open and warmer sounding than the SR Black and SR Orange. The SR Orange sounds worse than the standard cheap fuse in an EAR 864 my friend has. My late belated friend Frank Pernice (Oregonpapa), never met a tweek he didn't try and like. He got sample SR fuses and always replaced the older versions with new ones. His system had so many Perfect Path Technology products (pasted everything, Omega-E Mats, boxes, plugs, etc) that he had a way too smooth system with very irregular frequency response. It was pleasant and he liked it, which is what counts. We shared music (he had great taste) together with my and his friends (mutual) but preferred our audio systems.

My experience has been different. The SR Orange is the most natural sounding and musical fuse I've used. The new SR Purple however surpasses it in all parameters and bests the clinical to bright QSA Yellow, as I reported in my head to head comparison. See: https://www.whatsbestforum.com/thre...r-expensive-products.33833/page-7#post-777863 - post #121.

 

[highstream]

Are there any QSA Purple or Red users out there? I didn't post to discuss the SR Blue vs Orange. To each their own tastes and systems.

 

[Barry2013]

I agree that the SR Orange is a little on the bright side up top, at least compared to the Audio Magic Ultimate Premier, but from what I understand it was designed to be warmer than the Blue, with a lower end bump, as OregonPapa put it in his thread initiating review on Audiogon. To me, the Blue’s effects were aggravating, making me want to throw my system out the window. Instead, I sold the fuses and replaced them at the time with AM Ultimates. The Orange was a breath of fresh air and an improvement over the Ultimates. I filled the system with Oranges, until picking up three AM’s on sale recently (there’s now a new version called Commander, at $300). I’m interested in getting a straight forward answer(s) about the QSA Purple and Red’s degree of warmth or not, since the price of admission is extraordinarily high.

I have mixture of QSA yellows and Mauve and IMO the mauve is definitely better than the yellow as you would expect given its higher price.
The yellow to my ears is more analytical which I can well understand leads to some people describing its sound as bright. I have the mauves on my Atlantis Infinity power cable, which is earthed to an Olympus 10 via an Apollo Infinity earth cable, which serves my powerblock. An Apollo Infinity power cable connects to a Vitus SIA 030 amp which also has a mauve internal fuse.
It is a great combination. The mauve fuses give a more rounded and musical sound compared with the yellows, more natural and analogue sounding than the yellows. I think it would be fair to say that that could easily be described as a warmer sound, but I hesitate to so describe it because it is a neutral sound with no apparent loss of transparency.
I have not yet tried the reds, but intend to do so down the line and my supplier speaks very highly of them on the basis of his hearing them in the same amplifier.
So yes on the basis of my experience I am pretty sure you would find the QSA mauves a good buy.

 

[Sa-dono]

Well, we obviously have different equipment since I have SR blue in 3 amps (2 systems) and they all sound GREAT! Smoother, more open and warmer sounding than the SR Black and SR Orange. The SR Orange sounds worse than the standard cheap fuse in an EAR 864 my friend has. My late belated friend Frank Pernice (Oregonpapa), never met a tweek he didn't try and like. He got sample SR fuses and always replaced the older versions with new ones. His system had so many Perfect Path Technology products (pasted everything, Omega-E Mats, boxes, plugs, etc) that he had a way too smooth system with very irregular frequency response. It was pleasant and he liked it, which is what counts. We shared music (he had great taste) together with my and his friends (mutual) but preferred our audio systems.

Thanks for admitting what were obvious (but previously lied about) truths.

 

[highstream]

Moving things along, I have a couple of (used) Reds on the way. They’ll go in ATC actives, so will see (or hear)…

 

[Kingrex]

I bought AMR Gold fuses. I tried the blue in my tube amps and did not hear anything. I am trying thr AMR in my Dartzeel.

 

[highstream]

The two used 6.3A small, slow-blow QSA Red fuses I mentioned arrived today. Put one in an ATC SCM40A speaker, which takes a 5A fuse. It has had an Audio Magic 6.3A in there and a 6.3A SR Orange before that, with other 5A's before that. So put the Red in and no power. Checked with a multimeter and circuit is open, i.e., blown (the other Red reads good). Is there anything nonstandard about the QSA fuses? Short of that, I can't think any other plausible explanation than dead on arrival. Any other?

 

[BlueFox]

Do you get a replacement fuse for free?

 

[highstream]

It's a private sale. I tried the other Red and the same thing happened. It's got to be a similar startup current surge problem to what happens with SR's, but maybe even worse. 6.3A is 26% over 5A, which one would think is enough, and is for the SR's. The OP is in contact with the vendor and looks like they are going to try to deal with it. I read somewhere that QSA replaces blown fuses for some period of time, which suggests it's a known issue. Still, this is scary, even at a used price.

Afterword: The question right now is if these fuses are actually what the box says. The seller says they came out of an Antipodes CX and it takes two 6.3A slow-blows, which is not a typical value. A European CX owner says his is fast blow and 1.6A, which would typically make the 115V version in the 3A range. If so, that would explain a lot. Awaiting reply from company.

Afterward II. Turns out the CX takes 1A and that’s what the Red fuses he sent actually are. Apparently, the boxes were mislabeled and the seller had lost track of it all until I pressed the matter. It’s going to be taken care of, soI should see correct fuses in a week or two. In the meantime, an SR Purple should be here in a day or two, and it will go in the P15 regenerator.

 

[highstream]

Been advised that with tube amps and electronics, as well as gear with large transformers, that it’s worth going up a value with QSA fuses.

 

[Willgolf]

Been advised that with tube amps and electronics, as well as gear with large transformers, that it’s worth going up a value with QSA fuses.

My mono amps rate at 10amps but I have 15 amp QSA yellow and all perfect for about 9 months.

 

[Kingrex]

I don't know I like all this talk about upsizing a fuse so it won't blow. My understanding is a circuit is engineered with a particular fuse size in the design.

If you toss a $1 glass fuse in and it holds. Why is it a $2,000 fuse of the same value is blowing.