The Article
Russ Andrews SuperFuse: IS IT A BIRD…?
3rd January 2015
Russ Andrews offers an upgrade kit for your hi-fi plugs. Paul Rigby reviews the SuperFuse
I’ve heard about the concept of upgrading a basic plug fuse in order to chase improved sound quality. The first time I came across this concept was a fuse developed especially for a Stax headphone amplifier. I was disappointed, at that time, not to actually grab one for review. So I was more than pleased to actually give one a try, this time via Russ Andrews and for general use.
Russ Andrews describes the SuperFuse as a high performance mains plug fuse which features a unique Super Burn-In process (Well, if each word is capitalised then it must be special, eh?) The end caps for the ceramic tube are made from nickel and are highly polished and treated with the popular Deox-IT contact enhancer. You also get a DeoxIT Gold wiper sachet with every SuperFuse for treatment, just before fitting. Inside the SuperFuse is a silver wire. The fuses themselves are available in 13A, 10A and 5A versions.
SOUND QUALITY
Putting the SuperFuse into my Icon CD player, terminated with a top quality Tellurium Q Blue cable and running The Who’s My Wife, I immediately noticed how reduced the distortion was over the entire soundstage. More specifically, the jangly piano on the right channel was more forward in the mix, articulate and recognisable during the song in its entirety. Also the vocal was now clearer in its presentation.
Intriguingly, I could now hear more of the words. That is, a greater percentage of the lyrics were now recognisable instead of being merely articulated, nonsensical noises requiring consistent referral to the lyric sheet. The interrupting synth effects were also enhanced. There was a slight upper midrange bloom on each crescendo blast before which was gone on the first blast and much reduced on the second. Finally, the bass guitar, which was previously shaped by the Keith Moon drum kit, now became much more recognisable as a separate instrument.
On the Dexter Gordon jazz track, the sax, played during the early solo, was not only larger in terms of presence but also reedier in terms of tonality while the bass, centre stage, could now be heard going through subtle manipulations. The twists and turns of the upright bass were now easier to follow. The later introduction of the trumpet also introduced far more reverb on the decay giving the impression that the trumpet was laying in a larger space.
Moving to vinyl, I tried the SuperFuse on my Origin turntable (featuring a basic cable) and Bobby Darin’s Venice Blue. The differences were intriguing. The most obvious improvement was within the treble area which opened up and provided the entire track with a constant supply of delicate cymbal strikes of a new complexity. The bass guitar was slightly more prominent over a wider portion of the track. Overall, though, improvements were not as impressive as with the CD player.
When I added another fuse to the Pre (again, with a Tellurium Q Blue cable), the sound improved further. As such, the bass guitar became more consistent throughout the track. In the past it had tended to fade in an out, the increase in the quality of timing meant that there was a reduction in distortion which allowed the bass guitar to become a continual line that could be easily followed. The Darin vocal also improved. He was pulled slightly from the background instruments, giving him a more 3D effect while the glockenspiel secondary percussion become slightly more prominent adding to the complexity of the mix.
CONCLUSION
Oddly, the price of the fuse which, initially, might have triggered howls of derision seemed, after the test, to be rather low. Low, that is, considering the improvements in sound quality.
I found that those improvements changed depending on what piece of kit you used, though. For example, I found greater changes to the CD player and pre-amp than the turntable. Something I would not have predicted. That said, that might be more to do with the cable because both the Pre and CD players were using a higher quality, third party, cable while the turntable was using a bog standard cable supplied by Origin Live. So maybe that is the important variable in terms of sonic quality. That is, maybe the fuse allows you to get the most of a more superior cable. Bear that in mind before you buy.
RUSS ANDREWS SUPERFUSE
Website: www.russandrews.com
Tel: 01539 797300
Good: lowers distortion, clarity & tonal reality
Bad: Cable dependency lowers value for money
RATING: 7
REFERENCE SYSTEM
Origin Sovereign Turntable
12” Enterprise arm
Miyajima Zero cartridge
Icon Audio CD-X1 CD player
Aesthetix Calypso Pre
Icon Audio MB845 Mk.II monoblocks
Quad ESL-57 speakers with One Thing upgrade
Tellurium Q and Atlas cables.
I was kindly lent various fuse by another audiophile…while unwrapping the package the copious stick tape caught on the RA super fuse ..peeling back to reveal a bussmann fuse .
So over the last few weeks I’ve listen to the following 13 amp fuse
RA superfuse “aka bussmann”
MS hd power “aka bussmann” again just a sticky label
SEM12
SEM12 “hand polished to copper caps”
bussmann
bussmann “hand polished to copper caps”
Marbo
Vernon
Hifi tunning
So the fuses were replaced in the following order [ the order that they arrived effectively], so any comments about effect is really only comparable to the preceding fuse. Equipment used Sony haz1es, beard ca 506 [pre], Mistral mt34, lynwood mega mains conditioner, Martin Logan aerius i’s. The fuse was changed in the conditioner due to ease of access, and that it then supply’s the whole system.
Bussmann …. what I was originally using
RA superfuse….. No apparent difference [this was before I realised that effectively they were identical]
MS hd power…. No difference
Hifi tuning ….. Bigger richer sounding tending towards bloated, over blown almost
SEM12…… much more balanced than the previous natural neutral dynamic
Marbo….. thin and weedy, not very nice
Vernon….. more body but still on the shrill side
Bussmann polished…. relaxed big lush
SEM12 polished ….. surprisingly close but maybe a tad more neutral.
How do I rank them in my system ……
Hifi tunning This produce the most pronounced effect but did not suit my setup so I’m not including this in the ranking.
1 SEM12 polished
2 bussmann polished
3 SEM12
4 bussmann
5 RA superfuse
6 MS hd power
7 Vernon
8 Marbo
conclusion ..in the right system bright thin hard [cyrus?] the hifi tunning fuse could be a superb tweak
very disappointed with ra and ms as they were no better than the standard bussmann [which is what they are !]. The RA claims hand polishing but there no evidence to suggest this ……hand polishing of the end caps is clearly apparent under a x10 microscope and at x200 blindingly obvious ! Disapointingly I’d happliy live with 1-4 and have done ! but I will be polishing my remaining fuse as this adds something extra …though this of course will need to be maintained as they tarnish.
Hope this is of interest and Feel free to use any of this information. [Sent by email to Paul]
Paul has asked me to add this to his article comments …having now read his response . All I’ll add is that I’ve only listen and examine one sample fuse …it maybe a rogue ..that’s not for me to say. Also I’m unable to upload images to this report …but I’m happy to let Paul insert any that I’ve sent him.
Thanks for taking to time to undertake your tests, Peter. Appreciate the work involved and also your investigative spirit! I’m very happy to present you alternative view and will happily do the same with any other product featured on my site. This site is, after all, full of one man’s opinion, my own. The more testing and analysis offered then the closer to the truth we get. I never thought that the Superfuse was perfect and, if you read the review, it seemed to excel [in my system] under particular circumstances and with particular kit. You mention the Cyrus, Peter. Be nice if you could list your reference hifi utilised (including the cables, which affected my results) to undertake your tests to give the readers a bit of context. Thanks again.
No problem ….but first an explanation of my reference to Cyrus kit, I’ve heard 10 or more part and full systems over the last 20 year, and in my opinion [ and there owners ] all have been, lets say on the bright and thin side of neutral, some excruciatingly so !…..I may just have been unlucky, or it could just be that I was being called in by there owners to try an ameliorate said stridency ! I have nothing against the kit per say.
My kit used to test the various fuses …..Starting from the wall socket, [this plug was used to try the various fuse due to its accessibility.]
Lynwood Mega mains conditioner, feeding a distribution block to the rest of the system. From this my own mains cable [triple insulated 3x 4n 2mm dia silver] feeds the various components. Sony hapz1es, Beard ca506 pre, Mistral MT34 [set as power amp, bypassing the vol pot] Running a quad of matched Psvane T2 6ca7’s , Feeding Martin Logan aerius i’s on Iso Acoustic stands . All Ic’s are my own none shielded solid core twisted pairs using either 4n silver or platinum series alloys in oversized ptfe tube . An Artkustic Raumanimator was deployed for all the testing, this was to accentuate any of the smaller differences. But the effects were more on the tonal “colour” of the sound rather than any micro effects. These test were of course only my subjective impressions in my own system …but I do trust my ears !
The idea that the electricity that passes from a power station to your home, through miles and miles of aluminium transmission lines, yet more miles of solid copper conductors under the street from the sub-station, through your property’s 100A main fuse, the ceramic fuse carriers or MCBs in your main fuse box and then the contractors’ bulk-buy quality twin and earth buried in your walls, can then be made to make your hi-fi sound better than it otherwise would by being passed through half an inch of “audiofile” fusewire is complete and utter snake oil rubbish.
I posted this as a review on Russ Andrews’ website and, amazingly, it was rejected. I wonder why?
Ah, so you make a habit of this sort of thing then, eh Roger? 🙂 As long as your ire remains on the civilised side of the fence, then I won’t “reject” you. I might disagree with you but that’s it. Don’t be too hard on RA. There may have been a hundred reasons why they didn’t answer. I’m sure it was a mistake, they’re decent guys over there.
Onto your statement. The journey and the industrial kit it runs through isn’t really the point. Your mains supply can be re-routed to Watford Gap Motorway Service Station, back up through Mars and directly through the Twilight Zone but that wouldn’t matter either. The issue occurs when it hits your house – well, more than that, your listening room. What happens to it at that point. Thing is, in simplified terms, mains electricity is like a river. And like any river it can be pure and transparent one moment and full of supermarket trollies and dead fish the next. So, when it’s about to enter your listening room it will be probably full of electronic noise from that industrial machinery you mentioned (it ‘does the job’ but no more), street lighting plus other people’s rubbish from fridges, TVs, SKY boxes, PlayStations and the rest. Mains runs in two directions. It feeds power to your kettle but it then takes that sonic rubbish from the kettle and feeds it back into the mains to be delivered two doors down the road. Hence, you need to employ a Club Bouncer-type figure to remove the veiling noise that masks detail and the like. And this stuff can be removed. Your mains can be ‘cleaned’. The military/intelligence services have been doing this for ages, I have to add, along with employing anti-vibration and sound isolation technologies and the like (a lot of hi-fi technology comes from this area – just ask Vertex AQ who sell mains products, which is run by an ex-RAF man).
This Club Bouncer-type hifi kit acts as a sort of filter, if you will. This is where things get tricky because some filtering can do more harm than good to sound quality. They can remove veiling noise, sure, but also bits of actual music detail (delicate stuff like subtle and fragile reverb, for example). The quality filters just remove the noise. That’s why reviews are useful. There’s an entire toolkit to do the job and they include these fuses, yes, but they’re not magic bullets. You also need mains cables, power blocks, grounding tools like the CAD Ground Controls reviewed on this site, power conditioners and so on. Even this lot can’t be rid of all of the rubbish which is why you need to attack this noise in and around your hi-fi system too. Of course, the better the hi-fi, the more obvious the improvements but everyone should see benefits.
The point is that RA will charge you ¬£4000 for a simple transformer (which is in reality an amplifier without the amplifier section or any rectification components, or a requirement for a heat sink or speaker terminals etc) it isn’t even a genuine 3000va transformer it has 2 1500va within.The RA modus operandi is quite clear and obvious for all to see and he is not alone however I think he is one of the worst. Right now I can find a 10,000 va transformer for ¬£638 in a sturdy metal box certified for marine use with dual pole circuit breakers.
Hi John – please see a similar comment elsewhere for a reply which broadly covers your mail. Please note the off-topic point. Thanks.
RA charges ¬£4000 for a simple transformer…how on earth can that be justified?
Hi Patrick – are you referring to the company’s Balanced Mains Unit? That’s off topic for this thread so I won’t be replying to more of the same after this. There is, I’m pretty sure, a BMU news item elsewhere. You’re welcome to append comments there, though.
In short, RA doesn’t have to justify anything 🙂 As McIntosh doesn’t have to justify its new ¬£7,500 CD player. As Ford doesn’t have to justify its cars. As the outfit that makes Mint Sauce doesn’t have to justify its product. All companies create a product they hope to sell and profit from. You buy or you don’t. That’s the critical part that you play. If everyone hates it, the product dies. If the product is loved, it succeeds. End of story.