How are the AGD’s treating you so far?
TIA
The AGD Gran Vivaces (now with a full week of burn-in) are, for me, end-game amplifiers for sure. Fed by a Mk2 and a BHK pre, they are fast, dead quiet, full-bodied, and dynamic, with a detailed, yet in no way fatiguing, top end. They throw a huge soundstage and deliver deep, textured bass. I could go on, but you get the idea.
Staying on topic, it will be interesting to hear what the Pink Fuses bring to the party!
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One, last off-topic inquiry:
How is the bass “snap” and “grip”.
I love my The Audio amps but found they give up just a bit in this regard compared to my bigger amps. Not really a fair comparison given the difference in raw power; and I found the AGD’s to be every bit the match in every other regard.
Cheers.
If by “snap” you mean “fast” or “quick,” yes–they convey a sense of speed across the board, perhaps nowhere more so than in the bass (and with drum whacks and percussion), and they clearly exhibit the bass “grip” that has long been considered a (some would say “the”) strong point of Class D amps in general.
Note that I use three REL Carbon subs each of which have Purple Fuses–this is a thread about fuses, no???
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Received my two today, installed and both working.
I’m in the UK so our mains plugs have fuses.
I have a Isotek Syncho 3 in front of my P20.
I had a SR Master in the first power cord from the wall.
SR never recommended the Master for a Regenerator so I’ve moved the Master to my Dac.
The two Pink fuses have gone into the first power cord from the wall and from the Isotek unit into my P20, so it’s Pink from the wall socket into the P20.
With the above changes I don’t think I can compare Purple to Pink, but it should be an upgrade in any case.
The harder question will come further down the line in that do I change out the remaining Purples to Pinks?
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Last night I had about 30 hours on the new Pink fuses.
Started with my home theater system and watched Ronin on 4K.
Sound was very dynamic, more so than with the previous Purple fuse.
Pretty full on action film, once the action starts it doesn’t let up much, really enjoyed it.
To test the picture quality I then put on Top Gun Maverick and again a definite improvement in picture quality, colors more vibrant, sharpness increased.
(My projector is powered from my P20).
Ended up watching a lot more than I expected to.
Changed over at that point to listening to some music.
Immediately I realized the top end had really opened up since the previous night and was sounding what I know the Purple sounds like.
Very encouraging so far, for home theatre the Pink has surpassed what the Purple was giving me in both picture and sound and for music the Pink at 30 hours is equating to what the Purple gave me.
I now agree with SR that the Master fuses are not a great choice for a Regenerator.
I’ve already listed my internal Master fuse for sale and looking to replace with a Pink fuse in the near future.
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I like the Pink in the P20 more than I did the M-1. But later today the M-2 goes in.
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Please give us a comparison of the Pink against the M2 when it settles in.
I noticed that the M2 is available in UK mains plug rating.
The M1 wasn’t, I don’t think they had a glass manufacturer who could make the UK fuse size then, looks like this problem has been overcome.
I’ve invested too much is SR to consider changing over.
Will do. I didn’t like any fuse I tried in the P20 (including the Purple) as much as the M-1.
I had an M1 in my P20, the only area for me it was lacking in was treble extension, the Master gave me that, but I think a Pink will be better again.
After a few days with the Pink fuse, as promised, here’s my conclusion. Not a night and day difference but some attributes are easily audible.
My aim was a comparison between Pink and Purple, because I haven’t M fuses in my system since I removed all regens. So the components involved are just the Innuos Statement server/streamer and the PhoenixNET switch, that were already preferred with the Purple.
Dynamics improvement is the first quality I heard along with more body in low region. More structured and dense sound, more meat on the bone. Bass enhancement in a pleasant way.
A more silent background brought also more clarity and extension into the high frequencies.
What I liked of the Purple is still there, just improved and better balanced along the entire spectrum. The burning in process was linear, without the usual troubles I had encountered with the Purple.
Long story short: the Pink is a better Purple, with a touch of Master icing the cake but you can safely consider it as a Purple MK II without any risks. The only downside I noticed, almost irrelevant, was a little less of naturalness but it could be dependent on the amount of time needed to let the new fuses cook more.
I can confirm that fuses are no more a rabbit hole for me. In general I liked playing with them but the changes IME are subtle, something funny to waste time now and there, calming nerves when the upgrades fever is dangerously calling.
Here below my usual chart, plus and minus of the Pink vs Purple.
| PINK | |
|---|---|
| White noise/Hum | = |
| Background | + |
| Naturalness | - |
| Image precision | = |
| Soundstage depth | + |
| Soundstage width | = |
| Separation | + |
| Voice | + |
| Hights | ++ |
| Bass | +++ |
| Presence | = |
| Transient | + |
| Clarity | ++ |
| Airy | = |
| Detail | = |
| Unveil | = |
| Realism | = |
| Calm | + |
| Control | ++ |
| Engagement | + |
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Luca, this will improve slightly with time.
+1. Fuses are fun to play with, but I’ll agree they’re never going to launch any already decent system into the next level. Just light seasoning of one form or another.
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From what I heard the SR Master is best used in switches or streamers. Anyone can confirm here too?
Luca, thank-you for sharing your initial impressions with the Pink Fuse. I just can’t get excited about experimenting with fuses, as much as spending my hard earned money exploring new recordings. Personal preference I suppose.
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Money spent on music is always the best spent, in this hobby!
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I have only one Master fuse now (sold other one in 10 seconds) and it was in Lumin U2 before, and it improved U2 over M-1 fuse for sure. Then I switched the only Purple I have left with it from BHK pre and the move did not make any improvement that I could detect, if any, I may prefer the original setup. But then SDFB arrived so I could not evaluate anymore on fuses because FB made an improvement in P15 trumped over any fuse.
I am contemplating getting either a Pink or another M-2 to replace the last Purple in the streamer. I welcome more input from the Pink and M-2 owners before my decision in a few weeks. I am leaving tomorrow night for a 10-day vacation, but I will check into the forum from time to time. Hopefully I can make a decision by then, and don’t need to post anything during vacation. 
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I have replaced two Purples and an M1 with three SDFB and won’t buy another fuse. I’m trying not to buy more SDFB, but I would buy one of these before any further fuse. (Right now I have 2 M1 remaining in my main system). Going from one to two and then three SDFBs was quite a jump!
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I believe SDFB will benefit more gears too. When I downsize in future, I may get another FB for the next upgrade (so I will have spared high quality PC left for pigtails).
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Now 50 hours on my 2 Pinks.
Just listened to 2 CD’s, the 2nd being the 50th anniversary edition of Sgt. Peppers.
I’ve never heard it so good, musicality was excellent, everything sounded right and in the correct space, vocals were especially clear and lifelike and easy to pick out the different inflections in pronunciations.
Very happy … and more to come.
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Respect for the work you put into this.
Did you replace in the fuses and also put them back later?
My audio dealer told me at the time to change the fuses every now and then.
I use the regular Bussmann ones with the correct I2s value.
If I replace the fuse after several years of use with a similar type, there also seems to be an improvement.
The fuse degrades over time.
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