Synergistic Research blue 13A plug fuse

Hi-Fi Corner
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Read a fair bit about these and in fact there was a thread about them on the previous forum. I have come to an end with my recent av set-up and the one last area I thought I’d try, is one of these ridiculously expensive blue fuses in the tv plug. I have about 5 test tracks I’ve used over the past couple of months, whilst I evaluated various mains leads, hdmi cables, phono cables, optical cables, etc so I’m very much in tune with how each tracks sounds and how each stage changed to it’s current very good performance. My tv now has a Furutech 1363 silver plug and I thought I’d try it there first.

I was amazed, really amazed. At this stage of a thread, let’s just say the results were incredible. I say incredible, because the difference was so big, I put the original fuse back in and double checked it was inserted correctly and there were no other problems. There were no detrimental effects to the sound either.

The biggest surprise to me since the Z-plug for Superline by AV Options 7 years ago. How can a fuse make so much difference? The graphene, various treatments or what? I have no idea, but it does. Always nice to have a pleasant surprise every now and then.

Crazy price, crazy theory and a crazy result, but it’s worth it. I’ve ordered another 3. Will I use one/some for my Naim gear? I’ll give one a go at some point.

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count.d

I would be very interested in your findings with the Naim gear
What cables are you using ?
I’ve got Sarum full loom, I can’t believe that a company like Chord especially when they are knocking out mains leads for nigh on £2k haven’t thought about fuses
I’ve got a couple of new black boxes to install so I might look at what Chord are using in their Sarum

Lyndon

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I think I remember the old thread.

Is there a UK supplier with 30 day money back guarantee?

Prices seem modest if potential gains are good.

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Alley Cat

The problem here is what is the burn in time
I’ve just started another thread regarding the burn in for DRing the 500
We all know high end cables like a decent burn in period
Does this apply for high end fuses ?
But I really can see the logic behind this

Lyndon

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Good question on burn in - hopefully not too long if they’re offering 30 day money back guarantee - I think it would have to be rather convincing sonically for the average user not to use that option.

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Lyndon, the test with the fuse I’ve done is on my av gear, just recently been set up over the past 2 months. Cables used within this are Audioquest Carbon HDMI, Audioquest Sydney RCA, Audioquest Boxer subwoofer cable, Nordost Purple Flare figure-8 power cord, Nordost Blue Heaven power cord, Furutech 1363 silver plug, all through my stock of brand new old type Crabtree unswitched sockets and sat on a dedicated Simrak rack. No cables touch anything and freely hang (they’re not supported, tied or sat on foam).

A typical track that I’ve tested over the couple of months is Springsteen - My Hometown - On Broadway. Particularly, the first 14 secs of piano intro is quite a challenge to play good and this fuse gives a tight, cleaned up, crisp yet delicate, sweet presentation. Put the original fuse back and it’s muddled and a bit piercing (original fuse is a silver plated Bussmann, as supplied in the silver Furutech plug, which is an improvement over the standard Bussmann fuse in av gear). This is the area that Audioquest Sydney was particularly successful in improving.

A fair amount of ‘upgrades’ can detrimentally change the presentation i.e. voices sound artificially forced to the front or are harsh, or the mid/bass disappears, etc, but this fuse improves all aspects and I can’t hear anything detrimental. I compare it to the Z-plug for Superline improvement. How can all the electronics, wires and cables related to the Superline be affected by a change in a type of similar rated resistor? The Z-plug resistor showed just how much was being held back and what systems were capable of. Perhaps this blue fuse is the same.

Regarding why companies don’t supply certain products with their gear; I guess there’s many reasons. If Naim started supplying it in their products, the Powerline would be £730. Also, there’s actually no BS number of kite mark on this fuse, so I’m not sure if Naim could supply it. The same question could be asked why every box (at all price ranges) is supplied with a £2 garbage power cable or even with very expensive power cables, why can’t they just polish the unplated plug pins with 0000 wool before dispatch. I wouldn’t put too much thought on it and especially with Chord, who have always supplied some of their cables with a basic cheap MK plug.

It will be interesting to try on my Naim system, but this is a far more refined set-up. From my experience of trying upgrade options, I do have a lot of hope for this fuse in my Naim. At your level of gear Lyndon, £130 is nothing and I’d try one immediately.

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Is this actually legal for use in the UK?

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The Synergistic info states that the addition of the fuse actually improves the feed from the supply. I’m a little bit dubious of this. Adding a tiny fine wire to improve the source of a large diameter mains cable, just seems counter intuitive, but as we need a fuse by law, we have no choice.

Is this fuse legal in the UK? I have no idea, but it’s fuse and nicely made. If the worst of all scenarios happened and I was not covered for insurance, I would pass the suing buck to the manufacturer or supplier, importer for selling me unsafe/illegal products. I think we’re probably thinking a little too much.

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Thats only half the problem; there are a lot of fuses on the cut price & www market with BS & kite marks that have never been BS tested. This … https://www.pat-testing-training.net/articles/fake-fuses.php … is a City & Guilds training video on the subject.

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I posted a few SR threads, the blue plug fuses are pretty major, add to that a no quibble 30 day return i thought why not, now i pretty much have them all over, even on my switch.

For me it was down the rabbit hole, as the SR power cable, supports and ethernet followed and most recently the speaker XOT where the biggest improvement.

I hear the HFT (shirt buttons) work wonders on the room and speakers.

To me a company that is happy putting their neck on the line with no quibble refunds, has to be confident in their product and i would agree.

SR with Naim - shame they don’t hook up at Axpona are PRaT heaven with bags of detail.

For me the only thing people have to lose is their sanity and/or ego (realization spending £1000s on black boxes for subtle gains)

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You have little chance of seeing any money from any claim. And if your house is now burnt down you could be homeless.

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As mentioned in the old thread I looked into this as it was my concern, it meets only CE standards, not BS which are not a legal requirement as many believe.

The reason the SR distributor gave me was that they test specs that exceed BS but they dont intent going the extra mile to pay if o recall correctly £10k to get a stamp.

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Richard,

Surely there was nothing in this thread that advised anything illegal. In fact the advice was not to do anything illegal which could also be dangerous.

Guinnless, as I say, I think we’re thinking too much. If I buy my Panasonic UB9000 4K player, it’s not up to me to look on the back of it to check whether it meets all the relevant safety standards. It’s up to whoever supplies me, imports them, whoever I don’t care. If I had a fire caused by the Panasonic, the insurance company are not going to look at the Panasonic for a sticker and then blame me. Pretty bored with the safety aspect of this thread now.

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Despite nice,cuddly,friendly adverts on telly please remember that insurance companies are the Mafia with Headed Notepaper. If they can find a reason not to pay out they will.

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On the contrary. There was speculation about use of a solid copper bar in place of a plug fuse - something that is potentially very dangerous. I edited as I deemed necessary.

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So…you delete the post that speculated about it and saying there was no benefit from trying it…then repeat it yourself… without that information…
I’m more than a little confused by your mediation…

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Well, it was your post I removed.

As for my reply above, there was no other way round that, and ultimately, once the cat was out of the bag, so to speak, I reckoned it was my duty to repeat that such actions are potentially very dangerous.

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  1. Your stating the obvious to me
  2. I totally disagree…if you objected that much to a bit of theorising…then delete it and say no more about it
    Your mediation fell a bit short on this one IMHO …I hope you can accept the critique and we can move on.
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I did. But then the OP raised the issue of why the posts were moderated, so I explained why, and responded so all could clearly understand.

While you may not like me moderating your post, doing so was necessary. You’ll note forum rules with regard to the discussion of fuses;

"…There is a blanket and strict ban on such topics and it includes euphemistic phrases that ultimately reference such practices and attempt to circumvent the restriction.

An extension of this is discussion of alterations to the mains wiring, sockets, plugs, fuses and mains leads…"

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A fuse complying with BS1362 is required by the The Plugs and Sockets etc. (Safety) Regulations 1994, which are a ‘regulation with the force of law’.

Requirements for electrical devices

6.—(1) Subject to paragraph (2) below, the requirements of this regulation are that the electrical device complies with the requirements of regulations 8 or 10 below as appropriate.

(2) A standard plug shall contain or be accompanied by a fuse link which conforms to BS 1362.
.

Note that a similar regulation even applies to round pin plugs where a fuse is actually fitted:

Electrical devices other than standard plugs

10.—(1) Subject to the following provisions of this regulation, any electrical device (other than a standard plug) specified in column 2 of Schedule 2 to these Regulations shall conform to the particular British Standard specified for such devices in column 3 of that Schedule.

(2) Any fuse link contained in or accompanying a round–pin plug conforming to BS 546 shall conform to BS 646.