Just about everyone that’s ever gotten into audio has probably read that same article too. Some take it as the gospel and some of the more adventurous choose to decide for themselves. Some read it and think they’ve discovered a great truth and must warn everyone else.
One big reason it wouldn’t be a good idea is the same reason they don’t include their own power cord or an AQ, that is, those sorts of choices depend on customer’s tastes (there are many people who are perfectly satisfied with the HiFi Supreme fuse). They would undermine the viability of their products for those who don’t like what’s provided. Another good reason is that they have plenty to deal with without getting into tweaks. Even with cables, PSA cut back to power cords alone after dealing with HDMI/I2S cables.
They can easily order an “orange fuse” without the label for pennies on the dollar and add it, IF it had such an impact on sound. It’s like saying “adding these Michelin tires” would make your car go around the track 10 seconds faster, and the company refusing to do so!
At any rate, I have ZERO trust in Synergetic Research ppl, you only lose trust of customers ONCE and their sham of the AXPONA demo was the nail in the coffin. NO FUSE EVER would cost $160… it’s a joke! Just warning ppl to the company, their lack of ethics, their slimy sales practices so folks can make informed decisions. These people are the reason NO ONE trusts Audiophile companies and their claims! They are the EXACT opposite of PS Audio who are on the most part, open, transparent and honest!
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Well the OP wasn’t asking whether or not anyone believed in SR products, let alone whether PS Audio believed in them, so in respect to that maybe you should start a new thread instead of crapping on this one. Just a suggestion.
Fair enough. I’m just sick of these companies taking advantage of people and giving a bad name to honest HiFi and audiophile companies. I hope more called out snake oil. It helps honest companies. We need to collectively stop praising companies that we wasted money with, singing their praises NOT to look foolish. It’s human nature. No one wants to admit they wasted hundreds or thousands of dollars in something that didn’t do what it promised.
Anyways. Rant over.
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I am puzzled. I have never changed fuses but have read praise for the Orange and Beeswax fuses, to name two. If I were to except snake oil pronouncements, what should I think when someone pans an expensive set of speakers that I might fancy?
Chas
Let’s end the debate please. If you read back a few posts he’s already stated he believes cables can make a difference so I believe his gripe is with this particular fuse company.
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Lou has been grinding SR’s axe forever. Being Canadian, I’m more reserved. I just take a pass on their products, as I’m skeptical of most of their claims. Try to resell some of their tweaks and you’ll soon take a bath on resale. I use some SR blue fuses, probably 5 of them but I have 18 fuses between all my devices. HiFi Tuning Supreme’s are my go to. I buy them in Europe and get a great price. They’re certainly very good. With 18 fuses you’ll soon be broke. Fortunately my gear is well designed and running under spec and never have I blown a fuse.
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How much are those fuses?
Yes. Maybe a very bad taste in my mouth after their snake oil demo at AXPONA. Hence I don’t trust a word from that company.
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Yes, already. We get it.
It was interesting only the first half-dozen or so times. 
I tried the Orange Quantums in my Directstream and LTA MZ3 amp/headphone amp, and they actually work pretty well as advertised. I found the Orange to make more difference in the LTA than the DS, but the effect was pretty similar.
The first one I installed immediately sounded like no change, but then a few hours later I was noticing much more punch in the bass. After a couple days I noticed that the sound was cleaned up to a significant effect, but I wasn’t sure that I liked it as it was very “hifi” sounding. After 100 hours or so I swapped the Orange out and put the stock one back in, and remarkably the stock had WAY more fuzziness, grain and compression. Until that moment I was thinking of keeping the stock fuses as they had seemed to sound “bigger”, but it was clear the Oranges were markedly superior. After another 200 hours the Orange settled down and now sounds great: Very punchy bass, more resolution, bigger soundstage, more air, and still very musical.
I have no idea how these really work, but the Oranges are for real, on par with a good power cable/noise filter. Expensive for a fuse, but pretty cost effective for tweak.
And yeah, they are definitely directional, one direction being more lively and the other more dulled.
They work out to $39 US plus shipping.
IanB52…thanks for your post…
My experience from stock to Quantum Blues very similar to yours except my stock fuses
weren’t fuzzy in the way i think of fuzziness.
The Blues went back and forth between good, ugh, better, uck then hmmm now we are getting somewhere to oh my outstanding…
For me the reason they work is the use of graphene which is a very high conductivity some say
near superconductivity…
https://www.researchgate.net/post/Electrical_conductivity_and_resistivity_of_graphene
https://www.graphene-info.com/graphene-thermal?page=1
Strong indication why graphene works…
Just a matter of loooking stuff up!!!
I’m harvesting the benefits
Thanks IanB52 for posting
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I didnot find in my Krell integrated amp the orange was that much better then the blue fuses especially now $87 vs $160 each , for my rail fuses 4 of them a 2-3% difference slightly betterfocus ,for digital and preamp section maybe there I would use a orange
I did not find the difference between the Blue and Orange night and day in the DMP and DSS. It is subtle, but when you settle down and just listen to the music, there is a better flow and a little more engaging, probably because it is a little less grainy. It seems the Orange eliminate noise in the signal better than the Blue. The Orange does cost a bit more, but if it improves your system a little more and bring a little more enjoyment to your listening, then it is worth it.
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Just a question on the SR Orange:
Just received two for my preamp. My first impression was a slightly more laid back presentation (more depth), and superior bass presentation — particularly mid bass. French and other large horns just sounded more real than with the stock fuses.
My questions: does the bass tighten up over time? And has anybody ever successfully returned a defective fuse for replacement? Of the two I bought for single device, one has failed after only three days. A switch back to stock fuses solved the problem (so not a device issue).
I keep promising not to waste $$ on fuses, since the fancy fuses don’t seem to hold up in real world use (at least not for me).
I have definitely experienced tightening up of bass as the SR fuse burns in. Needed over 100 hours to tighten up (this was with the Blue). From what I hear, your dealer should have no problem to return the defective fuse without any questions. If fuses continue to blow on your system they may recommend one with a slightly higher rating.
Hey jhnh …I just received and installed 2 orange fuses in my Emotiva XSP1 Gen 2 preamp…on initial listen with 0 previous burn in time
on these the sound was somewhat darker…I left a Stereophile equipment burn in track play for a couple of hours while I was out and
about enjoying the evening…came back and settled myself in to listen.
It was fun to hear the soundstage open up and developed as the tracks
played on…using Dave Gruisn’s album Migration…
Not quite ready to comment on On Out of Thin Air yet…
Its hard to take notes when music draws you…
As you experiences more laid back instruments took on more body…
trumpets, strings, guitar, piano, drum rim shots sound more solid.
Improvements were such I didn’t want to stop listening…and this with very little run time on these new orange fuses …but must
mindful of my neighbors…and shut down for the night…
My system has P12 with sr blue fuse my power amp Parasound A21
sr blue fuse (in use for about 2 months) these are burned in…also
used hifi tuning supremes but sr blue is in another league head…
Where will these new orange fuses get to …amazing I think.
Just had to share
jhnh I forgot to comment on blown fuses…this may or may not be
the case with you…When I first ordered my supremes somehow the
diagolgue box placed into the cart…a fast blow fuse which indeed is too fast reacting
for our audio purposes…I was able to get that changed…so I am wondering if you got a fast blow and not a T (time) slow blow?
Hope this helps shed some light.