December 2017

Great Audiophile Gift Ideas For The 2017 Holiday Season
Enjoy the Music.com celebrates our 12th annual gift ideas to give your audiophile!

Synergistic Research SR BLUE Quantum Fuse

  Having raved about the contributions of their Black UEF fuses in the context of the review of the PowerCell 8 SE, I was surprised to learn of the new Blue fuses and read the rave responses to it on a couple of blogs. I normally like to review equipment thoroughly and there simply was not enough time to do it before Christmas. However, I installed one in the power supply of my Calyx DAC and was able to burn it in quickly with the CD player on Repeat. Having recently auditioned a DAC within my rig with the Synergistic Research MiG 2.0 balls beneath it, I was on the verge of buying a used one for myself. The Blue fuse put a halt to that pursuit.

Resolution, soundstage, air and liquidity improved significantly, particularly in combination with the MiG 2.0 beneath the Calyx DAC. At $150 each, Synergistic Research's SR BLUE Quantum Fuse was a noticeable improvement that brought even more delight than installing the Black fuses in my system – easily worth spending an extra $30 over the cost of the Black. But if you already have the Blacks, should you upgrade?

If you've got another piece of equipment that could utilize the Black, or if you could be comfortable just hanging on to the Black as a spare, well, yes. Go for the Blue. If not, consider adding the MiG 2.0 balls. Both offer tremendous value with similar impact on your system, and are complimentary with each other when paired together. I'll have a more detailed review this winter, but this is your Early Warning Radar telling you the Blue is a winner. See Rick's recent review of the Synergistic Research Black Quantum Fuses And UEF Black Duplex Outlet at this link.

Recommended by Enjoy the Music.com's Rick Becker.