SR Master Fuse - Part 2
REFERENCE AUDIO – WITHAM ESSEX
BOB’s Review Series - No 91 – SYNERGISTIC RESEARCH 13 AMP MASTER FUSE PART 2
INTRODUCTION
In my last review of the Synergistic Research (SR) Master Fuse I started by asking would you pay £600 for a 13-amp mains fuse, and I ended by asking do you need another one, so here are my thoughts on adding a second one having tried it at home. SR suggest that most systems wouldn’t need more than one provided the rest of the system uses their Pink, Purple or Orange fuses because they are designed to compliment each other with the Master Fuse filling in the blanks left by their other fuses. Don’t therefore think you need to replace all your fuses with Master Fuses because if you do you will only be getting a part of the benefit offered by upgrading fuses, and it would cost you a small fortune to do so.
CONNECTIONS
I installed the second one into my system to replace the Purple Fuse that had been supplying mains juice to my streamer. The other Master Fuse remains in the power cable supplying mains current to my PowerZone 3.10 mains distribution unit. All other mains cables have the older SR Purple fuses installed (SR have recently replaced Purple for Pink fuses in their catalogue).
LISTENING
Letting it settle in for a week or two I had a good listen playing a variety of music and I have to say that the system is sounding very good. I’m not a great fan of bright and brittle sounding systems so have tailored mine to have a warmer yet fully detailed sound that gives me the full emotional contact with the music and allows me to listen for long periods without fatigue setting in. Adding the second Master Fuse maintained my preferences but it wasn’t a night and day upgrade revelation, and I hadn’t expected it to be. The upgrade in sound quality gained by adding the second Master Fuse is subtle but enough for me to keep it in my system going forward. After a while I decided to swap the lead containing the second Master Fuse out from the Streamer and into my DAC and I felt that this is where most benefit is to be gained, again it’s subtle but enough to convince me it had found its home. If you buy one or two, it’s easy to swap leads to find the best place for it or them in your system.
CONCLUSION
My answer to my own questions ‘do you need one or even two Master Fuses in your system’ is a resounding yes, to both. Just don’t go overboard and replace all your fuses with Master Fuses, your system won’t thank you for it. Spend the money on something else from the SR range of products. Or a good family day out.
October 2025
Bob – Team Reference Audio