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Burson HA-160D questions...?

post #1 of 16
10/31/11 at 7:17am
Thread Starter 

Is the Burson HA-160D (dac + headphone amp combo) essentially a Burson DA-160 (DAC) plus a HA-160 (headphone amp)?

 

Or is one (or both) of the DAC section or headphone amp component inferior in quality in the combo as opposed to the standalone units?

 

And is it's overall sound quality pretty much the same as if you chain together a DA-160 and a HA-160?

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post #2 of 16
10/31/11 at 7:29am

My understanding is that every subsequent release was a slight upgrade.

 

The HA-160D was the HA-160 slightly tweaked to address issues that had cropped up with the 160, + a 24/96 capable adaptive DAC.  

The DAC on the DA-160 was tweaked over the included DAC in the HA-160D.  Upgraded power supply and more inputs.  I don't believe it can do 24/192, at least not in USB.  Same Burr-Brown chip though.

 

I don't know anything about the newly released DS except that it removes the preamp function of the HA-160D.

 

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post #3 of 16
10/31/11 at 8:15am
Thread Starter 

Burson website says HA-160D can do 24/192 only via co-ax...

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post #4 of 16
10/31/11 at 8:41am

Correct.  The HA-160D can do 24/96 in usb, 24/192 in co-ax.  (24/96 is currently the superior to 24/192 anyways.)  

 

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post #5 of 16
10/31/11 at 9:09am

Their website says the standalone DAC is superior to the combo DAC's. The combo DAC's have the same DAC. The headphone amps are all the same. The combo and the standalone unit - all the same amp. 


Edited by SoundFreaq - 10/31/11 at 9:14am
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post #6 of 16
10/31/11 at 9:12am

It would need to say that or everyone would just buy the combo.  There are no changes to the board or chip to my knowledge.  PS and inputs only.

 

If someone wants to correct me feel free.

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post #7 of 16
10/31/11 at 9:34am

If you dont need the preamp function, i'd consider getting the standalone amp/dac units. Imo of course. 

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post #8 of 16
11/1/11 at 1:03pm
Quote:
Originally Posted by jackwess View Post

If you dont need the preamp function, i'd consider getting the standalone amp/dac units. Imo of course. 


You might also consider the brand-new HA-160DS.  Same amp and DAC as the 160D, but:

 

-it's smaller

 

-it loses the preamp functions (1 RCA/1 USB/1 COAX)

 

-it ditches the stepped attenuator for a more traditional volume control

 

-it combines the high and low gain headphone jacks into a single, averaged version

 

-it's considerably cheaper
 

 

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post #9 of 16
11/1/11 at 2:10pm

Wow, A $350 premium for the damn pre-amp. I really wanted that functionality. So now the DAC is only $200 more when attached to the amp. That's nuts. It was already a good deal when compared to $500+ DAC's. 

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post #10 of 16
11/1/11 at 2:23pm

Not just the pre-amp.  The two-jack thing is huge (just ask Cavalli) and the stepped attenuator has always been a big selling point in the Burson literature.

 

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post #11 of 16
11/1/11 at 2:36pm

What's great about the steps? It seems it offers less control. Is it quieter to have the steps? Both while adjusting volume, and generally during play?

 

Edit: I read up and answered my own question. But why wouldn't every audio manufacturer do this then if it's better?


Edited by SoundFreaq - 11/1/11 at 2:48pm
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post #12 of 16
11/1/11 at 2:50pm

From their lit on the HA-160D:

 

At the time when an audio signal is passing through the volume control, it is still at its weakest. At this stage, the audio signal is very vulnerable to noise pollution and interference. A major source of such distortion is the commonly used remote volume control adopted by most manufactures.

 

 

 

 

 

If they ditch that with the DS, then they're forsaking their own sacred tenets.  

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post #13 of 16
11/1/11 at 3:30pm

I can clearly see that they aren't using it (on the DS) to lower costs. 

 

From their site:

We have also reduced the number of headphone outputs to one and used the best volume potentiometer we could find to ease control while preserving sonic quality. 

 


Interesting. 


Edited by jackwess - 11/1/11 at 3:31pm
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post #14 of 16
11/7/11 at 4:45pm
FWIW, with my Ed. 8 (30 ohm, 96 dB), I use the high-power jack for movies and games (10-11 o'clock) and the low power one for music (noon to 2 o'clock) to have more control over the volume. My music files are a lot louder than movies or games, I don't know why.
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post #15 of 16
11/7/11 at 5:42pm


 

Quote:
Originally Posted by fomoz View Post

FWIW, with my Ed. 8 (30 ohm, 96 dB), I use the high-power jack for movies and games (10-11 o'clock) and the low power one for music (noon to 2 o'clock) to have more control over the volume. My music files are a lot louder than movies or games, I don't know why.


Same happens if you use them on the low power jack? from what i know there was a typo on their manual. 

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