Burson Audio Supreme Sound Opamp V6 Vivid and Classic

In my honest opinion V6 will be really great addition to any audio system, it uplifts sound quality in every aspect compared to other cheaper Op-Amps. In my case compared to OPA1656, OPA1612, Muses 8820 and some other cheaper op-amps - V6 added more quality in every aspect: Bass became more pronounced, Vocals became more detailed and more natural/sweet sounding, instruments became more distinguished in space. With some quality Jazz, Blues and Old Rock recordings I was really immersed in music and couldn't stop listening song after song

Billy Joel - Piano Man has never sounded so natural and truly musical before. All instruments and vocal performance in this track sounded super lively and natural and engaging, just wow.

Thank You Burson Audio for this V6 Vivid wonderful and musical OP-AMPS experience!

DISCLAIMER: This trio of V6 Classics was kindly provided by John from Burson Audio in exchange for my honest review.

After spending about a week with these op-amps, I think I now have enough information to finally write this.

Firstly, I'll start this review with a little bit of background in my history of tube and op-amp rolling. My audio stack is on the budget end so this might be a unique deviation from most the rest of the reviews .

Prelude​

My first forage into the concept of rolling was with a Soundblaster G3 -> Fosi Audio P2 -> 560S.

I started out with tube rolling. Switching out the tubes for GE 5654W and Voskhod 6ZH1P-EV worked great in my speaker system, however on headphones the difference was much less desirable.

Eventually, I decided to try op-amp rolling. I bought a pair of OPA1656 on SOIC to DIP adapters to try and see if there was a noticeable improvement. To my ears, and my stack at the time, the difference was quite minimal compared to the standard JRC5532D.

In search of better audio quality, I would end up switching out the entire stack for Ding Shine D2 MiNi -> Samson S-amp -> DT880 600ohm. I gave up on op-amp rolling for the time being and was happy with this setup.

First-time Setup​

Out of nowhere, John from Burson Audio contacted me asking if I wanted to try out some Burson op-amps. Doubt was lingering however from my past experience with op-amp rolling, so I didn't expect to get my hopes up. However, this time I was op-amp rolling in a DAC rather than amp so my hope was that maybe that would make a difference.

The Ding Shine D2 MiNi (ES9018K2M DAC) supports 3 op-amps. At stock, TI NE5532P do the IV/LPF while TI TL072CP does differential conversion to single-ended. I asked for a trio specifically so that I could swap out all three.

On the other hand, the Samson S-amp does use an op-amp internally but it is not swappable (you can't even open the case). I would consider swapping this for a Douk Audio U3 in the future due to it's similar high voltage property but swappable op-amps.

Even swapping the op-amp in the D2 MiNi presented a challenge, however. the case is small as the name implies, and the op-amps are positioned quite close together. I also didn't ask for an extension (it wouldn't fit anyway), so I decided to run the DAC naked for the first time setup.


This is where I ran into an issue not mentioned in many other reviews, the width.

The op-amp's plastic shell is slightly wider than the socket, so having three op-amps and the rca output positioned so close together as is with my DAC (most others wouldn't run into this issue) made them conflict with each other. To solve this issue, I used the three sockets provided with the op-amps and just stacked them to make a wacky pseudo-extension.



Using this in the middle slot - replacing the TL072CP, the op-amps just barely fit together.

I booted it up, expecting to hear a massive improvement, however, I did not like it at all. The dynamics felt too extreme, as if it was dropping a lot of information. There was also a slight volume decrease. This might be due to bad contact due to the pseudo-extension, or maybe an imperfect swap, so I eventually settled on swapping the middle op-amp back to the stock TL072CP.

I did, for a short while, also remove the OPA1656 from my other stack as well to give it a short run in the place of the TL072CP. There was also an improvement but I did decide to return it to its own stack. This shows that it is possible that maybe something like the V5i (am just speculating, have not heard) would do better in this location.

Eventually, the setup I settled on was 2x V6 Classic + 1x TL072CP, which worked like a charm. I will use this setup for the basis of the rest of this review.

A More Permanent Solution​

First however, I would need to deal with the current "naked" setup, which was sketchy to run as the contacts on the bottom of the DAC could possibly short.
I cut a square hole off the top of my DAC case (using a hacksaw and file), allowing the op-amps to pop out the top. In the process, I shredded the powder coating however, so I wrapped the whole thing in electrical tape to give it a nicer look.

Actual Sound Testing​

SETUP

• DT880 Premium Edition 600ohm
• Samson S-amp
• Ding Shine D2 MiNi (2x V6 Classic + 1x TL072CP vs 2x NE5532P + 1x TL072CP)
• JamesDSP with modified crinacle autoEQ + Natural headphone crossfeed for foobar2000 v1.1 by Joe Bloggs (50° variant)

Equalization from DDCToolbox (due to the way the EQ works - this does not clip fyi)

I use Joe Bloggs' V1.1 crossfeed since it is the only crossfeed that actually sounds transparent to my ears. I prefer it on 100% of the time - it massively improves 3D imaging and the 3-blob effect without sounding like a concert hall like many other crossfeeds do.

Song-specific Sound Review

My music collection is an odd mix of mostly 2008-present EDM (future bass & co), j-pop, and post-rock. There are some low-bpm songs, but mostly high-bpm tracks with a variety of tight-playing instruments from all eras.

Therefore, my sound review will be split into two sections, the non-vocal and vocal tracks. The former should have a larger emphasis on imaging, while the latter on tonality. Due to the composition of my music collection however, layering will be a huge aspect of both.

Starting off with the non-vocal music...

KLYDIX - Golden Skies [Winter Cloud Vol.01]

This track is an extremely fast digital track, though middling in terms of complexity. The V6Cs presented the most uplift here in the background arps and sawtooth bass (3:31). I would say that the V6C sounds extremely fast, while having no hint of the roboticness associated with chip op-amps.

RUQOA - Sphere

This track has a heavy emphasis on placement and natural reproduction of background/ambient sounds (especially at the beginning of the track), using unique sounds such as keyboard presses, clock ratchet, bells, etc. The V6C here was especially much better than the NE5532P at microscopic placement of the vibraphone? hits near the beginning of the song (coming from about 30° behind my head on the right side and shifting around a bit). Other than that, the decay and slight bounce of the keyboard press noises are preserved completely.

After the beat drop, layering is also improved as none of the instruments seem as if they are fighting for space or drowned out by each other (sounds do not get grouped in general directions).

RUQOA - Goodbye [Winter Cloud Vol.01]

The main part to listen for is extremely slow ramp up of the soft pad at the beginning of the track, along with the background notes (no idea how to describe these) during the main portion.

The twinkly ambient noises and slight volume variation of the pad at the start sounded SO goddamn natural.

Along with this, the background notes were not blended at all with the main music, which seemed to be a major problem with the NE5532P, exacerbated by the composition of most of the music I listen to.

RUQOA - Overdrive

This track is pretty much 100% sawtooth bass. Sounded really rough

Moving on to the vocal songs...

Islet - Yukidoke

Here is where I noticed something odd with the V6C. Possibly as a side-effect of improving the 3-blob effect and imaging, it also seems to have shifted the location of instruments to be closer to L/R rather than center. This is especially apparent with the directional guitar (left side) in the beginning of this song.

The vocals however are extremely natural.

Shimoji Shino & Suzaki Aya - Flower Ring

Also another relaxing song, though somewhat complex in the chorus with two vocalists and lots of instruments.

Background violin is great, and the drum hits. However, not sure if due to the recording, stack, or what else, this song seems to still have a decent amount of blending between notes which didn't seem to improve much from the NE5532P, if at all.

Sakuma Takao - Frozen Midnight

Pretty chill song.

Sub-bass really shined in this track, along with more background notes (pads?). The background notes showed up much further from my head than the main song, and I could hear them clearly.

Giga - Getcha! self cover ver.

This song is pretty much the polar opposite of the last 3. Very fast.

Most of my conclusions from the non-vocal music carry over here. Vocals stay firmly in the center while music is in the surrounding area, none of the music is lost. Bass is extremely tight.

I did a bunch of other listening as well, but the conclusions are pretty consistent with other songs in my library. These are just chosen because I think they show the aspects the best.

Conclusions​

The V6 Classic is a sizeable upgrade to the NE5532P in the Ding Shine D2 MiNi DAC, though may not be a good fit in all areas (metaphorically and physically). They do also draw more power than a comparable chip op-amp, so the V5i or just a simple OPA627 browndog may be better in portable areas (speculating, haven't heard V5i). If you do manage to get them to fit in the correct area though, the improvement is sizeable and can definitely upgrade your listening experience (but it won't completely change the sound profile of your entire setup, obviously).

Major improvements are in imaging, layering, and naturality. No improvements in stage size, so synergy may be something to consider (V6V may be a better fit in such scenarios).

At least for my stack, I would easily say the V6Cs are Xynon - APPROVED.

I may have to try out these in my old Fosi P2 stack later. But for now, I just can't stop listening currently

PS: they also come with a lifetime warranty apparently, but how do you even break an op-amp

I bought v5i-d dual op-amps, and kept testing them on EVGA NU Audio, Asus Strix Soar, was plenty happy, after a while i received an offer by Burson to try out another set of op-amps in exchange for a review. Didn't manage to make v6v work in NU Audio card, but they worked wonderfully in Asus Strix Soar.

On the first day was still sceptical if i heard any improvement, so i carried on to several days of listening in games and music (mp3 files). I am not really sure how to compare v5i-d to v6v, one thing is that i like both of op-amps.

Headcans used: sennheiser Sennheiser hd560s, Philips x2hr, AKG k702, arctis nova pro wireless in wired mode.



In Songs

Noisia & Teebee - Moon Palace: bassline sounds extended, full, warm, percussive sounds detailed, no muffle, no distortion even at all windows 10 volume levels, very wide stage

The Halo Effect - Shadowminds: lots of energy in guitars, drums are weighty, very musical sound

Omnia - Dance Until We Die: lots of micro details, vocals don't get drowned, drums sound potent once again, more full, string/piano instruments don't get muffled, separation between instruments easily recognizeable

“The Prodigy" on an Acoustic Guitar by Luca Stricagnoli - Fingerstyle Guitar: low end thick and extended, strings full of energy

Mammal Hands - Transfixed: details, separation and wide stage on full display

Wheel - Dissipating - lots of details, warm bass, no fatigue listening, easy to separate instruments between each other once sound gets too busy

Best pairings for me were Strix Soar with v6v + hd560s & k702

In Games

There is a very good awareness of footsteps, bullets, thrown grenades directions, mainly tested CSGO and Crysis Remastered. I enjoyed FPS gaming the most with hd560s = k702 headphones, then X2hr and Nova Pro Wireless in that order. Can't say soundstage improved massively over v5i-d, but positional cues were very clear clear.

Conclusion

Wish I was able to make V6V work in EVGA Nu Audio too, as v5i-d worked greatly on EVGA and Asus card. After several days of using single V6V on Asus Strix Soar I started to enjoy using it in all applications more and more, at this point not sure if i should put v5i-d back on Soar or keep v6v inserted. Asus strix lineup is unique, because you can use Op-amp extenders and easily put Asus shield cover back on top and hide Op-amps neatly. Overall it doesn't feel as if this or other op-amp is better, it's as if you like how it sounds when using. Still recommend V6V, cannot find many cons, give them some time to listen to evaluate better.