I ve been a happy Sparkos labs SS3602 user using 2 of them in the I/V slots and 1xMuses02 in the buffer to give em the bass I like. Sparkos lacked that punch. That was by far my favorite combination so far.
The past few days I got a chance to review the Burson V5 discrete opamps and the new V5i. Here is my honest opinion.
My setup
Asus Xonar Essence STX II
Speakers: Swans M50w, Klipsch RP-160M
Headphones: Sennheiser HD598
Amplifier: Crown XLS 1002
Lets start with the V5
First of all they came in really good packaging
First impression was that these things are HUGE!.
How they look on the card: (I/V: 2xBurson V5 - Buffer: muses02)
How they look on the card: (I/V: 2xBurson V5 - Buffer: Burson V5)
First I tried replacing the 2 sparkos with the V5 in the I/V stage keeping the muses02 in the buffer. Results?
+More laid back
+Wider soundstage for sure
+Slightly more detail, especially in the lower frequencies.
+High frequencies are more open compared to the sparkos, without being harsh though. That is interesting in a good way.
In general it was not a day/night difference and soundstage comes down to personal preference. Currently I prefer it wider, more laid back than right in my face, but that's just me. It's a tough call.
Then I decided to try the third Burson V5 in the buffer, having low expectations.
All I have to say is WOW! For anyone that has second thoughts, the buffer really makes a big difference and is as important as the other stages.
So using 3 x Burson V5 the sound changed significantly:
+Tighter bass. Definately better than the muses02 which I thought was the best so far.
+Cleaner low and high end of the sound spectrum. I still can't believe the extra detail that started appearing in the lows.
The observations above apply to both speakers, more to the swans since they are harder to handle, harder to produce good midrange having only 3" drivers. Took me a great amount of time and testing to find the perfect opamps to make these speakers shine.
As for the Klipsch RP-160m, even though these speakers come with a horn-loaded tweeter, the Burson opamps sounded mellow and never harsh no matter how loud I was playing music. I really liked how the highs are handled by these opamps.
Testing with the HD598 headphones all I have to say is two things: Clear and punchy. I thought I could never get any bass out of these headphones. They are really flat sounding. With the V5 there is a punch now which makes them more enjoyable while still remaining crystal clear. (Muses8920 in comparison tend to make the mid range muddy and muffled.)
Overall it's a clear winner for me. Even though I loved the sparkos labs SS3602 in combination with the muses02, I will go with 3xV5 hands down. Again, this test is based on my personal setup and is subjective as more than just the opamps determine the final sound. For your setup things might be different.
Next I tried the new V5i integrated OPAMPS
Package was similar to their bigger brother
They are really small and should be able to fit under the EMI shield of the soundcard just fine, unlike the V5 or the sparkos.
In comparison here is a picture demonstrating the size of these opamps:
Left to right: Muses02 - V5i - LME49720HA - Sparkos SS3602 - V5
Here is how the card looks like with them installed. And the EMI shield fits nice over them.
Moving on to how they sound
Turning on my test songs after having played them for the V5 to have a recent impression of how they sound I noticed the following:
+Level of detail is still good, not as good as the V5 but not a big difference. It sounds pretty similar but like there is a light veil in front of them. Again small difference. I m guessing this will improve as they break in.
+Bass is still tight and punchy. Better than the Muses02. That was a nice surprise.
+ Soundstage seems just a tiny bit narrower and the singer sounded closer to you. More like the sparkos SS3602 rather than the V5. This is a personal preference so I will not comment on if its a good or bad thing.
+Highs remain clear and never get harsh. maintains this characteristic from the bigger V5 and is really good.
+ Compared to the sparkos, I would say its a tough call, sparkos seemed clearer and way closer to you but lacked bass when used alone and needed the muses02 or another bassy buffer.
+Not a huge difference compared to the bigger V5 and I can say that If I havent already purchased the V5 I might have stayed with the V5i and be equaly satisfied.
What was the most noteworthy observation is that these Opamps seem to be more forgiving than the V5. Meaning that if the mp3 you are playing is not top quality you can really tell with the V5. Sounds bad, you can hear all the muffled mids, crackling noise in the recording, etc. With the V5i the same mp3 seems fine. doesnt reveal that much bad info from a bad recording.
In general I feel that these V5i are a better contender than Muses01/Muses02/Muses8920/Muses8820. Overall they sound similar to the bigger V5 being just slightly less detailed (more forgiving) and more upfront. Though, they keep the good characteristics of V5 like the clear and mellow highs, tight and detailed bass, clear mid range. Having both, I will stick with the V5 but If I had to buy again I would go straight for the V5i since I feel the extra cost does not justify the sound difference between the two, at least for my PC speaker system. Unless of course you want the best possible sound quality regardless of the cost.
Feel free to ask any questions.
I ve been a happy Sparkos labs SS3602 user using 2 of them in the I/V slots and 1xMuses02 in the buffer to give em the bass I like. Sparkos lacked that punch. That was by far my favorite combination so far.
The past few days I got a chance to review the Burson V5 discrete opamps and the new V5i. Here is my honest opinion.
My setup
Asus Xonar Essence STX II
Speakers: Swans M50w, Klipsch RP-160M
Headphones: Sennheiser HD598
Amplifier: Crown XLS 1002
Note:
The Klipsch Rp-160m are bookshelf speakers and need an external amp to drive them.
The Swans M50w are pc speakers and have the amp in the subwoofer so just the soundcard is enough.
Headphones dont need the amp either.
I only used the amp for the Klipsch.
Lets start with the V5
First of all they came in really good packaging
First impression was that these things are HUGE!.
How they look on the card: (I/V: 2xBurson V5 - Buffer: muses02)
How they look on the card: (I/V: 2xBurson V5 - Buffer: Burson V5)
First I tried replacing the 2 sparkos with the V5 in the I/V stage keeping the muses02 in the buffer. Results?
+More laid back
+Wider soundstage for sure
+Slightly more detail, especially in the lower frequencies.
+High frequencies are more open compared to the sparkos, without being harsh though. That is interesting in a good way.
In general it was not a day/night difference and soundstage comes down to personal preference. Currently I prefer it wider, more laid back than right in my face, but that's just me. It's a tough call.
Then I decided to try the third Burson V5 in the buffer, having low expectations.
All I have to say is WOW! For anyone that has second thoughts, the buffer really makes a big difference and is as important as the other stages.
So using 3 x Burson V5 the sound changed significantly:
+Tighter bass. Definately better than the muses02 which I thought was the best so far.
+Cleaner low and high end of the sound spectrum. I still can't believe the extra detail that started appearing in the lows.
The observations above apply to both speakers, more to the swans since they are harder to handle, harder to produce good midrange having only 3" drivers. Took me a great amount of time and testing to find the perfect opamps to make these speakers shine.
As for the Klipsch RP-160m, even though these speakers come with a horn-loaded tweeter, the Burson opamps sounded mellow and never harsh no matter how loud I was playing music. I really liked how the highs are handled by these opamps.
Testing with the HD598 headphones all I have to say is two things: Clear and punchy. I thought I could never get any bass out of these headphones. They are really flat sounding. With the V5 there is a punch now which makes them more enjoyable while still remaining crystal clear. (Muses8920 in comparison tend to make the mid range muddy and muffled.)
Overall it's a clear winner for me. Even though I loved the sparkos labs SS3602 in combination with the muses02, I will go with 3xV5 hands down. Again, this test is based on my personal setup and is subjective as more than just the opamps determine the final sound. For your setup things might be different.
Next I tried the new V5i integrated OPAMPS
Package was similar to their bigger brother
They are really small and should be able to fit under the EMI shield of the soundcard just fine, unlike the V5 or the sparkos.
In comparison here is a picture demonstrating the size of these opamps:
Left to right: Muses02 - V5i - LME49720HA - Sparkos SS3602 - V5
Here is how the card looks like with them installed. And the EMI shield fits nice over them.
Moving on to how they sound
Turning on my test songs after having played them for the V5 to have a recent impression of how they sound I noticed the following:
+Level of detail is still good, not as good as the V5 but not a big difference. It sounds pretty similar but like there is a light veil in front of them. Again small difference. I m guessing this will improve as they break in.
+Bass is still tight and punchy. Better than the Muses02. That was a nice surprise.
+ Soundstage seems just a tiny bit narrower and the singer sounded closer to you. More like the sparkos SS3602 rather than the V5. This is a personal preference so I will not comment on if its a good or bad thing.
+Highs remain clear and never get harsh. maintains this characteristic from the bigger V5 and is really good.
+ Compared to the sparkos, I would say its a tough call, sparkos seemed clearer and way closer to you but lacked bass when used alone and needed the muses02 or another bassy buffer.
+Not a huge difference compared to the bigger V5 and I can say that If I havent already purchased the V5 I might have stayed with the V5i and be equaly satisfied.
What was the most noteworthy observation is that these Opamps seem to be more forgiving than the V5. Meaning that if the mp3 you are playing is not top quality you can really tell with the V5. Sounds bad, you can hear all the muffled mids, crackling noise in the recording, etc. With the V5i the same mp3 seems fine. doesnt reveal that much bad info from a bad recording.
In general I feel that these V5i are a better contender than Muses01/Muses02/Muses8920/Muses8820. Overall they sound similar to the bigger V5 being just slightly less detailed (more forgiving) and more upfront. Though, they keep the good characteristics of V5 like the clear and mellow highs, tight and detailed bass, clear mid range. Having both, I will stick with the V5 but If I had to buy again I would go straight for the V5i since I feel the extra cost does not justify the sound difference between the two, at least for my PC speaker system. Unless of course you want the best possible sound quality regardless of the cost.
Feel free to ask any questions.
