Yes it possible but no return if a backwards step

I've been amusing myself with the partisan reviews of the SR Purple fuse out there in forum-land. Let's not bother with Audio Science Review, who don't seem to actually do any listening, but elsewhere, such as Audiogon, you have black & white opinions and very little middle ground.

Of course, breaking this down a little more, those who have bought one or more generally fall into the enthusiastic camp while the naysayers generally profer a negative opinion without apparently having used one.

All I can do is offer my opinion, having bought two. It's the best fuse I've ever used, but I must qualify that a little lest people just go out and buy what is a fairly pricy little item without thinking things through.

Firstly, don't even bother with specialist fuses until you have your power arrangements well sorted. If you don't have decent cables and distribution, you're unlikely to benefit from one. Secondly, try something inexpensive like an AMR Gold before you dive right in.

I also need to declare that I have not directly compared the SR Orange with the Purple, and this has been the most common question asked of me. I use Oranges in both my regenerators and they were clearly better than the Reds they replaced. The two Purples replaced the two Reds feeding my DAC, the heart of my system, and they frankly set a new level of performance - it wasn't even close. I therefore surmise that the Purple beats the Orange, but its not a direct comparison.

For me, the SR series fall into three camps:
The Blue is decidedly soft and suits a component that needs toning down some hotness in its performance
The Red and Orange are both good all-rounders but accentuate the edge detail a little (Red more than Orange)
The Purple is essentially neutral but brings out vibrancy and dynamics as well as detail and soundstage

There is not one aspect of performance that the Purple does not improve upon. It brings out a wealth of detail, the dynamics are enhanced, soundstage and noise floor are improved, rhythmic intensity is there in spades and it just makes music sound more exciting in a natural and realistic way.

However, do make sure your system is performing well already. It's not a band-aid or correction for some deficiency elsewhere. Use a sale-or-return offer if you can. What I can say, based on my experience, is that it represents good value for money in the context of a well performing high end system in terms of what it brings to the party. The only rival I can think of for similar value would be (Chinese) grounding boxes.

I have currently got SR Red in my 3 power cables and in the Vitus RI101mk2, they were certainly a nice uplift from the standard, when funds allow I will change to purple in the power cable for the vitus and in the vitus aswell, may not be for a while.

Like Martin I placed SR Purple fuses in my DDC and DAC and was equally surprised and impressed with the result.

I guess if you spend two hundred bucks on a fuse you are predisposed to hear better sound so I plucked them out after 15 hours and returned the stockers.

Meh... the SR Purples made their way back in with dispatch.

I already have SR Purple fuses in my DDC and DAC, both rear panel and cable (a consequence of UK power where plugs have fuses).

Today I went further upstream to the Signature Rendu SE and replaced the plug fuse with a Purple, to match the one in the rear panel.

Every single Purple has made a positive change to the sound. I'm minded to replace the SR Oranges in my regenerators, so impressive are these things. There is no audible downside that I can hear.

An interesting summary, Martin. Thanks.

Fuses are next on my list for the UK system. The mains leads are fitted with various SR fuses, but I plan to go Schuko (as opposed to Loco!) on all except for the leads supplying the power conditioners. I suspect I have enough SR Orange fuses for that, but I may try Purple. For the rear panel fuses I may well go Purple although I have a bunch of Orange fuses from the German 'experiment'.

In Germany I am back on stock fuses, but now have enough HiFi Tuning fuses to change everything over (and it is all Schuko of course except for the sub which is connected to a UK-plugged Titan). You have also reminded me I need to order two DC fuses for the Lector power amp (i'll order for the UK at the same time).

From all our experiments and experience with customers systems with the Synergistic fuses our observations would be.

Red: Decent all-round fuse NEVER fails to make a positive difference a good upgrade for sensible money imho great in power cables/amps/power supplies

Blue: Odd one this, not for many of our clients at all (nor myself) its a sideways move from the red, demonstrates a more rounded mid ban presence better decay, loses out in the bass depth and articulation, on some systems the upper frequencies become obvious, not bright or forward but more realisation they are there as opposed to be integrated within the soundscape. Ideal for Jazz buffs/female vocal nuts & audiophile recording connoisseurs. Dacs/Pre/LPS or not so performance orientated solid state amps.

Orange: My favourite SR fuses, very much an improved Red but all round by a good margin, does nothing wrong at all, great linearity and even handedness in the system. Ideal for power leads/power conditioners/DC power supplies/ Dac's and streamers also like them.

Purple: Very much like a blue on steroids, it delivers serious leading edge detail, bigger staging and a definite Wow factor, if you listened to one of these purple fuses first then you cannot fail to be impressed for at least (5 minutes) even with pretty basic equipment it delivers a 'Where did that come from moment'
However, using these in wrong place, to many will upset your system balance no question. They can & do make a very respectable difference; the question is can you live with that difference. We did extensive trails on these for a couple months with six clients, general consensus 'If you have fairly flat sounding system, couple of purples with really wake it up', if you are looking for tighter bass these will help, if your top end is a bit dull then these will really help again. Mains cables/digital sources and class ‘a’ amps both SS and valves

Using Purples in my own system resulted in a heightened leading-edge detail, a more forward sound, more immediacy utterly obvious to a deaf guy with his ears full of water. If that is the aspects of sound reproduction that appeal to you then purple is a must. The downside was reduction is three dimensionality, note decay, texture, articulation, loss of bass depth and control. It killed my systems ability to reproduce music with aplomb.

Your mileage will vary, I use SR orange in two places in my systems both in the two mains cables that feed the conditioner, the rest I use a different make.

The Red is likely to be better for mains power, HiFi Tuning for internal DC fusing.

You'll have to try both and compare to be sure.

Orange SR fuse added to R26
Further creates a sense of flow to the music