Burson Conductor 3 Reference was loaned to me for a two-week evaluation in exchange for an honest opinion. Thanks a lot to Burson Audio for this opportunity.

Burson Conductor 3 Reference is the top of the range device of Australian Burson Audio Company and appears in two versions: Conductor 3 and Conductor 3X.
The Conductor 3 costs $1744 in the basic setup or $1944 upgraded with Burson V6 opamps.
The Conductor 3X is fully balanced, with XLR inputs and outputs, with one 6.3mm and one XLR headphone output. The 3X version costs $2144 in the basic setup and $2344 upgraded with V6 opamps.

I will be reviewing here the Conductor 3 in the basic version.



Burson Audio C3 Reference is a Class A working DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp in dual mono configuration with two SABRE32/ESS9038Q2M chips and XMOS-USB receiver with German Thesycon drivers. There is also a Bluetooth 5.0 receiver with Qualcomm’s CSR8675 chip featuring up to aptX HD audio codecs.

Power:

Burson uses 5 sets of Current Power Supplies (MCPS) which raise voltage frequency from 50Hz to 170kHz, separate for Display/Functionality, DAC, analogue left and analogue right outputs. Gone are hefty double toroidal transformers found inside the previous model and there is no linear power supply. Instead there is an external 24V switching power brick, following the philosophy which are recently preached by some other notable manufacturers like Chord Audio, Benchmark and RME, amongst others. As far as I understand, a properly designed switching power supply can be much quieter than the LPS, has higher energy efficiency and besides, moving the power supply out of the box reduces magnetic interferences with sensitive electronics.

Build:

Conductor 3 feels solid and strong, weighting stately 5kg. The Cool Case really looks cool and acts as well. It is made from anodized aluminum in space-grey color which looks for me personally a way better than shiny chrome look of the previous versions and miles away from boring industrial design used for Play, Fun, Playmate and Swing. The case acts as a heat-sink and Burson claims that is 300% more efficient than previous Conductors. After continuously listening for 2-3 hours it did get warm, pleasantly warm but never hot. It is also a looker on the desktop and the top can be used for placing the headphones stand on it.

There is a small, 4 buttons remote control.

Display

Finally! After complaining about really micro display on the Playmate and Swing, the Conductor 3 finally sports a new beautiful, big and easy-to-read OLED display. All settings are clearly visible. The Menu is so intuitive that you don’t need at all the manual to get along with it.
Nevertheless, the online pdf manual could be a little bit more informative.



I will just quote the most important specs:

Headphone output impedance: 0,5 Ohm (great!)

Plenty of Inputs: 2x RCA Line-Level, USB, Opt. Toslink, Bluetooth 5.0, Mic
Outputs: 1x RCA Pre-Amp, 1x Line-Level DAC, 2x 6,3 mm headphone jack

There is plenty of power, with 7.5w on 16 Ohm and 580mW on 300 Ohm.
All digital resolutions are supported.
Choice of digital filters and DPLL settings. Low and high gain.

The full specs can be found here: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/conductor-3/



Sound:

Conductor 3 as a DAC/headphone amp:

I have used the AKG K701, Beyerdynamic T90, Sennheiser HD650 and Sennheiser Momentum 2 for listening over 20 different recordings I know by heart, mostly classical, opera, jazz, world music and hard rock. And the AC/DC. No, not because they are Australian but because I grew up on many of their recordings.

I was listening mainly using High Gain. There is huge difference between two gain settings, and while high gain might be able to power most difficult to drive planars, Low Gain setting is ideal for listening with low impedance iems. When listening to Momentum 2 with their high sensitivity and low impedance, I switched to low gain. There was no audible hiss and the sound kept the same signature.

First thing which you notice is a big soundstage, much deeper than with the Swing/Fun combo or the Playmate and precise instrument localization. There is an authority and calmness to the sound. Everything sounds smooth, clean, effortless and airy. There is no digital flavor, there is no robotic cymbals crash. You just get used to the clean, neutral sound quickly to the point that it sounds just normal. There is plenty of power reserve, I can’t imagine there is any headphone on earth the Conductor 3 couldn’t easily power up.

The bass is very fast, crisp, focused and precise. It is not overly warm but more on the energetic side. Only thing which I was missing was a little bit more sub-bass rumble. The bass extends very low, but doesn’t have quite a body and weight like found in latest AKM chips. Bass isn't lacking by any means, but it does tends just a touch to the leaner side.

The mids are clean and neutral with voices having a natural air and breath around them. The treble is smooth, non-fatiguing and much reminiscent of tuning already heard with the Swing and the Playmate. Burson techs did a veritable effort to escape the Sabre glare, tuning it to sound non-fatiguing.

In my review of the Swing back then, I wrote about the Swing being a sleeping beauty. Well now the Conductor is completely awakened, the beast relished. The Conductor paints also much more colors and exhibits more micro-dynamic which makes listening more attentive. It doesn't sound unnaturally warm, lush or euphonic. I would describe the sound as technical but not analytical, neutral and very clean. Comparing the Conductor 3 to other conductors, it isn’t technical Herbert Karajan nor emotional Leonard Bernstein, but rather energetic Carlos Kleiber.

With the Conductor 3, there is no hype to the sound, no special effects or new sound revelations. You just listen for hours forgetting that there is something between you and your music. The real impression how great does the Conductor 3 sound comes only AFTER listening to it for long. When you switch to something else after listening to the Conductor 3, is like falling down from 3D to 2D. You than suddenly realize that you are missing everything a little bit: from explosive dynamic, holographic and realistic soundstage and plenty of sound colors. First thing which came to my mind is like driving your car daily, to the point that you actually get forgetting about it. When you bring your car for the full car service, you get a replacement car to be used while your car is being maintained. Once you seat in an inferior replacement car, only then you realize how much you miss your own car. That was my exact feeling whenever I tried to listen to anything else, after listening the Conductor 3.

Conductor 3 as headphone amp:

Connecting few different sources like Chord Mojo, SMSL M9 dac with dual AK4490 chip and FiiO’s M11 dap with dual AK4493 chips, showed immediately the greatness of the amp section. I was amazed to hear how all the sources sounded exactly like the original, without any coloration. Like best magnifying glass. When connecting Chord Mojo and AKM based dacs to the RCA inputs, the bass got more fat, and overall sound got on body and weight. As the Mojo outputs highish 3V over line out, I had a feeling that the sound was a little bit distorted. Therefore I dialed it down to approx. 2V and immediately it sounded much cleaner to me. This is important when matching the source voltage with the RCA inputs of the Conductor 3. I would say that for my personal taste, the amp section of the Conductor 3 left an ultimate high-end felling, there were no wishes left. I definitely liked it more than minimally leaner dac/amp section.

Conductor 3 as a DAC with fixed line out:

Connected to my Marantz amp and Dali speakers which are slightly tending toward euphonic, this was a match made in heaven. Conductor’s dac section was highly precise, resolving and fast sounding, which superbly complemented the Marantz house sound. However if you already have analytic or bright sounding system, I would experiment with the choice of filters to tailor the sound of the dac to match your system.

Conductor 3 as a digital pre-amp:

I have connected the Conductor 3 used as a pre-amp to Burson Bang with V6 Classics and Epos speakers. Again it was a wonderful pairing, thanks to creamy V6 Classics in the Bang. With Bang's basic setup or with V6 Vivids, I have a feeling that the sound would be slightly on the brighter side.



Bluetooth connection

The Conductor 3 can act as a Bluetooth receiver, using BT 5.0 and few codecs including the aptX HD codec. While I was at first not overly interested in this feature, I have decided to give it a try. For me using a Bluetooth is great for outdoors like jogging, biking or working in the gym. Also for commuting I am using the Sony 1000XM3. As soon as I am indoor, I am switching to wired uncompressed connection. While having a DAP with Bluetooth function is great, I was not quite getting a point why would a desktop headphone amp use inferior compressed Bluetooth connection. Until I tried it with my Bluetooth compatible TV. The difference using the BT headphones receiving the audio directly from a TV and connecting the TV to the Conductor over the BT and using my preferred wired headphones amplified, was huge.

The BT connection is stable, without any stuttering with smooth and warm sound quality. This is a closest BT sound signature to the wired I have ever heard. Transients are somewhat softened and the bass a little bit blurred, otherwise there are no artifacts and overall sound quality is great for Bluetooth.



Conclusion:

The Conductor 3 is highly equipped, fully featured, high-end DAC/Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp with state-of-the-art audio technology. With the previous products like Play, Fun, Playmate and Swing, the Burson Team has been carefully listening to the vox populi, incorporating every single wish of the community. There is not a single detail left in producing their final masterwork. The Conductor sounds fast, dynamic, airy, engaging and colorful. It isn’t dry or analytical nor warm, lush and euphonic. It sound’s just right. There is nothing spectacular in the sound, actually it is an absence of any coloration which makes it sounding completely NATURAL.

Comparing to other Burson offerings.

The Play costs $245-399
The Playmate costs $399-539
The Swing costs $399-539
The Fun costs $199-245
The Swing/Fun combo, which comes closest to the Conductor 3 costs therefore $598- 784.

Is the steep price jump between of 2 to 4 times worth it?

Switching to any of these devices after listening to the Conductor 3, I would clearly say – yes indeed. Conductor 3 leaves behind the Swing/Fun combo with the V6 Vivids/Classics in resolution and soundstage depth. The Playmate with Vivids/Classics sounds flat and dynamically sterile compared to Conductor 3. The last comparison is with the Play with V6 Classic, which sounds surprisingly fresh and engaging but with literary no soundstage depth, everything is happening lateral.

On the other side, there is no shortage of other competent rivals in this price range. For less or little bit more money you get RME ADI-2 and RME ADI-2 Pro, Chord Hugo 2, Benchmark 3, Mytek Brooklyn Dac +, to name just few.

While writing this review, I was trying to follow the guidelines of one other company present on Head-Fi, which asks the following: “Reviewers should do the preview fairly and objectively….Reviewers need not overstate the advantages of the products."

The Conductor 3 doesn't hit you in your face but rather gets under you skin. And then goes very deep, until you simply can't get away or stop listening. I've definitely spent much longer listening sessions than previously planned. Thank you Burson!

I would like to thank the Australian Burson Audio Company, for sending me their Swing DAC and digital preamp, in exchange for an honest review. After previously having a chance to review several of their products, I was particularly interested in their standalone dac to be paired with their fabulous headphone amp called the Fun. The Fun is a pure analogue class A headphone amp with plenty of power, which I've been successfully pairing with different dacs. Their new Swing dac shares the same design and blends perfectly with the Fun, either on your desktop, or even in the PC case.

The Swing came in a new, shiny box with red letters, a fresh and welcome design change as compared to previous, rather spartanic packaging. There is also a new design of the cables, both the USB and the RCA cables are now blue mantled.

The Swing is a full featured dac offering USB, Toslink and Coaxial inputs, with the USB input being doubled. Also it has finnaly gotten a long wished fixed dac output which can be switched with the variable pre out. For using it as a dac, I highly recommed using it on dac out, for the highest resolution. Speaking of resolution, ESS Technology's latest ES9038q2M chip offers in a combination with the latest XMOS usb receiver, resolutions up to the 768Khz/32bits and native DSD up to 512. As the OSX is not able to process natively DSD, Apple users must switch to DoP, which then goes up only to 256. This is still respectably high, being 4 times the basic DSD resolution.

Beside the standard USB input on the back, there is additional USB-c input on the front plate, which is very handy to quickly connect your smartphone or dap. Contrary to some fellow Headfiers who wrote having a problem with this input, mine was working like a charm. I have connected my iPhone without any trouble with the Swing through the front usb-c, after previously switching the input in the menu.



The basic version of the Swing comes without a remote and with default opamps, featuring 2 x NE5532 and 2 x Ne5534 and costs $399. Upgrading the Swing with their V6 opamps, raises the price quite steeply to $699.

There are plenty of settings to play with, with a menu controlled by two buttons on the front and very tiny display. I have already criticized this miniature display when reviewing the Playmate. Well, the Swing uses the same one, the letters are microscopic and really not easy on the eyes. I am personally not into the balanced out, but can imagine that there are some folks out there who might have it on their wish list. It started to get common nowadays, you get the balanced feature even in low cost Chinese dacs.

I got the Swing with the latest firmware with the de-emphasis switched to off and I would strongly advise to leave it so. There is also a DPLL setting, separate for the PCM and the DSD. By default, it is on the highest setting, which makes a secure lock of the incoming signal but which sacrifice the audio quality. Setting it lower will make the jitter performance better but you may risk the day unlocking or loosing the connection or with your source. In my case, I didn’t have any problems using Audirvana and Tidal HiFi on MacBook Pro as a source, to set the PCM DPLL on the lowest setting and DSD DPLL on medium, which increased the audio quality and transparency.

There are plenty of filters to play with. Listening through the headphones, the differences are very small, only when connected to floor-standing loudspeakers, I could hear the differences more pronounced. Default setting is Apodizing filter AP FAST, which is jack of all trades. For listening with the headphones I preffered Minimum Phase Fast or MP Fast, and with the loudpeakers the Linear Fast or LP Fast, which offered better instruments localization.

I was very curious to test the Swing compared to several dacs I have around, but mostly as a natural born partner to the Fun amp, as compared to Burson’s all-in-one Playmate.

The Playmate costs $399 – 749
The Swing/Fun combo costs $698 – 1098.

Is the price difference of $299 – 349 worth it? Is it a huge leap between the Playmate and the Swing/Fun combo? And finally, is the additional charge for the upgrade with the V6 opamps worth the improvement?



How does it sound:

First impression after listening to the cold Swing was that it is smooth, rounded and mellow. I could not believe I was listeing to the Sabre dac chip, which in my previous experience always sounded analytical and somewhat dry. It was obvious that the Burson’s techs did some tweaking to escape the ESS Sabre rather bright sound. The Swing sounds, creamy, buttery, dark and absolutely non-digital. I have listened for hours without any fatigue. It was a big transformation of the sound I have expected to hear from an ESS chip based dac. Now, the impression you get when listening the Swing, is like when applying the software upsampling. Closest resemblance coming to my mind was like setting the Audirvana’s SoX SRC to 4 x upsampling. I can only guess, that there might have been some internal SRC either in the chip or additionally programmed by Burson. Also there were certain tracks where the Swing was much reminiscent of my Chord Mojo, without later’s soundstage depth.

When using the notorious AKG K701 or Beyer’s DT880 which could be very hot in the treble, I had a feeling of smoothness like using a tube amp. Also some aggressive recordings of Shostakovich symphonies were saved with Swing's laid back approach.

The soundstage was medium, not overly deep nor very wide and instruments localization was not always spot-on. Treble was mellow and round but it lacked the ultimate zing, like there was a little veil on it. The mids were very Marantz like, singing and creamy and the bass was pleasant but somewhat rounded, without a punch and didn’t extend quite to the sub-bass region. This were all my impressions with the default op-amps and I was very curious to hear how will the Swing react to different op-amps upgrades. Mostly what I was looking for was, is there a potential for a better soundstage, more extension at the top and the bottom, and more dynamic and less laid back sound.

I had few Burson’s V6 opamps laying around, both Classics which I mostly prefer and the Vivids, so I started the long listening journey using all the combinations of the opamps.

- All Vivids

- All Classics

- Vivids in the I/V and Classics in the LP Gain

- Classics in the I/V and Vivids in the LP Gain

Normally I would have sticked with the Classics only, as I have previously done with the Play, the Fun, the Bang and the Playmate, but this time I had a feeling that I will be more looking into the Vivid direction, as I needed to revive and awaken the Swing’s somewhat laid back sound.

After switching back and forth, it became very soon clear that the Swing benefits highly with any of the above combination of opamps! From grayish it turned to technicolor with many layerings and instrument colors. The soundstage got on depth, if not much on width. Width was more or less the same, but the instruments of the orchestra appeared closer or more away from the listener’s position. There was a shimmer again in the cymbals and all of the sudden I started hearing very clearly the triangle in Borodin’s Polovtsian Dances which was somewhat muted with default op-amps. Put on some Mahler’s symphonies which are tough being overcrowded with instrumentation, and the Swing kept a secure pace with clear positioning of the instruments. With the all-Vivids or in the I/V stage only, the sub-bass went deeper, but the overall sound was a little bit distant. The best combination was the “Everest” one, with the Classics in the I/V and the Vivids in LP/Gain which was faster and more dynamic than all-Classics and more musically engaging than all-Vivids. The sleeping beauty just got awakened.

Coming back to my previous questions.

Is the additional charge for the upgrade with the V6 opamps worth the improvement? Absolutely. With the default op-amps the Swing is a fair performer, a smooth operator, but it doesn’t stand out. It gets from me 4 stars. With the op-amps upgrade, the sleeping beauty is awakened, getting 5 stars.

Is it a huge leap between the Playmate and the Swing/Fun combo?
The Swing/Fun combo is more authorative and more “high-end” sounding than the Playmate, but how much so is another question. I would describe all the improvements with slightly. There are lot of slightly better things in the Swing. I would say, I you need a standalone dac to be used with the amp and speakers and you need a coaxial input, go for the Swing. If you don’t need the coax and you plan to listen only with the headphones, I would go for the Playmate, which is a hell of a deal.

Is the price difference between the Playmate and the Swing/Fun of $299 – 349 worth it?
This is a very subjective and personal decision. As I previously wrote, the Playmate is very strong competitor and it is a not easy decision. What I can say with certainty is, that for me the upgraded Swing is definitely better than the Playmate, but between the Playmate with the V6 and the Swing basic with default opamps, I prefer the Playmate.

Conclusion:

The Swing is for me a sleeping beauty, forgive me that I am using this analogy again. In default opamp setup it is a decent performer, which turns into a beast when upgraded with the higher end opamps. It has plenty of professional tweaking settings to tailor the sound to your preferences. The critic point is only the bonsai sized display which is really not easy to read and somewhat spartanic written manual, which doesn’t offer a burst of information.

With the higher grade op-amps, in my case the V6 Classics/Vivids combo, it lives highly up to the name of the House of Burson.

After reviewing previously the Play, Fun and Bang trilogy by the Burson Audio Company, they sent me their latest headphone amp / preamp / dac called Playmate, in exchange for an honest review. The Playmate is intended to be strongly upgraded version of the Play, where Burson listened and reacted to the wishes of the users community. I am actually impressed that the Burson ticked all the boxes on my Play's wish list, and implemented so many substantial modifications.

I would rather skip the specs which you can read on Burson‘s website: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/playmate/

Here are main changes, modifications and upgrades from Playmate‘s predecessor:

- three digital inputs instead of one: two usb inputs on the front and back + optical
- switchable headphone and preamp-out
- two gain stages. There is a new low gain setting which is perfect for sensitive IEMs. The high gain is also much better implemented, the volume control being much better spread, not so steep as with the Play.
- latest ESS Sabre dac chip ES9038q2m + newer XMOS usb controller offering the resolution of up to 32bits / 768kHz for PCM and 512 for native DSD.
- adjustable dac settings, including choice of the filters, dpll settings and de-emphasis.
- updated, dead silent power supply. Gone is the slight hissing and PSU noise with the sensitive headphones, now exchanged for dead black background.
- lower output impedance.



The Playmate has the same appearance as the Play, Fun and Bang, making it perfectly stackable with other Burson units on the desktop, although Burson‘s main idea was rather to fit it in the PC tower, making it interesting for the gamers. There is a microphone input included. The front plate is quite good looking, made from a brushed aluminium, the rest of the case is rather simple and industrial looking.

The first and most welcome feature is the inclusion of a two gain stage. While the previous Play was rarely usable from the volume 50% and up having too high gain, now the Playmate allows you to use a much wider scale for the volume control. Also there is new a real preamp-out with much lower and better usable voltage. The Play had very high voltage, if you wanted to get a standard 2V over RCA you had to set the volume to only around 48 / 49 %. Now with the Playmate there is lower voltage on the preamp output which allows for going much higher up with the volume. Also the Play had the headphone amp and preamp running at the same time. That was not so ideal in case you wanted to use the Play as a pre-amp and forgetting to unplug your headphones. With the pre-amp and headphone out being separated and switchable, it got much safer.

The standard version comes with 4 x NE5532 dual op-amps, wich can be upgraded by either Burson‘s V6 Vivids or V6 Classics, or a combination of both.
For $399 for the basic version with NE5532s you get a 2W on 32Ohm and 100mW on 300Ohm of clean power, latest ESS dac chip and highly adjustable menu, but not the remote control. The remote control is included only with the higher versions of the Playmate.



The manual can be downloaded on Burson‘s website and there comes my first criticism: it is too sparse and almost cryptic. Some more explanations about the effects of different settings for less experienced users would be much welcome.

Here is what it reads:

INPUT： USB-F ／USB-B* ／ OPT

OUTPUT： HEADPHONE* ／ PRE OUT

HP OUTPUT: HIGH* / LOW

FIR FILTER: BRICKWALL / CMFR / RESERVED/ AP FAST* / MP SLOW/ MP FAST/

LP SLOW/ LP FAST

DPLL (DSD): DPLL OFF / LOW / MID / HI*

DPLL (PCM): DPLL OFF / LOW / MID / HI*

DE-EMPHASIS: ON* / OFF

RESTORE SETTINGS: YES / NO

• Default selection marked with*

All the menu settings appear on the new screen, where my second criticism point comes: it is on the small side. The volume level digits are the only easily readable on the screen, all other menu fonts much less so.

While the experienced users will be very happy to tweak the sound to their preferences, some other might be lost with this cryptic code names, leaving the Playmate on default settings, which in my opinion would be a mistake.

Let‘s start witht the choice of the filters, and how I understand them:

• BRICKWALL - as the name says. One of the oldest filters around.
• CMFR - Corrected minimum phase fast roll-off, also known as Hybrid.
• RESERVED - ESS datasheet states only reserved, probably for the future firmware updates.
• AP FAST (default) - Apodizing linear fast roll-off.
• MP SLOW - Minimum phase slow roll-off.
• MP FAST - Minimum phase fast roll-off.
• LP SLOW - Linear slow roll-off.
• LP FAST - Linear fast roll-off - standard filter used in most CD players.

You can read more about single filter characteristics on pages 55 - 58. of the ES9038 data sheet: http://file2.dzsc.com/product/18/05/25/829029_170233543.pdf

I wish the Burson would include few more lines explaining the filter charasteristics. In the meantime, according to my subjective listening tests, the default filter AP fast was definitely not my preferred filter, actually it was quite back on my list. You might find one or another filter sounding better, kudos to Burson for leaving this choice to the listener.

The next setting called DPLL regulates different bandwidth limiting and jitter rejection ratio to dac locking capabilities. Although you can find more about it in the web, some more information about it in the manual would be more welcome. Generally, lower the DPLL higher the jitter rejection, but higher the risk of dac unlocking. Changing the DPLL setting might effect the sound quality.

Now most intriguing setting is the de-emphasis and the question is why is default setting ON. There is small percentage of CDs mostly classical, from the earliest days of the CD production, which were recorded with the pre-emphasis. The pre-emphasis is comparable to the RIAA equalization, or earliest Dolby, where the recording were made with elevated treble to fight the background noise. During the playback de-emphasis would be applied, bringing the treble and the hiss down. While most CD players have automatic de-emphasis detection, the trouble is with the ripped FLACs, because the USB does not transmit the emphasis flag. The recordings made with the pre-emphasis would therefore sound horrible with aggressive treble if not de-emphasised. Some dacs offer automatic de-emphasis detection but only through the SPDIF, it doesn't work through the USB. For such recordings, the Playmate offers manual de-emphasis - assuming that you know if the recording is made with the pre-emphasis or not. If your recording sounds terrible, you might try the de-emphasis. But since over 90% of the recordings are made without the pre-emphasis, this setting IMO should be by default on OFF. If you leave this setting on default ON, you might end up with rolled-off treble and mudded sound.



How does the Playmate sound:

I have tested the Playmate as a preamp connected to the Bang and also as a headphone amp using AKG K701, Senns HD650 and Beyers T90.

The Playmate features huge soundstage with great instrument separation. Transparent, effortless, mellow and without any glare so common to other Sabre implementation. I am writing about the implementation and not about the dac chip itself, because I have heard horrible sounding ES9038s and spectacular sounding ES9038s, depending how well was it implemented. The treble is sparkling and fresh but not harsh, the mids are very expressive and the bass well defined and punchy. There is a slight sibilance when listened cold out of the box, which diminishes when the unit is properly warmed up. Listening to Dvorak Symphony „From the New World“ with Fritz Reiner and the Chicago Symphony, there were so many micro-details that made me rediscovering the old recording over and over again. Listening to Martha Argerich playing Beethoven's Third Piano Concerto, brought one of the most realistic piano sound I ever heard, with natural and warm decays. Listening to the album Blue Train by John Coltrane in hi-rez 24/192 made the band appear almost holographic in the room. The overall sound is on very neutral side.



The Playmate sounds a way above it's look. If packed in some fancy high-end looking box and with somewhat better user interface, it could easily sell for triple the price. I am pleasantly surprised how well the Burson techs listened and responded to the customers wishes.
From my previous experience with the V6 op-amps I know there is even more potential there for an improvement, and my next step would be upgrading it with the V6 Classics.

My main criticism is the sparse manual, something which could be easily corrected since it is offered online as pdf. The second point is the screen being too small, unless you have the eagle eyes. All this is easily forgotten once you get to the sound. Once carefully adjusted, the Playmate plays or rather sings in the high-end league.

All criticism notwithstanding, it is still a great bargain. Another great one by Burson.

This a review of the Burson’s V6 Vivid vs V6 Classic opamps, tested in Burson's Fun headphone amp. I have previously reviewed the Burson Fun headphone amp in the basic version, if you are interested you can read the full review here: "FUNky FUNtastic".

The Fun in the basic version uses 2 x NE5543 and can be upgraded by any compatible opamps. Burson offers their house opamps Vivid Single and Classic Single, which cost $70 for a pair. You can find the technical part and all the details on Burson website.

Because swapping opamps is not so quick and easy, I have somewhat changed the methodology of comparing these 2 different opamps, as compared to any other audio gear, in order not to damage them. Changing the opamps after every single piece of music would be an overkill, so I have decided to listen them in blocks of music. A block of classical music with several longer pieces each, a block of jazz, pop, rock, world music etc. Listening this way runs into the risk to rely more than usual on your ear memory than when you are listening song for song with two different sources, but this was for me mandatory for the safety of the opamps. I could not imagine swapping them 60 times over and over again, as I have listened to 60 different pieces of music .

Sound impressions:

First impression you get either Vivids or Classics is of the highly sophisticated sound. Once you hear the Fun with any of them, there is no back to the stock opamps. You can feel and sense the premium quality, like when sitting in new sports car. Everything is more polished, cleaner, faster and more noble. This is the word which came most of the time to my mind throughout this review – noble. These are premium quality no-nonsense products.

The V6 Vivids:
I like cars and I like audio. The first funny thought which crossed my mind while first listening to Vivids was that it reminded me of the BMW. Fast, shiny, nervous, energetic. The music sounds clean, polished and fast so that you sit at the edge of your seat. Tremendous details, big and spacious soundstage. It works particularly well with symphonic classical music and live rock concerts. Everything has a grandeur to it, you feel like being in big concert venue and feeling the atmosphere around you. The image is very sharp and the localization of instruments precise. Everything feels like you have sharpened to the max the contrast setting on your TV. Plenty of details and rich colors, the bass is tight and punchy, mids very detailed and the treble has sparkle without sounding sharp or sibilant. It sounded particularly great with old live recording of Child in Time from Deep Purple’s album "Made in Japan". You could almost touch the audience around you and sense the forward energy of the band.



The V6 Classics:

The Classic reminded of Mercedes with leather and mahogany. Smooth, relaxed, laid back. No need to drive fast, it is more about enjoyment. The soundstage is smaller and more intimate, you feel like the band is playing only for you in a smaller club. Works particularly well with the solo and chamber music, with the jazz where you can feel the intimate atmosphere of the smokey club and with the old rock. ZZ Top sounded just right with almost tube-like warmth in the guitar solos. There was slightly less details and less sparkle on the top, without sounding dull. More smooth, creamy chocolate treble. You can forget easier with Classics that you are listening to machines and get carried away with the music.

Comparison:
Vivid offers more energetic sound suitable for daytime active listening. Classics offer more relaxed, smooth sound for night time listening.
Vivid offers more details, sharper imaging and bigger soundstage. Classics offer smooth and creamy chocolate sound.
Vivids amaze you with details which pop out of the recording, but it is more the admiration for the technical excellence. The Classics put more emotion into the music, has something vinyl-like, slightly tube-like sound signature and is more forgiving to the bad recordings.



I have seen many designs which offer a choice of switchable solid state and the tube amplification in the same unit. You can just switch between SS and tube easily. If Burson would make something like this, where you could easily switch between 2 different opamps from the outside of the case, it would be the killer amp. Second solution would be to position the opamps protruding the case, like with the tube amps, where you could swap the opamps from outside the case, without opening the unit. I have opened and closed my Fun few times, and the srews already look beaten and dented. Probably after 5-6 more opening they would be not so nice. And the last, most expensive solution would be, to have 2 separate Fun units, one with the Vivid and one with the Classics preinstalled, so that you can use each one of them according to your mood.



V6 Vivids or V6 Classics? BMW or Mercedes? It is a very tough call indeed. Between Vivids and Classics it’s an equal game. No clear winner for me, both have their strengths and own uniques qualities.

If you have neutral dac and darker headphones and listen to your music active (daily listening), if you like highly detailed and analytical sound without sounding cold, like big soundstage and listen a lot of live recorded concerts - then go for the Vivids.

If you have Sabre based dac and have brighter headphones like AKGs, you listen more during nighttime, if you like smooth sound without the sharpness and glare, if you like more intimate atmosphere with musicians playing in your living room - go for the Classics.

For sure the Fun upgraded with any of V6 singles, will be a great step up. I had to decide which one will stay in my Fun for now. As I am listening during daytime mostly through loudspeakers and using headphones in the night, I have decided to stay with the Classics. But am already missing the Vivids.

This is a review of the Burson Audio power amp BANG, the last unit from the Burson's trilogy, The Lord of the Desktop.

In previous episodes we have seen the Burson PLAY and FUN and now we are completing with the power amp named the BANG. The BANG is a Hobbit of the Class AB power amps, packing respectable 29W on 8 Ohms and 40W on 4 Ohms.
For all out there, who like myself strongly dislike the sound of the Class D amps and still want to claim their desktop space, this might be the solution we have been long waiting for. I will not go into a discussion why I have strong animosity against the Class D amps, but I will just mention that I have tried many of them, famous brands and costlier designs which simply didn't work for me. Therefore I ended with an awkward solution - I put the full size HiFi amp and components on my desktop, eating half of my desktop space, just in order to have a decent sound. That's why I was very intrigued and I have to admit extremely sceptical, to test and review the BANG which claimed full AB power in a package one might expect from the Class D amps.

The BANG came in almost identical package like the previously reviewed the PLAY and the FUN, except for an oversized switching power supply. The power supply is indeed huge, but you can easily hide it under or behind the desktop. The unit itself is of exact size as the PLAY and the FUN and forms together a nice looking stack. Having on my desktop both full size Class AB and one emergency Class D amps, I was curious to compare the sound with the DALI, Epos und KEF speakers. The BANG is only a power amp, with RCA line inputs. You can connect any source with a volume control, analog or digital, but it is more practical to connect a preamp, like Burson's PLAY or FUN.
The price is $499 for the basic version with the NE5532 and goes up to $599 for the V6 Vivids or Classics upgrade version. Since I was using both the PLAY and the FUN with the V6 Classics, I have decided to stay true to the line, and therefore tested the BANG with the V6 Classics.



The SOUND.

First of all this small Hobbit is powerful, incredibly powerful. This was one of the moments, when you simply don't believe your eyes and/or ears. Such a small box, punching so much power? The power and control was just unbelievable. Lot of punch, lot of headroom, highly dynamic.
The soundstage was big and wide, the sound reverberant and rich with deep bottom end. Mids were clear and dense, the treble slightly on the bright side. But this was unmistakable the Class AB sound, transparent, vivid, alive.
It looked so tiny compared to my both desktop powerhouses and still had more than enough muscles to compete with them. There was great transparency on the top, good stereo separation and clear imaging. The instruments have nice rich body around them, the voices lot of breath.
Only thing which was unusual for an solid state amp was damping factor. On the Burson website, the specs for the BANG stated an output impedance of highish 1.5 ohms. This would mean an unusually weak damping factor, letting the bass cone swinging to much and too long. Using Dali Zensor 3 speakers with 6 ohm nominal impedance, this would mean a damping factor 4. The bass reproduction was somewhat wobbly, with high reverberation, which was much closer to the sound of my tube amps, than what you would expect from a solid state amp. While on some tracks the bass was a little bit out of control and unwieldy, I can imagine that small desktop speakers with modest sized bass cones might actually benefit from a small bass boost.

The BANG with the PLAY as preamp:
The sound was dynamic, upfront with wide soundstage and rich colors. Sometimes the sound signature was a little bit too energetic and the soundstage had more width than depth. On the other hand, this is a great desktop solution: headphone amp with DAC included, digital volume control with nice display and remote control, connected to the BANG to power your desktop speakers. This might be everything you need for the space saving, decluttering desktop solution.

The BANG with the FUN as preamp:
Now the soundstage got deeper, the sound was not so upfront anymore but got more direction and layers. The imaging was exemplary, much above the price bracket. The treble was also a little bit less grainy. This combo made me foot tapping and put a smile on my face.



Burson Audio has produced 3 outstanding desktop products, which might be combined or stacked.
The PLAY - DAC/HP amp/Preamp
The FUN - HP amp/Preamp
The BANG - Power amp

They pack huge power in a small package, helping you save a lot of desktop space.
While the PLAY - BANG combo might be the most economic solution, giving you in only 2 small boxes all you need on your desktop, my heart goes to the FUN - BANG combo which will need an additional dac. Even with an added dac, it still takes very little space, still producing seriously audiophile sound. While I am not a believer that one size fits all, or one brand fits all, the Burson might be an exception. I could easily imagine my desktop exclusively consisting of Burson products. Kind of Bursonification.

This is a review of the headphone amp FUN, by Burson Audio Company from Melbourne, Australia. I would first like to express my gratitude to the Burson Audio for sending me the Fun for test and fun.

After I already favorably reviewed the Burson's Play where it became my favourite daily companion, I was still wondering how much of its sound signature is a property of the dac and how much of the amp section alone. All dacs are supposed to sound equal, neutral and transparent, but some dacs are more equal than others
Generally I divide all my audio gears in two groups - for daytime and nighttime listening. While the engaging, agitating and upfront sound signature of the Sabre dacs might be prefered for the daytime listening, late at night, sitting relaxed in the comfy armchair with the glass of wine, Sabre’s upfront sound signature might not be for everybody’s taste. Actually it could sometimes even get on my nerves. At night I prefer somewhat more relaxed and smoother sound signature, which some other dac chips might offer. The Play incorporates the mobile version of the Sabre’s ES9018 dac chip, which is already succeded by newer ES9028 and ES9038. Probably at the time I am writing this, there are already ES9048 and ES9058 on the way. Also many of the modern dacs offer a choice of digital filters to tailor the sound to your liking, which the Play doesn’t have.

Therefore I was much looking forward to the Fun, which is a headphone amp alone, allowing you to connect the source of your choice, different dacs allowing you to play with different digital filters, or connect some other sources like your DAP or even a TV.



The Fun is a powerful dual mono Class-A headphone amp, built as a tank, which pumps a respectable 2.1W on 32 Ohms, and 330mW on 300 Ohms.
It costs $299 in the basic version featuring NE5543 X 2 op-amps and $399 in the upgraded version with the V6 Single x 2 op-amps. Interestingly, if you order the basic version for $299 and separately order the V6 Single x 2 for $70, it will cost you a little bit less. I haven’t tried the V6 Vivids, but tested the Fun both in the basic setup and with the V6 Classics.
From the connections, there are mic-in and mic-out, which I understand is a mic-through, RCA-in (2V) and RCA preamp out, and last but not least on the front plate one AUX stereo 3.5mm input. Now this is the most confusing part, because on the Burson Website there isn’t a word about it. At the moment of my writing it lists the inputs as follows:
Inputs: RCA (2V RMS line level), Mic Input
However you can find mentioning the AUX input in the FUN’s manual, which can be downloaded on their website.
This front AUX input is very handy which allows you connecting many mobile devices like phones and daps, while still having some desktop dac connected to the back of the FUN through the RCA line in.



Differences Play - Fun:

Both the Play and the Fun use custom made high speed, low noise powers supplies. When you turn on the Play there is a whining sound which goes away after a while. I was explained by the kind Burson’s techs that „the new power supply design is based on high speed switching power supply. When the machine first power up, the switching frequency is still low and you can hear some of it. But once after said 10 seconds the power supply warm up and fully charged the working frequency will go up to 170K which you should not be able to hear them.“ Well, while the Fun uses the same switching power supply, there is absolutely no noise at the power-up! It is dead silent right from the beginning even if you turn on the volume to the max.

The Play uses digital volume control with 99 steps. It has a nice feel, and it shows the digits on the display. The Fun has an analogue volume control with completely different feel to it. It has a nice resistence with much better micro-adjusting and completely different volume development.
The Fun has, I guess, a lower gain, because you have to turn the volume knob much further to get the same loudness as with the Play. With the Play using high sensitive headphones you might already hit the limit at the 20 volume setting.
The Fun gets warm, but much less so than the Play which gets really hot. This is probably because the Play uses more op-amps than the Fun.

Now, to the most important thing, the sound.



How does it sound:

It was definitely more difficult to review the sound of the Fun than the Play. It took me much longer to get my opinion. After throwing many familiar hi-rez tracks into it, listening for days through different headphones, it was a strange feeling. Does the Fun add more bass? No. Does it add some sparkling treble? Nope. Does it give you the wow effect after the first few listening? Also no. Hmmm....It took me some time to figure out what is going on here. The Fun is tremendeously neutral and transparent amp. It adds no coloration, it doesn’t manipulate the sound in any way, it doesn’t sound euphonic, nor bright, neither analytic nor warm. It is like looking through the cleanest window. When I firstly connected the Play to the Fun, I couldn’t detect any difference. AB-ing through the tracks, level carefully matched, I couldn’ be quite sure which one was I listening at the moment.

Than I connected the FiiO’s X5II dap which uses PCM1792A chip and the sound was completely different. It sounded like amplified X5II. Nothing added, nothing substracted. After connecting a range of sources there was always the same feeling, the neutrality. At the end I have connected the Chord Mojo to the Fun, and there it was. Familiar Mojo’s transparency and smoothness which I generally prefer over the Sabre glare. Comparing now the Play and Fun it was obvious how much the sound differed. While Fun with the Play as a source sounded almost the same, the Fun with the Mojo sounded like an amplified Mojo.



What would I like to see:
Maybe a mixture of the Play and the Fun would be a deal breaker. It could be called PLUN or FLAY. Basically the Play with additional analog line-in added, with one simple switch on the front to change between the internal dac (like in the PLAY) and external analogue source (like in the FUN).

End thoughts:
While I highly valuate and appreciate the Play, my preference goes to the Fun. The Play is still remarkable bang for the buck, it makes perfect sense if you want a quick plug & play solution. If I have a short break during the day which I want to spend with the music, I just connect the Play and start listening right away. If I want a more audiophile listening experience with some higher-end dacs or sources like sacd player, then I will certainly use the Fun.

The Fun is a stellar performer deserving clear 5 stars. Already in the basic version it is a bang for buck. Adding Burson’s V6 Vivid or Classic opamps transforms it to even higher league. Mine will continue singing with the V6 Classics.

This is a review of the Burson Play Basic headphone amp and preamp, made by the Burson Audio company. I would like to express my sincerest gratitude to Burson Audio for sending me the unit to test, review and play with it.

The basic version uses NE5532 X 3, NE5543 X 2 opamps with 4 additional upgrades which can add up to $250 of costs, depending of your configuration. There are quite a few reviews of the Play mainly with different opamps like Vivid and Classic, but much less of the basic version.

It comes in a big box, safely packed, togehter with RCA audio, USB digital cable, 6.5mm headphone jack adapter, 12V/6A AC/DC adapter and a slot to fit into a PC case. The dac section features Sabre’s ES9018 with 32bit/384khz dac with possibility to play DXD and DSD256.

Power:
The amp section is pure Class A with no ICs on the signal path, pumping 2W into 16 Ohms and 1W into 32 Ohms.
You can feel and hear that the Burson Play pumps quit a lot of power, and has more than sufficient current for most of the inefficient headphones out there. Although the scale goes up to 100, it was almost impossible to use it with more than 30 with any of my cans. For the rock and pop music I was moving around 12-15 with 30 reaching on some quieter classical slow tracks like Mahler’s Adagietto from the 5th symphony. The gain is insane, so maybe my first thought is going to be about the non-existent gain switch. With such a high gain and such big power, it’s kind of useless having a scale up to 100 which is impossible to be ever used. For that, the inclusion of low/high gain switch would have been welcome.

While the Play pumps plenty of current into the lower impedance headphones, its ac/dc adapter is rated at only 12V, so I am not quite sure how much voltage is Play able to provide for the high impedance cans like Beyers DT880 with its 600 ohms impedance.

Through the RCA out, the Play acts as an active preamp, with incredibly high output. If you want to use it with the normal amp, you need to be carefull not to blow your speakers. Play’s voltage output at the rca much exceeds the standard industry level of +-2V on line out and I was using it at about 50% to match the level of my other dacs.

Sound impressions:
The music for the review included recordings, mostly hi-rez, by ZAZ, Diana Krall, Miles Davies, John Coltrane, Bob Marley, ZZ Top, Pink Floyd, Harry Belafonte, Daft Punk, Debussy and Ravel string quartets, Mahler 5th Symphony, Dvorak 9th, Mendelssohn Scottish Symphony and Copland's Rodeo suite.

My general sound impression was that the Play sounds warm, with smooth treble and cultivated bass. The soundstage is very wide and gives you an impression of sitting in the 10th row of a big concert venue. There was a slight feel of the veil to the sound, which was actually welcome in many bad mastered recordings. My first thought was that by rolling opamps, it could be substianitally bettered. And there we come – the Play is incredible bang for buck, to my knowledge the best you can get for this money out there, but it makes you wanting for more. Once you start the opamp rolling journey it could turn to addictive – and well more expensive.

Play vs SMSL M8a + Little Dot Mk2 (Mullard):
With a lower impedance headphones Play sounded crisp, precise and with a well definded bass. The soundstage was wide and high and everything sounded bigger than through M8a+LD combo. There was a certain veil to the sound, which I suppose could be bettered by upgrading the opamps. The instruments sounded a little bit more distant than with the LD. Going for high impedance cans like T90 with their impedance swinging from 300 ohms to over 700 ohms, LD sounded much more in command with deeper bass, more body around the notes and efortless dynamic. I had a feeling that high Z cans which prefer bigger voltage swing than the Play can provide, would be happier with some OTL tube amp.

Play vs Chord Mojo:
Althoug the Play showed considerable ammount of detail, courtesy of Sabre dacs, compared to Mojo it sounded simpler, a little bit flat, with less colours and somehow more congested. The Mojo has an ease to its sound, more layers in the bass and sounded calmer and more in command than the Play. I guess this goes more to the advantage of the Mojo dac section which was a clear winner. The Play however, has much more power and is much more desktop solution than the battery powered Mojo.



Play with Senns HD650
Listened to HD650 through the LD and the Play, Burson was a clear winner here. Although I have believed for long time that HD650 need an OTL amp to sing, the Play pleasantly surprised me with its punchy bass, detailed imaging lifting the famous Senn vail and an impressive soundstage. Great combo.

Play with Beyers T90
Here the LD sounded more holistic, more intimate and the voices had more human colours and far more emotions than through the Play. The main difference was the dynamic which was much clearer pronounced with the LD. I guess it has to do with much higher voltage swing of he LD. I had a feeling that the Play, despite huge current reserve was struggling to deliver efficient voltage.

Play with AKG K702
Here the Play was a clear winner, it smoothed K702 agressive treble, there was litteraly no sibilance, the bass was nice and easy to follow and the soundstage was just a textbook. Bob Marley's I Shot The Sheriff had something addictive to its bass through this combo, I literary couldn't stop listening it over and over again. Paired with the K702, the Play was much ahead of the LD.



Play as preamp (dac function):
I’ve connected the Play through rca to an external Marantz amp, but had to be carefull about the volume. Play doesn’t have fixed output level, typically 2V, but acts as a preamp with a way to high level. Set to 50% I got the level close to the output of my other dacs. In this function it sounded surprisingly rich, with nice imaging and well defined soundstage and just a tad brighter, which is a trademark of Sabre dac chips. But this gave me a clear idea that with using different opamps, the Play could substiantially opens up and lift the slight veil which is now present in the basic setting.



Conclusion:
There are more resolving dacs out there like the Chord Mojo, there are possibly fuller sounding dacs and more neutral headphones amps around, but what the Play brings into one box is definitely best bang for the buck I experienced since my headfi journey started. Already in its basic version it is unbelievable well made product, which makes you wondering how much potential is out there when you go to upgrade the opamps. The Burson Play will clean up my desktop and move some of the dacs and amps I have there to lower drawers, and take the place as my No.1 daily companion. And yes, rolling opamps will be the next step -)

What I like: warm, smooth sound, with big reserve of power. Well built, looks nice on the desktop. The blue light looks great during night listening.
What would I like to see: gain switch, selectable dac filters.

And for the end - in this price category don't look further, IMHO it is one of the best all-in-one solutions. Clear 5 stars.

Disclaimer: I am not affiliated with Burson Audio and received the Cable+ Pro for free directly from them, in exchange for an honest review.

About me: I am a 50+ years-old music lover, with several thousands of CDs collecting dust. My listening nowadays is mostly through MacbookPro / Tidal / Audirvana 3+ / Chord Mojo. Previously owned some heavy stuff like mono blocks and Infinity Kappas 9ii, in recent years I am trying to declutter my home and enjoying miniaturized audio. I have owned some expensive passive cables in the past, but mostly got read of them being very skeptical about the improvement.

About the cable: In order not to clutter the review and repeat what was already stated in previous reviews, I suggest to follow the Burson link, providing all relevant technical information about the cable: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/cable-plus-pro/

Equipment used:
I have used the cable both in my desktop system, with Dali Zensor 3 speakers powered by a Marantz amp and also with Senns HD650, AKG K702 and Beyers T90 connected to several headphone amps. As a source I have used SMSL M8A dac, using Sabre's ES9028Q2M chip, which is a real chameleon. Connected to the LD MKII tube amp, it sounds smooth and detailed, with wide soundstage - a match made in heaven. Connected to solid state headphone amps it sounds harsh, bright and aggressive, and connected to the Marantz amp powering speakers it sounds dull, veiled and boring. There must be some mismatch in the output level. Basically a perfect candidate for the test.






Testing: I have done testing for 3 subsequent days, using a wide variety of hi-rez pcm and dsd recordings, including jazz, rock, pop, ethno and world music, and most of all classical music. The cable rises the voltage level and make the sound louder. In order not to fall into the trap louder-is-better, I've spent some time until I matched the output level of normal vs. Burson cable.
It comes in a transparent plastic box, mine r2r cable, which is RCA to RCA was exactly 1.2 meter long.



Unpacking: The first criticism comes to marking the left/right channel with the usual red/white markings found on most of the cables. Here, the connectors are equal, there is only one tiny, narrow plastic white and red strip on it, which unfortunately in my case was very loose and easily fell of the connector.



The cable is directional and has to be carefully directed and all connections have to be done before being powered. It came with a small power charger of oval shape, which at first made me suspicious if it will fit. The power outlets here have different shape, as you can see in the photo, but luckily it fell rightly into place. Once powered it gives a blue dot light.



Now back to most important thing, the listening impressions.
Listening:
Once carefully volume matched, I have listened to many familiar tracks comparing them with the speakers and headphones.

Connected to the power amp:
Burson sounded fuller, more engaging and foot tapping than the passive cable. The soundstage opened up, it got some air on the top, and the sub-bass got more edge. Listening to Mahler's 5th Symphony with Bernstein/VPO gave double-basses more character through Burson, they sounded somehow more "grown-up". Moving to Britten Simple Symphony with the English Chamber Orchestra conducted by Britten, it revealed in the second pizzicato (plucking strings) movement, more air around the plucked notes and more sub-bas contour. You could follow the bass line going down more easily. Also listening to some vocal music incl. Nora Jones, Diana Krall, Leonard Cohen and Cassandra Wilson, it gave the sound of the vocals more relaxed and natural feeling, smooth and connected. The whole soundstage seemed more holistic and rounded compared to normal cable. It was actually switching back from Burson to normal cable when I felt that something was missing. So, this one was a real, non-placebo, absolute win for the system.

Connected to the Little Dot MK2 tube amp:
I was listening with Senns HD650 and Beyers T 90 which shine with a high voltage amps. The difference in sound stage was now less obvious, because as previously stated, this system was already a good match. Listening to Miles Davies, John Coltrane, Arvo Pärt Tabula Rasa and Vlatko Stefanovski's album Treta Majka, gave the same smooth feeling which was already there before, but added some sub-bass. The bass was fuller, punchier and easier to follow. Switching to Deep Purple's live album Made in Japan didn't make immediate difference, but after listening it through Burson with a feeling being live at the venue, switching back to normal cable sounded like coming back to dry studio. The differences were however smaller than with the power amp and speakers.

Connected to couple of solid state headphone amps:
I was using AKG K702 for this testing. They have somewhat elevated treble, and are unpleasantly quick in detecting any hissing. With the SMSL sap ii pro amp fed by linear power supply, the sound was somewhat smoothed and not so aggressive as previously. SMSL is very sensitive amp with very high gain, so I could detect some added hissing. The rised voltage level was in this case not a benefit, allowing very little playground with the volume knob. Going to Sense V1 class a mosfet amp which has somewhat rolled off treble, masked a bit the hissing but overall the performance gain was not so beneficial and immediately recognizable.

Summary:
Burson Cable + Pro is high end piece of equipment which could literary transform your system to completely another level. In my case it's an absolute keeper, and it will permanently stay connecting M8A dac to the power amp where the improvement is more than obvious. That's why it gets clear 5 stars from me.
Not all systems might benefit equally from the cable, it is high dependable on the combinations of brands and gears you are using. The only way to determine how much improvement it brings into your own setup is a trial. For folks who like their desktop tidy and clean according to the Feng Shui - well it adds some additional clutter, with the buffer opamp needed to be powered.

Pros:
It adds soundstage width, improves instruments placement and separation and make music more lively. Live concerts have definitely more of live atmosphere. It smoothes some digital treble glare, especially if you have Sabre powered dac.

Cons:
It needs power supply (yet another one) and might not react with all setups equally.