Review : Quantum Science Audio Black Fuse, Bellari PP532 Passiver Preamp, Audtek 16AWG OFC


Budget Esoterica Review Magazine
July 2021 Issue

Quantum Science Audio Black Fuse, Bellari PP532 Passive Preamp, Audtek 16AWG OFC Speaker  Cable

If you are still on the fence about audiophile fuses you need to try the Quantum Science Audio black fuse available at Tweek Geek. This miracle tweek took my mediocre sounding Arcam 8P power amp and gave it a solid notch up in performance. Muddiness and grain were reduced significantly. The amp was seemingly more powerful sounding with better frequency extremes , opening of the sound stage and better clarity. All this happened with their entry level fuse which is named black for performance level. Price is a reasonable $28.50, but prices and performance level are staggered all the way up to $2,800. 

I like passive preamps and Bellari has one that is solid as a rock.With superb build quality , there are several reasons to like this little preamp. The color, for one thing is not your basic black , but a  beautiful fire engine red with gold knob accents. At first you might find this a little garish, but it was a welcome departure from the ho hum black which we have become accustomed to. I also like the fact that you can have 4 inputs hooked up to this red and gold audiophile brick. The input knob selector moves into place without so much as a click! Very nicely done, Bellari. Perhaps this is the Ferrari of passive preamps? It certainly has the color down pat. I also noticed higher volume levels available than my other passive preamps.  Certainly something to consider when choosing a passive. Price around $100.

For bulk speaker cable, i like the Audtek SKRL-16-50 available at Parts Express for under $20. If you need skinny speaker cable, this will work with a wide variety of equipment and is very easy to work with and terminate. This is a 16AWG OFC cable with extremely low capacitance and inductance. I used the Audtek cable terminated with banana plugs between my Arcam power amp and the Paradigm Atom V2 placed on 9horn speaker stands. 

The first thing i noticed was the high quality bass while listening to the excellent Diana Krall recording of Wallflower. The opening track, "California Dreamin" had an impressive bass response , better than i usually hear from the Paradigms.
The sound seemed a tad more transparent and the sound stage was a little more open. Moving on to track number 4, "Alone Again", a duet with Michael Buble , the vocals were strong and natural sounding with a good sense of separation. The piano and percussion in the background seemed a little more accurate and organic than i am used to. 

If you are a fan of the music of Miles Davis, be sure and check out Russell Gunn Plays Miles on the HighNote records label. Here the spirit and legend lives on to a great extent on this very nice interpretation of some of Miles' greatest hits. Track number 4, "Footprints" sounded more dynamic than it had any right to considering the size of the speakers. I also thought the timing and the organic flow gave the presentation a "rightness" to the sound that only a jazz music lover could appreciate. 

I also noticed a little sharper and cleaner sound with the Quantum Science Audio fuse installed in my power amp. Reference the song, "All Of Your Love" by the Rolling Stones from the excellent Blue And Lonesome cd. The percussive sounds were very clean and sharp with good extension in the highs. Arcam is well known for their pace and timing and that is exactly what i heard listening to track number 10, "Little Rain". Clarity seemed to be a little better than what i usually get. 

So here are three more excellent audiophile products that are reasonably priced and easily accessible. Honorable mention goes to the Bellari passive preamp with excellent build and function. If you are in need of a high quality passive preamp, i highly recommend it. I find that Audtek cables are excellent performers in their price range and well above and highly recommend them to music lovers who just want to enjoy their music in a pure and economical fashion. The Quantum Audio Science fuse is the best and most expensive fuse tweek i have tried and you should notice slight gains in several areas of performance depending on your equipment. 


honda6
honda6

Thank You for the QSA review. I would like to read more reviews involving CD/SACD players.

Happy Listening!
I use the Bellari EQ570 in my office system and it is a wonderful sounding EQ. I compared it with the Schiit Loki and liked the Bellari so much more.  It is dead quiet and build quality is off the charts. 
Interesting. I’d love to hear the differences between the black and light blue $28 vs $71. Both are reasonable priced. Ok, maybe not for some, but they’ll squawk if it was $5. Fifteen yrs ago I would have laughed also. But I practiced SCIENCE and experimented for my own knowledge, not relying on what I think I know