Burson Audio Fun

Burson Audio Supreme Sound Opamp V5i

Before writing this review I would like to thank Carlos of Burson Audio for sending me the Burson 5vi to test and review. He has has kindly offered me a free trial of the Burson V5i op-amp in return for my honest feedback.

The V5i can be used to substitute for many op-amps of different models. A nice
bonus provided by Burson Audio, an Australian company, is the lifetime warranty for the V5i.

About Me:

I am a musician and artist who became interested in the High Fi audio scene about 10 years ago. I own and play several instruments and am interested in mixing. I tend to favor heavy metal, death metal, and hard rock, but I also listen to Jazz, Bluegrass, Trance, BlueGrass, and Folk music.

I own a few TOTL CIEMS one of them being the JH Roxanne. I own a few TOTL DAPs like the Astell & Kern AK380 Copper +Copper amp and Lotoo Paw Gold Diana Edition as well as more budget friendly items such as the
Zishan Z1, Walnut Stack, KZ ZS7, and CCA C16.

I have done some op-amp rolling in the past with cmoy type amps, and
believe op-amps make a change in sound. My main experience
is with the Lehman black cube, Objective 2 amp, Little Dot I-IV,
and the Matrix M Stage Amps.

Testing equipment:

DAP: Zishan Z1, Walnut V2S/Walnut F1 (Walnut Stack
IEMs: KZ ZS7, CCA C16, JH Roxanne CIEM
OP-amps: Burr-Brown OPA227, Signetics NE5532, (Zishan Z1 stock),NE5532 (Walnut
V2S stock)

Packaging:

The op-amps come in a fully protected, sealed and professional looking box. The op-amps are extremely well
built like little tanks.









Installation:

Fortunately, the Zishan Z1 and Walnut 2VS installation is straight forward, plug and play, as I'd have to dig up my old Weller soldering gun, and my desoldering iron.





Burn In:

I am a firm believer in burn in, I burned both op amps in for 100 hours each.
I noticed the first big change after approximately 50 hours of burn in with a
further refinement after 100 hours.


Sound Impressions:

Of course, any review of this kind is subjective as a reviewer's taste in
music varies. Thus, it is very subjective.

Highs:

One thing I dislike about the Z1 is that the highs lack detail, there is a
grain to the sound. There is a lack of clarity and extension. With the Burson
the grain is gone. The highs gain clarity, sparkle, and increased extension.
There is much more micro detail. They gain air and refinement.

Mids:

Both male and female voices sound more natural and realistic. There is an
increase in detail. The midrange details sound less congested, has a more
natural timbre, and a warmer tonality.

Bass:

The bass has more impact, the bass is much more detailed and has more texture. It is more defined and tighter with much greater detail.

Soundstage:

The stage gains width and depth, and there is an increase in clarity, layering,
and dynamics. The sound is more musical, but with greater detail and a better sense of space.

Positives:

Clarity, transparency, speed, and instrument separation
are the main sonic characters of the Op-Amp. There is no coloration of sound.

Negatives:

The op amp provided a couple hours less battery life due to increased
power consumption. The op amp distorts are very loud volumes more quickly
than the stock op amps.

Summary:

The Burson 5vi is a worthy upgrade to budget and mid level DAPs, the increase
in bass performance and clarity is worth the price of admission alone. I was
also pleasantly surprised by the increase in the high end, and just the overall
dynamics and separation of the sound. The 5vi excels in all sound areas over
stock and is a very nice upgrade.

Burson Audio FUN



Well I have received from Burson Audio a new headphone amp to me. In the past I have reviewed Burson's Audio Cable + and Pro, and have always liked the Burson products. They seem to build some really well liked and well built headphone amplifiers. For people that like to play and experiment with various op amps to see if there are any differences etc, the FUN amp I just received is the “cats meow” for this type of activity!



Imagine a company that is enticing you to open up the device and plug and play to your hearts content and your wallet can stand!. The circuitry is designed to handle a wide variety of op amps, from inexpensive to expensive... They even supply you with an allen wrench and a spare power fuse!.

All it takes is 4 small hex head screws to pop off the cover and see the internals! The build quality inside the unit is second to none. I have built and worked in the electronics industry and this is a top of the line amp. The circuit board is well laid out, and there is no BIG unsightly power transformer inside that will ever “hum” or have isolation issues.



The FUN is a class A headphone amplifier that again encourages Opamp rolling. There is also an added mic input on the front. The Mic input is straight wired to a Mic output in the back for less cable clutter if used in a desktop pc system. For me I use this amp as a headphone amplifier....there is no DAC inside. But the FUN can fit into a PC drive bay and connect to your PC sound card and headphones. For gaming and great audio as well.



Instead of the traditional AC power into a transformer then into a bridge rectifier and filtering to remove the AC component etc...Burson designed what they call Burson Max Current Power Supply or (MCPS). The transformer is removed altogether. Burson states that main power at 50-60Hz is within the frequency the human ear can easily discern. A traditional linear power supply charges and discharges 50-60 times a second. They claim this is too slow for audio amplification. Their MCPS increases the working frequency to 179Khz. Any noise at this frequency is well above the human hearing threshold of 20khz. They say this allows for a pitch black soundstage critical for micro-details to shine through. Now this is techno talk from Burson, and I am a real technical geek that always has doubted many if these claims, the end result to me is the proof in the pudding. I will tell you in this review whatever they are doing here has led to a really GOOD amp. Call it what you want, this $299 Class A gem, is very crisp and clean.....pitch black for sure.



So there is no need for those LARGE capacitors for AC filtering and hum reduction. This amp puts out 2 watts of power into 32 ohms. A day when size natters, or bigger is better, this little amp throws all that away for sure. So its a 4x Max Current Power Supply, symmetrical dual mono design, Class A, Two DIP8 sockets for op amp rolling, ELNA audio aluminum electrolytics, and Vishay Professional MELF resistors ( with a 1% tolerance and a +/- 50ppm/K). Then volume pot is an ALPS pot with excellent tracking, All this with a 5 yr worldwide warranty.



The unit is the same size as a CD/DVD PC Drive that fits into a 5.25” PC drive bay. Its power can come from a 12VDC 5A source from your PC via a Molex connector. If you want to use it as a standlone unit they supply a small external power supply that has a green power led. The backside has two sets of RCA plugs, input and output, this unit can be used as a preamp as well, the preamp output impedance is 25 ohms, and the head amp output impedance is 6 ohms. They supply you with a nice set of RCA cables as well and 6.5mm to 3.5mm socket adapter. Inputs require 2V RMS line level, mic input. The unit weighs approx 2kg.





Class A amps run HOT. I have run this FUN amp for hours with 600 ohm Beyerdynamics T1 R2 and the case is slightly warm, there are 4 power transistors for each channel mounted to the bottom chassis assembly. Nothing like some other Class A amps I have built and owned. Not even close to hot to touch. Great design here.



The front of the FUN has a nice small bue LED to indicate power on. Its subtle and does not blind you.

The aluminum case is a matte black finish and it exudes 'professional” to me....very well done, like the SR 71 blackbird finish at the Smithsonian at Dulles Airport! There are four small plastic feet on the bottom.



The volume knob is large and fairly easy to turn the ALPS pot...nice and firm feel when rotating it...again exudes good parts and good operation.



The unit at the entry price of $299 comes with a pair of NE5543 X 2 op amps. My unit had JRC 5534D's which are in the $10-$15 cost retail. They are a high performance low noise op amp well beyond the old 741's. The amp with my headphones was silent with the volume turned up all the way. With 32 ohms cans I did hear some very slight noise with the volume up at 3pm, way, way beyond any listening. Most listening with 250 ohms or higher are dead silent.



So how does it sound...I used headphones from 32 ohms to 600 ohms and all were easily driven. All sound great. I have only 7 headphone amps at present, been selling! The Burson FUN sounds as good and “better” than most of them, its that good. Beyer 1350's, T1's, Audio Technica M50x's, Grado 325i's,

Beyer T90's, Audio Technica MSR7's....and others. All sound great, of course I have a preference....



The first word, adjective that comes to mind is “clear”, then “transparent”, then “soundstage”, followed by “accurate”, “lifelike”...and all those lesser adjectives...then I kept thinking “how are they doing this?” Its that good / different..the old “I have to listen to all my music again stuff...” The bass extension on headphones like the Audio Technica MSR7's is really mind blowing! The bass is indeed tight and well controlled with all my headphones.



The FUN has no internal DAC, so I am feeding it with a Schitt Bifrost Multibit DAC which I like very much as well....its a wonderful pairing that is making this amp come alive for sure, but there is magic in this little FUN Burson amp!



I could go over many of the songs I use to audition headphones and head devices but suffice to say I and hearing new stuff from my old favorites in a very enlightening way. Its like I am there. The tonality of violin strings are lifelike and mesmerizing. The music is effortless, the amp is supplying enough power throughout the frequency range...clear crisp, dynamic, tight......etc.



Everything from the remastered Beatles, A Hard Days Night, Eva Cassidy's , Eva by Heart, and on and on are being amplified very well. Whats there in the CD is being heard accurately and musically with my T1's....oh gosh its that nice.



Ok the surpy stuff is over....:>) I have not used the mic input or the preamp outs. So I cant comment on them. As a headphone amp, Class A, its the cats meow IMO.



I have been listening for three hours now and just dont want to stop listening its that nice....There are a lot of choices in this price range $299. But if your looking for a great Class A amp, that allows you to swap out and roll to your hearts content op amps, like NOS tubes...the Burson FUN should be high on your list. I look forward to rolling in some of Bursons other discrete op amps as well...Its just FUN!



HIGHLY RECOMMENDED.

*****

Alex Dydula



NOTE: I got up this morning, cup of coffee in hand, to see if the Burson Fun was still working as well as my first impression...Instant on and instantly the smile appeared on my face...Burson has a winner here!

First of all, I want to say thank´s to Charles at Burson Audio, as he gave me the opportunity to do this listening test with their headphone amp; Fun!

My first impression when unwrapping the box, is that the amp are quite well packed in the original retail black box, with some white foam and also a thick rubber foam surrounding it. At the side of it, there are two boxes; one containing the power adapter and the other contains a 2,5 mm Hex-key to be used when opening the lid of the amp, a power cable for the power adapter, a small gold plated resistor or capacitor for surface mounting (that I have not yet know the purpose for) and an short RCA-cable from Pailicc of a much better grade than usually includes with most other equipment, especially the connector´s! Most other manufacturer´s tend to include those familiar and very thin "licorice laces", that either get´s placed among all other scrap cabel´s in a box on the shelf of being throwed away immediately! Those Pailicc´s can be used withoud any bad conscience.

This amp are also equipped with a new developed power stage, using no transformer for maximum power and minimal noise.

There are three available options of the Fun; the Basic model that I´m gonna test are the cheapest, implementing a pair of NE5543 Opamp´s. The other options is get with Burson´s quite new and well regarded V6 Vivid or V6 Classic discrete Opamp´s.

What I first realized, was the lack of grounding as the amp´s power adapter are ungrounded. Also, there amp has no 100 Ohm resistor between the enclosure and the signal path´s ground (that many other amp´s have to avoid any EMI/EMR to reach the signal and bring noise to the sound). But they are not alone with this solution, as many manufacturer´s do the same, and honestly, I´m not sure how much this grounding filter solutions will do for the sound.

I did a A/B comparison test against my own assembled DIY headphone amp, that are using V6 Vivid dual, a Dale 24 stepped volume attenuator and Mundorf/Russian Teflon´s (as it´s built by me, it´s not easy to tell a retail price for it, but similar models will cost about four times the Fun Basic). For the source, I used a Cambridge CD192 CD-player that has two analog RCA-out, with upsamling module and modded with THS4032 OpAmp´s (had a retail price new about $1400) and listened to both my Sennheiser HD595 and HD800. After I calibrated the volume to a similar level for the amp´s, I used my DIY A/B-testing unit to switch between them, as the unit that gonna compare, should not be connected to the Fun´s pre-out, otherwise the sound will be limited by the Fun (or vice versa, if connecting the Fun to the other amp). Each amp must be directly connected to the source, and the A/B-tester will to this without the need to connecting and disconnecting each time.

The first thing I noticed when listening to the Fun, whas that I must admit there were many similarities between the two amp´s, but what I rather quickly distinguished, was the rolled off treble for the Fun, as there were much more open sound from my DIY-amp, the sound from the Fun was much more veiled. The bass was quite good, and the mid also mostly nice, but no up the grade the DIY-amp, that had a more open and well defined sound.

Of course, it´s not really fair to compare the Fun against an amp with Burson´s own V6; their latest generation of discrete Opamp´s, altough both amp´s consists of part´s at a really high grade! But having in mind this Fun are the Basic version, with a pair of NE5543 Opamp´s, I must nevertheless admit the sound are quite good compairing to the rival´s, for the price and size of the amp!

Update:

A few days ago, I also did a comparison for JRC NE5534, Burson V6 Vivid and also did a quick comparison to the Classic and a SparkoS SS3602 installed in my Burson Fun headphone amp, every A/B-test were done with the DIY stereo switch for instantly swapping between the simultaneously powered amps and compairing with my own DIY assembled LBC amp with a V6 Vivid and Sparko discrete voltage regulators SS7815 and SS1117-15, that will replace the original LM317 and LM337. Those discrete voltage regs will give the amp a steady and clean power voltage with very low noise and a black background.

Before the test, every OpAmp were burned in with pink/white noise and sinus waves for several hours. The test were again made with my Sennheiser HD 800 connected with the DIY A/B-switch to both amps simultaneously powered and listening to some CD´s, for example Ani DiFranco and Laura Pausini from 2006 - playing in my Arcam CD192 CD-player. Here are my conclusion:


As I already stated, the standard NE5534 are dull sounding some treble roll off and not as clear and open as all the other OpAmps. It´s not bad, but more in the same range as the OPA2134.

The difference between Burson V6 Vivid and Classic were the smallest between all tested and not as big as many people stated, that the Vivid should be more open with a bigger sound stage and the Classic should be warmer and closer. But their sound are in a totally other league, definitely a wider sound stage and more details. One thing also worth to be noticed, are the included gold plated DIP8-adapter, that can be leaved fitted at those dicretes and soldered to the PCB if you decide, as they are of very high grade while SparkoS adapter socket should only be used as PIN protection and are recommended to be removed before installing due to their low quality.

The SS3602 had more treble than the all the other.

And when I compaired both amps with V6 Vivid for both, the DIY amp had a more open sound with a wider sound stage. But have in mind that I have paid a bit more for the DIY amp in component cost than the Burson Fun, that will cost $399 with V6´s. One more thing I noticed, was the extreme power/gain for the Fun, as the volume knob were at bearly 9´clock, while the DIY were at almost 12´clock, when calibrated equally with noise. So, the Fun amp is definitely a winner for it´s retail price, and combined with the V6 it´s remarkable good!

Beside for the Fun amp, I´ve used the V6 Vivid in a AK4490 DAC, also with amazingly good result!

My DIY amp were connected to the CD-player with a Van Damme Twin Interconnect, while I choosed the original bundle Pailiccs for the Fun. I also tried the Fun with a thick high grade silver plated OFC Interconnect, without any noticeable improvements. Therefore, I will praise the bundle Pailiccs quite high, altough I soldered the cables screen to the connectors for best connection. Have in mind that most other equipments bundle cables are of a very low quality that should be avoided to use for HiFi!

My verdict are that the Burson Fun have a very affordable price, compared to most other amps (for example; the Grado RA1 have a price, while having a very simple schematic, base on the Pimeta that can be done as a coffe break DIY-project), and will give a sound that will satisfy most people, and beat most of it´s competitors - especially if you choose a discrete OpAmp, regardless model - but have in mind that the V6 costs about 10$ less than SparkoS!

When Burson announced the Fun amp, part of me was surprised, part of me was not. Burson have already got themselves a very good entry-level DAC/amp in the form of the Play, released just a few months before the Fun.

But I do believe that, if you look closely on Burson, they’ve always been more about amp than DAC. They built their name on amps, and in some cases I believe Burson will release an amp first, then a DAC-integrated version of it.

For the Play, that circle got somewhat reversed. They release the Play, got rave reviews, then remove the DAC section and improve the amp. The result: Burson Fun, at the same starting price of $300.


Does that justify the purchase, especially when the Play starts at the same price? Let’s find out.

Not Quite Elegant-Looking

Having spent months with the Burson Play, I really don’t have a lot to say about the Fun's design. All 3 of the Burson “PC” product line shares the same chassis, which is the same size as the DVDRW drives of old. As it doesn’t have the volume indicator lights that the Play does, the Fun looks a bit more boring to be honest. It’s more of a black ordinary box than the Play.

With that said, there is nothing to complain about the Play build quality. Everything feels sturdy and well assembled. The matte finish "feels" great, though I guess it'll just stay on my desk for the month to come. The volume knob seems to turn slower than the Play and it does add to the premium feeling of using the amp.


Plug and Play

As with the Play, Burson does include a screwdriver so you can easily open the chassis to roll op-amp. The number of accessories got greatly reduced from the Play's (the Fun doesn't come with any DAC), but I’m sure everyone will still be happy with what Burson included with the Fun: a 6.5-3.5 adapter and a pair of RCA cables. Both seem to be well made, totally in line with what I perceive to be Burson’s design philosophy: their products won’t turn heads, they won’t look stunning, but they will not make your desk feel any less high-end.

Using the Fun is pretty simple. We've got a set of RCA inputs at the back, connect that and you can either listen with your headphones or output the Fun to a power amp (Burson's own "Bang", for example).


What's interesting is that there's a pair of mic input/output, but those are just pass-through (per the Fun thread). At first glance I thought the mic-in should have been on the back, but then I realized it's made this way to connect with the Play's mic out more easily. Because the Play already include amplification for mic-input, the Fun doesn't.

Into the Music
I've got some source equipment for this review: an Audioquest Dragonfly, a Schitt Fulla 2 and a AK Junior DAP. My personal preference is the Dragonfly (at line level) - Fulla was a tiny bit "darker" and less detailed (which was the same experience I had with the Modi) and the AK Junior was too smooth. They do shine better on certain headphones/songs but overall I still prefer the Dragonfly and will use it for the review.

Grado RS2e – REM, Losing My Religion

For such a “soft” Alt Rock track, Losing My Religion remains one of the most intense listening experiences that I’ve ever had. The frustration of falling in love or having a crush on someone... My heart races each times Michael went “that’s me in the corner”.

It’s not always easy to convey these feelings on a Grado. The Dragonfly for example will ruins certain moments because of its harshness. Turn it into a DAC to feed the Fun and you’ve got a perfect rendition of Losing My Religion. Drum beats feel full and pleasant, string instruments open up the atmosphere, guitars notes tear up your heart.

Vocals lines feel extremely to the point on this one for me. Grados are famous for coloring the midrange, but this here is not quite the case. On the Fun + RS2e it feels as if Michael is sitting in front of me, telling me about his frustration of love, letting out a lonely sigh then and there. No sibilant, no smoothed edge, just Michael Stipe losing his religion and me losing mine.

The experience can be described as adding Burson elegance to Grado. The bites are still there for those who needs it (perhaps more so on other track), but the Burson + Grado sound result in a smoother, more eloquent "flow" of emotions on this specific song for me.

Sennheiser HD58X – Susan Boyle, Will the Circle be Unbroken


Elizabeth (voiced by Courtnee Draper) sang only 2 lines from this song in Bioshock: Infinite and my heart was already taken. I like Courtnee Draper’s rendition the best, but this one from Susan Boyle is also a shiner. Hint: great songs can have dozens of great renditions.

First offf, the Vocals. I’ve always had the feeling that Burson use Sennheisers to tune their amp, which was the exact reason why I hold the Play in such high regards when I used it to drive the HD6xx. The Fun driving my new HD58x isn’t an entirely different story: it’s the familiar “colored natural” signature sound from the HD58/HD6 series.

Yet I did find a lot of faults with my HD58x, mainly because I was driving it from my laptop and my iPhone 6s. Thankfully, now I have the Burson Fun to root out all the problems: no more splintered highs and no more bloated bass. When the drums kick in at the middle of Will the Circle be Unbroken, I could feel my HD58x slightly moving on my ears. The bass impact added a new aspect to this Folk-like song that I’d never knew of (from Courtnee Draper’s rendition): a feeling of heavenly epicness. The guitar in the background no longer get broken down into a million tiny pieces.

I didn’t expect it to, but Vocals presentation also changed. It seems that when properly powered, the mid-range has more air, a tad more details and thus more realism to it. Soundstage opened wide but not so much depth, which I think maybe Sennheiser's design (though they had that perfect 3d sound on the HD800). Another improvement is in pacing: the song changes pace 2 times and each time the Fun + HD58x handle it with ease.

Sennheiser HD58X – Pink Floyd, Time

I’ll stand by my opinion that the HD58x has a “colored natural” sound, that is, while it doesn’t stray too much from neutral, it definitely isn’t neutral. Its brother HD650 (and HD6xx?) used to be called “veiled”, and the HD58x does not stray that far from the HD6 heritage.

Which makes Time interesting track to test. The alarm bells at the start of the track is the single most difficult passage for my headphones to render “properly”: it’s the same alarm that we listen every morning, but the way Alan Parsons and Pink Floyd mixes them together gives it an uncanny, weired-out feeling. The “tick tock” sound that follows is what I normally test my headphones for bass “resolution”.

The HD58x handles these 2 tests extremely well, but only with the Fun’s help. Driven un-properly from my laptop, Roger Waters’ bass would be come a quick line of “pffff” and the clock would sound as if it came from an iPhone, shouty and . The Fun, what can I say, corrected all these problems. The clock sound has just the right amount of bite and was so satisfying (can’t believe I’m saying this about a clock alarm) and the bass notes felt textured in "high resolution".

What came next was somewhat of a surprise to me. After that crazy opening, Time on Fun + HD6xx is a more “streamlined” experience than on, say, the AKG Kxx or HD800. The HD6xx has more energetic trebles than its siblings in the HD6 lines, but once again nothing about it stands out – no huge soundstage, no bass rumbles either. Once that opening has passed, I started to realize how close Time was to a country-rock song. That wonderful guitar solo and the background vocals would immediately drag me back into the Floydscape, but it was still refreshing to experience Time in this totally new aspect.

Master & Dynamic MH40 – Adele, Water under the Bridge
I would wholeheartedly agree with the opinion that the MH40 is a closed-back version of the HD600, but the problem is that too often the closed-back part is too much. There are moments when the bass would overpower everything, as if the bass player is right next to you. No, as if the bass player is playing through power speakers placed right next to you while every one else is situated properly in the room, playing their instrument through nothing.

At 32 ohm, the MH40 wouldn’t require a powerful amp like the Play – an iPhone should do more than enough. But the real benefit here comes in the form of lean bass, provided by the Fun + V6 Classic. My laptop and iPhone, just like every laptop and phone out there, will bloat the bass a bit, which is definitely the last thing I’d want on my MH40. Fed from a clean and neutral DAC, the MH40’s low ranges will get a bit cleaner and less intrusive. The bass player thankfully is no longer playing through an amped speaker next to me.

Anyway, this makes Adele on MH40 a more tolerable experiences. In a track that is uncharacteristic upbeat like Water under the Bridge, I’m glad that I can hear her “angelic raspy” voice in all of its beauty without having everything buried under the bass. Without all those sudden “boom”, soundstage also opens up nicely, vocals feel fuller – overall, the HD600 part has more room to shine. More refined. More elegant.

That being said, physics rules still apply, and the Fun cannot do magic for the MH40. The bass player is still sitting on my lap and the bass is still very prominent. I should look into changing the pads or something.

Symphonio Xcited 2 - Collapse under the Empire, Lost



Also marketed under the name "Notes Audio AT10", the Symphonio Xcited 2 was a big surprise with its full-bodied mids on top of the (somewhat) mild trebles and punchy bass. It doesn't have a lot of details in comparison with my bigger headphones, but what it does have is real good dynamics and an overall engaging "feel" to it. More upbeat, well-produced Post-Rock tracks such as those from Collapse under the Empire and God Is an Astronaut are such perfect match for the Xcited 2.

Becaues it's an IEM with very low impedance we're talking of, I don't think the Xcited 2 hugely benefits from the Fun. That which actually improve the Xcited 2 here is the DAC, and the Fun passes through my Dragonfly's clean, neutral sound to the Xcited 2 with a perfectly dark background, no hissing noise whatsoever. Most of the time the Fun also takes away some jagged edge from the Dragonfly (as driven from its amp), which I perceive to be a synergy problem that the Fun never had.

Grado RS2e – Lake of Tears, So Fell Autumn Rain

Grados are regarded as the go-to choices for Metal by my fellow Vietnamese Metalheads. The reason I think is because the Brooklyn house knows how to “mix” bass and mid-ranges to create a layered, thick guitar sound.

Which is exactly what I found on this song, as presented by the Fun with V6 Vivids op-amp installed. On this one, I’ve found the stock NE opamps (that comes with the starting version) a bit muffle when it comes to riffs. On the other hand, the V6 Classic feels a tiny bit too shouty. The difference could be marginal and perhaps inaudible to many, but not to me.

Anyway, the doom-ish riffs “flow” like torrents of rain on this combo. Perhaps of the way this track is mixed, the Vocals take 1 step back to let the instruments shine, but the level of raspy-ness (and sadness) is just right. The way my RS2e renditions all those keyboard riffs and cymbal crash is also perfect – there’s enough energy to keep the song from being boring, but not as much as to ruined what “Doom Metal” should be.

It’s also worth mentioning the overall presentation. The crazy thing about Metal tracks is that, they’re often not perfectly mixed and engineered, but give them a lesser DAC/amp and everything will get messed up: background instruments disappear, riffs become thin, cymbal crashes become grainy as hell. None of that happen with the Fun + RS2e with its refined, coherent representation of So Fell Autumn Rain (and the Forever Autumn album as a whole).

Why have Fun, though?


I should have addressed the elephant in the room first, but I guess it can be saved until we’ve discussed the sound. I can say that, with my limited experiences at the moment, the Dragonfly + Fun combo would be almost identical to the Play – at least when driving my RS2e. The Play + HD6xx is also very close to the Dragonfly + Fun + HD58x. This is me speaking from my memories as I’m away from home and don’t have the Play to compare directly with.

So, why get the Fun while the Play starts at the same price? Basically, why get a powerful amp while you can pay the same amount and get a DAC/amp that is still powerful enough to drive the HD600 to its fullest?

The answer would lie in the DAC. I really liked the Play, but after all it starts at $300, meaning its DAC unit should cost $50 or maybe less. It was just a basic Sabre that’s way too common. On the other hand, the Play was the only sub-$300 device that was powerful enough to make me feel happy with my HD6xx. Having the Play’s amp unit fed by a better DAC like my S16 at home will be a mid-fi dream, as the Aune’s amp just plainly suck.

The Play is an integrated DAC/amp – so there’s no flexibility. But thankfully, Burson has “detached” the amp unit, add even more power and reduce the number of op-amps.


Unfortunately it will be another month before I can tell you how great the Fun + S16 combo is, but even now the Dragon + Fun combo would make more sense in my situation. I can enjoy the Dragonfly at work and at 5:00PM bring it home to the Fun – bringing the Play to work and back will be too cumbersome. The Dragonfly’s amp unit holds no candle to the Fun, so that’s acceptable sound quality at work and perfect listening at home for me.

The same would apply to some of the favorite (and more expensive) DACs, such as the iDAC2 – I don’t quite like its amp unit, but it can be used as a DAC/amp and it is better than my crappy laptop’s Realtek soundcard.

So much Fun

I love the Play, but if I only had $300 to spend and had to choose between the 2 Bursons, I’d go with the Fun. This is still the Burson sound at very attractive pricing, and it gives you room to upgrade in a field that is honestly not Burson’s strongest suit – DAC. Though without digital input, the Fun is built like a tank, has plenty of power, and it gives you the Sennheiser sound of your dream. And it almost totally erased my longing for the expensive HA160 that I had a chance to try with my friend's HD650 years ago.
And that is more than enough to justify owning this $300 amp.

http://audiofool.reviews/2018/08/21/burson-fun/
Sometime back now, I reviewed the Burson Play and found it to be a solid value and a very versatile DAC/AMP. At $399 for the base model, it still represents great value for those looking at desktop DAC/AMP combinations. The only real complaints on the Play, were the lack of upgradability of the DAC and the limits of the DAC to DSD256. In today’s market, DSD512 playback is becoming more common and some will skip over the play for that reason. This is a shame as the Amp section of the play is very good and offers a lot of customization options at a reasonable price. I had mentioned that in my initial notes so when Burson came out with the Fun, they sent me a note asking if I would like to review it. I jumped at the chance.

A few weeks later, both the Fun and the Bang arrived at my doorstep.

The Fun is basically exactly what I had requested, all of the goodies out of the play except the DAC so I can pair with my own DAC.

The Bang is for those like me who use desktop speakers instead of powered monitors with their computer audio setups. Paired with the Play’s or Fun’s pre-amp outs, the Bang provides 40 watts RMS of clean two channel output again with customizable sound using Bursons V6 family of Op-amps.

In this review, I will cover the Fun, for the Bang, please see this review.

Packaging:

Burson ships all three of these siblings in a black pressboard box with the details of what is inside on the top. Inside the box the main unit is protected by closed cell foam in the center of the box with a small accessory box on either side containing connectors, power supplies, and an allen wrench for opening the case should you want to change op-amps. While not the heartiest box on the market, it does a good job of protecting the device for shipment and should last well unless used repeatedly for shows etc. (I’d advise purchase of a pelican style case for such purposes).





Accessories:

The Fun ships with very few extras, but it really doesn’t need many. In the box you will find the power supply, main unit, a set of RCA interconnects, a 6.35mm to 3.5mm adapter, and the allen wrench for removing the unit cover.



Build:

All three siblings share very similar black anodized aluminum cases which fit in a 5 ¼ drive bay in a PC if desired. All have a Molex connector for powering from a PC power supply in addition to a connector for an external power supply (provided with the unit).

Each sibling has different face-plates depending on the controls and jacks present. The Fun lacks the digital display of the Play while the BANG lacks any front panel controls at all. On the front of the Fun (from left to right) is the power led, a 6.35mm headphone Jack, a 3.5mm microphone input, a 3.5mm Aux input, and a large volume knob. The rear face from left to right has RCA inputs, the external power jack, molex connector for PC power, Power Switch, microphone output, and Pre-amp output RCAs at the far right.



The upper half of the case can be removed by removing the two upper screws on both the front and rear faceplates. I found that loosening the lower screws about ½ turn aided in lifting the top without scratching the inside of the face plates in the process.



The inside of the lid has a diagram that details the components and positions of each. This is particularly useful when changing op-amps. This is certainly a nice touch as manuals are often nowhere to be found when one sets out to change op-amps etc….



Internals:

Burson has designed what it calls the MCPS (MAX Current Power Supply) that per their spec does the AC to DC conversion at 170kHz instead of the 30-50kHz of more common switch mode power supplies. Burson’s claim is that this new supply design eliminates all noise in the audible range while still retaining the efficiency of switch mode power supplies.

The Fun uses 4 distinct MCPS circuits to feed the Class A dual mono circuitry. Those familiar with the Conductor V2 will recognize the Amplication Circuitry of the Fun as it retains the same design.



The fun uses two single op-amps (One per channel) that are shared by both the headphone output and the pre-amp outs so you cannot alter the signature of either the headphone out or pre-amp output individually. This is the same as the Play as the duals in the Play are used for the DAC/LP stage and singles for the headphone/Pre-out.





I found when stacking the Fun and Bang a Seasonic SSR-600TL 600 Watt fanless PC power supply did a good job of running both without any stress to the supply’s voltage rails.

I also got interested in the microphone pass through as few desktop products account for the microphone used by gamers today. The Fun goes part way there. It does not use a TRRS plug to pass the mic through the same port as the headphone audio data, but does provide a 3.5mm input and output jack on the front and rear respectively. Following the wiring internally, the microphone is simply passed through the case with no processing of any kind done to the signal by the Fun. My immediate thought was that running the mic cable next to the power supply circuitry might create some audible noise but I was unable to create any audible effect even by moving the cable directly over the middle of the capacitors so this does not appear to be an issue. For those non-gamers, this will probably be the least used function of the play, for those more inclined to computer gaming, both the Fun and Play offer the mic pass through which is a nice touch.



Sound:

Burson rates the Fun at 1900mW into 16 Ohm, 660mW into 150 Ohm, or 330mW into 300 Ohm so it has plenty of power to drive just about anything you can throw at it. I used a 600 Ohm Beyer 880 and had no trouble getting to ear-splitting volume levels.

The sound is for the most part a function of which DAC or soundcard is used to feed the Amp and the op-amps you choose. The Fun can be ordered with the NE5543 IC, Burson’s V6 Vivids, V6 Classics. Other op-amps are pin compatible and I’m sure about every possible combination has been tried on Burson products at this point as they have long supported and encouraged Op-amp rolling.

I have previously written up the Burson V6 products here, so wont re-write all those details again. I did roll all three combinations that Burson offers as factory options and found that I prefered the vivid to the other two offerings although not by a huge margin. With the V6 vivid installed, the Fun imparts just a little warmth that gives the amp a good synergy with a dac that is a bit on the cool side. I found the Fun to pair better with the Bifrost than the Apogee Groove for example. The Apogee faired better when the 5543 Op-amps were used as they didn’t introduce additional warmth.

As shipped with the NE 5543s, the Fun provides a near neutral signature with good extension on both ends and a very slightly forward treble. I found it to be a good pairing the the Campfire Cascades and the Mr Speakers Mad Dogs.

It should be noted that like the Play, the output impedance is listed as 6 Ohms for the headphone output but measurements I did never found anything over about ¾ ohm.

So now you have options, Play around, have some Fun, or Bang it out on your speakers, either way Burson has it covered.

About me: I am not a professional reviewer by any means, I am just a part-time audiophile slowly accumulating gear and sharing some thoughts.

Gear Used: Burson FUN, connected to Creative X7 Amp/Dac combo which is using 2x Dual Sparkos op-amps and 2x Single Sparkos Op-amps.

Headphones used: Ether Flow 1.1, LCD-2C Classic, Hifiman Sundara, AKG K 712 Pro, Sennheiser HD 6XX

Packaging, Build Quality and extras
The unit showed up at my door in perfect condition. The packaging job wasn't to warrant a single complaint, you could tell it wasn't moving around in there. The box is minimalistic but gets the point across of what lies within.
The unit itself is of a solid build, emits minimal heat and my only niggles would be my preference to a switch on the front of the device isn't met here (hard to access the rearward switch, so many cables) and the volume knob is a little hard to get a good hold on.

Capability:



The FUN headphone amplifier puts out enough power to drive all of my headphones, a little easier than the Creative X7. The Hifiman Sundara seem to be my hardest to power headphones and I had no issue powering these with the FUN, though my volume crept towards 12:30 on the dial.
Sound:
This is a pure Class-A headphone amp, the first that I've used. I can't comment on the difference in sound that alone makes, but it has enough juice to make for an impactful sound no matter the headphones I've tried.
I'm not going to go into decay, mids or any of that too much but I will say that in comparison to the Creative X7 which has upgraded op-amps, the FUN keeps up close in terms of detail. I'd say the FUN leans a little more neutral, laid back, less bright. Solid low-end, sounds no less impactful than any other amp I've used. Highs are clear without piercing my ears, mid-range is smooth without sounding recessed.

I haven't detected a noticable difference in soundstage, or imaging. I do tend to use the FUN instead of the X7 while gaming now, which could be in-part to sounding less bright.
Listening to older tracks from 90s, back to 70s seems to present less harshness of the recording with the FUN than it does with the X7's amp section.


So far, can't say anything bad about the FUN. It's at a good price, and with the options of op-amp rolling it can really be your "do it all" amp if you don't want to accumulate multiple amps, instead switching the characteristics of one instead.

V6 Classics Installed
V6 Classic op-amps arrived from Burson and I ran the FUN with its stock configuration with many songs before unboxing the Classics.


Within the first moments of using the V6 Classics, I could clearly hear a difference.

Words that came to my mind instantly were "body" and "musical". These op-amps opened up a new realm of sound from an already solid amp, bringing with it an increase of detail, warmth, punch and musicality without question.

I'd even say that the bass and mids seemed to become more present, which aligns right to my tastes in sound signature.


V6 Vivids installed
After using the V6 Classics for awhile I cannot hear as much of a change as I did going from the stock op-amps, to the Classics.
That being said, the changes are there and I really do not have a clear favorite.
The V6 Vivid op-amps seem to mellow out the mid-range a little, less forward than with the Classics. I wouldn't say it brings up the low-end or treble per say, but it does seem to strike a more balanced sound signature which can pair well with certain headphones, amps, music or moods.
I can't help but feel that there is more body to the low-end with the Classics, while some extra sparkle, clarity and dynamics with the Vivids while the Classics provide a closer sound to a tube amp in all the right ways.
I do not believe you can go wrong with either, as both the types of V6 op-amps are audio bliss and a clear upgrade from what comes stock.
I believe this would be the same for something like the Burson Swing DAC and I could only imagine if this type of sound upgrading/personalizing will be possibly on the new monster Conductor that it would absolutely be worth it.
I love swapping the op-amps so much now as they both have benefits, that I wish for a toggle switch between the op-amps

THX AAA 789 comparison
Prior to the V6 Classic op-amps coming in, I've spent a few weeks with the highly sought-after THX AAA 789 amplifier. The 789 immediately brought forward a different sound compared to the other amplifiers in my stable, one which I can only describe as clear, neutral and accurate.

This seems to be a highly reference amplifier for its price range, one which I'm glad to have in my collection.

Though, it is not my favorite amplifier. It is accurate, clear, detailed and dare I say sterile.

It does give a different dimension to music, which at times is the sound I want - so it definitely does get its use.


If I could only have one amplifier from my collection it wouldn't be the 789, it would be the FUN with the V6 Classics. I haven't heard the V6 Vivids and I haven't heard either amp with a dac different than my op-amps rolled Creative X7, but at this point in time the musicality that the FUN w/Classics brings is right up there with my tube-rolled DarkVoice/HD6xx pairing, but with all of my headphones.


I will update this review with any new findings once my Airist Audio R2R dac comes in and yes, I would recommend Burson Fun w/V6 to a friend.



Great Fun and Bang for the buck!





Other gear used for reference: DarkVoice 336SE with 5998 and GTB tubes, LD1+ with Mullard 8100 Tubes and Burson V5i op-amp, Hifiman HE-400i, Fidelio X2, Fostex TH-x00, Beyer-Dynamic DT 1990, Sennheiser HD 598

I got thrilled last year when I saw BURSON announcements about lunching the PLAY DAC/headphone amplifier combo device. It was one of the best combo I've seen on market at that price, yes...the basic PLAY with NE5532/5534 sounded awesome and for that price was a steal. Now they brought on the market the FUN and BANG amplifiers, just like that...probably because they can do it.

I was immediately asking myself "How will FUN sound? What's really inside FUN? Does it worth the money indeed?" And the miracle happened recently when I received a powerful Class-A transistors headphone amplifier, “FUN” from BURSON Audio, to give it a test. It took me few weeks to “warm it up” with lot of music listening, then I started to overload it with sine-waves, 2 Watts RMS power @ 30 Ohms loads for several minutes and it’s response was perfect on my scope with no overheating, no volume change...just the same clean output. Temperature seems to be a bit lower than BURSON’s combo PLAY, somewhere about 40C on top after several hours of active listening, so quite cool for a pure Class-A headphone amplifier.



I was closely inspecting the PCB and couldn’t find any capacitors in audio signal path, hence when using BURSON’s solid-state V6 op-amps there are practically no caps and no op-amps in the signal path, just transistors and resistors. This design with no caps in signal path and solid-state “opamps” like V5 and V6 translates into a bigger stage with lot of fun and musicality, because SS V5 and V6 op-amps are designed for music and audio listening.



I’ve tested the unit with both V6 Classic & Vivid SS (singles) and also with NE5534 op-amps the output DC-offset voltage is very low, so FUN could be used with 16-ohms headphones without issues. Depending on the op-amp used, measurements done after a bit of warm-up (>10 minutes) gave me between 1.5mV and 3.5mV, so a low DC-voltage. Also, I've noticed the background noise is almost non-existent with my very sensitive 16-ohms IEMs, even when volume knob passes the 12-o’clock (no input source connected!) so quite a versatile headphone amplifier able to drive headphones from 16 Ohms to 600 Ohms.

Seems that solid-state op-amps from BURSON need a few minutes to warm-up till their parameters are meet, so I recommend a 5 to 10 minutes warm-up prior to listening to your favorite songs. This is also a good thing for the capacitors inside FUN to warm-up a little bit, so it could be a good thing to do a bit of warm-up with most solid-state op-amps prior to listening to the music (well...tube amps need 20 to 30 minutes of warm-up).

FUN is powered by a 12 V/70 W brick adapter, but it can also be powered by computer’s PSU via the dedicated MOLEX plug. Internally, the 12 V gets up-converted to 2 x dual +/-17V rails via dedicated 5 Amps boost regulators. The internal symmetric-dual PSU from FUN is created by 4 x SMPS power regulators (XL6019E1 and XL4015E1), named by BURSON Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) and operating to a speed of above 170 KHz, able to deliver lot of power into the output stage instantly, so PRAT, attack and bass speed are perfect on FUN, especially if combined with Burson’s solid-state SS V5/V6.



I find the above power regulators/boost converters a very good approach for a device that should be used outside or inside the computer's case, depending on everyone's mood of the day and their desk setup. Basically, connecting FUN inside the computer and powering ON via the MOLEX plug will make the computer very sound appealing and a very good addition to gamers and also for those willing to listen to music under decent conditions without spending thousands of bucks on this. There're also Mic-In/Out and Line-In/Out plugs on the backside and myself as a computer user and PLAY & BANG owner I do much like that.

Inside components have been very well chosen from reputable companies and with a very good quality like: polarized polymer and aluminium caps from ELNA, none polarized caps from WIMA, Vishay SMD low-noise MELF resistors, Toshiba 2SA970/2SC2240 transistors (TO-92 case), Toshiba 2SA1930/2SC5171 output-stage transistors (TO-220 case), ALPS logarithmic potentiometer, Panasonic Japanese fast relays. Yes, 4 big transistors per each channel, the same output stage used inside BURSON CONDUCTOR few years ago. Also, FUN's PCB has a big ground plane across sensitive components and lot of polymer caps to combat ripple and noise and this makes FUN quiet and compatible with sensitive headphones like IEM's.



FUN under stress-tests here:

The RMAA tests show a perfectly flat frequency response across entire audible spectrum with a good dynamic and low noise.


Frequency response (perfectly flat till 20 KHz)


Dynamic


Signal/Noise Ratio (50 Hz hum nose is lower then -102 dB)


For 600 Ohms output resistance I got over 10V RMS output voltage for 1KHz sine-wave with 2.2V RMS input signal. That's about 170 mW of power @600 Ohms cans, almost twice my Beyerdynamic DT880 600-Ohms cans can handle.


10.15V RMS @ 600 Ohms


For about 30 Ohms output resistance I was able to get absolutely perfect sine-wave with no visible distortion with my scope until voltage raises to about 7.7V RMS. In the below image you can see there are no distortions on 1 KHz sine-wave for the 29.5 Ohms dummy resistor I used, which means about 2 W/channel @ 30 Ohms.


7.6-7.7V RMS @ 30 Ohms


Below you can see how the down-low bass "sounds" on my scope. Practically, both sines from the signal generator and the FUN are perfectly superimposing without any bass roll-off, even if we're speaking about inaudible 10 Hz bass here!


The perfect output of a 10 Hz sine-wave! (red sine is the signal generator, blue sine is FUN's random channel)


DC-output with 2 x NE5534 in voltage-gain was 1.6mV/1.7mV for both channels. With 2 x SS V6 Classic (singles) the DC-output voltage is few mV more, so still negligible. However, depending on the op-amps used and also after several hours of warm-up the DC-output might increase or decrease with few mV. Output DC-voltage is very low and it’s backed-up by a dedicated protection circuit (UPC1237HA) on the output jack to protect the headphones if wrong op-amps are installed/swapped or in case of defects that could possible inject DC-voltage on outputs.

I measured FUN's internal output impedance with sine-waves of 1 KHz @ 1V RMS per Sengpielaudio-calculator (600 Ohms) and I got 0.39 Ohms per each channel. I needed a less than 4 Ohms dummy resistor to lower FUN's output voltage to 90%, so this amplifier has a very good dumping factor for a headphone amplifier.

This powerful 2W /channel @30 Ohms headamp is promising a lot for its price, even if choosing the default/basic version with NE5534 op-amps. Also, opamps like AD797, OPA134 or similar single op-amps will do the job very well, for people not willing to purchase, for the moment, the SS opamps from BURSON.

I was able to calculate FUN’s THD for 600 Ohms load by using this online calculator: http://www.sengpielaudio.com/calculator-thd.htm, hence the THD of 0.016% I got from the RMAA tests I’ve ran, translates into about -96 dB of distortion, a very good figure indeed and on pair with the SNR measured. So for 600 Ohms the results are very good, better than the ones published by manufacturer. Usually BURSON is publishing their results based on the worst case scenario, kinda different than what most other manufacturers are doing (probably to impress potential customers).

Now enough with the measurements and technicalities, how does FUN actually sounds?

In the past month I got plenty of time to listen to FUN with several headphones, including:

• FOSTEX T50RP-mk3
• Hifiman HE-560
• AKG K701
• AKG K550
• Beyerdynamic DT880 (600 Ohms)
• Beats Solo2
• Grado SR60i
• SUPERLUX HD381F

I was mainly listening to FLAC 16/24 bits @ 44 to 384 KHz and DSD 5.6 to 11.2 MHz file formats from BURSON PLAY DAC used as source and I got perfect compatibility across all headphones from above. I very much liked the analogue volume control from FUN that makes the device totally compatible with sensitive IEMs, a very good thing for such a powerful amplifier lacking a gain switch.

Speaking about IEMs, even if FUN is so powerful, I found it a very good match for my 16 Ohms sensitive IEMs because I was able to change the volume from PLAY (digital volume) and from FUN (analogue volume) at the same time, giving me a better protection against sudden volume changes. With PLAY combo the volume was somewhere between 10-15%, but with BANG the knob volume was around 11 o’clock.

I was able to get a fluid and melodious sound with a big soundstage on the Jazz and Classical genres and, despite its neutrality, with SS V6 op-amps I got the perfect bass and trebles for Pop and Disco music on all headphones used. Seems that the powerful Class A amplifier combined with its low internal-resistance makes FUN a versatile amplifier for about all compatible headphones (well, Hifiman HE-6/SE cans may not be driven to their max. potential, but you should try BANG for that).

Manufacturer link to the product: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/fun/.

I have been an avid headphone user for many years now. I think it’s fair to say that I’ve got to the point where I would always prefer to listen to music through headphones than loudspeakers. In all fairness, perhaps one of the main reasons for this is because I don’t live alone and my family really don’t share my taste in music. Also, I do like to listen to my music fairly loud - far louder than I would through speakers.

Throughout the years I have had an incredible number of headphones and playback devices including various portable Minidisc, portable CD players and MP3 players galore but the key thing is that they were portable. Although I did have a full sized and rather excellent analogue based hifi system, it's been many years since that was my primary listening system.



I feel it's only fair to point out that I don't talky consider myself as a headphone snob - I have found myself enjoying some really inexpensive bluetooth headphones costing less than 20 quid. One final piece of information about me is that I now listen to music mostly using my LG V20 phone and a combination of different headphones - many of which are bluetooth.




I know, I know. The Flat-Earth brigade are wringing their hands right about now at the mention of using bluetooth headphones but to be honest I feel that they are now good enough for more than simple casual portable listening. Don't get me wrong though. I still do very much appreciate excellent sound quality. Whilst I can honestly say that I will probably never spend thousands of pounds on high end gear (perhaps more because of financial circumstances rather than a complete lack of desire). When I’m sat down at home, listening to music intently, portability and wireless features will always take a back seat to sound quality.



Burson very kindly sent me their Fun headphone amplifier to review. Although I have used headphone amplifiers and external DAC’s before, they have always been portable units - with the limitations that all portable units have. The Fun is the first desktop-based amplifier I have used and wow - what a difference.


I won’t go into too much detail about the externals of the unit. Basically this amplifier can act as both a headphone amplifier and pre-amp thanks to its outputs on the back of the unit. This makes it an ideal match for active loudspeakers or systems with power amps. The unit is powered by a fairly small external power supply but is also designed to be inserted into a desktop computer system and can be powered from the PC itself. The Fun supports pass through for microphone input so gamers shouldn’t have any problems.


Needless to say the unit is pretty solid and very well made. When powered up, the only real giveaway that the unit is powered on is a small blue LED on the front - you certainly wouldn’t tell the unit was on by just listening through your headphones as there’s no noise floor on the Fun it’s completely and utterly silent - when when using fairly sensitive IEM’s.



To test the unit I tried a number of different headphones including:-

Sennheiser HD598SR
Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 IEM’s
Sony WH1000Xm2’s in active wired mode
1More Triple Driver IEM’s

Needless to say the Fun powered all of them to extremely high levels without running out of steam or even a hint of distortion. Even when listening at low volume levels, the sense of power and scale definitely still comes across - far more so than directly from the LG V20 phone (which has a far more powerful headphone out than what you would find on most mobile phones). Whilst this degree of power is pretty much overkill when using IEM’s, it’s still more than welcome and gives the music a real sense of powerful dynamics and impact. The lack of electronic noise floor really helps when using IEM’s with the amp.

Many purists feel that all an amplifier should be is a ‘wire with gain’. They should neither add nor subtract quality from the original signal - simply make it louder. In all fairness, the Fun does offer a degree of colouration to the sound in my opinion - but we are talking about such subtleties that it could simply be a side effect of having all that additional power at your disposal - in no way does it spoil the character of the music. The amp is called Fun for a reason - it’s not pretentious, it hasn’t been made by magic pixies nor has it been breathed on by God. It’s simply a very well designed and made headphone amp/pre-amp which looks good and sounds great.

In conclusion I personally feel that the Fun is an excellent headphone amplifier and has definitely brought all my wired headphones to a whole new level of musicality.

Using the Vivid Op-Amps

I feel its important to put my cards on the table up-front with this review. The following points should give you a clearer idea of my thoughts and opinions regarding headphones:-

1. Much of my listening is done using headphones designed for portability.
   
   
2. I like wireless - much of my listening is done with wireless headphones and iems. Whilst I'm always looking for the best possible sound quality, I'm perfectly OK with the limitations of Bluetooth over wired.
   
   
3. My usual sources are my mobile phone and Google Play Music via my excellent Chromecast Audio. I don't tend to listen to many 'high-res' files.

The reason why I wanted to make those points was to illustrate that I don't really consider myself an audiophile - rather someone who likes good sound quality at an affordable price. In addition to my portable kit I do have a loudspeaker-based system which comprises of the following:-

Burson Audio Fun headphone amplifier
Burson Audio Swing DAC/Pre-Amp
Burson Audio Bang power amp.
Google Chrome cast Audio (connected to the Swing optically).

For non-portable headphone listening, I use the excellent Sennheiser HD598SR full-sized headphones. I consider these headphones to be a nice balance between relaxed listening (thanks to their extremely comfortable design) and capable of excellent analytical listening thanks to their extremely flat sound profile. I also use the Ultimate Ears Triple Fi 10 IEM's for serious analytical listening sessions (although admittedly I don't do this very often these days).

Swapping out the original Op-Amps for the Vivid's was a fairly simple process. I'm certainly not comfortable 'fiddling' around with the insides of my devices - I effectively have zero working knowledge of electronics. I basically just took my time, gently levered off the original chips using a flat bladed small screwdriver and inserted the Vivid's - making sure to get them in straight and not bending any of the legs. Although these are not quite 'zero insertion force' they're pretty easy to seat them onto the board with gentle downward pressure. The whole process really took less time than it did to get the lid off the amp.

Sound Quality

This is what it's all about. As I mentioned earlier I tend to listen mostly to streamed content but even with the use of compressed audio the differences are really quite remarkable. Whilst I was perfectly happy with the sound quality of the stock Fun headphone amp, the Vivid's have definitely taken the amp to the next level.

The first thing I noticed was the increased details in the high-end. Whilst I'm very sensitive to overly 'bright' sounding systems, the Vivid's offered this additional detail without making the sound harsh. Cymbals have a more 'metallic' sheen to them, percussion is more 'percussive' and the overall sound character became 'faster' and more exciting.

Another characteristic to come through after the swap out was imagery. Whilst headphones will always come second place to loudspeakers when it comes to stereo imagery in my opinion, the sense of depth, width and height to the soundstage was noticeably improved. The differences are certainly more than just minor adjustments to eq - the differences are more like the differences between a 128k and a 320k MP3 track. The sense of ambience - albeit artificial on many non-classical recordings is quite profound and certainly most welcome.

The overall sound character could be described as effortless - you can listen to your music at any volume you're comfortable with, clearly hear every detail in your recordings - be able to follow any instrument in the mix without having to concentrate - everything is presented to you without any apparent limitations. You can relax with the music and still maintain focus on what you like without having to make a conscious effort. Whilst this effect was present with the original Burson Play configuration, the addition of these op-amps makes a significant difference.

I've often thought about trying out a tube amp and experimenting with 'tube rolling' but I also lack the patience that is often needed to nurture and tweak these types of amps - years ago I would happily spend hours fiddling around with my hifi system in order to get the slightest improvement in sound quality - I really can't be bothered to do things like this now - I'm more comfortable in accepting limitations. The combination of Fun and Vivid's really feels like there's no real limitations - the overall system really feels like it's working at its very best. This is such an easy upgrade - no soldering, no worries thanks to Burson's excellent protection against incorrect insertion - easy peasy lemon squeezy.

In conclusion, those who have appropriate equipment would definitely do well to investigate Burson's excellent upgrade option. Whilst this isn't necessarily cheap, it's certainly has a profound effect on the sound quality and is therefore highly recommended.