Burson Super Charger 3A Review by audioreviews.org: Wowsa, I Was Stunned

Jürgen Kraus of audioreviews.org reviewed the Burson Super Charger 3A in his written review “Superman’s Big Sister” (9 July 2022). His summary: the Super Charger “improves the sound quality of your amplifier substantially when deployed properly.”

Why power supplies matter

He explains that a good power supply does not add anything to the sound. It protects the signal from noise, so sound is “passively” improved by preservation and not by addition. The Super Charger tackles switching noise by raising the switching frequency higher above the threshold of human hearing.

Test setup

To keep other noise out of the chain, he used a battery-powered Questyle QP1R player as the source, feeding a Burson Funk through an AudioQuest Golden Gate interconnect, and compared the Super Charger with the Funk’s stock power supply.

Test results

“Wowsa! I was stunned! The sonic difference between the stock power supply and the Super Charger is substantial (in my setup).”

• “much better transparency, much better note definition, better accentuation”
• Improved imaging and much better control and organisation, which he first noticed in the bass
• “the signal is much cleaner and crisper, and more true to a Class A amp than with the stock power supply”

“Quite frankly, I enjoy the sound with the Super Charger so much more that I don’t want to go back to the stock supply.”

His caveats

• The benefit depends on how clean the rest of your chain is. With a noisy computer or phone and a DAC with a cheap power supply in front of the amp, the Super Charger “may not make much or any difference”. In his words: “garbage in, garbage out.”
• He questions why Burson includes a stock power supply that you then abandon for the Super Charger, and suggests letting buyers choose a power supply at checkout.
• The cord is not detachable, although the connector rotates.

The compatibility list in his review dates from 2022, so check the current list on our product page before buying.

Verdict

“It upgrades my Burson Funk to a real Class A amp.” He concludes that the Super Charger is for listeners “who don’t want to make compromises and who are smart enough to implement it properly into their electronic chain.”

Read the original review on audioreviews.org.

Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Super Charger 3A product page.