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Master Fuse

The one fuse to rule them all.

Master Fuse is an entirely new kind of Fuse. In the past, we developed the highest resolution fuse given the current technology while voicing our fuses to complement a maximum number of systems. And for over a decade, as newly developed technologies came online, like new UEF Compounds and new conditioning processes, we have applied them to the next generation of cutting-edge fuses, usually every two years. Of course, we were striving for maximum resolution plus the warmth needed for most systems to sound musical. But we never could press resolution and other sonic traits as far as we could have. Enter Master Fuse; the first Synergistic Research fuse developed expressly for full resolution, dynamics, soundstaging, speed, and impact without the need to create musicality as a system-wide fuse loom. Instead, we engineered Master Fuse to work alongside Purple and Orange fuses to create dramatic new levels of sonic realism, featuring wall-to-wall, floor-to-ceiling soundstaging with unparalleled resolution, dynamics, and frequency extension. Best of all, most systems will not benefit from more than one or possibly two Master Fuses in an otherwise complete loom of Purple and or Orange fuses. So you start with a single Master Fuse on your DAC or line conditioner and realize guaranteed results or your money back for the first 30 days. You can then experiment sparingly with additional Master Fuses if you wish to go further. The choice is yours.

Global MSRP $595.00 all sizes

Note:  If you are switching from an Orange or Purple fuse to a Master fuse, start by inserting the Master fuse in the same direction as the Master fuse being replaced.  If the Master fuse is not an immediate improvement, flip the Master fuse in the alternate direction.

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How fuses alter the sound of your system. For over one hundred years people believed electrons flowed like water through a pipe and that once ‘contaminated’ by miles of wire, there was little or nothing that could be done to ‘clean’ the electricity feeding your components. Consider this: the electricity feeding your system’s components first propagates through a single fuse. This is why significant gains in sound quality are possible when you insert an SR Black or Blue Fuses into each of your components.

Today physicists understand electrons don’t flow at all but rather propagate in a wave of energy that moves along a conductor with a multitude of factors that alters this wave at the quantum level. To understand how electricity travels without electrons ever leaving their respective atoms it is helpful to consider the spectator ‘wave’ at a football match. Even though you can clearly see a wave pattern moving from spectator to spectator as fans raise and then lower their hands (without hands jumping from one person to the next), so too does electricity ‘move’ without electrons ever leaving their atoms. At Synergistic Research we’ve isolated key factors that affect how electricity propagates by changing the behavior of electrons through Inductive Quantum Coupling methods we collectively call UEF Tech. In fact, UEF Tech is so powerful even an electrical chain several miles long is fundamentally improved with nothing more than a single fuse engineered with our patented UEF Technology.

 We’re so sure you’ll love what SR Fuses do for your system, we sell them with a no questions asked, 30-day money-back guarantee so you can audition SR  Fuses in your system risk-free. Then if you’re not 100% satisfied with your system’s performance on SR  fuses, return the fuses to your dealer in like new condition for a full refund.

Master Fuse

Available Values:

5mm x 20mm Slo-blow

5mm x 20mm Fast-blow

100mA
160mA
200mA
250mA
315mA
500mA

630mA
800mA
1A
1.25A
1.6A

2A
2.5A
3.15A
4A
5A

6.3A
8A
10A
12.5A
16A

50ma
160mA
200mA
250mA
500mA

800mA
1A
1.6A
2A
2.5A

3.15A
4A
5A
6.3A

8A
10A
12.5A
16A

6.3mm x 32mm Slo-blow

6.3mm x 32mm Fast-blow

250mA
500mA
800mA
1A
1.6A

2A
2.5A
3.15A
4A

5A
6.3A
8A
10A

12.5A
15A
16A
20A

250mA
500mA
800mA
1A
1.6A

13A UK Main

2A
2.5A
3.15A
4A

5A
6.3A
8A
10A

12.5A
15A
16A
20A

Frequently asked questions.

Q: Are fuses directional?

A: Yes, fuses are directional.  Electricity should flow from the left to the right when you view the fuse.  If you do not know the direction of flow you should listen to the fuse inserted in both directions.  One direction will sound more detailed.  This is the correct way.

Q:  Do fuses have a burn in period?

A: Yes, most products have a settling in period.  The first 200-300 hours of use are the most crucial.

Q: Where should I use my Master fuse(s)?

A: To get the most out of our Master Fuses, we suggest starting with one or two fuses in most systems, and possibly more for highly resolving systems. There is no "wrong" component to start with; however, we typically recommend starting "upstream," at the beginning of your signal source (Music Streamer, CD Player, Turntable, Reel to Reel, etc.). From there, we suggest moving on to your digital-to-analog converter or phonostage (if you use one), followed by your preamplifier and then your power amplifier. If you have multiple sources, upgrading the fuse in your preamplifier first can improve the performance of all of your sources."

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Master Fuses

A/B recodings

We recommend listening with your high-end headphones or download the hi-rez audio files to listen through your audio system.  In-home auditions are available from your Synergistic Research dealer.

Download to listen on your high resolution audio system

Master Fuse in Berkeley DAC - Download
Purple Fuse in Berkeley DAC - Download

Review

“I heard improvements on all audiophile parameters you can come up with. Not just a tighter layer or a little less sharpness or something, but the overall reproduction was, as if by magic, a level higher. Hard, sharp edges to the sound were gone, the low was more colorful, clearer and faster, the dynamics had clearly increased, the background was even quieter, the middle had more body and timbres came across more authentic.

There was more information to listen to, but where that often leads to some restlessness or even listening fatigue, the entire sound image came across as more relaxed. Music of every genre suddenly spouted effortlessly from the speakers and that obviousness immediately invited you to listen for a long time. The effects of this fuse gave me a feeling of recognition, like: yes, this is how music should sound! I think everyone recognizes that. In my report to the importer I said that it seemed like all other fuses add a bit of distortion and this Master Fuse does not for the first time.”

-John of Poland - HiFi.nl - July 2023

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Review

“I have had all of the SR fuses over the years with each fuse delivering incremental improvements in sound quality but the Master Fuse is on a whole new level.  Prior to testing the SR Master Fuse, my digital system consisting of several high end components were all fitted with SR Purple Fuses which has been money well spent to achieve optimal audio system performance.  I don’t believe in purchasing audiophile fuses for $5000 each based on their ultimate use as a consumable product but in a world of $5000 fuses, I found the SR Purple fuse to be a “practical” solution and ear opening endeavor as installed in my Ayon Audio S-5 Network Player/DAC/Preamp.  After some break-in, the increase in soundstage separation and transient attack over the SR Purple Fuse was easy to discern.  My system better resolved the attack and decay of strings, woodwind, and percussion instruments without added hardness.  In fact, throughout the entire frequency range my system sounded clearer and smoother adding to the sonic realism.  The liveliness when present in the recording was all there and present while being displayed faithfully to the recording source.  For what a single Master Fuse does, it’s well worth the price and was found complimenting the existing SR fuses in my system.”

Mike Girardi, Senior Editor for StereoTimes - September 2023

Review

With her unique voice, jazz interpretation, and dynamic range, Rickie Lee Jones’ lyrics are a challenge to follow. It’s not a record I’ve listened to a lot, so I have to follow the lyrics on the record jacket. With the Master fuse, I was able to lay the jacket on my lap and pretty much follow the song just by listening. If you know that record, that’s saying something. On more familiar material, whether it be CD or LP there was an unmistakable increase in resolution right from the opening bars as well as an increase in transparency. The combined result was the most realistic sense of the musicians being in the room, or me being in the concert hall, that I have ever experienced in my listening room. The better the recording quality, the more real the musicians.

Macro dynamics were more explosive, not because of a feeling of a blacker background, but because the air of the recording (or recording venue) was so clearly revealed. Hot-rodding my vintage Tekton Design subwoofers last month provided a clearer window into the ambient room tone of recordings. The Master fuse tightened the deep bass and improved the timbre of standup bass, large drums, and low organ notes. Deeper listening revealed micro-dynamics and inner detail — tonal shading, if you will, that were simply not hinted at with the Purple fuse. It was as if I had installed a new phono cartridge that was reading the music from an unmolested area of the groove. And these were not newly-pressed audiophile LPs. The Master fuse simply upgraded my entire LP collection.

The attack of the notes was more instantaneous — particularly noticeable in the bass but never was it etched, incisive, or irritating. Sibilance in Paul Simon’s “Diamonds on the Souls of Her Shoes” was virtually banished. The impact on pace, rhythm, and timing resulted in endless toe-tapping. My Kharma speakers are eminently listenable, to begin with so there was nothing I thought needed “fixing” …save for that pesky Paul Simon CD. With the addition of the Master fuse, I was chuckling with delight at the newfound musical wealth not from just the speakers, but the entire system.

-Rick Becker - EnjoyTheMusic - 2023

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Review

“The sonic changes to Synergistic Research Purple UEF fuses were immediately noticeable in several ways, with other benefits revealed after the initial flurry of changes. The first change is an increase in smoothness and refinement in the midrange and especially in the high frequencies. The higher frequencies are less congested and restricted too, which makes the top treble appear to have a greater extension. All of which is heard most readily with solo female voice or piano, but unless your record collection is made up of white noise, catfights and people running their fingernails down chalkboards, you’ll hear it regardless.

After that initial impressive change comes the other benefits in short order. Perhaps predictably (at least for those who’ve heard fuse-free Schuko plugs in their system), there’s a distinct sense of music rising out of stillness and calm; the absence of a subtle background hash that too often gives the music an electronic sheen. However, you also notice that the imaging has improved, mostly in terms of image stability but also in soundstage size and precision. Dynamic range is improved too, again perhaps a part of that removal of background hash. In systems that are already dynamically powerful sounding, the worry could be that it would send the sound over the top and into exuberance; in fact, the sound just seems to expand a little, a little like you just got access to a better master of the music.

-Alan Sircom - HiFi + - February 2022

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Review

“I have been listening to my amp with the new SR master fuse for the past few days. Even with not much of a burn in , approx. 20 hours so far, , the amp seems like , lets just say, a new amp , or better still an amp costing close to twice as much . Really it is that good. The improvements are obvious and immediate. What is really clever is how the resolution , soundstage, dynamics, forward momentum/attack and timbre are all on another level now without the fuse adding any coloration of its own. Always getting out of the way in fact. 

The sound is genuinely better than ever before. Sometimes I would find myself looking at the amp and wondering how on earth is it making such incredible sound. I endorse this product for anyone, just like me, who is looking to maximise the performance of their existing amp.”

Gerry K. - June 2023

Review

First up is Purple. This one, unlike Orange, shows from the first bars that its action was aimed at increasing the energy of the sound. This, of course, results in greater saturation of the message, but so collected that we do not even for a moment come close to a situation perceived as excessive obesity. The music as a whole is still characterized by a wealth of information, with the only difference being that the more accentuated midrange comes to the fore a bit more. Fortunately, as I mentioned, it is collected in itself, which translates into a perfectly perceived increase in the pulse and rhythm of the created musical events. How does this compare to its predecessor in absolute terms? The main change is a different perception of the band edges. But calmly, not in the sense of deterioration, but as feedback to direct the front’s activities to the central part, the treble finally becomes less absorbing, and the consistently controlled bottom no longer kicks with such a hard kick. Where’s the progress? I’m writing about it. By increasing the energy of the midrange, which automatically puts the rest of the range on the vertical, i.e. in the service of the midrange, which, based on the opinions I heard from friends, was a very good step by the brand.
What about the Master fuse, which boasts a very suggestive name? Well, in short, because the differences, although diametrical, are still a development of the features of its predecessor, it points the finger to the Purple fuse where it belongs. Given the excellent performance of the cheaper one, is Master really better and not different? For me it’s undoubtedly better. How is this possible? Contrary to appearances, the matter is simple, because the flagship infused Purple with a package of resolution and unobtrusive transparency, in other words, it increased the dose of air, expressiveness and bluntness in the message. This, in turn, caused the desire to signal one’s presence through the edges of the band to come back into favor, which directly translated into an improvement in the purity of the created events. And it’s not about brightening or slimming, because nothing like that happens, only improving the reception of the whole at the level of unobtrusive rapacity, with an obvious, for me despite the interesting result of Purple, even expected return to the favor of proper explicitness of the treble and a specific kick at the bottom. Suddenly, musical stories that seemed full of joy, from the level of cool tangibility, turn like a chameleon into musical performances taking place in the confines of our home, performed only for us with direct contact at our fingertips.”

Jacek Pazio - Sound Rebels - September 2023

Full review>

Enjoy the Music

2019 Great Audiophile Gift

“After returning home from the Toronto Audio Fest 2019, I dropped my familiar compilation CD into the tray and listened to the Orange fuses that had been burning in for four days. My rig, which previously had Synergistic Research Blue fuses and is priced in the tens of thousand dollars, was sounding like rigs I heard at the show that cost in the low hundreds of thousands. That’s all the math you need to know. Start with your source if you’re skeptical, and work your way through to the amps. The plans to upgrade my speakers are on hold, indefinitely.”  Ricker Becker

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Enjoy the Music

2020 Great Audiophile Gift

The ORANGE Fuse is Synergistic Research’s latest and greatest version of their extremely popular UEF Blue Fuse. In fact the Blue fuse earned Enjoy the Music.com’s 2018 Great Audiophile Gift recommendation. If you are one of the thousands of SR Fuse users, than you already know what an improvement the tiny devices add to your electronic’s performance.

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Enjoy the Music

2021 Great Audiophile Gift

And with the lower noise floor comes more inner detail, macro, and microdyamics. The soundstage expanded in the sense that voices and instruments farther away became more intelligible. There was a tremendous improvement of clarity within the soundstage. Instruments and singers up front did not mask what was going on behind them. The venue of live recordings became a lot more real — both room tone and audience applause.

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