REVIEW : Burson Audio HA-160 with listening impressions - Page 5

Quote:

Originally Posted by cdang 

BUMP

 

I have the Burson HA-160D paired with the AKG K702 and am about to pull the trigger on the Sennheiser HD800. I notice you also have the HD800 and was wondering how you rate them with the Burson.

ummmm .... isn't the first post all about how the amp sounds with the HD800?

My bad, I thought it was the 650 only.

I read that you were going to buy a senheiser hd800.Before you do that i would suggest you try the audeze lcd-2 rev 2 first.You may find it to be a preferable choice for less cost.I bought a lcd-2 rev2 about three months ago and have been using the burson ha160 to drive them and the sound is just amazing.I must add that i am using a kubala sosna emotion power cord on the burson and have upgraded the stock fuse on the burson with a hifi tuning silver star small 5a fast blow.I must say that the upgraded power cord and fuse improved the sound of the amp in every performance area.The dynamics are much more pronounced.The noise floor is much lower and with the lower noise floor low level resolution of the amp was noticeably improved.The power cord upgrade improved the dimensional aspect of music.The sound seems imho to have greater depth and the sound of the space that good recordings are made in sounds much more real.There also imho to be alot more information on recordings that i was never aware of that have surfaced when i am using the audeze with the burson using the upgraded power cord and fuse. 

Just got this very peculiar email from Burson regarding the power output into both 50 ohms and 300 ohms:

"Thanks for your question and email.

I've had an HA-160 for several months now, replacing a HeadRoom MicroAmp. I have AKG K702 phones. Break-in of ~100 hours smoothed the treble and brought deeper  and tighter bass (as much bass as you can get with the K702s). I am very happy with the sound I'm getting. There is plenty of detail. Although the sound is not dry, it does reveal grainy treble on bad digital recordings. I have no problem with that--either I listen to that CD with less revealing equipment or I get a better-recorded performance of the same piece (I listen almost exclusively to classical).

Quote:

Originally Posted by MacedonianHero 

Just got this very peculiar email from Burson regarding the power output into both 50 ohms and 300 ohms:

 

"Thanks for your question and email.

 

1. at 50 ohm the HA-160 will deliver 200mw and at 300ohm it will deliver 80mw

2. output impedance is 5.6 ohm.

 

Please let me know if you have further questions."

 

I thought they did 800mW into 50ohms, but even on their website its showing the HA-160 as only 250mW MAX.

 

http://bursonaudio.com/burson_headamp_160.htm

 

Yikes.

These were the specs listed when I bought my HA-160 a while back (and also my HA-160D last year):

Specifications

Input impedance: 47 KOhms

Frequency response: 5Hz (-0.3dB) to 35 kHz (-1dB)

Signal to noise ratio: >98dB at 0dB gain

THD: <0.001% at 6mW/300 Ohms

Channel separation: >70dB/10kHz

Output power: 650mW/300 Ohms, 800mW/60 Ohms

Output impedance: line out 60 Ohms, phones out 5 Ohms

Their revised output power adds the caveat of 250mw @ <1% distortion.  

I've never found my Burson to be short on power, even with the power hungry HE-6, but the new quoted figures are dramatically lower than once claimed.

Can anyone confirm the Burson has dropped the output power from 800mw @ 60 ohms and

650mw @ 300 ohms to 200mw @ 50 ohms and 80mw @ 300 ohms ?

I did send a email to Burson Audio on 2/24/12 asking this question, have not received a reply.

Thanks for any help

Quote:

Originally Posted by lugnut 

Can anyone confirm the Burson has dropped the output power from 800mw @ 60 ohms and

650mw @ 300 ohms to 200mw @ 50 ohms and 80mw @ 300 ohms ?

I did send a email to Burson Audio on 2/24/12 asking this question, have not received a reply.

Thanks for any help

Why would they do this?

The email they sent me indicated that the power output hasn't changed, it has just been revised to reflect levels below the 1% THD threshold.    So it may very well put out the kind of power previously quoted but at >1% THD.  The Burson straddles an odd line between solid-state and tube amps, as its opamps tend to have much higher distortion than most solid-state fare, but that's also why some people find it so analog/musical.