SuperRouter Signature - Hi-Fi+ Review
Friday, 15th December 2023
Jason Kennedy takes a listen to the effects of our flagship RF Grounding device and comes away mightily impressed...
*** STOP PRESS ***The SuperRouter Signature edition has received the Hi-Fi+ magazine WINNER Award in the Mains/other category of their annual awards.
The Russ Andrews SuperRouter Signature Edition
If you’ve already read about Paul Rigby’s review of the SuperRouter Signature, you’ll be familiar with the level of improvement this component can bring to your system (if you haven’t, read about Paul Rigby's review of the SuperRouter Signature here).
Like Paul, Jason Kennedy has many years of experience of the world of high-fidelity under his belt, and it’s this wealth of knowledge that informs his assessment of the grounding product under review here. As he states; “I have tried all manner of systems for reducing noise; many specifically addressing noise on the ground”.
The tone of the review is set immediately after this statement of experience, when he writes that, of these varying approaches to noise reduction, “pound for pound, [the SuperRouter] is one of the most profound”.
But before we get into more detail about his findings, let’s take a step back.
Well worth the effort
Jason notes that setting up the Russ Andrews Grounding System in the first place is a bit of “a faff”. Let’s be honest: it is. Not a great faff, but a bit of a faff nonetheless. It’s not just a matter of plugging it in and ‘away you go’. This puts some people off, and that’s a great shame because, as he states, “the results are more than worth the effort, a lot more” (our emphasis).*
The results speak for themselves. Specifically, he noticed that the “SuperRouter causes a significant drop in the noise floor which reveals all of the quieter sounds in a recording”.
The Signature Edition includes 12 superb WBT-0710 Cu mC input binding posts
That may sound like a subtle improvement to the listening but he’s quick to emphasise that this is far from the case “because the quiet sounds are the ones that make everything seem more real and complete, more natural in fact because there is so much more to appreciate”.
Expanding on this point, he continues by adding that:
“[the] immediate impressions are of openness, then ease, then expression. The acoustic envelope around cymbals, the feeling in a voice, the playing of the quietest musician; it's precision with natural decay plus better timing”.
Assessing the effect on analogue
In order to test the impact of the Grounding System in the analogue realm, he next connects up his turntable/phono stage/PSU, using his preamp as the recommended ‘hub’ between the source components and the SuperRouter (see our Grounding Guide for more information). The results of this, he ventures, “were even more remarkable”.
Of course, the turntable is one of the most sensitive components, so it’s not necessarily too surprising that the effects here can be even greater. Nevertheless, the extent of the improvement is impressive, with Jason noting that:
“there is so much low level information in a vinyl groove that it feels as if the data has doubled”, and adding that “better imaging, timing, contrast and dynamics… combine to make the music even more magical”.
Concluding remarks
The addition of the Grounding System into his set-up adds up to a significant improvement right across the board. In concluding, Jason observes that:
"[it is] clear that ground noise is the enemy of good sound and the Russ Andrews SuperRouter does a better job of cleaning it up than most. It might seem expensive but all the R'n'D behind it means that the SuperRouter Signature is a killer upgrade", with the Awards issue adding that it is "a highly recommended upgrade for any system".
Magazine: Hi-Fi+
Issue: 217, March 2023 (originl review)
Verdict: WINNER, 2023 Hi-Fi+ Awards 2023, Power/other category
*To make things easier, we include basic instructions and there is also a comprehensive Guide to System Grounding available here (and we’re always at the end of a phone – or email - if you need clarification on any aspect of your set-up).
Click here for more about SuperRouter Signature
Click here to read The Audiophile Man review
Click here to read about Hi-Fi Critic on Grounding
Written By Simon Dalton
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