Burson Audio Fun

Introduction
The Burson name is no stranger to folks at Head-Fi. Having said that, I've got to admit that I've never personally really listened to a Burson component at any great length - save for a local audio show where a Soloist variant (or so I hazily recall) was on demo.

On deck here is the Fun - a moderately priced headphone amp that can also double as a single source preamp for a nicely compact system. Burson produces a matching amplifier, the Play, to push the electrons through speakers.

The design is supremely functional - a decently thick steel case houses the guts while a beefy font panel sports a 1/8" jack for input, 1/4" headphone output, and a sculpted volume knob. A single blue LED tells you when the unit is powered up.

The back panel sports two pairs of RCA jacks - one for input, the other for preamp output. There's also a 4 pin Molex inlet as well as standard barrel connector for DC power. The Molex inlet and two pairs of screw holes on either side of the chassis speaks to an interesting feature of the Fun - it can be mounted in a 5 1/4" drive bay in a tower computer. A red rocker switch turns the amp on and off.

Operation
Using the Fun is straightforward. Hook up the interconnects (make sure you pay attention to the symbols above the jacks to figure out which is input and output), connect the appropriate power connector, and switch the amp on. The volume knob can feel a bit stiff, but it also cuts down on times where you accidentally crank it up.

I do have to mention that not one, but two review units malfunctioned during the course of this review. The first review unit pumped out tunes for an entire day and was switched off but left plugged in. About a week later, turning the amp on and expecting music, my ears were instead met with a squealing noise in the left channel and nothing from the right.

The second review unit suffered from different maladies. The first was a low level buzzing noise when the amp was first powered on. This noise went away after about 25 seconds. Again, after working perfectly fine for a day,
it was shut off and left untouched for about a week. When turned back on, no sound came from the headphone output, no matter how much I turned the volume knob. A new PCB was shipped out to replace the faulty one and the amp performed flawlessly thereafter (though I did leave the unit unplugged when not in use as a precaution).

Burson has been extremely gracious throughout this process and my experience with their representatives leads me to believe that they will take care of their customers with any issues that may arise.

Sound
To put the Fun through the proverbial wringer, I started off with some modern rock and pop. The most noticeable trait here was the vise-like control of the bass octaves. It's a very taut, impactful presentation that
lent a propulsive rhythmic drive to tracks from Florence + the Machine and The National. One little nit to pick was that cymbals seemed to trail off into a gaussian haze rather than retain their shimmer.

The same sort of situation played out on jazz and classical music. Paul Chambers' bass lines on "I'm Old Fashioned" off of Coltrane's classic album Blue Train sounded tight, with no hint of boominess. Yet the Fun had
a tendency to gloss over the inner detail I'm used to hearing on the brass instruments, leaving Coltrane's and Fuller's solos a little flat sounding. The finale to Schumann's Piano Concerto showcased the amp's macrodynamic chops, with the orchestra and piano sounding big and bold but the Fun couldn't quite resolve that last bit of air which lends a sense of space to the recording.

Comparing the Fun to my current solid-state reference, the HeadAmp GS-1, the Fun had a decidedly tighter presentation to the bottom octaves, The flip side of that coin was that the bass frequencies on the GS-1 tended to sound weightier, more corporeal. The GS-1 also possessed a sense of refinement that the Fun simply couldn't match - easily retrieving the air around notes, the inner details and ambience that the Fun was struggling to resolve.

Conclusion
Overall, the Burson Fun is a competent amp on all the sorts of music that I threw at it. It's not the most natural, organic sounding piece of kit nor does it portray that last iota of fine resolution (spatial or otherwise), but it gets the job done. It drives high impedance and low impedance cans to satisfying volume levels - at least for my taste - and is quiet enough for the IEMs that I have on hand, the Etymotic ER4SR. And though I never tested it as a preamp, it's a nice bonus feature that gives it some flexibility in a small setup. The only hesitation I have at this point regard the quality control issues, though Burson's excellent customer service do much to assuage that concern.

Full Disclosure: I was recently contacted by another member here with an opportunity to review the Burson Audio Fun. Initially it was an opportunity to keep a review unit after giving it a review. I wasn't looking for another desktop amp in this price range but for the price of free and an honest review I figured why not? In the end there was a miscommunication with Burson that did not allow both reviewers to keep the unit. As a result I decided to do the review anyway and ship the unit back to the original member as long as shipping was paid. So in the end this review is an honest unpaid for review.


Pros:
This is a powerful detailed pre/amp that was able to easily drive my power hungry Mr Speakers Ether C flows and Sennheiser 6xx. It is a solidly built unit. There was no play or looseness in any component. Although it is only a $100 more than the ifi nano black label it is a much better built and powerful unit that goes beyond what you would expect for the price difference. It is very detailed in the highs and has a lot of power to drive the lower frequencies.

Cons:
I noticed a higher noise floor when compared to the ifi nano black label, Schiit Lyr 3 and Schiit Ragnarok. It was most noticeable when listening with the Audeze isine20. The bass although substantial, can sound boomy. The highs although detailed can sound artificially enhanced, especially when compared to the smooth sound of the schiit amps. As a result I found it to be easily fatiguing. Like another reviewer noted there was an annoying buzzing sound the first time I turned it on.

Equipment Used:
Headphones: Isine20 with LCDi4 premium braided cable, Audeze LCD4z with wood cups with LCD4 premium braided cable, Mr Speakers Ether C Flows with Moon Audio blue dragon cable, Sennheiser HD6xxx mass drop edition with Venus Audio cable.

Ampifiers: Ifi nano black label, Schiit Lyr3, Schiit Ragnarok

Source: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 with Roon connected to a Schiit Bifrost Dac with multibit

Song lists:
Paul Mc Gowan's dirty dozen from PS Audio
https://www.psaudio.com/pauls-posts/pauls-picks/

Zeos's song list for testing headphones that i compiled from his you tube videos
https://tidal.com/playlist/a0d3509b-d8c2-4116-b9f1-83909b34d105

Cecilia Bartoli St Petersburg
https://tidal.com/playlist/7c327507-dc9a-44de-8a58-d61ed71f3ff7

Pure-Maria Callas
https://tidal.com/playlist/c2fd08bc-9eee-4453-a4cf-9e98568608cf

and other songs from my playlists.

Conclusion:
This is a well made, powerful preamp/amp combo that gives you a lot for the price. I would not hesitate to buy this if I was looking for a unit in this price range. Burson has done a great job with this unit.

Burson Fun-Act One: Basic-$299usd. 5-year warranty. 4.25 stars, if I could. 4.5 with the Vivid.


*Burson had previously sent me the Play on tour. They contacted me to see if I was interested in the Fun, followed by the Bang. I said, “well of COURSE!!” I will provide an open honest review, to the best of my abilities, without reservation. Both parties involved would have it no other way. Period.


*Parts labeled with an asterisk (*) below are additions added using the V6 single Vivid OpAmp. I graciously thank Burson for sending the units for comparative purposes. As a side note, those are the OpAmps of choice for me in the Burson Play as well.


Burson website: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/



*Burson OpAmp link: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v6/



Specs:



Measurement

Input impedance: 38 KOhms
Frequency response: ± 1 dB 0 – 35Khz
THD: <0.03%
Output impedance (Head Amp): 6 Ohm
Output impedance (PreOut): 25 Ohm

Package Content

Burson Fun Unit
2.5mm hex key
RCA Cable
6.5mm to 3.5mm Socket Adaptor
Power Supply: 100-240V AC (12V 6A)


General

Inputs: RCA (2V RMS line level), Mic Input
Weight: app. 2Kg
Outputs: RCA Pre-Amp / Headphone Jack / Mic out
Dimensions: 210mm x 145mm x 45mm


Impedance (Headphone Jack)/Power/Signal to Noise Ratio/Separation:

8Ohm/1.2W/91db/99%
16 Ohm/1.9W/92db/99% 32 Ohm/2.1W/95db/99% 100 Ohm/1W/94db/99% 150 Ohm/0.66W/96db/99% 300 Ohm/0.33W/94db/99.5%



Gear used/compared:

Mr. Speakers Ether-C Flow
Campfire Audio Cascade
Clear Tune Monitors DaVinci X
Campfire Audio Atlas
Hidizs MS4

*Additions:

Sendy Aiva
HiFiMan Ananda


Thebit Opus #2
Shanling M5
Shanling M3s
Aune M1s
MacBook Pro-Tidal Premium & Pine Player

Songs used:

Coldplay-All I Can think About Is You
Coldplay-A Message
Coldplay-White Shadows
Dona Onete-Sonos de Adolescente
Los Lonely Boys- Heaven (en Espanol)
twenty one pilots-Trees
twenty one pilots-Car Radio
twenty one pilots-Heathens
Damian Marley-Everybody Wants To Be Somebody
Damian Marley-So A Child May Follow
Damian Marley-The Struggle Discontinues
Ziggy Marley-Lighthouse
Ziggy Marely-See Dem Fake Leaders
Mark Knopfler-Laughs And Jokes And Drinks And Smokes
Santana w/ Mana- Corazon Espinado

twenty one pilots-Trench
*Tedeschi Trucks Band…oh my goodness…

Unboxing:

Coming in the same sized matte black box as the Play (I certainly do not mind utilizing the same packaging to save costs and space…), you are met with an outline of the Fun (via sticker), complete with front, back image and which option you have. A few specs are listed as well. Since none of the boxes regarding version were highlighted in red, I assume this is the basic, which retails for $299. None the matter, as I can OpAmp roll using those from the Play.

Opening from the front, you are met with two long rectangular boxes bordering the outside, which open as the lid, from the front. Directly in the middle, beneath ¼” soft foam and cradled in a ¾”-1” rigid foam frame lies the Fun. Just the same as the other Burson models of this line. Underneath is the same soft foam, so the Fun is completely protected. In one long box is the power unit. In the other is the power cord as well as connecting 2 single RCA cables as well as Allen key, warranty card 3.5mm-6.3mm adaptor. That’s it. Basic indeed, but I do not mind. It is the listening, which counts.



Fit-n-Finish:

Again, following the same format as the other critters in the foray, you get a black rectangular box. Four Allen screws on the front, the same volume knob (in the same place), a 3.5mm input jack to the left. Left of that is the microphone jack, while left of that you have a dedicated 6.3mm jack. A small blue LED is at the most port position, denoting that the unit is on. Unlike the Play, there is not analog readout for volume, only the turn of the knob, with a smaller yet white dot denoting position.

The back has L/R RCA in and out (pre-amp out) connections as well as the power connection, on/off toggle, microphone jack (for mic pass through when mounted in a PC) and computer cable hook up. Yet again you can use this in your desktop tower, providing a killer amp upgrade. At 2 watts Class A, I would hope so…

Simple straightforward and to the point. This isn’t meant to be a boutique piece no; the merits are in the sound. With discreet circuitry (a Fun read in and of itself, haha) there is no crossover distortion or feedback. Not noticeable on the outside, much like the look; but it is what’s inside that counts.

OpAmp rolling is quick and easy with the included Allen Key. I listened to the included Basic OpAmp’s as well as the Vivid’s from my Burson Play. I prefer the warmer signature of the Vivid to the Classic, but the Basic (NE5543 X 2) sounded near-neutral and just fine. YMMV. As a desktop amp, the ease of changing the OpAmps cannot be underestimated. Throw in the Bang, and you can essentially get a good set of combinations with which to play.

*Dedicated OpAmp sound:


To add to what is listed below, after Burson sent me the V6 (single) Vivid pair for installation, I dedicated several hours using the same songs listed above (and same sources/gear) with the addition of a couple newcomers to my corral; the Sendy Aiva and the tour HiFiMan Ananda. My initial usage of the Vivid OpAmps in the Burson Play allowed me a direct comparison between the Classic (more neutral) and the Vivid (warmer signature). In the Fun though, Burson included the Basic, to give me an impression of their “bottom-line” component. Using the V6 Vivid (again, single not double) added $140 to the cost, on par with Basic Playmate and Play with V5 OpAmp options. A fair comparison in my opinion. Following this, Burson will send me the Bang to use in conjunction with the Fun for a complete comparison of the line-up as well as giving a good representation of the whole line.


Installation is as easy as messaging @Wiljen to ensure all went well…it did…after sending a couple of DOH! Messages, he graciously did not make “fun” of my doltishness…it is straightforward and easy to change OpAmps in under five minutes. A huge option when used as a stand-alone.


So…what happened? Using Tidal Premium through my MBP and first the Ananda, I was met with visions of a small venue concert I attended with my Brother-in-law listening to the Tedeschi Trucks Band. I distinctly remember ordering Guinness a pint at a time, rotating with the local Boulevard Pale Ale in glasses. By concerts start time, we were the only ones allowed to use glasses, as the others were relegated to the ubiquitous Red Solo cups. Our waitress took very good care of us that night adding to the enjoyment of top-class music and passion deserving of Susan Tedeschi. A magical night topped by a hug to the waitress and a tip she wholly deserved. I mention this, for playing Tedeschi Trucks through the Fun/Vivid brought back those good memories. Small venue, excellent company, excellent beer, and incredible music. And if that is what our music can do for us, then it has served its purpose. And served it well.


Richer, fuller and mellower would be apt descriptors for what the Vivid brings to the table. And I do so love that sound. Detail remains excellent in this iteration. Sound stage is good. Slightly on the intimate side, but oh so nice. Susan’s voice rings like from the concert. Sitting at our bar table, right in front, with Tedeschi giving us props throughout the show. And we returned the favors with glass raised.







The Vivid provides not more power, no; but that richness, almost velvet-like sound, which can make an analytical song ooze with sensuousness. This can make a sterile song come to life, and dance across the page, not unlike the verbiage espoused here. I must openly admit that the Fun by itself is good, but with the Vivid, the sound comes more in line with my tastes. I openly admit to liking the Sendy Aiva (even after hearing more expensive units, which mellowed my view a bit) and here the combination brings the sound I very much appreciate from the Aiva. Just a really good combination.


Switching to the Cascade, the bass is superb. Almost toning down the overwhelming-ness, the package brings to light how good the Cascade can sound with a good amp. Yes, Tidal Premium and the MBP are not the best; but I still enjoy them both. Again, rich bass and sound emanate from the Cascade, moving me back yet again to the concert. A more mid-centric sound than the Aiva, the Cascade gives you a better feel for the sound package, as you most definitely feel centered about 10 people (the venue was small, and save for our raised table area was standing) back from stage, moving perfectly in time with the music and crowd. You glance around and all look, feel, envelope Tedeschi’s sensuous voice and guitar licks. They catch you looking and raise their Red Solo cup of adult beverage and you share the moment. Any How, epitomizes this sound wonderfully. I fully recommend a Tedeschi Trucks concert. You will not be disappointed with their musical variety and genre-crossing sound. A hip blues sound, with Grateful Dead thrown in along with the musicianship of Dave Matthews and Lyle Lovett. Yes, they have their own sound, but melding the above give you the idea.


And the Fun/Vivid represent that sound oh so well. I finish with Laugh About It, a spiritual song about not forgoing your chance. A fitting way to end the second part of this review. For you see, Burson took a chance with an amp line-up, which can span the spectrum of making your gaming set-up top notch, while pulling double duty as a very good affordable desktop amp. One, which will stay in my rotation for comparative purposes for a good long time. This is good stuff.





A word about sources:

As @Wiljen mentioned in his review, you are more dependent upon the DAC you use for the sound as the Fun itself. Therefore (to me) if you scale up too much, you really are not adding anything (and could detract in fact) from the sound signature presented. In other words, it simply is not worth it for me to hook up my Questyle QP2R to the Fun, other than to add power. And I would be losing some quality in the making.

This certainly is not a snub or shot at Burson, no. It is simply that hooking a $300 headphone amp to a $1300 DAP can be done, but do not expect anything above the sound of the DAP except volume. The Fun is quite adequate at providing that power as well. While the original source signature can show itself through the Fun, you realize what the limits are.

Through the Aune M1s, the additional power is welcomed, and can show the warmth of the M1s quite nicely. I would say that this is a good match, as it can provide the added power, with a bit more oomph down low. Especially when I ran the Atlas through it. Or the Cascade for that matter. Quite nice.

Tidal Premium through my MacBook Pro and the Fun (using headphone jack into split RCA cables), the sound in the Ether-C Flow is definitive and additive. The Fun does indeed provide the necessary power to drive the Flow to voluminous levels of hurt. Want more warmth? Throw in the Vivid OpAmps, sit back and enjoy. I do love the Ether-C Flow, but always welcome a bit more sub-bass. Coldplay’s Up & Up shows well in this set up. Coldplay has a tendency to be a shouty-kind of sound on many songs and this is one of them. But I sift through that to the added power. Giving that extra rumble down low (yes Tidal Premium does that) the Fun drives the Flow well.

Switching to the Cascade through the same set up, that bass is back in full force. The Cascade is known as the bass-cannon of headphones in some circles, and it does not disappoint here. Sounding better than straight out of the MBP (one would hope so anyway), that “better” comes straight from the extra amplification of the Fun. So, one could argue that the source sound is the same, but only amplified. That would be correct, but it still sounds a bit better. Not more definitive like the Flow, which is a harder to drive critter, but just more of it. So, I cannot say definitively if the sound is “better,” but only more of it. A harder to drive headphone such as the Ether will benefit more than the Cascade, which is straightforward to drive since it is marketed as a portable.

With Motherboard pouring through from Daft Punk (one of my favorite test tracks) on the same set up, the Cascade reminds me of what I love about it. There is just that presence there, which comes through loud and clear. The Fun is not the detail monster of other amps, and it isn’t meant to be. That job is up to the Bang or the Play. No, the Fun provides the engine with which to drive your music. And in that regard, it does a very good job.

Follow that up with Song For America from a favorite of mine, Kansas, and you have a pretty good idea of what the Fun can bring to the table. Power, and what I will call “girth” give it very good presence. Details while slightly above average come through with good placement. You do not mistake what sound is where. As such Sound stage is decently wide and tall. A good boxy set up pervades the feeling of a larger hall. Nicely done.


OpAmp:

As stated above, I preferred the Vivid OpAmp for its warmth, but kept the Basic in most of the time to show what the most economical unit could do. Providing what I would say is on par with other amps at this price range, the Fun has a bit more power than many at this price, providing up to 2 full watts for most easily driven headphones and IEM’s. More than adequate in my book, and good for gaming situations as well, like the Play. What it does not provide is a better DAC. Whatever you have in your source is it. But my thought here is those that would use this in either a desktop headphone amp set up or inside a PC tower for gaming will most likely have a better DAC (either from a DAP) or a better soundcard for gaming purposes.

The Fun makes no pretense in providing better sound, only in providing MORE sound. Burson leaves that up to the source, whether it is the Bang or as other reviews here have provided their own DAC’s. And in the end, who doesn’t want more power?





Finale:

This may be a shorter than average review of late, but that is by design. For once I have the Bang inhouse, I will be able to pair the two and get a better sense of their place. I have the Schitt Modi2 Uber and Magni2 for cheaper comparative purposes, and my iFi stack moving up, so that will be a good mix.

Don’t take this as a slight of the Fun. No, indeed not. For the Fun is a powerful desktop amp, which fits nicely into my set up. Not the most versatile of options, but easy to hook up with pretty much whatever you would like. Easily hooking a DAP to the front slot, or your laptop/PC/DAP from the RCS cables in back; it simply works. And sometimes that is the best compliment you can earn. This is the true benefit of the Fun. It is affordable, "optionable," PC-able, and small of size with excellent power.



*Vivid V6 OpAmp finale: So…after too long of a time, I can add to what is stated above. The Burson Fun is indeed a quality amp and for its intended purposes, does very, very well. Then when you add in the ability to roll OpAmps, you have added to its versatility. When I changed to the Vivid OpAmp, I felt this better represented what Burson was trying to achieve with this line of their amps. Good to excellent for computers, raised to excellent to very, VERY good with the Vivid.


In fact when comparing to my iFi Pro iDSD or the tour HiFiMan Jade II system I have on hand, to me using the Vivid had more of an impact on my MacBook Pro (the closest I could come to the mostly intended desktop tower PC for which this was designed) sound than the others. While the iFi and HiFiMan systems sounded grand, it was most definitely overkill. A MacBook Pro was not the intended target of those higher priced amps. And here is where the true beauty of the Burson lies. Want clearer, cleaner sound? Roll with the Classic. Want a richer, fuller sound? Roll with the Vivid. Want a very good basic upgrade to your PC’s set up for gaming? The Classic will work just fine.





The desire to tune and fine tune items has been around as long as humans (and animals). We have this innate desire to tinker. Make things better, improve upon, come up with new inventions. One need look no further than the vaunted Shelby Cobra for the true definition of that human desire. And here is where I think Burson has carved out a niche for itself. That ability to allow the user to change as their taste fits. That ability to change the sound quickly, and with minimal effort. And for that, I have a newfound appreciation and respect for what Burson is doing.




I thank Burson for this opportunity, and when the Bang gets to my humble hamlet of a town, there will be an act two. So, we will simply call this act one.

Video Review:





Disclaimer:
Thank you to Burson B for contacting me about getting this demo unit to listen to! I previously have not been too interested in a Burson Audio product before, but I would say the Fun is definitely worth looking into!

EDIT (2020/01/29): Burson will be sending me the V6 Vivid op-amps to test out! Stay tuned for an updated impressions section!




Notable Features:

• Dual mono Class A amp/pre-amp
• "Max Current Power Supply"
• Elna brand low-tolerance MELF (Metal Electrode Leadless Face) resistors
• Code:

  R (Ω) P (W) V (V) I (mA) SNR (dB)
  8 1.2 3.10 387.30 91
  16 1.9 5.51 344.60 92
  32 2.1 8.20 256.17 95
  100 1 10 100 94
  150 0.66 9.95 66.33 96
  300 0.33 9.95 33.17 94

• User-changeable 8-pin operational amplifiers
• Microphone input
• Parallel RCA and microphone outputs

Summary:
The only reason for me to give this unit a 4/5 rating instead of a 5/5 one is because of the high output impedance, and the blue LED power indicator is too bright for my preferences. Everything else about this unit is rock solid though, and I would give it a strong recommendation for someone looking to get an affordable, customizable amplifier/pre-amplifier. Giving the user the option to change the Fun's sound with different op-amps is a really awesome concept.



Design:
Simple, compact, and flexible. That pretty much describes the design of the Fun.

The exterior is flexible in that it can be used as a desktop amplifier, a pre-amplifier, as well as being able to be installed into a PC bay (being powered by your PC's power supply via Molex connectors instead of the DC input). No other audio enthusiast-designed amplifier that I am aware has this kind of flexibility, and that makes the Fun really unique. Unfortunately my PC does not have external drive bays, so I was unable to test out its use case for that scenario.

Still on the topic of the Fun's exterior design, the large Alps volume knob is a nice inclusion: it has a very small channel imbalance region, and it feels very smooth to operate.

Two things about the exterior design that I am not fond of are the super bright blue LED indicator that basically shot a blue laser beam across my room at night, and the rough matte-black finish that makes cleaning it a bit difficult.






On to the interior of the Fun, it too is well-designed: using quality components, custom-made parts, and a dual-mono amplification stage. These all aid in the overall sound of the Fun.

What is also unique about the Fun's design is the addition of a microphone input, and output section. Although this is targeted to a small set of users, such as gamers, it can be useful for those who are looking for an amplifier with this feature.

The only issue I have with the Fun's design is the 6-ohm output impedance. This is quite high for low-impedance headphones and in-ear earphones, and the damping ratio does play a role in this case (see sound impressions below). However, the higher output impedance helps to protect short-circuiting when the headphones are unplugged while a signal is being played, so there are some safety precautions set in place given the Fun's high output power.



Sound:
Amplfiers are still somewhat of a mystery to me, to be perfectly honest. I mostly find sound differences between setups coming from the headphones, the DAC, the power supply, and not so much the amplifier (save for tube amps). I use the RME ADI-2 DAC as my primary DAC and amplifier, but in this case, I did hear a difference between the ADI-2 DAC and the Fun. The differences are more pronounced with my AKG K701 versus with the Focal Clear.

All of these impressions are with the default op-amps installed in the Fun. A hex wrench, and other op-amps were not included in this demo package.


Whether it is the actual amplifier design, or the discrete power supply built into the Fun, I find the Fun to have a very black background. Imaging is superb as a result of this, and is the easiest thing to distinguish between the Fun and the ADI-2 DAC. Instruments are well-separated from one another and this adds a sense of layering that I have not heard before with the K701.

Related to imaging, the sense of soundstage is presented in a more three-dimensional manner, making the K701 even more enjoyable to listen to. Usually, the K701 has a two-dimensional/flat-sounding presentation of with sounds mostly panning left and right, but on the Fun, instruments were presented in front of me as well; a nice change of pace to hear.

Again, I am not sure if these two aspects of the sound are attributed to the amplifier section of the Fun, or the well-designed power supply. Both of these qualities are what I hear when a better power supply is implemented into an audio chain, as well as going from single-ended outputs to balanced outputs (perhaps the dual-mono design aids in this as well).


As for the overall frequency response, the stock op-amps seems to make the Fun have a slightly emphasized mid-bass, upper-midrange, and a kind of grainy treble. These attributes give the Fun a slight coloration of sound, which may or may not be good depending on the headphones you use. For the Focal Clear, the emphasized upper-midrange is a bit much for me (becoming more fatiguing to listen to), but it is okay with the K701. The slightly emphasized mid-bass is great for both headphones on the other hand, and it makes the music listening experience more fun. I still find the stock op-amps' sound to be a bit rough, but I assume this will change once op-amp rolling is taken into consideration. Volume-matching the outputs of the Fun and ADI-2 DAC, the emphasized upper-midrange is apparent to me in comparison to the more neutral-sounding ADI-2 DAC.

Despite this, the Fun drive both the K701 and the Clear with ease thanks to its high output power capabilities. Additionally, the Fun's headphone output is clear of any background noise: I am able to use the Ultimate Ears Reference Remastered perfectly fine without any volume potentiometer channel imbalance issues, nor background hiss.


On that note however, the high output impedance of the Fun does affect headphones with a low impedance (minus planar magnetic headphones), as well as in-ear earphones with multiple drivers. For this purpose, I do not recommend the Fun if you plan to use it with such headphones. Listening to the UE RR on the Fun, it is evident that the bass is less controlled than when using an amplifier with a lower output impedance: the bass and lower-midrange frequencies almost sound slurred and less textured.





V6 Vivid Op-Amp Update (2020-07-14):


Burson kindly sent me a pair of the V6 Vivid op-amps for me to try out...actually I accidentally requested the Dual op-amp version at first instead of the Single op-amp version, so it took a little longer to get my impressions sorted out.




^ The Dual V6 Vivid looks almost identical to this, except it says Dual on it, and the print is on a different side of the op-amp

After letting the V6 Vivid burn-in with pink noise for some 250 hours, I did a lot of back and forth listening between it and the stock NJM 5534D op-amp. To be honest, I wasn't expecting much of a sound difference since I was under the impression that op-amps are just one component of the whole circuit and that the rest of the circuit was probably optimized. I was wrong about that, haha.

As it turns out, the V6 Vivid vastly improved the sound quality to my ears; many of the issues I had with the stock configuration of the Fun were resolved.

Bass
For the bass, the lows sounded like they had more extension as opposed to having a slight emphasis on the mid-bass. This was one of the biggest differences I heard between the RME ADI-2 DAC and the stock Fun and it made listening to electronic music more enjoyable.

Upper-Midrange
The somewhat shouty and harsh upper-midrange I was hearing from the stock Fun was also alleviated with the installation of the V6 Vivid op-amps: music was overall less fatiguing to listen to, especially when using the Focal Clear.

Treble
Although I thought the treble was grainy-sounding with the stock op-amps, the Fun still retained a good sense of texture. With the V6 Vivid op-amps installed, the treble seemed smoothed out, which I find to work out fantastically for general music listening, but the overall sense of detail seemed less.

Instrument Separation
Another difference I heard between the V6 Vivid and stock op-amps was the ability to separate instruments within the headspace. As mentioned above, the stock op-amps have a very incredible sense of instrument separation, to the point where I can easily pick out instruments from one another in a mix.

Listening to the V6 Vivid op-amps, that sense of instrument separation was still better than the RME ADI-2 DAC by itself, but it wasn't to the same degree as the stock op-amps.

Soundstage/Imaging
That being said, I did like how the V6 Vivid op-amps presented the sounds more in front compared to the stock op-amps. This kind of imaging reminds me of how one would hear bookshelf speakers on a desk setup, so this kind of presentation is what I prefer to hear when listening to music, and I find it to be more engaging.



Conclusion:
Given the fact that the Fun can be used in many different scenarios, I think this is a terrific amplifier for what you pay for, even with the stock op-amps. The fact that you even swap out op-amps makes this amp fun in of itself. I might purchase a Fun just to try out different op-amps!

Burson Fun Review


Disclaimer

Burson Audio reached out to me about their Fun & Bang review tour. There were some misunderstandings about the conditions, and I may get to keep the Burson Fun, or not. Either way, that did not influence my review - other than inspiring me to buy a pair of opamps to try with the Burson Fun.


Summary

The Burson Fun in its stock configuration for $299 is a tolerable headphone amplifier and a surprisingly good sounding preamp. But swapping its two single opamps for two Sparkos SS3601 ($40 each) transforms it into possibly the best headphone amplifier I have heard so far, making it wonderfully engaging and very resolving at the same time. My unit was plagued by an occasional buzzing sound with no apparent cause or reliable fix. It also seems to be more sensitive to dirty power than other headphone amplifiers that I have tried.


Externals

The Burson Fun is a headphone amplifier with a 6.35 TRS headphone jack in the front and a preamp with a pair of RCA connectors to connect to a power amp or power speakers in the back. Its main input is a single pair of RCA connectors in the back, but it also has a 3.5 mm TRS jack in the front. When plugging in a source into this front jack, a number of relay clicks can be heard as the unit switches to this input. Inserting or removing a cable into the front plug is the only way to select one of the two inputs. There is also a 3.5 mm TS (mono) input jack in the front that appears to be simply passed through to a 3.5 mm TS (mono) output jack in the back. This only makes sense when taking into account the unit's form factor - it can be mounted in a computer's 5.25 in drive bay and powered by a 4-pin Molex connector - if your power supply still has one, or an adapter for it. I only used the Fun powered with the supplied external power brick. Its cable has a non-polarized 2-prong plug and is therefore not grounded. This might be helpful in avoiding ground loops. The power switch is located in the back, and a blue LED on the front indicates whether the unit is powered on. A volume knob in the front is used to adjust the volume.




Internals

The Burson Fun has a class A power supply, ready to provide full power at any moment, and so its power consumption does not vary with use. When turned on, it consumed 8.8 to 10 W and drew 0.12 to 0.14 A according to my P4460 Kill A Watt. The power brick itself consumed 0.4 W and drew less than 0.01 A. The amp delivers a generous 2.1 W into 32 ohms, but has a fairly high output impedance of 6 ohms. Despite its power and the relatively thin case, it barely gets warm when in use. It contains two single opamps in DIP8 sockets, ready to be swapped out for something better. The underside of the lid features a sticker outlining the circuit board's layout, which helps with locating the opamps and their correct orientation. A beefy ALPS potentiometer can be found behind the volume knob.






Accessories

The package includes a pair of 2 ft long mono RCA cables, a 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm adapter (described as 6.5 mm to 3.5 mm on the website), a replacement fuse and, uniquely, an allen wrench. That is because Burson encourages you to replace the opamps in order to change the sound to your liking - the solid state equivalent to tube rolling.




Dislikes

I much prefer devices with integrated power supplies that accept regular power cords with C13 connectors. Instead, you get a thin fixed length power cord with a chunky power brick attached to it, requiring you to put it somewhere close-ish. Without an integrated power supply, the unit itself feels a bit too light in comparison to, say, the densly packed Schiit Jotunheim.
The power switch in the back feels good, but this type of switch is usually illuminated when turned on - not so here, which I find irritating. From the back, I have to look more closely to determine whether it is turned on. Luckily, that's less common in regular use than in a review situation.
The volume knob's indicator is often not visible because of where it is located on the tapered volume knob, especially when placing the unit to your left.
The provided allen wrench is tiny, and you have to remove two screws in the front and two in the back (and ideally loosen two more on one side) before you can remove the top to replace the opamps. The screws are anodized, resulting in a black oxide layer, which is at risk of being scraped off by the allen wrench. Maybe thumb screws, at least in the front, would have been more inviting and durable.
The aux connector in the front didn't work the first time I used it, but reconnecting the plug fixed that. I probably confused the detection circuitry while enjoying the relay-based soundtrack. There is no indication of which input is selected, which is fine as long as the detection works reliably. Nevertheless, I would prefer a switch over the relay-powered magic.
Basically, I would prefer a redesign of the unit that is not compromised by trying to make it mountable in a PC case. Remove the mic pass through and the mounting holes on each side, replace the aux connector in the front with a second RCA input in the back, add an input selector in the front, integrate power supply into the case and make it more wide than deep.

The included 6.35 mm to 3.5 mm adapter did not provide a secure connection to a Kabeldirekt aux cable I used. One of my regular adapters (either a Sennheiser 549346 or something that looks very similar) instead worked flawlessly. I did not play with the RCA cable much, but it seems to work.

My biggest gripe is hopefully a defect instead of a design flaw. On several occasions, an annoying buzzing sound can be heard in the headphones after turning the unit on. The buzz's volume is independent of the volume knob's position. It seems to occur most when the unit has been powered off for a while. I'm not sure what the best way is to get rid of it, but power cycling the unit a few times seems to do to the trick. You might be able to hear the buzz in one of these recordings:

1. Burson Fun > Ether Flow > Blue Yeti
2. Burson Fun > Focusrite 6i6 > amplified in Audacity to roughly match volume with headphones

Likes

The volume knob has a good size given the unit's general dimensions, rotates very smoothly, feels solid and is free of obstacles around it. Many other headphone amplifiers put the headphone jack so close to the volume knob that the headphone cable gets in the way. The volume indicator, when visible at all, has good contrast. I also like that there's no sound at all when the volume is turned all the way down, which is not always the case (looking at you, Audio-GD HE-9). As usual with potentiometers there is some channel imbalance at very low volumes, but this was never a problem at volume levels that I would actually use. It might become a problem with very sensitive earphones/headphones.
While the power switch is in the back, it's easy to locate by touch and satisfying to operate. The power status LED is blue and hidden behind a tiny hole, making it not too bright. A muting relay protects your headphones while the unit is powering on, and disengages after a few seconds - fast enough to not make me impatient, in contrast to the Schiit Jotunheim's muting relay.


Test Setup

Songs: Mostly FLAC files from HDTracks.com and CD rips, mostly acoustic music like Folk and Jazz.
Sources: Microsoft Surface Pro 4 or Apple MacBook Pro
Digital interconnect: 6 ft AmazonBasics USB 2.0 A to B cable
DAC: Topping DX7s in filter mode 4, using its single ended RCA outputs
Analog interconnects: A pair of Audioquest RCA splitters into two 3 ft KabelDirekt RCA stereo cables (unless otherwise noted)
Headphones: MrSpeakers Ether Flow 1.0 with the stock 6 ft 6.35mm DUM cable


Comparisons while using the stock opamps

The stock opamps appear to be NJR NJM5534D, based on the label on the opamp itself. It says JRC, but if you visit njr.com, it says "New Japan Radio Co, Ltd." with "JRC" in the logo (presumably for Japan Radio Co). The Burson website describes the stock option as NE5543, i.e. 3 and 4 are swapped.


Creative Sound Blaster E5 ($200)

The Sound Blaster E5 is a feature-packed portable DAC/amp unit. It has a 3.5 mm TRS line-in and can therefore be used as a headphone amplifier. It also has a 3.5 mm TRS line-out, making it a preamp as well, which I did not test - the volume knob has no absolute position, which is too risky for when using it as a preamp. The E5's output impedance is 2.2 ohms vs. the Fun's 6 ohms. On Massdrop it is specified as delivering just 105 mW into 32 ohms.
For power I used an Anker PowerPort 4 USB power supply with a 6 ft Anker PowerLine+ micro USB cable. I used a 6 ft KabelDirekt stereo RCA to 3.5 mm TRS cable to connect it to the DAC and a Grado Mini Adapter Cable to connect the headphones. I turned off all sound processing in the E5 and set it to high gain. In this comparison, the Burson Fun was already warmed up from prior testing.

Impressions: Generally, the Sound Blaster E5 seemed to be a bit more resolving and smoother than the Fun, but lacks power in the low end. In my notes, I often described the Fun's bass as boomy and its highs as harsh, but it has a fuller low end than the E5. Basically, there's no clear winner here to me.


Yamaha RX-V377 ($300)

The RX-V377 is a 5.1 surround receiver that happens to have a headphone out. Since the Fun is a dedicated headphone amplifier at the same price point, I expected the RX-V377 to be the weakest competitor to the Fun. I turned off all audio processing in the RX-V377.

Impressions: The RX-V377 is not as bad a headphone amplifier as I expected, producing fairly clear sound when using the planar magnetic Ether Flow, with some volume to spare. It does have a disturbing "digital" quality to it, though. There is a noticeable delay compared to the Burson Fun, leading me to believe that the DSP is active at all times, even when it isn't actually manipulating the audio intentionally. The result is a weird rounding of the sound, a lack of definition and musicality. The Burson Fun is clearly the better option here.


Schiit Jotunheim ($400)

The Schiit Jotunheim is a versatile package with a unique and appealing design (to me). Like the Burson Fun it can function as both a headphone amplifier and a preamp, but with adjustable gain levels, balanced input and output, a built-in linear power supply, and an optional DAC module or phono preamp (at extra cost). It is fully balanced, yet its topology allows for single-ended output without any summers in the signal path. With a balanced output power of 5 W into 32 ohms, it is even more powerful than the Burson Fun's 2.1 W, but when using single ended headphones, the Fun beat the Jotunheim's 1.5 W. However, at 16 ohms, the Fun's 1.9 W still lose against the Jotunheim's 2.5 W even when using single ended headphones. Also, the Fun's 6 ohms output impedance is no match for the Jotunheim's exemplary < 0.1 ohms. However, in my particular case, with the very flat 23 ohms of the Ether Flow, neither power nor output impedance should be deciding factors between the two.

Impressions: The Jotunheim sounds noticeably cleaner and is more resolving. Overall, it simply sounds more refined to me. Its only downside is the sound stage, which is generally less wide and flatter than the Fun's sound stage. If you're not interested in rolling opamps and assuming you're not specifically looking for a headphone amp that fits into a computer case, the Jotunheim would get my clear recommendation despite costing a little more. Its flexibility in terms of providing balanced inputs and outputs and variable gain make it the clear winner to me. But if you are interested in rolling opamps, you should read on.


iFi micro iDSD ($600)

The iFi micro iDSD is a portable DAC/amp combo that is quite a bit bulkier and heavier than the Sound Blaster E5. But as a result, it also has oodles of power, especially in its Turbo mode, where it is rated at 4 W into 16 ohms vs. the Fun's 1.9 W. It can be used as a headphone amplifier courtesy of a 3.5 mm TRS line-in, and in contrast to the E5 has a 6.35 mm headphone jack, thus not requiring an adapter for my tests.
I used the Anker PowerPort 4 as a USB power supply and the micro iDSD's standard USB extension cable to plug into (or around?) its unusual male USB connector (that happens to be very useful with OTG cables). Admittedly when I previously used it as a DAC in Turbo mode, it drained its battery more quickly than it was able to charge it, and so isn't completely useful as a desktop headphone amp in this mode. The iFi micro iDSD can also be used as a preamp courtesy of its RCA input jacks. I did not test this because the preamp functionality can be turned off for use as a DAC, and the switch to do so is too easily triggered by accident to be safe. I turned off the iDSD's bass and 3D features, and set the IEMatch selector to high sensitivity to have a bit more range in the volume knob before it gets dangerous.

Impressions: The micro iDSD sounds cleaner, fuller and is more resolving. I find imaging and sound stage to be comparable. In some songs, the iDSD sounded more natural to me.


Gustard H20 ($930 / $800 on Massdrop) with 2x Sparkos SS3602 dual opamps ($80 each)

Like the Fun, the H20 is a headphone amp and preamp, and is also fully class A. However, it is fully balanced, providing one single ended and two balanced inputs, a high and low impedance 6.35mm headphone jack, a 4-pin XLR headphone jack and a stereo pair of two 3-pin XLR headphone jacks. However, for preamp use it only has XLR out, no RCA. While it has three gain settings, they are not all that different, providing limited use.
At 12 W into 32 ohms, you needn't worry about power. Thanks to the relay-stepped attenuator, there's also no channel imbalance, even at low volumes, although there's a pretty big gap between its lowest volume setting (no sound) and second lowest (louder than expected). Due to a translation error, you may find it specified as having an output impedance of 200 ohms, but it's actually ~0.1 ohms for the balanced headphone outs and ~0.05 ohms for the high impedance single ended headphone out (and, interestingly, 50 ohms for the low impedance out).

Impressions: I love the H20, at least with the Sparkos opamps. It is resolving, musical, engaging, clean, natural sounding with an expansive sound stage. There is more texture to its sound, it images better and its bass hits harder - and all that while constrained by using the single ended input and output, despite being balanced. Sound wise it's a clear winner against the Burson Fun with stock opamps - as it should be, given the considerable price difference.


Usage as a preamp

I didn't test its preamp functionality very thoroughly, playing only two songs per configuration. I compared it to using the DX7s in its DAC/HP mode, in which it basically functions as a digital preamp (particularly useful with a remote). I also used the passive Schiit SYS ($50) and the Schiit Jotunheim ($400) as a preamp.

Impressions: Compared to these three options, the Burson Fun stood out with significantly better imaging, without exhibiting the somewhat harsh highs and boomy lows I experienced when using it as a headphone amplifier. The SYS and the Jotunheim have the advantage of having additional inputs, while the DX7s has the advantage of supporting a remote - a crucial feature in a living room setup.


Dirty power?

The improvements I heard when using the Fun as a preamp surprised me. Maybe the opamps were responsible for the objectionable sound I heard with headphones, and are not in use for the preamp part of the Fun? This would definitely make sense to me.
But there was also another possibility: The Fun was no longer plugged into the same power strip that was also powering a desktop computer and a monitor, two laptops, a USB charger and a desk lamp's power supply that I can hear singing up close. Instead, it was now in a different power strip that also contained three iFi AC iPurifier power conditioners.
So I added another power strip to the noisy one used prior, and moved the Fun to the outlet furthest away from the power cord. Then I experimented with adding the three AC iPurifiers into the power strip one by one - and this seemed to indeed reduce the harshness I heard with headphones. Adding one AC iPurifier made the biggest difference, but adding more seemed to improve the result further a little bit. It didn't fundamentally change the sound of the Fun, but it seems to have cleaned it up a bit.

As a result, all of the above comparisons as a headphone amplifier may not have shown the Fun at its best. On the other hand, most people looking for $299 headphone amplifiers will not use any power conditioners at all, and are likely using it close to other gear as well, or plug it directly into a computer's non-audiophile power supply.


Using the Sparkos SS3601 opamps

Due to Burson's encouragement to roll opamps, I was really curious about how much of an impact the opamps have. I am already using two Sparkos SS3602 (dual opamps) in the Gustard H20, but didn't feel like they changed the sound that much compared to the stock opamps, though I didn't wait very long before making the swap. Still, I really like the H20 with the SS3602s, so I happily bought two SS3601s (single opamps) for the Burson Fun.

Impressions: Well! This completely transformed the Burson Fun. With the Sparkos opamps it sounded very clean, spacious, extremely detailed and resolving - and oh so engaging. The last time I found a headphone amplifier this gripping was when I heard the Lyr 3 with new production tubes at the California Audio Show in 2018 - no matter the song, it made me move to the music. In comparison, the Jotunheim still sounded good, but less engaging, while at the same time being more resolving - so that seemed to be the trade off. But the Burson Fun changes changes the equation when powered by the Sparkos opamps. I find it to be as engaging as I remember the Lyr 3 to be while actually surpassing the Jotunheim's resolution. Before the heart surgery, I had no desire to switch back to it when comparing it with the most of the other headphone amps, and was looking forward to just being done with this review. With the SS3601s it was the complete opposite, I could not stop listening. I heard things in songs I never heard before. Regardless of what genre I threw at the amp, it simply excelled, delivering razor sharp transients, smooth, punchy bass with lots of texture and the best sound stage I have heard with my Ether Flows.
Sadly, my Gustard H20 was back at the office at this point and I had to send the Fun on to my review partner, so a direct comparison wasn't possible anymore. I really hope that I will still get to do this, and also hear it with the Schiit Yggdrasil instead of the Topping DX7s.






Conclusion

For now, it seems that the Burson Fun with the Sparkos SS3601s is the best sounding headphone amplifier that I have heard so far. And trust me, I find that hard to believe myself - because of its price, because of its size and because it is single ended. There is enough that I don't like about the Burson Fun that I kind of don't want it to be true, and with the stock opamps I find it rather forgettable. Nevertheless, this experience reminded me of what made me obsessed with audio - reaching a new peak in sound quality, making me wonder once more how good it could possibly get. For that, I am very grateful.

So... Burson Audio sent me one of their headphone amps (The FUN) for review a little while ago. It's taken me a bit to get around to writing this (I apologize), so let's jump in.


Burson Audio is an Australian based audio company that caters towards the mid to high end headphone amplifier range, providing buyers with pretty great bang for your buck with the different types of sound signatures you can get from opamp rolling, which they encourage. I've been a bit of a fan myself for a while, so keep in mind that I am human, this review is my opinion, and as such, it may differ from your own. This is okay because it's that's variety of differences in this hobby that makes this so interesting and... FUN.. right? Haha.



About me


I haven't been in this hobby very long. Since about 2012 to 13-ish, actually. In that time I've been lucky enough to listen to quite a few different headphones from different companies, all with widely varying sound signatures, while I searched for my preferred sound. My preference normally leans towards dark, full bodied, and warm as I am highly sensitive to harsh treble as I perceive it. My music taste runs along the lines of Hip-hop (yeah, yeah), Classic Rock, R&B, Smooth Jazz, and Blues/Soul. While I do love a bit of bass emphasis in my music most of the time, I also like a more neutral sound for smooth, relaxing listening sessions. Now that you have a bit of an idea about me, let's move on.



Packaging


The amplifier came in a simple box, well packaged and protected. Not much else to say here except that I appreciate simple. While others may go with flash and pomp and make their products damn near people proof, I was able to tear this amp out of the box immediately upon arrival and get to the glorious piece of gear tucked neatly away inside.



Contents


On opening the package I was greeted with everything needed to get started. Inside were the power cord, a couple of RCA cables, and a 1/8th to 1/4th headphone jack, along with the beautifully simplistic, all black aluminum chassis’d amp itself.



The amplifier


The Burson Audio FUN headphone amp is beautiful and well built with a full aluminum chassis and the usual outs you would expect, the FUN also boasts a mic input and output (both 3.5mm) for those who want to integrate this amp into their gaming setup on their PC. The footprint of the FUN at just over 5 inches makes it ideal for this kind of integration, or for just using as a standalone headphone amp in an area with very little space. It's also very well priced at $299 USD, in my opinion. Especially for the performance you get from this little bundle of FUN. At 2.1 wpc into 32Ohms, you get allllllll the power you'll ever need for just about every headphone you own. You can opt for their V6 (classic/vivid) opamps if you want a bit of a different sound, which will drive the price up a bit, but I can honestly say that as much as I would like to do so, I am REALLY enjoying the FUN in its stock configuration.


Now.. On to the sound!



The sound


Noise Floor - What noise floor? I used the FUN with my Audio-Technica ATH-MSR7, Audeze LCD-XC, and my Flare Audio Flares Gold IEMs, as well as an LB Acoustics MySphere 3.2 and my ears heard no audible noise floor through any of these headphones. It was an utter joy not to listen to or worry about any distracting hum taking me out of my musical bliss. This is due to Burson magic - and by magic I mean their “Max Current Power Supply”, developed in house by Burson to be superior to traditional power supplies and to deliver as clean a maximum current as you can get, instantly taking you into sonic bliss!


Highs - I'm always a little leery when testing new equipment. With how sensitive my ears are to hot/harsh/sibilant treble, sometimes new gear isn't the joy I was hoping for. Thankfully, this wasn't the case with the FUN. Highs were well extended, but had a smoothness to them that was pleasing to the ear. There was something about the way the highs were presented that just made the image of the music seem much more defined, to my ears.


Midrange - The midrange of the FUN felt slightly pushed back to my ears, but not as much as you'd expect from a headphone amp that calls itself the FUN. The vocals of both females and males voices have a certain heft... A weight behind them.. that makes them feel right at home between the slightly colored highs and lows.


Bass - This is always my favorite part of the review with me being a bit of a basshead, but since entering this hobby a couple years ago, I've come come to appreciate a more... appropriate.. amount of bass, so to speak. That being said, the FUN definitely has a bass emphasis, and although that emphasis is slight, it definitely contributes towards the enjoyment of the amp. Bass slam is nice and low notes are full and weighted, never overpowering or taking over the entirety of the spectrum with its fullness.



Conclusion


The Burson Audio FUN is well worth the price tag its been slapped with, and it more than lives up to its name, being one of the most fun amps I've ever used. It's power and versatility as far as sound signature makes it a great amp that outperforms all others in its price range, in my opinion. With loads upon loads of power to spare, the only thing you'll have to worry about is what DAC you want to pair it with and what headphone you are going to enter into musical bliss with.

(I will be doing a follow up review testing the V6 Classic opamps in the future, so if you liked this, look forward to that!)

Update: I received the V6 Classic OPAmps to replace the stock ones that come with the Burson Audio FUN. It's taken me a while to get around to this due to personal issues, but I'm happy that I finally got the opportunity! Here we go!


So... I've never done OP Amp rolling in the past, though I've seen many a discussion on it in forums and videos, so bear with me a bit. After switching out the stock OPAMPS with the V6 Classic, it took some back and forth switching for me to be sure of the differences that I was hearing. The V6, to my ears, seemed to have a much more intimate sound than stock. Whereas the stock OPAMPS were very lively and energetic sounding, the V6 seemed more relaxed, but still as detailed and FUN (Ha!) as stock. It took away everything about the stock OPAMPS that could get fatiguing after a while and made everything slightly warmer and easier to listen to. It's kinda hard to explain the differences between the two, but that's about as best as I know how at the moment. All in all, I think the V6 Classic makes for much easier listening sessions over longer periods of time and adds an intimacy that the stock OPAMPS just can't deliver. They're an absolute necessity in my opinion if you ever wanna just sit back and chill. No analytical listening (though it can still be done), and not too in your face. Definitely a recommended buy.

DISCLAIMER
Burson sent me the Fun for review weeks ago (I apologize for the late review). That said, as always, I'll try my best to provide an honest feedback.


ABOUT ME
I’ve been in this hobby for about 3 years and still feel like I’ve just started with so much to learn and explore. No, I'm not the type that can pick out every little detail, nor am I able to discern between 320kbs, 256kbs, etc. However, I am pretty sensitive to EQ and have developed a preferred sound signature over the years. I tend to gravitate toward audio gear that provides clean sub bass extension (little to no mid bass bump), relatively forward mids, and highs that are on the smoother side. I also appreciate a large soundstage with great imaging capabilities. I do prefer depth (out of your head) over width when it comes to soundstage.




SETUP
iMac (Tidal HIFI) > USB > Schiit Eitr > digital coax w. BNC adapter > Neutrik impedance converter > AES/EBU2 > SFD1 > coax > Burson Fun > various headphones

*Mainly used the HD800 (SDR) to get a better idea of the relative differences between amps
*The focus of my review is how the FUN sounds relative to other amps as I find that most useful.
*FYI, the FUN worked well with most of my headphones (HD800 SDR, LCD3, HD650), and powered them all with ease.



HOW DOES IT SOUND?
IMO the Fun is Burson's jab/comeback at the increasing number of quality sub $500 gear. With Schiit gaining significant grounds and Massdrop churning out one great collaboration after another, it has never been better for budget headphone lovers to get a good taste at what hifi really sounds like. Add the Fun to the bunch with a bit of added flavor ("Fun") and you basically got the gist of what this amp is all about.

/Stock Opamp (Single x2)/
At first, coming from the Master 9, EC BW2 and ZDS as my main amps, I was expecting noticeable grain and a lack of transparency/detail. Well, it was noticeable, but to a much lesser degree than expected. I was also immediately struck with the weight behind the notes. The name of the Fun had me expecting some V shape sound signature with hollowed out mids. Yes, the bass and treble emphasis was there but the mids and vocals also have good heft behind them. The slight emphasis in the mid bass does give the FUN a warmish sound. The soundstage isn't particularly wide nor deep. But it does present a believable sound stage, nothing too closed in or walled. No problems here. The FUN does present a more intimate soundstage, giving you the feeling of being closer to the source of the sound. As for power, there's plenty to spare. I had no problem with any of my headphones nor should you!

Occasionally the Fun did get hot in the treble on certain tracks and the bass at times did ever so slightly bloom relative to my preference. But, if Burson was after a Fun sounding quality affordable amp, they certainly succeeded.

/V6 Vivid/
With the stock opamp, it wasn't too hard to point out the relative deficiencies of the FUN compared to the higher priced/tier amps. That does change a bit with the Vivid opamps. The Vivid adds extra air and clarity to the FUN. With improvements in those areas the FUN's imaging does improve. You do have to pay an extra $70-100 for the Vivids, but personally I find it makes the FUN that much more convincing among the array of quality low to mid range budget amps despite the additional cost. I'd highly recommend going for the Vivid or perhaps the Classics if you're set on getting the FUN.

/Amp Comparisons/
Vs LCX
Both are technically capable in terms of detail and transparency (happy times for sub $500 gear!). The LCX does have that tubish sense of sound in terms of soundstage depth despite being a SS amp. Also, the LXC is the more neutral between the two. Both are similarly priced (the SDAC of the LCX makes up for the extra $79). If you want a more FUN sounding amp that doesn't lack in relative transparency and detail the FUN is for you. If you want an all in one hassle free option and want to get a hint of the Cavalli sound the LCX is for you.
*With the Vivid, the difference in soundstage lessens in terms of size. Both still have their own way of presenting music but sheer size becomes nearly identical.

Vs ZDT Jr.
The ZDT excels in transparency, but lacks heft in the lower end. However, I do prefer the relative bloom free bass of the ZDT. The FUN does sound more engaging for tracks calling for more bass. However, the ZDT is overall more netural while being ever so slightly tubish sounding (there's more treble emphasis with the FUN). Between the two, its really comes down to personal preferences. Both are capable (details, mids) amps that are fairly similarly priced ($300 vs $400). Also, both do have the potential extra cost of tube or opamp rolling.
Perhaps the biggest downside of the ZDT is it's accessibility and issue with hum on many of the units (supposedly Massdrop is in the works for a fix).
*Even with the Vivid, the soundstage is still larger and convincing (sounding real) with the ZDT. FYI, the FUN is no slouch.

Vs Master 9
Ok, from here the price difference becomes quite big. That said I'll compare the two to give a relative idea on how the FUN sounds/spars against amps in this tier. Both are unabashedly powerful and is also where the similarity ends. The Master 9 has a noticeably wider soundstage. The sound is more laid back and neutral with the Master 9. Also the Master 9 is more organic sounding. I hate to use that term, but "organic,” “effortless” and "warm" are terms I would associate with the Master 9 relative to the FUN. The FUN is clearly the more exciting in your face type of amp. As for detail and transparency, you do have to struggle a bit to find the Master 9 eventually stumble out on top even with the Vivid.

Vs BW2
The BW2 is also a somewhat colored amp. Both quite have some meat behind the mids and to a lesser degree the bass. However, the clear difference is in the highs. The highs are shy of neutral with the BW2 leaning towards smoother treble. In contrast the FUN does better with hi-hats, cymbals etc. There's a better sense of "clash" and a natural decay with the FUN. However, overall I side with the BW2 (less so with the Vivid) for its somewhat holographic soundstage (surprising deep for a SS amp) and detail. Despite the overall warmness and relatively shelved highs the BW2 just edges out in detail as well. With the Vivid opamp in the FUN the gap does narrow. The price difference now makes the FUN a lot more attractive.
*Like the ZDT the BW2 is far less accessible than the FUN.

Vs ZDS
Yes, this isn't a fair match up. The ZDS excels in detail, imaging, soundstage size. But is it worth x8 the Fun? That'll depend on your priorities and willingness to spend the extra money to achieve "better" sound. If on a budget, you wouldn't miss out too much with the FUN. Perhaps you do miss out on a few scuffs in the background, coughs in the audience, better sense of space/air, and noticeably better imaging capabilities. Ok, maybe that's more than just a few, but I hope you get the idea.


SUMMARY
With so many great low to mid range budget options out there, the introduction of the FUN certainly doesn't make it any easier to choose one. But if you don't mind a bit of flavor/FUN, while still being technically capable, the Burson Fun should be up there in your list of must try amps.

4.5 stars with stock opamps and 5 stars with the V6 Vivids

Here is my (too) long review of the Burson Fun with comparisons to the Arcam Rhead amp.


First off the build quality is excellent, it uses the same black aluminum case as the Burson Play which looks really nice and helps disappate the heat generated by the amp. The alps pot has a nice amount of resistance to it which makes it easy to get the volume you want and feels like it will last for a long time.

I dont notice any huge channel imbalance except at very low volumes, to me it sounds pretty much balanced by 5 o clock on the dial, which is great because this thing has a huge amount of power on tap and will get loud real fast. Even the included RCA cables are very high quality, much nicer than the monoprice esque cables you usually get when you buy an amp.


It feels like a product that will last a very long time and if there are any issues it comes with a 5 year warranty as long as you register it on their website.


So on to features, the first obvious one is the enormous amount of power this thing has. It is able to do 2.1 watts into 32 ohms which is a bit insane. I dont know if there is any headphone on the market that would need more power than this other than electrostats and the ridiculous Hifiman cans. It is very much designed with Planar Magnetic headphones in mind and is going to more than capable of driving all but the most insensitive of them. It has some kind of attenuation function which drops the power a bit when something lower than 32 ohms is connected but it would still explode the drivers of IEMs and the like, so I would use a LOT of caution using them with the Fun. It operates in Class A all the time with this level of voltage too.


With my Sennheiser HD 6xx I had to use the Topping D50 to drop the output by -10DB to get a reasonable volume at the 9 o clock point of the dial (which I do just to ensure there is no imbalance) and it was still loud. With my Fostex T60RP, I cut the attenuation down to -6DB to get to roughly the same volume.


One of the most unique features of the Fun is that it has a microphone passthrough which lets you plug in your mod mic directly into your amp, then run another mic cable to your PC or sound card. This is a really nice feature and something I wish more amps would do. It really helps cut down the wires running around you.


Okay so now onto sound, I got the Vivid V6 version of the Fun so all my impressions are based on that. I compared it to the Arcam Rhead I was using before (also a terrific amp) using my HD 6xx(650). I volume matched them with my sound level meter using a 500hz tone, and then switched back and forth by plugging and unplugging them.


I found the Arcam R head made the 650 sound quite bassy and warm, decay on the bass was a bit slow which made it sound pretty bloomy. The deep bass popped more than usually though which was very nice as the 650 is usually lacking there. The upper mids and treble were there but sounded a bit dull but I think this is just the 650 with worn in pads really. The sound staging was pretty narrow and didnt have a great deal of depth to it. Everything sounded pretty close to your ear, it could go out decently wide with a song that had a wide image built into it but rarely did so. It gave the 650 a very romantic intimate kind of sound which I think is what most people who get the 650 want. I would say the Arcam Rhead is a great match for it, it emphasized its strengths well.


Switching over to the Fun, I found that the bass decay became noticeably quicker and it sounded a lot less bloomy which made everything sound a little clearer. The upper mid and highs were more present and energetic, but still not harsh in anyway. Female vocals in particular improved, getting some more energy than before. The depth of the sound stage improved quite a bit with things seeming a lot more spread out and going out wider more frequently. The 650 became a more open ,energetic headphone. It was an interesting contrast to the Rhead, as while the Rhead emphasized its strengths, the Fun improved upon its weaknesses.


I liked both these amps for the 650 for different reasons and I would have a hard time choosing between them if that were my main headphones and I wanted to focus on them. I think the Fun matches my preferences for exciting dynamics better, so I decided to keep it and sell the Rhead.


The other exciting feature of the Burson Fun is the ability to roll op amps. It has 2 single channel slots which can accept just about any op amps on the market. I would have liked to test this more, but I dont have any other single op amps at the moment, so I am not sure how much difference the Vivid op amps actually make to the overall sound.


While I am not sure how much impact the Vivid V6 has on the Fun, I also tested the Burson Play which had 5 Vivid OP amps as opposed to the 2 in the Fun. I also had the basic version of the Plays OP AMPs so I could compare those to the Vivid ones.


With the Play I found that the Vivid OP amps had an effect somewhat akin to the Creative Labs Crystalizer DSP effect that they include in all their soundcards. It basically applies a smiley face EQ to try to make lower DR music sound more exciting. I was not a huge fan of the Crystalizer, but the Vivid op amps seem like a much better version of that idea. They seem to make music sound more dynamic especially low DR music (Dr 8 or lower) is where I noticed the most difference. With the vivid OP amps installed the low DR songs no longer sounded like a wall of sound and I could easily pick out each element. Its quite a subntle effect compared to the Creative version which is a very good thing IMO.


Unfortunately in some cases if you were using 5 of the Vivid Op amps in the Play I also found they could make music sound unnatural. The separation of different elements became so strong that it all sounded kind of disconnected and I didnt really like the effect.


Thankfully the Burson Fun does not have that unnatural quality, likely owning to it only using 2 Single Channel OP amps. It just seems a nice subtle enhancement, but not sure if that is just the Fun itself being a better amp or the fewer op amps doing it.

i do have one serious complaint with the fun and that is some noise at start up. When I first power up the fun after its been cold for awhile there is a loud low humming sound after it unmutes. This hum stays there for a min or two after powering it on and then goes away after its warmed up. It never comes back after going away, untill I power it off for awhile again.

While this is not a deal breaker it is very annoying. I asked Burson about it and they told me that its power supply raises the voltage frequency from 50hz to over 190Khz. Since we can hear up to 20Khz, you could hear some power source noises during that time. This is the characteristic of our Max Current PS.

Rather you actually hear it or not probably depends on your power setup and grounding situation I would assume.


Overall I think the Fun is a wonderful AMP and for me endgame for the foreseeable future. I will probably play around with op amps a bit (very interested in the Muses 03!) but I see myself keeping this for a long time. Only thing out there that tempts me are the THX amps, dont think much else will beat this. Now if onlyBurson would make a matching DAC to go with it......

This amp is so simple and so fun! I am a person who really enjoys equipment (amps and dacs) that are easy to use, simple to set up and just work! In my humble opinion, there are too many amps on the market that offer an immense amount of inputs and outputs, that for people like me who only use them to listen to great headphones, and great music, done honestly need. I really like the simplicity of this amp because it is easy to use, easy to set up and comes with a ton of power for any headphone or desktop speaker!

Burson is a company located in Melbourne, Australia, the city my brother's wife is from. Its full of beauty, very much like this little amp. I appreciate that the amp is compact, powerful and looks great. I'm going to review this amp from the perspective of a person who likes to get home, plug in my headphones, USB into my MacBook and listen to music straight away [Aussie phrase ]. The Burson Fun allows me to do with no issues.

The Power:
I will let you read the specs on their website, but for power, it has enough power for any and every headphone imaginable. I used this amp in conjunction with my LH Labs Geek Pulse X Infinity by bypassing its built-in amp so it could just be sent the clean dac sound to be amplified by the Fun. The power is perfect for an at-home set-up for headphones, and speakers alike!

The Sound:
Its sound is clean, clean clean. There seems to be no extra warmth added to the sound from this amp, just powerful, dynamic sound to my Audioquest Nighthawks, Sennheiser 6XX and Audeze iSine20. The Fun amp is the type of amp I was looking to pair with my Geek Pulse X Infinity's DAC which is a sublime combination! If you are looking for an amp that won't add color to the sound, just clean, clear amplification, this is a wonderful buy for the base price of $299!

Conclusion:
This is a perfect addition to any system that needs more power, better amplification, and a sound that is accurate to the way your favorite music should be! I am excited to tinker with the addition of the various other op-amps Burson offers to see how the sound is enhanced with these better quality components.

Firstly, I would like to thank Burson for sending me these samples for review, they have both been used for at least 100hrs before this review was written.

*disclaimer: This sample was provided for the purpose of writing a review, no incentive was given to write a favourable review. All opinions expressed are my own subjective findings.

Gear Used: Topping D50 / JDS Labs OL DAC / JDS Labs EL DAC > Fun > Play > HE-500 / German Maestro GMP 400 / Mission Bookshelf speakers / HD820 / Clear



Tech Specs:
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/

https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/bang/

Packaging, Build Quality and Accessories:
The Bang and Fun both come in a simple black box with the product name and picture on the outside, it is very simplistic but for these products you really don’t need anything fancy. When you open up the boxes you will find the products held tightly in place by foam cut outs, all the accessories are in a separate compartment. All of it is very secure for shipping and protects the products well, along with being sleek and understated.

Both units have the same build quality, a full aluminium outer casing that is sturdy and flawlessly finished. All the inputs and outputs are sturdy and everything stacks very neatly if you want it to. The volume control on the Fun is super smooth, both units have the power switch on the back but that is only a minor inconvenience for some, and I have never found rear mounted power switches to be an issue. What I can say here really is that Burson know how to make a solid product that is built to last.

Accessory wise with the Fun you get a set of RCA cables, a jack adaptor, the power supply and a 2.5mm hex key to open it up for op-amp rolling. With the Bang you only get the power supply and 2.5mm hex key, but then again I can’t think of anything else that would be needed to get it up and running. Overall a good set of accessories with each unit, and everything you need to get set up.

Features:
So the Fun is a headphone amp / pre-amp and it also has a mic jack pass through for those gamers out there. This is a pure analogue amp that has some very impressive output power for its size and price, it’ll drive most headphones out there with ease, and the gain is fairly high so it is still more suited for full-size headphones, but it does work fine with IEM’s too. It has one set of RCA inputs, and one set of outputs that are controlled by the volume control on the front. There is a 6.3mm headphone output on the front, and a 3.5mm mic input that passes through to a 3.5mm output on the back. The mic jacks are a pass through and not affected by the amp’s internals. On the back you have the power input from either the external power supply or a 4-pin molex from a PC power supply in case you want to mount the Fun in a PC case.

The Bang is a small desktop power amplifier for passive speakers; it outputs 40w @4Ohms, 29w @8Ohms and 15.2w @16Ohms. It is also very quiet and can be used to drive hard to drive headphones with the correct banana-XLR adaptor. It is a power amp so you need a pre-amp to control the volume; there is merely a LED on the front panel to show it’s on. On the back you have the power input, a set of RCA inputs and the speaker outputs (accept bare wire, banana plugs and spades).



Sound:
The Fun is a pure Class-A headphone amp, and a powerful one at that. It comes in a small form factor but don’t let that fool you. First off, we have the stock version with the NE5543 op-amps and the Fun is a nice neutral leaning amp with plenty of detail and punch. It has so much power on tap I’ve never found myself going over 10 O’clock on the volume pot. The NE5543 is a perfectly good op-amp in the Fun, but there is still room for improvement. For starters the NE5543 may sound a little sterile to some, it lacks a little dynamism and the treble is not the most natural sounding in timbre.

Pop in the V6 Vivid op-amps and it becomes just that, more vivid. The sound is more dynamic and punchier, with kicks hitting harder but never losing control. The midrange is not affected much apart from having better layering, separation and air. The treble gains some finesse and sounds more realistic than the NE5543. The Vivid plays well with many headphones, I personally found it to work wonders with the new Sennheiser HD820 over more reference style amps. The V6 vivid is just a lot of fun to listen to.

The V6 Classic on the other hand is a little more reserved in its presentation, preferring to be a subtler and laid-back sounding op-amp. The sound is slightly less exciting and up-front but what is does have is a more balanced and even sound that is smooth and enjoyable without losing out on detail retrieval. The midrange on the V6 Vivid is not as intimate as it is on the Classic, the Classic is the one to go for if you want an expansive sound with an even balance.

The V6 Vivid is energetic and fun, the V6 Classic is more reserved and balanced.

Now on to the Bang, the sound changes between the op-amps in the Bang are less noticeable but are still there to some extent. The changes are the same as the in the Fun, with the Vivid being more fun and exciting, the V6 Classic being more even and balanced. If you are using the Fun or Play as the pre-amp you can mix and match between the units to get the right balance.

The Bang with the NE5532 is a little on the brighter sound, and does not pair very well if you have brighter leaning speakers. Saying that it will work well with warmer speakers and still has a lot of power for its size. The good thing about the Bang is that you know the specs are not inflated, they are real life power ratings.

Again, the Bang does not change as much with different op-amps but there are still subtle changes, the V6 vivid playing better with slightly more neutral speakers, bringing out a little bit of life out of them. The V6 Classic will give you a more faithful and truer to the source sound.

What surprised me about the Bang is the moment you plug it in and get it playing you will notice how much more open, spacious and detailed it is compared to similar priced integrated amps. It really is the only amp you need for a nice little bookshelf / PC setup, and it will also handle a lot of bigger speakers if you are wanting a compact amp. It does not shy away from a challenge.

The Bang is a powerful yet compact power amplifier that would be at home in both a PC based system as well as a HiFi system. If you partner it with the Play you have a remote from which you can adjust the volume, with the Fun you only have the volume pot. The Bang does not shy away from a challenge and it will do justice to many easier to driver speakers out there, it sounds a lot better than the cheaper integrated amps around the same price, the only downside is you will need a pre-amp to match the amount of inputs you need.



Conclusion: Well I can easily recommend both products, as I can the Play. You can have them as a system or separates, but they all do what they set out to do with excellence. Have a Bang and a Play and you have an all in one DAC/HP amp/power amp that will drive most headphones and a large number of speakers with ease all in a compact stack or mounted in a PC case. The Fun comes in when you want to use a separate DAC and want a slightly better headphone amp than that of the Play. Burson have launched a superb series of desktop components that all sound great and work flawlessly, with the ability to tune the sound easily with op-amps along with mount them in a PC case. Keep up the good work Burson!

Sound Perfection Rating:
Fun 8.5/10 (Solid and powerful, V6 op-amps are highly recommended)

Bang 8.5/10 (superb power amp, V6 op-amps are again highly recommended)

Big thanks to Burson for providing me with the review sample of Burson FUN!
Class A headphone amp with symmetrical circuitry is not rare, but Burson advertised that they implemented four sets of Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) that is claimed to be superior to traditional transformers for delivering instant, clean, and maximum electric current to the Fun. I expect the combination to produce class A low THD with fast and realistic dynamic. Besides that op-amp rolling is a welcome feature to bring the sonic signature closer to our personal preference.




Product Webpage:
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/

Product Manual:
https://drive.google.com/file/d/1BkYzliXQfuzxnYRiL-uJ7YdaVgku8T5-/view

Showcase:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-fun.23238/

Discussion Thread:
https://www.head-fi.org/threads/burson-audio-fun-2w-pc-class-a-headphone-amp.881515/

Op-Amp Rolling:
https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/opamp-rolling-with-the-burson-fun.23632/




Pros:

• Well designed amplifier for op-amp rolling with gain fixed at 5. The circuit was stable with 'cranky' op-amp such as LM6171 with very low DC offset on the headphone output. Op-Amp supply voltage is 30 VDC or +/- 15 VDC.
• Good balance between high output power and low output noise. Powerful enough to drive my Hifiman HE-6 and low noise enough to be used with my sensitive IEMs. Suitable for a wide range of headphones and IEMs.
• Low output impedance (based on my measurement).
• Unique 5.25" form factor to fit desktop pc 5.25" drive bay.

Cons:

• Location of the on-off switch at the back panel of the amplifier. A front panel power switch is preferable.
• No gain switch to switch to lower gain for IEMs.
• My unit came with a poor 12V power supply, but it could be just my case. Rated at 6A but couldn't supply more than 650 mA of stable power (read more on 'Power Supply' section below).

Suggestions for Improvement:

• Front panel power switch.
• Selectable low (0 dB) and high gain (5 dB).
• 3.5 mm headphone output socket for convenient.
• Screw-less top panel for easy access to the op-amps.
• Better quality 12V power adapter to improve startup with certain op-amps.
• Sound quality is ok with the stock NE5534 op-amp, but not great as a US$ 299 amp. Recommended for Burson to use 'better' op-amp than NJR NE5534 as the default op-amp.
• Better pricing and more bundle options for the package price with Burson Op-amps.

Recommendations:

• Recommended for those who are looking for a good amplifier system/platform for op-amp rolling. At US$ 299 Burson FUN with the default NJR 5534 op-amp is not the best value or best sounding headphone amplifier for the money. But when paired with better op-amp the sound quality and value may go up significantly. Op-amp rolling is highly recommended for Burson FUN.
• Generally more suitable to drive headphones. With almost 2-watt power output at 32ohms and no option to lower the gain setting (gain fix at 5), those specs are generally more suitable for headphones. Although Burson FUN is relatively low noise and I didn't have high noise issue with most IEMs that I tried with it, but considering the features of this amp it is generally more suitable to drive headphones than earphones.

Design and Build Quality
Burson FUN is designed to operate either as a stand-alone headphone amp or internal setup in desktop PC 5.25" drive bay. FUN has unique form factor to fit desktop PC 5.25" drive bay and it has a microphone input extension to extend the mic input from the motherboard to the front panel of the Burson FUN. According to Burson, it is designed for both music and gaming, I think that's where the 'FUN' name come from.



The amplification stage is dual mono Class-A circuitry. From what I observe Burson FUN seems to use op-amps for voltage amplification (gain fix at 5) with discrete transistors for output current buffer. Burson said that the FUN amplification circuit is similar to its bigger brother Burson Conductor V2.



I was excited when I plugged in LM6171 (know as 'cranky' op-amp with bipolar input transistors), and measured the DC offset on the headphone output, and it was only 1.61 mV on the left channel, and 1.04 mV on the right channel. That value is low and safe enough for even a very sensitive IEM. After checking that the headphone output is safe, I tried my super sensitive IEM, the 1964 V3 IEM with the LM6171, and it was ok. A bit noisier than other op-amps that I tested, but the transient was very fast. Very detailed with fast and impactful dynamic. An op-amp that I would recommend to try with the Burson FUN when you want to hear more detail and dynamic on your headphones.



Overall, from what I experienced with it, the amp circuit is very well designed, stable and suitable for all op-amps that I've tried with it. It has excellent power supply circuit and output discrete transistors buffer to bring out the most from an audio op-amp.



Power Supply
Burson FUN comes with a powerful power adapter, 12VDC 6Amp. The connector is the common 5.5mm x 2.5mm DC connector. Using a common DC connector is a very welcome feature for easy replacement with other 12V power supply.



I suspect my unit came with 'half defective' power supply. It works but not as specified. I notice this on the first time when I use Burson V5i op-amp. The amp occasionally fails to power up. When I switch it ON, sometimes the relay inside the amp keeps toggling between ON and OFF state for quite a long time. Sometimes it then manages to reach the ON state, but sometimes it fails to turn ON and the power relay keeps toggling ON and OFF. When that condition happens I saw the red LED on the power adapter also blinking ON and OFF following the relay.

Then I measured the maximum current output of the stock power adapter using an adjustable constant current load, it is starting to become unstable, toggling ON and OFF, when the current is over 650 mA. And it just switched OFF when the load current close to 700 mA or higher. That is way too low than the specified 6A output. This what makes me think that my unit power adapter doesn't work as specified.



When I use another 12V power adapter, I tried 12V-5A and 12V-2A power adapter, I didn't have that problem with the 5A, but similar symptom observed when using the 2A adapter. The 2A adapter fails to turn ON the Burson FUN. I tried 2 units of 12V-2A power adapters, both were not suitable for Burson FUN. I also tried 2 different brands of 12V-5A and both have no problem with Burson FUN. So as specified on the backside of the amplifier, we better stick with a 12V-5A power adapter for Burson FUN.

I measured the power supply current draw of Burson FUN. On my multimeter (Brymen BM829s), a short high current spike around was 8A detected when switching ON the amp, but after that, it is stable at only around 0.6 Amp, regardless of the load on the headphone output. Even when driving my Hifiman HE6 at a very loud level the average current consumption doesn't exceed 615 mA. I measured the switching ON current spike using the Crest capture mode feature on my Brymen BM829s (1ms Min-Max detection). It requires high current for a very short period when switching ON the amp, that's the reason why the 2A power supply didn't work even though the running current consumption is only around 0.6A.





Measurement
I need to make a disclaimer that the measurement in this review should not be considered as absolute measurement but only a relative measurement. That means the measurement results are not absolute values and should not be compared with the official specifications or other measurement using a different setup.

The objectives of measurement in this review are:
1. Quick Pass/Fail test, to observe abnormal characteristic if any.
2. Estimated specification of the headphone output.
3. Comparing some audio signal parameters like SNR, THD, and other parameters when using different Op-Amps, measured in the same setup using the same measurement equipment.

It is impossible to judge the exact sound quality of audio equipment just by looking at the number and graphs. The following video is a very good example that same value of THD+N from different measurement might come from a totally different type of distortion, and the value of the THD+N alone doesn't help to understand the sound quality of audio equipment.



Therefore we should consider measurement result only as a set of minimum criteria to check that the device specification is within the acceptable range.

I use QuantAsylum QA401 Audio Analyzer as measurement equipment:
https://quantasylum.com/products/qa401-audio-analyzer



For the RMAA test, I borrowed RME ADI-2 Pro as the audio interface (ADC) from a friend.





Measured Headphone Output Specification:

Maximum Output Voltage without load: 9.78 Vrms. Measured with 2 Vrms 1kHz sine wave on the input.

Maximum volume position without load before clipping / increased distortion, with 2 Vrms 1kHz tone: 4 pm.
With 2 Vrms input, the output is slightly distorted when the volume knob is at Maximum position.

Maximum Output Voltage with 32 ohms load at less than 1% THD: 7.95 Vrms
Measured maximum output power at 32 ohm: 1.98 Watt




Maximum Output Voltage with 16 ohms load at less than 1% THD: 5.20 Vrms
Measured maximum output power at 16 ohm: 1.69 Watt





Output Impedance: 0.21 ohms (highest measured)
Burson official spec is 6 ohms for the headphone output impedance, but several measurements on my unit using different load, 16 and 32 ohm, always showing less than 0.5 ohms of output impedance. Highest measured is 0.21 ohms which is excellent for a desktop amp with 2W output.




Output Gain measured at 600-ohm load: 5

Volume Control Channel Balance
Channel balance between left and right channel is very good across the volume range from minimum to maximum, with only 0.6 dB highest level imbalance observed:




RCA Pre-Out
Active and amplified, not only passive output from the volume control.
Gain: 5.15 / 1.00 = 5.15
Measurement using 10k ohm load on the RCA output.
Potentially this could be a very high output for the audio equipment connected to the RCA output.
Unity gain at around 1 pm volume position. So if the audio source connected to the RCA input has a regular line-level output (-10 dBV line level) setting the volume knob more than 1 pm might overload the audio equipment connected to the RCA output. So be mindful to set the volume knob when using the RCA line output.
Pre-Out disconnected when headphone socket is connected.




SNR and THD measurement
Headphone Ouput SNR on 33 ohms load (lowest measurement selected) @ 1kHz - 1Vrms input:
At 2 Vrms (6 dBV) : 97.2 dBA
At 1 Vrms (0 dBV) : 96.8 dBA
At 0.5 Vrms (-6 dBV) : 94.8 dBA
At 100 mVrms (-20 dBV) : 85.6 dBA
At 50 mVrms (-26 dBV) : 79.8 dBA



At a higher level, the measurement is pretty close with Burson FUN official specification. Please note that I measure SNR in dBA, and the FUN specification is in dB. Usually dBA is around 3 dB higher than measurement in dB.

For headphone amplifier, SNR means the expected level of audible hissing noise. My rule of thumb based on my own experience is:
SNR greater than 85 dBA: perceived as totally quiet.
Between 80 to 85 dBA: mild hissing noise might be audible.
Less than 80 dB: mild to moderate audible hissing noise.

Regular headphone playback level is usually around 100 mV to 500 mV, so we can expect no audible hissing noise with headphones. Sensitive IEMs playback level is around 50 mV, and less sensitive IEM can be around 100 mV or more. So we could expect some mild hissing noise with sensitive IEM, but more or less quiet on less sensitive IEMs.

Using my most sensitive IEM, the 1964 Ears V3, I could hear some mild hissing noise from FUN headphone output, but to my ears, at the level that is ignore-able. Considering the gain and high power output, I would say the SNR performance is pretty good and will be pretty quiet for most applications.

SNR and THD are also dependent on the Op-Amp being used. I measured SNR and THD of the headphone output using different op-amps on the following condition:
Input: 1 Vrms (0 dBV)
Output: 0.5 Vrms (-6 dBV) as this level is probably the most common listening level for most headphones.

The following measurement showing that practically all op-amps perform pretty close in term of SNR at 1 kHz, at 0.5V output. Burson V5i is the only exception where the SNR is lower and THD is higher than other op-amps in the test. This is also another measurement that doesn't tell much about sound quality differences between the op-amps and functions only as a pass/fail kind of test to see if there is any significant deviation between the op-amps. I will send both Burson V5i to Burson for checking if there is an issue with the op-amp and why it is showing relatively high SNR. So don't take this measurement result as absolute as the Burson V5i might be somehow defective.





RMAA Measurement
In this test, the baseline is Geek Pulse XFi RCA outputs connected directly to the RME ADI-2 Pro Line inputs. Then I inserted Burson FUN in between the Geek Pulse XFi RCA output and RME ADI-2 Pro input and set the volume level to output the same level as the input. In other words, the amp volume is set at 0 dB amplification. This test is another relative measurement to compare the setup without and with Burson FUN inserted in the Out-In loop.



Note: Please note that I forgot to change the DA-AD digital filter to Sharp during the test that supposedly will give a flatter frequency response. The DA and AD filter was set to SD Slow, therefore we can see the early roll-off of the high frequency. When the digital filter set to Sharp the frequency response is flatter up to the Nyquist frequency.


RightMark Audio Analyzer test:

Testing chain: External loopback (line-out - line-in)
Sampling mode: 24-bit, 96 kHz

Burson FUN RMAA Measurement at 0 dB.
Audio Interface: RME ADI-2 Pro AE
USB DAC: LH Geek Pulse XFi



We can observe the added noise and THD by inserting an amp in the loop between Out to In. The additional 8-10 dB of noise seems huge but overall output noise is still very low at around -113 dB, level of noise that won't be noticeable to human hearing. I would say from the RMAA test I don't see any issue with the result.



Sound Quality and Op-Amp Rolling

NJR 5534D is the default Op-amp that comes with Burson Fun. This is a well known generic op-amp that has good value and spec, and showing good result on measurement. Very low cost too. With the default op-amp, Burson FUN sounds relatively clean, low noise, with a good level of detail and clarity. Overall it sounds ok, but not great for the $299 price tag. Dynamic, impact, and tonal density just average, not as good as other op-amps in this review. Especially the bass slam and punch is rather weak in comparison. Also not as smooth sounding as other op-amps, and may sound a bit grainy with some tracks. Besides that, the perceived holographic spaciousness and imaging is not as spacious as other op-amps in this test and may sound a bit lacking in depth. Op-amp upgrade is highly recommended for Burson FUN to bring it to the next level.

Please take note that op-amp supply voltage is 30 volt, so make sure the replacement op-amp is specified for that supply voltage.




Sonic differences between op-amps are quite subtle. I'm not confident to say that I would be able to pass blind test differentiating the op-amps below. Practically all op-amps in this review are good sounding op-amps and the sonic differences between them are small. Therefore please take my subjective impressions below with a grain of salt.



I will divide the op-amps into 3 groups:
1. Fast, detailed, lean towards slightly analytical signature: Burson V5i, LM6171, OPA637, and AD797.
2. Relatively neutral signature: 5534D (stock), OPA627, and Sparkos SS3601.
3. Smooth, fatter bass, good tonal density, towards slightly warmer signature: OPA228 and OPA827.

TLDR, my favorites from the above op-amps in no particular order:
Sparkos SS3601, OPA827, and AD797


Burson V5i
Fast and transparent sounding op-amp. Lean a bit to the analytical side with good instrument separation. May sounds a bit dry and thin with analytical headphones / IEMs. Bass is clean and tight but may sound a bit lean. A bit noisier than other op-amps, and I feel it is a bit too noisy for the 1964 V3 IEM, but generally ok for headphones. So not recommended for sensitive IEMs. As mentioned earlier, I suspect there is something wrong with my V5i, therefore, I prefer not to give a lengthy impression about it. I did review it in the past, so please check my review for a more detail impression of V5i.



LM6171
Has some similarity to Burson V5i in speed, clarity, and transparency, but I feel a bit less dry on the LM6171, therefore I do prefer the LM6171 over V5i by a small margin. LM6171 is a very detailed and revealing op-amp. This is an excellent op-amp when detail and transient are the sonic traits that you're looking for. But also a bit too noisy for very sensitive IEMs such as the 1964 V3. So take note on the application especially when dealing with ultra-sensitive IEMs. Headphones are preferable for LM6171.

AD797
One of my all-time favorite when looking for a transparent sounding op-amp. Slightly more transparent and open sounding than V5i. The noise level also pretty low, therefore recommended for sensitive IEMs. I don't generally prefer an analytical sound signature, but AD797 transparency does sound amazing. Detailed and transparent and always sounds musical.

OPA637 (OPA637 is optimized for closed-loop gains of 5 or greater)
I consider V5i, AD797, LM6171, and OPA637 op-amps as fast and highly revealing op-amps. Between the 4 it is pretty hard to judge which one sounds best. Each must be tested in the system to observe the synergy with the whole system. In general, OPA637 and AD797 are my favorites among the 4. OPA637 is fast and transparent but slightly less analytical than V5i and LM6171, and a bit more musical to my ears. Also less noisy on sensitive IEMs.

OPA627
Very neutral sounding, but to be honest I'm never been a great fan of OPA627. A bit too flat and boring for my taste. OPA627 tonality is very neutral, but the dynamic is rather less lively, at least to me. I prefer something with a more lively dynamic. But I know there are many loves the OPA627 sound. So YMMV.

OPA827
OPA827 is one of my favorites when looking for smooth sounding op-amp with good bass and tonal density. OPA827 is like OPA627 with fatter and fuller bass and midrange. The thick tonal density is just addictive on vocal. But it is not overly warm or thick sounding. Overall OPA827 sounds very musical to my ears. When a system sounds thin and too analytical it is probably a good idea to try OPA827 in the chain. It is also pretty low noise, so a good op-amp for sensitive IEMs.

OPA228 (OPA228 is optimized for closed-loop gains of 5 or greater)
Pretty close to the OPA827 sound signature, with the lowest measured SNR by a slight margin. Recommended for sensitive IEMs. Good bass while still maintaining pretty good clarity and transparency. OPA228 sounds smoother and more fluid than NE5534 with a slightly better bass slam and impact as well. Therefore OPA228 perceived as more musical sounding than NE5534. OPA228 is a great all-rounder audio op-amp and considering the specification and the price that is only a few dollars more than NE5534, I think it is better to use OPA228 as the stock op-amp for Burson FUN instead of NE5534.



Sparkos SS3601
IMHO the most musically satisfying op-amp in this test. Although the noise a tad higher compared to the other chip op-amps in this test, it has lower noise than the Burson V5i, so still friendly for sensitive IEMs. It sounds very transparent and airy, at the same time smooth with very good dynamic. Bass slam and punch are excellent and very satisfying. Vocal has good clarity and tonal density. Sparkos SS3601 is not cheap but it is worth it. Probably the best op-amp for Burson FUN and now it stays in the amp.





Comparisons With Other Desktop Amps



My old Yulong Sabre A28 amp has rather different sound signature than Burson FUN + Sparkos SS3601. I would say the Yulong Sabre A28 is more colored towards smooth warm sound signature. The Sabre A28 is very nice for analytical headphones such as my Sennheiser HD800 and Beyerdynamic T1. But I would say Burson FUN + Sparkos SS3601 is more neutral and less colored.

Comparing Burson FUN + Sparkos SS3601 with Violectric HPA V200 (stock op-amps NE5532)
To my ears, both amps perform pretty close and it was not easy to choose for which one is the better amp. But after listening back and forth between both amps, I prefer the Burson FUN with Sparkos SS3601 over the much more expensive HPA V200. Burson FUN with Sparkos SS3601 reveals more detail with better holographic imaging. Treble perceived as slightly more airy and transparent. Busy tracks presented with better separations and imaging. Bass slam and impact are also slightly more realistic on the Burson with SS3601. The Sparkos SS3601 leaps Burson FUN sound quality a few levels above its price tag. Kudos to Burson!




Spare of the tiny 5A fuse.



Equipment used in this review:

Headphones:
Hifiman HE-6
Audio-Technica ATH-R70x

In-Ear Monitors:
1964 Ears V3 Universal
DUNU DK-3001
Creative Aurvana Trio
ATH-IM50

DAC and Amplifiers:
LH Geek Pulse XFi
QueStyle CMA600i
Violectric HPA V200
Yulong Sabre A28

Measurement Equipment:
QuantAsylum QA401 - 24-bit Audio Analyzer
RME ADI-2 Pro Anniversary Edition



Some recordings used in this review:

Outstanding Headphone Amp
A Review On: Burson Fun
Review by Mike Brunner (Lead Guitarist for Rivul)
Review Topics:
About Me
About the product/expectations
Build/Design
Sound
Value
Provided for review by manufacturer
Normal Retail Price: $299
Pros: Outstanding musicality, rich harmonics, flat response from 20Hz-20kHz
Cons: None!

About Me
To get started, let me tell you a little about myself.
I’m a gigging musician (lead guitar/backup vocals), an audio forensic analyst, a novice sound engineer, and an avid music lover with a wide taste in music. Being an audio forensic analyst is a plus I find when reviewing audio products simple because I know what bad audio sounds like and usually know how to correct it. My experience allows me to be familiar with the limitations of my own ears and the equipment I’m using.
For the consumers, my perspective for all my IEM reviews will be based on these things. I won’t sugar coat things or make things sound better than they are. I’m just like you and I want good value for the money I pay for any product.

To the manufacturers, I’ll always give you an option to respond to any concerns such as quality that I have during my review. I’ll contact you directly and will do so before my review is published. I want to provide an honest and tangible review for your prospective customers without being unfair to you as a manufacturer.
I’ll always be fair and my review will be based on my perspective and my experience.
Now on to the important stuff.

About the product/expectations
I was provided a review sample for my unbiased review. Having tried the Burson Play, and really enjoying it, I was expecting the Burson Fun to be on par.

Build/Design
The Burson Fun design is very professional looking. The metal enclosure and sturdy input/output jacks feel like they will last for years. I have no complaints about the build quality at all. The only thing that I would say is that for my setup, I would like to have seen perhaps a digital input. Having reviewed the Burson Play though which is the same price, I really felt that the Burson Fun missed the mark slightly. I didn't quite understand why Burson would offer the amp only section of the Burson Play, without the USB DAC.

I suppose each product has it's fit, especially if you already have a top notch desktop DAC and are just looking for a top notch desktop headphone amp.

Sound
The good stuff! This is what all of us audio geeks/audiophiles want to hear about. So when I first started this I decided to give myself a baseline using my pro audio gear. I first listened to my desktop DAW interface (Sapphire 2i4) and Midas M32. Both are designed to give pristine audio with no coloration at all. My monitors of choice this time were my 64Audio A18t, Fiio FH5, InEarz Euphoria. The 64Audio pairing is for technical listening with musicality, the Fiio FH5 for everyday use, whereas the InEarz is for ease of listening.

After setting up the baseline through listening to each interface for about an hour the break down was the Burson Fun is a very clean Amp. There was little to no noticeable difference to my ears. After listening to the Burson Fun the transition back to my pro audio sources were nearly transparent. There was a just a slight musical warmth from the Burson Fun that I detected and I found myself missing after a short play back on my normal desktop gear.

Across the entire audio spectrum the Burson Fen seemed very flat. I actually hooked both the headphone out and the RCA outputs to my DAW to analyze the frequency response. In the lowest frequencies, the Burson Play showed a slight dip below 20Hz, and a slight dip above 20KHz. This simply put, in the audio range, the Burson Play showed a perfectly flat frequency response. Whatever you put in you get out. Near perfection for $299? Wow! Long term usage of the Burson Fun, left me wanting to return to this setup for that just slight warmth/musicality for my listening.

Value
Each of us wants value for our money. The value of the Burson products that I've tried are well above their price point and the Burson Fun is no exception. This is an outstanding value for a professional quality desktop headphone amp. Great job Burson!

DISCLAIMER

Burson sent me the Fun for an honest review

SETUP

iPad Pro, Burson Conductor Air, Schiit Loki, Burson Fun, Gilmore Lite Mk2, various headphones, Pandora and Tidal

PACKAGING

The Burson Fun came very packaged. There were 3 compartments with the Fun in the middle, the power supply on the left side and the accessories to the right. The Fun is well protected. It takes a little effort to get the Fun out of the foam surrounding. So be careful removing it as you don’t want to damage the foam for future usage.








BUILD

The Fun feels solid in hand. The all-aluminum chassis looks and feel premium. The internals are well laid and uses some quality parts like Vishay resistors and a ALPS volume pot that is very smooth to operate. The volume knob seems to offer nice incremental steps when making volume adjustments.

The Fun is a Class-A dual mono design headphone amp and pre-amp. The Fun doesn’t rely on traditional transformers for its power supply but instead uses their own in-house design called the Burson Max Current Power Supply (MCPS). The MCPS is designed to deliver current instantaneously to ensure those dynamic swings are meet on demand. The MCPS is also low noise and efficient.



SPECS

The spec looks good. You get a lot of power at this price point. 1.2 watts into 8 Ohms, 1.9 watts into 16 Ohms, 2.1 watts into 32 Ohms, 1 watt into 100 Ohms, 0.66 watts into 150 Ohms, and 0.33 watts into 300 Ohms. The input impedance is 38 KOhms and the output impedance is 6 Ohms. So I would recommend headphones or IEMS above 16 ohms just to avoid issues with hissing even though the headphone amp itself puts out 1.2 watts at 8 Ohms

SOUND

Now on to the good stuff. How does the Fun sound, it one word amazing. I am a big fan of the Burson house sound. It’s big, dynamic, full bodied, has a warm tilt, and is very detailed. The Fun I received has the stock op amps installed and they do a fantastic job at delivering music. I can hear all the details in the songs. Each note has weight to them. I love the sense of power the Fun delivers. I now want to get a listen to the Fun with both the classic and vivid op amps to see if they sound better than the stock ones.

Audio-Technica ATH-2000Z

This was the first headphone I tested with the Burson Fun. This is a very underrated closed headphone that doesn’t get talked about. The 2000z’s are incredibly detailed and airy. Using the Burson Conductor Air and my DAC going through the Loki and out through the Burson Fun the 2000z’s sound like they were made specifically for this setup. Before the Fun arrived, I thought the bass on 2000z’s I felt could use a bump. That’s not the case when listening to them through the Fun. The bass came alive with the Fun. It was impactful and well defined.

Audio-Technica is known for their mid-centric and treble sound. The Burson Fun takes the mids on the 2000z’s and make them more tuneful and lush. Male and female voices sound intimate and forward. The treble detail on the 2000z’s is already very good. Driven by the Burson Fun they are crystal clear. The sound is very balanced and the warmth of the Burson Fun makes this a great combo.

Hifiman HE-500

These are one of my favorite headphones even today. They seem to do everything right and are one of the most balanced headphones I know about. I have the Focus PadA’s on my HE-500’s. Listening to these through the Burson Fun is a relaxing experience. I simply kicked back and enjoyed the music. The HE-500 needed a little more volume. I had the Fun volume knob set between 10 – 11 o’clock to get the best sound out of the HE-500’s. The bass is quick and deep with excellent decay. The mids of the HE-500 are a perfect match for the Burson Fun. They are creamy and romantic. The treble is well extended with very good clarity. I can’t believe how good the pairing sounds.

Beyerdynamic DT1990 Pro

This the last headphone I tested the Burson Fun with. I wanted to see how the Fun handled higher impedance headphones. I must say I was not disappointed. The DT1990’s are one of the most detailed headphones I own next to the Focal Utopia’s. The DT1990’s is one of the few headphones that I know of that can compete with the HE-500’s in terms of technical prowess. Once again the Burson Fun seems to be a great pairing for the bright highs of the DT1990’s. I for one love the treble on the DT1990’s, I don’t find them sibilant at all. Matched with the Burson Fun the clarity and details of the DT1990’s shine through. The mids come through as very natural sounding. I can hear every detail in the song but with better tone. So the Burson Fun is interjecting a bit of it flavor into the DT1990’s, which is telling me that it’s not a neutral amp. But none-the-less very pleasing.

AMP COMPARISONS





The only amp I compared the Burson Fun to is the Headamp Gilmore Lite Mk2. The GL Mk2 is more transparent than the Fun. It’s gets out of the way and doesn’t add anything to the music. It really just amplifies the signal with tons of technical ability. There’s a crispness to every note. Every note is delivered with speed and transient snap. Bass hits hard and quickly decays. This is really apparent when listening to my Utopia’s.

This brings me to the first difference I hear between the two amps. Were as the GL Mk2 is the more technical amp, the Burson Fun is the more musical amp. The Burson Fun is warmer sounding and is more forgiving even though these are both Class A amps. On bad recordings the Burson Fun is much easier to listen too. The GL Mk2 does nothing to make bad recordings more enjoyable to listen to. It delivers music as is. This could be both good and bad depending on your musical preference.

The second difference is sense of power. The Burson Fun is the more powerful amp. Going back and forth between the two the Fun adds more weight and body to the music. The Fun is fuller sounding. Switching back to the GL Mk2 it sounds cleaner and adds more depth to the music. The bass is more defined but just as deep. The treble has a touch more clarity and the mids are smoother. Both amps have good extension at both ends. The difference is the GL Mk2 is more 3D and spacious.

The difference in sound signatures is apparent. They are both very good amps. The Burson Fun may not be the technical tactician the GL Mk2 is but it isn’t lacking in giving you details either. It’s a very detailed amp but it does color the sound. I can’t say that I hear the v-shape sound signature that some of the other reviewers hear in the Fun. That’s probably because I use the Loki to correct what I think is missing from the sound.

The Burson Fun is quickly becoming one of my favorite amps. I like its power, it musical delivery, it’s detailed with good treble clarity. The mids might be slightly recessed but it works well with the rest of the frequency response of the Burson Fun.

Last thoughts, if your preference in music is all about transparency, clarity and speed then the GL Mk2 is your amp. But if you’re a fan of music I find the Burson Fun hard to beat at this price point. They are very close in performance to each other. The Burson Fun is $100 - $200 dollar cheaper depending on if you wan the standard op-amp version or if you chose the V6 Vivid or Classic op-amp version. Is the Headamp Gilmore worth the extra cash? That is entirely up to you and your ears. What ever amp you decide to bring home you will enjoy hours upon hours of entertainment regardless of headphone you have plugged in. Happy listening!

DISCLAIMER: Burson sent the fun to me for a honest review. I'm by no means a expert reviewer this is just my opinion of this amp. All done with my ears and moddest gear.

SETUP: PC(spotify premium)>usb>Audio-gd NFB 28.38 fixed out>Fun input>HD-600 and Hifiman HE-400i

PACKAGING: The Burson Fun comes will packaged. In the box you will find the Fun encased in tight fitting foam. You will also find two boxes on each side of the fun. One contains power brick the other a nice set of RCA's,fuse,adaptor and allen wrench.

BUILD: I thought the Fun was well constructed with it's all aluminum chassis. The four rubber feet on each corner let's it sit nice and firm on your desk. I really liked the feel of the volume knob with it's Alp's pot. It is very smooth with precise adjustments.

SPEC'S: The Fun is a dual mono class A amp. Powered by four sets of max current power supply developed by Burson. Rest of spec's can be found on their web site.

SOUND: This little amp packs a punch. It has all the power you would ever need for most headphones. It sound is very clean and dead quite. I thought it was very detailed with great dynamic's. I heard no signs of distortion at higher volumes.
The Fun I received had the stock op amps which sounded very good to my ears. Can only imagine what rolling in the Classic or Vivid op amps would bring to the table. I can see why Burson named this amp the Fun very fitting.

LOW END: With my headphones the low end is very fast and detailed with great weight and impact.

MID'S: The mid's to me were smooth vocals sounded very natural with good mid bass punch.

HIGHS: The highs were very very clean and detailed. Never had any fatiguing when listening to this amp for hours.

CONCLUSION: For the asking price of the Fun with its power and dynamic sound it's a no brainer for me. It was super easy to set up and get started listening to music. The ability to charge op amps to alter the sound and be mounted in a computer case if that's for you. Over all I thinks this is a great little amp sounds great.

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.

Burson Fun Review: Dynamite Performance

Burson builds audiophile-grade DACs and amps. Based in Australia, they use their technical expertise to build high-grade amplification and source devices nearly entirely out of discrete components, a trait that Burson says improves the performance of their products. They’ve recently released the Fun, a premium headphone amp, and the Bang, a 40W class A/B speaker amp. So now its actually possible to have a complete Burson source stack, from the DAC to the pre-amp, to the speaker amp. Let's see how well all this tech works!

The Fun can be found here for $299-$399, depending on the configuration options you choose. You can also purchase bundles and save some cash!

About My Preferences: Heads up, I’m a person! As such, these words are my opinion, and they are tinged by my personal preferences. While I try to mitigate this as much as possible during my review process, I’d be lying if I said my biases are completely erased. So for you, my readers, keep this in mind:

• My ideal sound signature would be an extended sub-bass with a leveled, but textured, mid-bass.
• I have a mild treble sensitivity.

Audio Stack

• Motherboard -> USB -> Burson Play -> Burson Bang-> JBL 990X
• Motherboard -> USB -> Burson Play -> Burson Fun -> Headphones
• Motherboard -> USB -> Burson Play -> Burson Fun -> Burson Bang -> Headphones

All testing was done using the Classic opamps.

Tech Specs

• Input impedance: 38 KOhms
• Frequency response: ± 1 dB 0–35Khz
• THD: <0.03%
• Power Supply: 100–240V AC (12V 6A)
• Output impedance (Head Amp): 6 Ohm
• Output impedance (Pre Out): 25 Ohm
• Inputs: RCA (2V RMS line level), Mic Input
• Outputs: RCA Pre-Amp / Headphone Jack / Mic out

Sound Signature
Performance and Pairing
The Fun is an absolute pleasure to use. It handles both higher-sensitivity headphones like the Meze 99 Classics and more power-hungry headphones like the Advanced Sound Alpha with grace. It exhibits top-notch dynamics and an intensely transparent sound signature that leaves you with nothing more than what the producer’s intentions. The Fun has a low noise floor too, so don’t worry about any background hiss on most of your headphones. Of course, very sensitive ones and IEMs may produce some background noise, but I found it to not be particularly distracting either way. I’d expect no less from a Class A amplifier. Like its siblings, the Fun has swappable opamps, and as such, is incredibly versatile. Tune it to your exact preferences!

Packaging / Unboxing
The Bang and Fun both come in minimalist cardboard boxes. The interior is padded with foam that does a good job of protecting the product from damage while stored inside the packaging.

Build
Construction Quality

The Fun has nearly identical construction to the Bang and Play. On the front panel, you can find a finely machined metal. It’s affixed to a premium-feeling potentiometer that rotates with just the right amount of heft. The front panel has a 1/4in output, a 3.5mm input, and a mic input. The rear panel has two RCA inputs, a power input, a mic output, and two RCA pre-outs. Each connector is very firm and has no wiggle what so ever.

I did not ever run out of power with the Fun and rarely ever used even half of its capabilities. Based on the info from Burson’s website regarding the Fun’s amplification abilities, you should be fine no matter what headphone you plan to use with it.

Accessories
Inside the box you’ll find:

• 2x male RCA to male RCA
• 2.5mm hex key
• 1x power supply
• 1x 6.5mm to 3.5mm Socket Adaptor

Summary
The Fun is an outstanding product. It performs very well against its peers and has a no-nonsense approach to its design. The small form factor is a huge plus for people who don’t have a lot of desk space, and the pre-applied rubber feet on the bottom of both devices is a nice touch. With a couple QOL modifications here and there the Fun can become even better. So Burson, definitely keep it up! We’re expecting great things from you!

When I was testing out the Burson Play it really opened my mind that good sounding gear should not cost a fortune. I loved everything about the Play… well except the fact that it didn’t have RCA analog inputs, so it could not be used as a stand alone headphone amp to properly evaluate it with a higher quality DAC.

Burson completely solved my concerns with the introduction of the Fun: a simple and elegant desktop headphone amp and pre-amp.

On the plus side it has a higher driving power than Play, it has analog inputs (Duh!) but on the down side the DAC part was completely removed.

As a single solution Play probably is a better choice but for someone that already owns a higher quality DAC, the Burson Fun makes a lot more sense.

Fun along with the Play in my opinion has a very dynamic and mood lifting sound signature that I rarely hear at this price points. That’s due to dual mono Class A headphone and preamp inside. Its symmetrical circuit is powered by four sets of Max Current Power Supplies (MCPS). This power supply is more advanced and far superior to traditional transformers delivering instant, clean, and maximum electric current to the Fun

Is important to know that Fun is using the fully discrete amplification stage found in the 1500 USD Burson Conductor V2! It is basically the same circuitry Burson Audio is refining since 2008 and famed for its incredible micro details and musicality.

I am enjoying the Burson Fun for about one month already and I feel I’m ready to leave my full impressions.



Under the hood

Do not be fooled by its small footprint, Fun as its siblings Play and Bang were designed around the 5.25” PC drive bays, so Burson Fun can be integrated in any tower gaming PC or in regular small, mid tower or full tower cases that have at least one 5.25” drive bay. In this case it can be powered by a single Molex 4 pin cable that goes directly from your PC power supply and you really should not worry about the quality of your power supply because Burson already thought about that in advance and integrated a voltage regulator inside so that your PC’s power supply will have a minimal impact on sound quality.

Fun can also be used as an external device as I was planning to do, being powered by a simple SMPS external power supply.

Besides the usual headphone out, RCA analog input and the RCA preamp output, there is also a 3.5mm (1/8”) Mic input and 3.5 mm (1/8”) Mic output, so gamers and streamers out there can really put those sockets to good use.

Of course the stars of the show are the Burson developed ICs always working in the magical class A circuitry powering the headphone amplifier that are fed by four sets of revolutionary Max Current Power Supplies (MCPS) developed by Burson, the Fun is really one of the most powerful headphone amplifiers in the world.

And I can attest that, if it can easily power a set of Audeze LCD-4 and Sennheiser HD820 with ease, then it can power any headphones in the world.

Compared to Play, Fun has only 2 op-amps in the signal path and both are Single op-amps. Play is using 5 op-amps in the signal path from which 3 are dual op-amps and 2 are single op-amps. If you plan to upgrade the basic version to higher quality op-amps, Fun will cost you much less to upgrade, keep that in mind.

Besides that, lesser op-amps in the signal path will always yield a more transparent and breathing sound, so in advance I already hope that Fun will sound even better than the Play.

The Fun is being sold in 3 variants: the basic one that uses NE5543 op-amps, other two variants are using much more advanced discrete op-amps such as V6 Classic or V6 Vivid.

I have the Basic version, but please don’t worry as in its stock form it already impressed me enough.

Audio

Performance

1. Driving power

When I was testing the Play I was impressed by the output power it was capable of, delivering power even for most power hungry headphones such as Audeze LCD-4. Funny thing is that this little guy (Fun) is even more powerful. Using four sets of MCSPs instead of three sets on Play really made a difference. Especially for higher impedance headphones such as Sennheiser HD820 I was testing it with.

For HD820 Fun will deliver three times the output power compared to the Play.

Connected to a standard 2.2 Volt output DAC I can’t go higher than 50% volume on Fun powering a set of HD820, more than that and I feel that my eardrums will blow!

With lower impedance headphone the difference is not that big, with FiiO FH5 hybrid IEMs power wise both devices are almost identical, however due to lower impedance headphone output on the Fun, I hear a better control over the drivers on Fun compared to Play.



2. Controlling the power

Second thing that struck me is the control and speed Fun is capable of. For example Play in its own right had a remarkable control over the headphone drivers, small or big, headphone transducers always hit hard and fast. With Fun take that up a notch.

Every sound hits harder and faster with clearly a better control over the headphone drivers. As a headphone amp Fun will appease even vast majority of headphone enthusiasts, please take a listen to one if an opportunity will occur.



3. Transparency & Resolution

Third thing that was clearly different compared to Play is the overall clarity and resolution. It is on a higher level on Fun compared to Play, it even rivals my own Headamp Gilmore Lite MK2 in terms of transparency, airiness and resolution and we already know that Headamp is making ones of the most transparent head amps out there.

There is not a big difference in terms of overall clarity and transparency compared to Play but is a very noticeable one. It was very apparent on HD820 and on tiny FH5 hybrids.

4. Noise Floor

I personally don’t use IEMs at home connected to desktop audio gear, I use them exclusively on the go, but to those that use IEMs with desktop gear as well should know that Fun works much better than Play – it has a lower noise floor and hiss is practically non-existent with sensible earphones. There is only a faint hum only on higher volume when music is not playing. Apart from that, to me Fun can be used with BAs or hybrid IEMs no problemo, on the other hand Play was doing just an Ok job with those.

Before going forward just a quick summary: Up until now Fun has more power, better control over the drivers, sounds clearer and more transparent, has a lower noise floor and hiss with sensitive earphones compared to Play! Impressive isn’t it?



5. Transient response

More power and a better transparency will always lead to a better impact and to a faster transient response.

Listening to some local alternative/hardcore metal: Implant Pentru Refuz (IPR for short) it was clear to me that I am dealing with a really fast and agile performance.

Double drums and hi-hats had the right amount of spark and zing. I really liked that the treble was not as bright as it was on older Burson Designs (160D and Conductor V1 I am looking at you!) and in return it sounded as having a better shape/outlines. The hi-hats & cymbals never had an annoying delay but just right amount of presence and decay.

To me treble response is where I see the most improvement over the older Burson designs and a slight improvement even to Play where sometimes it had a little more bite than needed.

6. Frequency Response

The bass and mid frequency response is almost identical to that of Burson Play and other Burson designs. The sound overall has a lot of meat to the bone, sounds full and pleasant to the ear. It’s not warm or dark by any means; I’m calling it class A sound, if you get what I mean.

Trebles are crisp, maybe too sparkly sometimes; with few headphones I really like this effect. It is not overdone even with Sennheiser HD820 but it may be too much with something like a HD800 or Beyers.

I also like that sounds are not lingering too much so overall the sound is going towards great speed and impact and not towards a romantic experience.

If you are enjoying a slightly slower speed & impact and a more rounder & romantic experience I do recommend looking at other amps as Fun will not deliver that.

When I am thinking about Burson Fun I am thinking about big V8 American muscle cars, about spicy food and… roller coasters.



Select Comparisons

Fun vs Play

It is pretty difficult comparing the two since Play doesn’t have a true line-out, using the Pre-out will cause the double amping effect which will raise even more the Total Harmonic Distortion. I used the Matrix X-Sabre Pro to listen to the Fun, it uses a Sabre chipset as the Play does. Later on I also connected the Fun to the Play to see if my impressions will change.

As I was expecting Burson Fun sounds a bit clearer, has a faster transient response and a better control over the headphone drivers.

Power output is also higher, especially for higher impedance headphones. I really enjoyed my time with Fun powering the Senn HD820. HD820 sounded good on Play but great on Fun.

Fun is also a bit more transparent and offers a bit more air between the notes, it seems that less op-amps in the signal path made a big difference.

I also liked more how IEMs performed on the Fun as it had almost no hum or noise with sensitive earphones, Play has a higher noise floor and a higher impedance headphone output that may plague your listening experience with sensitive IEMs.

Fun vs Headamp Gilmore Lite MK2

Both headphone amps are working in Class A circuitry for the best possible sound quality and both have the same footprint and weight. Gilmore Lite MK2 goes for 500 USD and Burson Fun basic goes for 300 USD.

Let me start by saying that the Fun has clearly more power and a better control over the drivers. It can drive a pair of Audeze LCD-4 with headroom to spare, but that can’t be done with the Gilmore Lite.

Gilmore Lite sounds a bit more linear and flat, like disappearing completely from the acoustic chain, it has no coloration and can work with a wider range of headphones. It also has a lower noise floor with sensitive IEMs at a higher volume, at normal volume levels both have the same very low noise floor.

Fun adds a bit of its own flavor into the mix, it surely has a character of its own. For rock and fast electronica Fun will sound as having more energy and joy. Fun by comparison has a slight V shape frequency response boosting the low end and the treble response, not by much but it is sizable.

Fun also has a shorter decay of notes and a bigger impact to the eardrums, in this sense Gilmore Lite is a bit leaner, but that can be a result of a lower power output.

Stage size is bigger on Fun but it is deeper on Gilmore Lite, different strokes for different folks as they say.

On technicalities alone Gilmore Lite Mk2 wins, but on sheer power and enjoyment level Fun is clearly ahead.



Conclusions

When Fun was just introduced I remember seeing the price and specs and was a bit confused to why Fun as just as a headphone amp has the same price as Play (that besides being a headphone amp is a DAC as well). But now I understand why they both share the same price point. Yep, Play has a DAC as a bonus, but Fun is a higher performance headphone amp, there is no doubt about that.

To me Burson Fun is among the best compact sized single ended headphone amps out there regardless of output power or price and that says a lot.

Headbangers and electronica dancers will enjoy it a lot, it has a lot of energy under the hood and power to spare even for the most demanding headphones.

PROS:

• Great kick, speed and impact
• High level of transparency and airiness
• Natural sound with a great flow
• Powerful & potent headphone amp
• Spread soundstage and quite deep as well
• Sturdy and quality construction
• Good price for great performance

CONS:

• Slight sound coloration (V-shape frequency response)

Associated Equipment:

• Headphones: Audeze LCD-4, Sennheiser HD820, 660S, Momentum 2, FiiO FH5
• DAC: Matrix X-Sabre Pro with X-SPDIF 2, Burson Play
• Headphone Amplifiers: Burson Fun, Burson Play, HeadAmp Gilmore Lite Mk2
• Speakers: KEF LS50 Wireless

This is a review of Burson FUN, latest headphone amp and a preamp from the house of Melbourne's Burson Audio.

I am a double bass, triple bass and sub-bass aficionado listening mainly to classical and jazz. As I have previously stated in my review of the Burson PLAY Dac/Headphone amp/preamp combo (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-play.22702/reviews#review-20430), I am looking and listening for well articulated double bass, bowed and plucked upright bass reproduction. There are plenty of high praised units featuring sparkling treble, euphonic mids and punchy bass, which still fail in bringing well articulated and easy to follow acoustic bass line.

It is inevitable to make first a comparison with aforementioned Burson's own PLAY.
The FUN shares almost the same physical appearance as the PLAY plus one aux input on the front. FUN’s volume control is analog, as compared to PLAY’s digital volume control, so no display and digits to show. The PLAY has a decent DAC inside feat. ES9018K2M chip, the FUN is a pure headphone amp which needs an external DAC or other audio source. The PLAY is a stereo amp, the PLAY is dual mono, having slightly more power.

Some maths:

Both the PLAY and the FUN cost $299 in the basic version. It leaves some price gap between the units because youu have to add a budget for a dac to feed the FUN.
If you go for an upgrade with Burson’s house op-amps the price bracket changes siginificantly. The PLAY now goes up to $549 and the FUN only to $399, because it needs less op-amps. The price difference of $150 in favor of the FUN leaves you with some space for additional DAC. While getting a DAC for $150 which will compete with one in the PLAY would be more difficult to find, if you stretch for some $100 more, I have a feeling that for $250 you can get a more versatile DAC with different filter settings for PCM and DSD.






FUN as a preamp:

As a preamp, the PLAY wins having a remote control and dac inside. It will take less space on your desktop and will be easier to run. The FUN on the contrary gives you more old skool feeling. Turning the volume knob on the FUN gives a pleasant analog touch sensation.

How does it sound:

I’ve listened plenty of busy symphonic recordings plus many of the jazz giants. The FUN’s sound signature is dark chocolate, creamy, smokey, and very clearly articulated. It is not warm or smoothed, there is a plenty of attack, plucking strings transients are extraordinary. The power reserve gives you relaxed listening, with no strain or signs of distortion even in the busy, loud passages of Mahler and Bruckner symphonies. There was no listening fatigue even after prolonged listening sessions. I have only Sennheisers, so I can speak only about them. Well, the FUN pairs great with Senns, perfect match.

There is again a clear winner from the Burson. While for the preamp use, I will give a slight advantage to the PLAY (dac included, digital display and remote control), for pure headphone audiophile listening I would certainly go for FUN. Great device indeed.

REVIEW Burson Fun (Standard setup)

TL;DR: Amazing performer for its price. Highly recommended.











Pros:
Performance, Dynamism, Power, Transparency, Low Noise Floor, Price, Versatility


Cons:

Looks, no gain selector





About me:
As you can see in my profile - I am completely NUTS if it comes to audio gear. I have way too much. For me experimenting and trying new audio devices and headphones is FUN. I love to tinker and explore my music all over again. Because first of all I am a music lover. I cannot get enough of my favorite tunes. Though my music taste is sometimes eclectic and often standard, I tend to like music nobody else has ever heard of to some degree.




I love full sound, borderline bass-head. I like treble too but am surely not a treble head. For me, musicality, or however you want to describe the thing that MOVES you when you listen to music, is what counts. If a piece of equipment makes me want to dance, tap my toes, and rock it out, then it’s GOOD! No matter what.







Premise:

I love my Burson Conductor with the ESS 9018 DAC chip. I consider my Cavalli Audio Liquid Carbon and JDS Labs EL DAC (AKM4490EQ) a superb combo. On the go, I like my ifi xDSD. That should set the tone and give you a baseline.


My current favorite headphones are: LCD2, TH900, HE560, HD650, Oppo PM-3 current fav IEMS: UE11Pro, Roxanne2, IMR-R1, JVC-FW1, KZ-AS10 (yep).



Let the FUN begin:


Burson & the outside:

Others have already explained the looks of the Burson Fun and the company history, please check out their website and the photos. In short, it’s a rather functional case, that can also be mounted in a desktop / tower PC (wow, I haven’t had one of these in ages). And it’s black. I like it but it’s rather bland.


The power switch is on the back, the front has the single ended 6.35mm headphone out and the volume pot. The volume pot is well weighted and feels just right!. No fancy stepped attenuator like the Conductor, but a perfectly fine volume pot. I also found that the channel imbalance (or rather balance) is amazingly well controlled. I couldn’t hear any, even with very sensitive in ears.


Which brings me to…


…Specs:


That thing has power - lots of power, it really has a good grip on demanding headphone drivers, squeezing every bit of control and detail out. Never heard that in this price range to be honest.


2.1 W at 32 Ohm

330mW at 300 Ohm

Headphone output impedance 6 Ohm


I found that the output impedance can make some very low impedance headphones sound funny, so better to stick with anything at≥ least 16 Ohm and higher, ideally 32 Ohm and higher. Also - the lack of a gain switch can cause some issues with sensitive IEMs - there is not much play on the volume pot....





The SOUND:


That’s why we are all here. So - this Fun is the base model, I have ordered OPAMPs from Burson to do some rolling as I like to tinker and see what they can do. Hard to believe this Amp can be improved though.


General sound signature:

Full bodied, yet detailed, very believable soundstage, not too large, not too small, pretty bang right where it should be.

Ideally a good amplifier should get out of the way and let the music just move you. I don’t know how Burson does it but my personal track record is really good. And I had a couple of amps in my life

Is it completely neutral - not entirely - but I have the feeling that the headphones I tried with this amp were driven so well - I haven’t heard such a well performing amps with such lovely black background at this price range. I have not felt fatigued while listening to it and to be perfectly honest - I really enjoyed every minute with the amp. I must admit - its been a while since something in this price range has brought me so much FUN - pun intended.

The FUN with there standard OPAMPs was never harsh, but it, full bodied and rich but not overboard smooth or dark. it has a velvety quality to it. For $299 it’s really lovely quality sound. As transparent as possible - driving the headphones - amplifying the sound, not adding or coloring it.

I can’t wait to try the OPAMPs to alter the sound a bit and see how I like it. I shall edit the review once I got the tinker tools.

All the different headphones I tried with the amp - sounded distinct and special - since the Fun didn’t add any of it’s own colouration to the sound - the specific sound signature of the headphone was allowed to fully shine through. A very nice treat indeed.

How Burson managed to get all the benefits of their full priced amps or DAC/amps in such a small and affordable package - is beyond me. The shoehorned the full amp section of the Conductor V2 into the chassis - an improved version of it.

But let me finish with this: We are living in amazing times for personal audio, the quality we can get today for a few hundreds would cost thousands just a few years ago.

Burson - you have a real hit on your hands. In standard form already, plus offering the opportunity to roll OPAMPs = brilliant. A really well made amp based on a highly regarded platform that got improved for the last 10 years.


Disclaimer: The Burson Fun was provided to me in exchange for my opinion. I do have Burson gear (purchased from my own hard earned money) like the Burson Conductor. I paid full price for the OPAMPs as well.

Having just reviewed the Burson Play, I knew I was in for a treat with the FUN and was not disappointed. The sound quality is superb and I personally don’t know how to match it at this price. It is very true to its source as a very transparent amp offering girth and size to the note that makes the music “FUN”. If the detail is there, the FUN scales it to allow listeners to hear more into the music. This is true audiophile listening for those that have champagne taste and a beer budget. Now, this begs the question, if Burson can do this for the Fun and the Play at these incredibly low prices, what do Burson’s pricier options sound like?

Configuration
The FUN (basic) was built with PC gaming in mind to bring rich audio to the gameplay. My hope was to install it into an open DVD bay and to have easy access to good sound without having to set up my more expensive chain. The FUN offers a modular design that is meant to either sit nicely on a desk or to be slipped neatly into a computer case and powered by the PC. As you can see from the back panel image below, there is a standard PC power plug allowing it to be powered from the case.



As you can see from the model options below, the FUN comes in configurations ranging from my Basic $299 configuration to the upgraded Opamp options V6 Vivid or Classic at $399. This review is based on the Basic $299 configuration, so as you can imagine, I am very interested to hear what the upgrade can offer.



To minimize distortion, the Play is tuned to operate in pure Class-A. Outputting 2000 mWatt per channel, it is over 20 times more powerful than the next best soundcard. To top it off, the Play features a high-performance mic input and fits into any PC case elegantly.

PER BURSON: Fun is a dual mono Class-A head amp and preamp. Its symmetrical circuitry is powered by four sets of Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) developed by Burson. The revolutionary MCPS is far superior to traditional transformers delivering instant, clean, and maximum electric current to the Fun. Like an engine with unlimited torque and zero latency, Fun delivers a rock solid performance regardless of demand. It will put most 4W and even 6W amplifiers to shame.

MY SETUP: For this review, I have the FUN sitting on top of the PLAY set up on my audio table across from my computer using a longer USB cable to reach the PLAY which was used primarily as the source to compare it to my much more expensive Eddie Current ZDs tube amp as well as the PLAY amp. The required XMOS driver was installed from the Burson website onto my computer previously for the PLAY review. My plan is to pair my library of headphones and CIEMs with the FUN and compare the ZDs and PLAY amps.

Comparing the Fun to the PLAY
At first glance, the FUN and PLAY look very similar sporting the same case. The main difference between the two is that the Burson Play features the SABRE32/ESS9018 DAC chip and Xmos USB receiver chip to be used as a DAC/AMP while the FUN is a dedicated amp.

OUTSIDE: They both have the same nice volume knob on the front of the case, but the PLAY also offers a digital volume display that sets them apart. In exchange, the FUN offers an additional line in input in the front to easily connect sources. The PLAY back panel offers a USB input in exchange for the RCA input on the back of the FUN. Everything else is the same on the outside.

INSIDE: As seen in the screenshots below, the PLAY and the FUN offer two different stock opamp configurations. While this implies a different sound, they are very close in practice. However, I am guessing that the optional step up to the V5 or V6 would be significant based on other reviews I have read.



COMPARING FUN/PLAY AMP SOUND QUALITY: With the PLAY connected to my computer via USB and sitting under the FUN, I was able to connect the PLAY DAC directly to the FUN RCA input to offer a single source with two headphone plugs to go back and forth. So I turned the music on and tried all my headphones going back and forth between the two headphone outs. After hours of listening enjoyment, I was having trouble hearing any detectable auditable differences in sound quality between the two amps. However, I enjoyed the FUN headphone out just a little more for some reason that I cannot explain. So while there is no perceivable difference that I can explain, to declare a winner, I definitely have been listening to the FUN headphone output more than the PLAY. Sorry,….I wish I had a better explanation. Maybe it is a lower noise level or a less complex pathway given the dedicated AMP circuitry on the FUN. But this means that either is a great choice and your use case should determine your purchase.

CONCLUSION: For me, the PLAY will go next to my bed to offer premium sound at night offering a DAC and an AMP in one convenient and compact package. My computer audio is good enough that the premium position for my FUN is as advertised – to go into my computer case for better computer sound quality and thus freeing up my desk space. I should also point out that I am a firm believer in breaking up tech into dedicated modules to get the most out of each. I am not usually a fan of DAC/AMP combos – but have made a notable exception for both the PLAY and the HUGO2 as they are really that good. In the end, having access to both the FUN and PLAY side by side, it was the FUN headphone output that I favored even if I cannot articulate the difference.

How does the FUN Sound
Am mentioned earlier, I cannot articulate the difference between the PLAY and the FUN sound quality but chose the FUN over the PLAY to listen as I enjoyed it more. Moreover, this sound quality review is based on using the PLAY as the source for the FUN – therefore, the review will sound much like the PLAY sound quality review.

To put it simply, it sounds like an audiophile headphone amplifier. The key theme for the FUN sound signature is big, textured, dynamic, and black background. While there is no color, there is a welcome richness to the bottom end offered through the highly dynamic quality. The dynamics and the bottom end offer a richness to the detail with gobs of texturing. The colorless black background is almost eerie and abyss like that provides superb spacing between the instruments. The soundstage is nice, but not the widest that I have heard. It feels deeper than wide offering great layering. While the detail is the star of the show, the texturing offers a natural organic feel to the resulting sound.

What is important about the FUN sound is that there is no sound or signature, the FUN gets out of the way to allow you to listen and enjoy your music. Often equipment offers a mix of results that sound great with some genres or songs, but not with others. Not with the FUN. It is a very neutral and flat response with full-sized instruments, much like listening to a good speaker system. While neutral and flat may sound boring, I assure you that this is not the case, the FUN offers a very dynamic, textured, and detailed window with a large sound stage.

How does it Pair
For the most part, I listened to the FUN using my HD800. However, I have a wide variety of CIEMs and HPs to try. Here is what I found:

• Sennheiser HD800: To dial in my HD800, I use SonarWorks True-Fi adding what I need to be truly satisfied with the HD800 signature – more texture, dynamics, and bass/sub-bass. This is the same setting I use when I listen through my Hugo 2 or my Hugo 2 > Eddie Current ZDs setups. When just listening to the FUN without a direct comparison, there is little to notice as I don’t feel like I am missing anything. In fact, the FUN feels like it has a little more power than the Hugo 2. Either way, the HD800 feels like it is giving all it can give leaving nothing to be desired from any of the three setups. The FUN is a great pairing with the HD800 offering lots of power to drive the headphone’s higher 300-ohm impedance. Often on lesser setups, the HD800 can sound congested in busy passages or bottom out with big bass booms – but not happening on the FUN. Lesser amps can sound noisy and detract from the gobs of HD800 detail – again, not so on the FUN. Great pairing.
• HiFiman HEX: There is nothing unexpected here as the HEX sounds good on anything including an iPhone. However, there is the occasion that a cheap source can make the HEX sound bright. This is not the case with the FUN, as it is a very nice pairing providing everything the HEX is famous for.
• Audeze LCD2.2: The LCD2’s are known for gobs of godly bass and always delivers when paired with powerful amps such as with the FUN. However, this is my least favorite pairing as the LCD2 can be particular in the source to offer its best. While the LCD has clarity and slam with the FUN, it doesn’t have the larger soundstage that some amps such as the ZDs have to offer. Switching to the ZDs, now I am hearing what I am after. Stepping up further to the Hugo 2 > ZDs the LCD2 goes wider in soundstage, but without a direct comparison, the FUN is good enough. However, I should point out that my overall planer preference has always been for a tube amp to downplay a perceived brightness.
• 64 Audio A18 CIEMs: Booooom….wow, this is the biggest I have heard the A18 bass. While it is almost too much stepping on the mids a little, I am enjoying it very much. Moving to songs with less bass, the dynamics get very snappy but very controlled with no slop. The snaps are crisp, the guitar is very plucky. If I have any complaint, it would be that the sound stage on the A18 is compressed a little compared to the Hugo 2 source it usually is paired with. While this is a great pairing, I like the Mason pairing better. However, I have to say that the a18 is sounding very big and full sized which is "mucho" fun. Moving to the ZDs, there is a big noticeable upgrade in a18 performance as it is liking the ZDs tube sound better.
• Empire Ears Legend X CIEMs: The LX says “hell ya” to the FUN. It sounds wonderful. The LX is known for its dual subwoofers which are very tight and controlled with the FUN. These sit on top of the Empire Ears famous Zeus SQ to provide a complete audiophile home stereo sound. The dynamics are very punchy while the black space in between the instruments stays very dark and clean. This is a wonderful pairing. This pairing is bringing the voices front and center and offering a lot more emotion to the mix. Like the a18, my only complaint is that I have heard a wider sound stage on other gear, but I am being fussy. Moving to the ZDs, I trade some of the blackness for euphonics and richness. I also get some of the soundstage back. Both ways, the details are intense.
• Unique Melody Mason V3 CIEMs: The Mason is my favorite CIEM for voice – male and female - and is a wonderful all-rounder that grows on you over time as does the HD800 (implemented correctly). They offer gobs of detail and texturing with black space and sound stage galore. This plays into all the strengths of the FUN as the pair very well together. In fact, this is the best I have ever heard the Mason sound.
• Fearless Audio S10-Genie CIEMs: The S10 is a huge performer at $759 for 10 BA drivers. Being new to my lineup, I am just getting used to it, but have not heard any better setup so far than through my FUN amp. Like the Mason, this CIEM is wonderful for voice – male and female - and is a wonderful all-rounder. This CIEM offer gobs of detail and black space with not quite as much texturing or sound stage as the Mason – but not that far off. Like the Mason, this plays into all the strengths of the FUN as they pair very well together.
• Fearless Audio ACME8 CIEMs: The ACME8 is the top of the line for Fearless Audio offer a unique 3D printed sound tube system to augment its bass response. While I am a fan of the innovative bass system, there are some scenarios that can sound a little off, or flabby when using DAPs to drive it. However, I have not found this to be the case with the FUN. The fun has the effect of tightening the bass on each of the mentioned test HPs offering blackness between the bass notes and speed to their delivery. This blackness on the ACME8 really added a boost to the perceived soundstage and is the best pairing I have heard to date with this CIEM. It also added a bit of life and thickness that was needed to the high notes offering a flatter response curve. Very nice pairing.

How does it Compare
Using my HD800, I wanted to see how the Fun stood up to the other amps in my arsenal. The FUN did not disappoint.

• C&C BH2 Amp: Using the PLAY headphone out into my BH2 line in was not optimal for comparison, but it worked. Being very familiar with the performance of this little amp, I was happy with the outcome. The BH2 is a tiny $100 amp that offers 40 hours of playtime on its battery and drives the HD800 to almost full potential. It is now discontinued and rare, but has been a giant killer that has stood up against many amps that were priced in the thousands of dollars for the last five years I have owned it. This was an interesting matchup. The FUN clearly came out on top, but the BH2 was awesome like normal. The difference is that the BH2 while having clarity and a large soundscape, the FUN was even bigger, clearer, and had better texturing. The BH2 has more tube like ephonics, but in direct comparison to the FUN, it sounded a little muddy where I much preferred the FUN.

• Hugo 2 Amp Section: This was tested still using the computer as the source, but through the HUGO DAC so it is not a direct comparison. At $2500, there is an expectation that the HUGO2 would come out on top, and it did, but by a tiny margin. A one percenter audiophile will appreciate this subtle increase in sound quality, but the majority of music lovers would be better served saving their money for better headphones. While the difference was slight, there was an audible elegance to the HUGO2’s representation to the music that increased with the quality of the source file. The only way I can describe it was as a more 3D representation. My wife could not hear the difference.
• Eddie Current ZDs Tube Amp: When comparing the FUN to the ZDs, I am focused on the tube sound as the key difference. So it comes down to a solid state vs. tube amp conversation. While I favor tube amps of the SDs quality, I was surprised to find that with some genres, I was enjoying the FUN solid state presentation more. Remember, we are comparing a $2K tube amp to a $299 solid state amp so this is saying a lot. I didn’t roll tubes with the ZDs so there could be a combination that changes this opinion, but the tube employed is a $150 Sophia tube which is known to be one of the best for the ZDs. If I had to say what made the ZDs better, it would be that it was a little more lifelike for lack of a better description where the FUN is more solid state. Again, for most music lovers, they would be better off with the FUN using the savings to buy a better headphone.

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Conclusion
As the title says, the FUN offers a lot more than $299 of value competing with amps that are 10x its cost. For 99 percent of the music listeners out there, the FUN is good enough – no need to go any further. Most casual listeners will not be able to tell the difference in quality in direct comparison to my $2800 Hugo 2 or my ZDs. However, for us 1 percenter that wants to see how much further we can go…. the V6 Vivid or Classic upgrade kit is shown in the table above may prove to be irresistible. What does that extra $100 have to offer? I may have to find out so I can offer an update.