Burson V5i-D

General Information​

My (basshead oriented) gear:

Phone: Samsung Z-Flip 3 5G (only using BT at highest quality LDAC 990kbps)
Music Player: Neutron, (Heavy on bass EQ, preamp slider at -30, gain slider at 100)
Dac/Amp: Xduoo XD-05 Balanced (1000mW)
Balanced 4.4 mm cable: (Aliexpress) ivipQ Jinzhi 8-core HiFi IEM Cable Graphene & 6N Silver-plated OCC
IEMs: Sony EX800ST (they need around 500mW+ to shine) + tape mod


Opamps I tried in Xduoo XD05 bal:

Burson V5i-D, AD708SQ, stock (the preinstalled) OPA1612

Opamps vs Opamps:

Stock Xduoo's OPA1612 vs AD708SQ vs Burson V5i-D:

Stock opamps are sounding like you hear music from a room next door. They were ok, very neutral, until I bought AD708SQ. I am very bass/subbass oriented (95% UK DRILL) and AD's gave me the real bottomless (sub)bass I always wanted, however, mids and voice with AD's are a bit rolled off and highs are sometimes sibilant.

WIth Bursons, I get solid and higher quality (sub)bass, say 90% compared to AD's, but mids, voice and highs are pleasure to listen to. No matter the quality of recording (!)

With all 3 opamps I used same EQ settings. When real deep and strong (sub)bass hits, only Bursons play the frequency correctly and I must lower the volume temporarily to protect my ears. It is like Bursons do not overload/skip focus under any power input/output.

Stock opamps would not reach so deep and AD's would sometimes distort (kind of cool sounding distortion, but there is more quantity and less quality (sub)bass for sure) which is allright if you do not care about quality/quantity (sub)bass ratio so much.

I would say AD's will let you not care about quality but they go more into 20-40Hz with raw power. Bursons will play the 20-40 Hz with more precise sound and 90% raw power compared to AD's, which I gladly take.

I only have the Bursons for 2 weeks (about 50 hours total listening time), and the more I hear the sound the more I like it. I am not a native English speaker but with Bursons now I understand music lyrics much more clearly than with any dac/amp I owned before.

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When listening to not so uber (sub)bass or basshead oriented music:
Depeche Mode, The Prodigy, Sonic Youth, Kool Keith, Public Enemy
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Bursons all the way. Period.
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Burson Audio V5I OPAMP and Little Bear B4-X


This is a review of the Burson Audio OPAMP that is being used in place of the B4-X OPAMP.



Caveat 1: Over the years, I have developed what I have to know as ‘my signature.’ I have heard many types of gear and headphones over the years. I have constantly leaned towards a warmer tone (meaning a warmth that accentuates the lower end). I have, as I grow older, been more and more sensitive to higher treble. It is at the point that I actively turn away from that signature. So saying that, my opinion of what I perceive is colored by that darker sound.


Caveat2: I was approached by Burson Audio to review the V5i for no charge given that I would provide my honest opinion. I do not work for Burson nor have I been paid for this review, save the actual OPAMP provided.


Gear used:

Little Bear B4-X Portable Tube Amp

Shanling M5S

Hiby R3 Pro

Ibasso DX160

Fostex T20RP

Sennheiser HD58X

Meze 99 Noir


The need to have tube amps have been clear to me for a while. The sound delivered from tubes is like bathing in warm water. I have had a desktop set-up for many years and have had some portable amps but it has been a while (years). I wanted to get a portable again for those times when I didn’t want to be tied to my desk.


The Little Bear B4-X was priced right and offered a balanced output. After reading many reviews, many had changed the sound dramatically by swapping out the OPAMPs, which Little Bear made easy by its design. I had considered the Burson V5i but never got around to getting the pair. When Burson approached me, it seemed like fate had caught up to me.


The swap out was easy enough and took maybe 5 minutes. There were no instruction supplied with the V5i. Luckily, someone had posted a video on how it was completed. Nice to know about the notches lining up and the removal of the adhesive keeping the battery secured.


The B4-X had a great sound with the OG amps. I liked the tonality and power. It never did produce that sibilance that I hate so. It did seem to have smaller soundstage. That was not much of a problem as I got to enjoy that wonderful tube sound.


Swapping to the V5i, some changes I could notice right away. The mid-range and upper bass stood out more prominently. That in turn, opened the stage width some. It retained the lower bass and smooth roll off of the treble I was so fond of. Now voices and some instruments glowed a bit better and with some authority. The B4-X was never a slouch for power but the 150 Ohm HD58X really woke up with this new configuration.


While I cannot discern too much the slight differences in sound from headphone to headphone (outside of their own characteristic signature), I did notice that details I may have overlooked were now present. I seek that darker sound so anytime a piece strays away from that, I get a little nervous.


The Fotsex T20RP is just a wonderful interpretation of that heavier bass and this V5i definitely brings that into focus. Staging seemed the same but nice separation between mids and mid-bass. Instruments location seemed a bit more focused.


The 99 Noir and HD58X were also selected because of their tendencies towards warmth and bass. This amp and now just a great little powerhouse that brings out their best characteristics. These headphones just exude warmth and lovely sounds. Again, the mids came more alive here and seemed sharper.


Since each of the players have different sounds to start, the way the sound translates from the B4-X is very similar. There are small differences in some songs but since I bypassed the active amplification on board each device, what I could be hearing are just differences in DAC implementation.


The versatility of the little beast is great. What a nice feature that the manufacturer allowed one to open up the unit and easily change the parts. Bravo to them for this ability.


The Burson amps really were a nice change without disrupting what I hold dear in my listening sessions. I would recommend these to anyone who wants to experiment with their gear and see some small, but welcomed changes in their set-ups for a small costs.

Well I'm one of the older guys on Head-Fi, grew up with vinyl. Never did have the money for the exotic brands but I remember I really got into the early Dual 505 turntable, Goldring cartridges, and a bit later Musical Fidelity amps in the 80's. I got big time OCD over little T-Amps back in their day. I'm definitely an old analogue-man, lover of world music and almost everything else musically. In July of 2019 I bought the Little Bear 4-X hybrid tube amp and have used it on and off ever since. Lately I found the Little Bear a good match with the Shuoer S12 Planar IEM and got back into using it.
A few weeks ago I got a message from John at Burson Audio asking me if I would like to compare the Burson V5i-D-2 opamp with the stock opamps. I've never been a compulsive Modder, but when necessary I'm up for it. The Little Bear looked simple enough so I found the idea interesting. I had no idea of any difference a new opamp would make to the sound, I'd never changed one before on the Little Bear. So armed with some small Allen Keys, some tweezers and a shaky hand I got going. It turned out so simple to take the board out, take out the stock opamps and put the more substantial Burson's on.
The opamps had arrived a while ago, so I started to deliberately use the Little Bear 4-X most of the time to get back familiarity with the sound. That meant constant charging because the built in battery does not have the longest play time. I chose a few songs to really mainly concentrate on... 'Stimela', live, Hugh Masekela and 'Shovelheads', Shriekback (Yep a bit left-of, but has a lot going on), and the great 'Grandpa's Interview', Neil Young. From Patti Smith, 'We Three', and also some New Model Army tracks.
When comparing and A/B-ing IEMs there is a simplicity to hear the differences. Generally just take one off and put the other on. It takes just a few seconds. Even then there has to be the memory of the previous moments. The moments are close enough to get a fair idea of the differences. When changing opamps there is more time involved in the change so the gap in listening is longer, so possibly more deceptive. It's useful to write keywords down to keep impressions fresh. So what I write here can be taken with a pinch of subjective salt.
Before listening I left the 4-X to warm up for 15mins. First thing I noticed with the Burson, seemingly more RF interference. More sensitive obviously, but that can be good in the long run. Not a problem for me, maybe for some. For me once the music starts this old guy cannot hear the RF so no problem.
Compared to stock the Burson's are less generally fuzzy, and have a much cleaner sound. Leading edges of guitars and drums are more defined and precise, sub-bass is cleaner without losing rumble. A subjective feeling of musicality arises whilst listening with the Burson V5i-D-2's.
Patti Smith's wonderful voice becomes richer, thicker and smoother, yet cleaner in We Three. Same with Hugh Masekela's voice in Stimela and the instruments too. On Grandpa's Interview from the Greendale project, Neil Young has more resonance on the lower register guitar strings, and a kind of vibrato all the way through plus great cymbal crashes (also because of the IMR Splash of Gold IEM and Spiral Dot L tips) later in the track.
There is little doubt the Burson opamps are noticeably different in sound to the OG's. It surprised me that a little opamp can make such a difference. The Burson's are here to stay in my Little Bear and easily give me a large dose of extra enjoyment. I have no idea how much they cost but they double the enjoyment factors.
IEM used, IMR Splash of Gold, Spiral Dot L tips. Sony Xperia 5ii phone.

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Hello HeadFi, this is my first review of audio gear.

I have recieved this OpAmp for free from Burson Audio themselves. The only cost I had to pay was the customs for shipping this item to my country.

The only device that I have put this OpAmp into is a Zishan Z3. The Zishan Z3 was equipped with a OPA2228PA OpAmp before I replaced this OpAmp with the V5i-D. As soon as I turned the device on the increased soundstage and clean midrange was noticeable. The Zishan Z3 has suddenly become a super clean and powerful audio device. Clean like a good USB-C DAC but with an even bigger soundstage and better detail retrieval.

Listening to DSD128 files on my Zishan Z3 was eye-opening or better saying ear-opening. The music showed an enormous dynamic and instrument seperation not heard before. PCM audio was improved too. Soundstage, detail and treble improved. The greatest improvement was likely in the bass region. My Z3 was suddenly capable of outputting the cleanest bass I have ever heard. So far my Topping D10s could not produce such a clean and fast bass. Despite this, my Z3 does not sound boring. The sound is still energetic and has a warm touch to it. Clean and warm. Unlike super clean USB-C dongles that are popular nowadays the V5i-D suddenly enables soft, smooth, warm and clean sound. Imagine making a planar driver sound even cleaner with an even much cleaner and faster bass.

Ever wondered if there are details hidden in the music? Guess what? They're in the mix. This OpAmp allows you to hear them. Suddenly your fav headphone or IEM gets a technicalities boost. That's what this OpAmp can do for your gear.

Earlier this year, I grabbed a unit of xDuoo XD05 Bal that is a powerful portable DAC/AMP with an output power rating of up to 1W. It is an all-in-one device featuring an advanced Dual DAC chipset, replaceable OPAMP architecture, Bluetooth functionality, and several other features. Since the day I got it, I have been exploring different options to try with the swappable OPAMPs. While the Stock pairs are pretty solid, I always heard about the Burson series of upgradeable OPAMPs. I guess it was my lucky day when Mr. John from Burson Audio, Australia contacted me on Headfi and asked if I would love to try out their V5i-D on my xDuoo XD05 Bal. Well, how can someone say no to such a generous offer?? Instantly I agreed and got the V5i-D at my doorstep in a matter of few weeks(Postal took a long time to deliver). So here I am today, bringing my experience of xDuoo XD05 Bal with Burson V5i-D.

Disclaimer:-

This pair of Burson V5i-D was provided to me free of cost by Mr. John from Burson. I just paid a minor amount of customs duty charged in my country. But that doesn’t affect my opinion on the OPAMPs. All the impressions in this blog are completely my own based on my own usage with the pair over the past few weeks. If you are interested you can buy the V5i-D from their store from the link below.(Not affiliated by any means).

https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/

Build Quality:-

With the Burson V5i-D in my collection now, I have four sets of OPAMPs for my xDuoo XD05 Bal, OPA1612 stock OPAMP, JRC 5532D stock replacement OPAMP, OPA2134(purchased aftermarket), Burson V5i-D. Out of all four of these, the V5i-D has the best build quality. It is solid, sturdy with an aluminum casing at the top. I can easily pull these out of the OPAMP space on the audio motherboard without any special tool while for all the others I have to use a tweezer. The connector pins at the bottom are also very sturdy. It makes my OPA2134 look like a toy in terms of build quality.

Sound Impressions with xDuoo XD05 Bal and Burson V5i-D:-

Burson V5i-D feels like a heavenly upgrade for the xDuoo XD05 Bal. The background is darker now, I never heard the stock OPA1612 muddy or noisy, but the Burson is dead silent. It enhances our experience with a Holographic presentation for my music(Could really feel a wide 3D soundstage when playing Dolby Atmos tracks in Apple Music). The texture and layering even in an average track like Chokra Jawan (Ishaqzaade) were remarkably good. I have heard this track several times before, but this is the first time I have heard this level of detail. The strings transitioning from left to right, the vocals in the center with percussion instruments all around, it was like I was present right there. Impressive, Simply Impressive.

Just to make sure this isn’t a placebo, I switched from the V5i-D to the default opamps on the XD05-BAL (OPA1612), which just made me fall in love with the V5i-D more. I love the dark tonality and smooth presentation of this. The stage definitely narrowed down and the darker tone of the OPA2134 made strings sound muffled in comparison. I personally find OPA2134 to be a bit noisier in comparison to then V5i-D.

Tonally speaking, the Burson V5i-D is neutral, there is no particular emphasis on any frequency. There is a perceivable improvement in dynamics such as layering, imaging, and soundstage width when compared to the default opamps on the XD05 Bal.

Selective Synergies:

Shure SRH1540:

Listening to this combo really changed my opinion regarding the OPA2134. Of the various opamps I’ve tried with the XD05-BAL, I’d rate OPA2134 to be the best. But not after I heard the SRH1540 and V5i-D. The Resolution was crazy good. The depth and weight of each note can be felt with immense clarity. This was the biggest perceivable difference between the OPA2134 and Burson V5i-D when it came to the SRH1540.

Sony IER-M9:

The synergy with IER-M9 with xDuoo XD05 Bal and Burson V5i-D upgrade was mind-boggling. Notes sounded fuller. Irrespective of how busy the track was, the layering and separation were impeccable. Everything sounded natural and lively. The only other stack where I’ve heard something better sounding is the FiiO M11Plus LTD with HUM-MA1B when compared to the XD05-BAL with Burson V5i-D (including op-amp rolling with OPA1612, OPA2134, and JRC 5532D.)

Sennheiser HD650:

The dark tone of the HD650 doesn’t go well with the Burson V5i-D. The combination sounds weird and off-putting, especially when it comes to the upper mids. The strings sound wonky and the vocals don’t sound that smooth. In comparison OPA1612 and OPA2134 also have a similar experience. You can say I love the HD6X0 series only with tube amplifiers.

Conclusion:-

Burson V5i-D is an excellent opamp that really shines in complex, layered tracks with a lot of detail. It is an excellent option for neutral to warm-sounding IEMs or headphones. Heck, the V5i-D is worth it just for the Spatial Audio experience on Apple Music. I never thought I will get this much noticeable difference with OPAMPs in the XD05 Bal. The Burson V5i-D is an excellent pair of OPAMPs that enhances the capabilities of XD05 Bal, taking the device to another level. In my opinion, a must-have upgrade for the portable DAC/AMP department.

How to describe sound? It is a wave, a vibration of infinite particles in the air. Simple and still so complicated. It takes years to find your own perfect 'sound', and even then it is only the beginning. There is always something else - it never ends and never let's you go.


Now, for this little exercise of thought, imagine the little stage and a four piece band playing on it. You walk in to this space and sit down. You have been here many times before, and know how the band suppose to sound - which seat to take to get the most out of the performance. You have been here before.


But this time something has changed, and you can't really put your finger on it. What is it? You now close your eyes and start listening.


And you realise, that what ever it is, it opened up the sound, slightly pushing everyone on the imaginary stage further apart, giving them a little more air to breathe - guitars are noticeably sharper, the bass tighter. Then when the kickdrum rumbles in you feel the thumping harder and harder, making your heart beat faster and faster. And finally you are hit by a voice of a lead singer - crisper and more revealing than before - you can hear every little nuance in his voice , every breath that he takes before letting it all out.


Lights.


A pitch black silence, that little break, like a crack in that wall of sound, makes you realise that this is it, the perfect performance and it is totally worth the price of admission. And then they start all over again.


To be continued..