Burson Audio Bang

Burson Bang ($199-245): Worthy of its name.

Burson Bang page: https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/bang/



Introit:

A long time ago, I was sent the Burson Play (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-play.22702/reviews#item-review-20783). It was very, very good. Excellent bang for the buck, so to speak. I was then sent the Fun (https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-audio-fun.23238/reviews#item-review-21810) as a two-part process. It was worthy of its name, and good as well. This is the long overdue second part. Burson graciously sent the V6 Vivid opamps, which sit nicely in the Fun. Providing a warmer sound than stock, this is my preferred sound. I thank Burson for their patience, and faith in this belated reviewer. The Bang is also worthy of its name.

Hooking the Fun/Bang into my “systems” became an exercise in mobility and fun. I enjoyed moving the pair to different speaker systems as well as using different DAP’s as sources. What follows is a highlight of the versatility of the pair. Affordable, good sounding and small. This is a very nice trio of combinations with which to work. Burson is no longer just the builder of expensive audio equipment, it provides VERY affordable portable audio equipment as well. Here, the Bang crosses that bridge between portable and home system. And it does it well. I will also admit that I am a fan of Burson’s since the Play and continue to be through this pairing. They are simply put, marvelous.



Specs:



In the box:

See above.



Sources/equipment used:

ProAc Tablette Reference 8 ($1500/pair)
Klipsch R14-M ($199-275/pair)

Cayin N6ii
Dethonray DTR1 (majority of the time)
Arcam AVR300 ($2100, retail; $300-400, used)


Songs used:

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


Unboxing:

Burson Bang
Power Supply (100-240V AC (12V 10A))
2.5mm hex key


Fit & Finish & Internals:

Just like the Play and Fun before it, the Bang is a simple black box, with small enough dimensions that it can easily fit on your desk or in your workplace. At home as easily on the shelf as well. With nothing save a small blue light (when operating) on the front, you get simplicity at its finest. 4-2.5mm Allen screws adorn the front and back, holding the top on. The screws easily come off but securely hold the top in place should you decide to OpAmp roll. To get to inside of the Bang, use the supplied Allen wrench and unscrew the upper set of screws on the front and rear. Once you get the lid off, flip it over where you will see a diagram of the component position and layout. This helps in locating the placement and positioning of the opamps for rolling.

The back has RCA hook ups for input as well as four ports for the speaker wires. One can use banana clips or u-clipped wires, a nice feature, which notes real business. The on/off switch lies between the hook ups, with the power connection below. To the right is a Molex power connection if you want to use the critter in your PC. This is not recommended with the Bang though due to the heat it generates as a Class-AB amp.

Using the Class-AB setup, Burson opted for the Switch Mode Power Supply (SWPS), which reduces the size of the amplifier casing by placing the power supply in a separate unit. Thus, it avoids the audio fields all together. This is also a more efficient route according to their writings, and I cannot fault that. The Bang also uses the Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) with the AC-DC conversion occurring over 170kHz, well beyond our ears. Overall this makes for an excellent power supply, which is noise and “distraction” free. And, as a result keeps the size in the diminutive category.

A nice internal feature of the Bang is its built-in buffer stage with selectable gain levels. This is done through a high and low gain switch located on the inside of the amp to accommodate sources of varying voltage levels in their line-out or as pre-amps demand. For standard 2V connections low gain works well. For weaker sources below 2V such as DAP lineouts, high gain setting compensates nicely. The unit came with the stock NE5532 op-amp, but Burson does offer the V6 Classic and V6 Vivid op-amps for rolling. And in fact, I have the V6 Vivid inside the Fun. I also have the newer opamps on the way as this is being published. The Bang uses 4 distinct MCPS circuits to feed the Class A/B dual mono circuitry. You can also see the usage of the high performance ELNA aluminum electrolytic capacitors and Vishay resistors throughout the design. Nice elegant features, whose purpose aids in matching source to the Burson. As they state themselves, “most audiophiles pay 100% of for their units, but only hear 70% due to mismatched sources.” Their reasoning is that mismatched sources often provide mismatched impedances. The use of those high-performance capacitors allows for different sources to sound as good as if the user only had one brand in use. This makes sense to me, but I will admit is beyond what I could most likely hear. Due to all of the above, the 40 WRMS into 4ohm (29 WRMS, 8ohm) provides for exceptionally clean, consistent and detailed sound. This is something even I can hear.

I have never had a problem with Burson’s simplicity though, of build and look, and in fact like it very much. The company lets the sound of their wares speak for itself. Period. And at the time, the Play was one of the finest headphone amps I had tested or have. I still use it for comparative purposes when warranted as well as making it part of my rotation. Burson means business. If you want flashy looks go elsewhere. If you want pretty much maximum performance for the dollar, then look here. Add in the ability to opamp roll with Burson’s own and it becomes a tale of “which sound do I want tonight.”



Sound:

I specifically purchased the Klipsch R14-M speakers for this review. I had been looking for an affordable pair of bookshelf speakers for my listening area and did not want to move the ProAc’s. But as it turns out I will most likely move the ProAc’s anyway. At first listen, the Bang was shall we say…LOUD! Using my MBP as the source, and Tidal (pre-MQA), the sound reverbed around my listening room. Thankfully I did it while no one else was home.

I found the sound to be tight, quick and open. Since the speakers were brand new as was the Bang, I played the pair for more than 40 hours at low volume levels and moved on to other reviews.

With my plate cleared, more dedicated listening could be afforded. And I will openly state that the pair is quite nice. Open, detailed and with very good clarity; the Bang/Fun combo work well together. I had no problem whatsoever driving the Dethonray DTR1 through the ProAc’s to very loud levels. The Tablettes sounded as crisp as I remember and made me long for more dedicated listening sessions through them regardless of the source. While not having the bass punch of the Klipsch (they are not meant to...), the clarity of sound was almost equally as good as my home system, the Arcam AVR300. And, if dedicated back to back sessions were to be had by most, there would be little difference. To me, the Arcam pulls out the treble a bit more, and the bass just a tad more as well. But we are talking about a comparison between something that cost’s roughly $1700 new to a pair, which cost roughly 1/3 that currently, and the differences do not really matter.



The Klipsch as mentioned have more bass quantity, as they are a much newer generation of bookshelf speaker. The ProAc is not really meant to be a bookshelf but with a dedicated subwoofer (and I do), so the R-14M should have more bass. Using the same DTR1 source, the Klipsch made me quickly realize that if one has limited space, there really isn’t a better combination that can be used for both portable use and listening. The Burson pair simply rewrite affordability, practicality and efficient cross-use. For what my Cayin N6ii cost, you could have a combination, which would work for home, work and portable. All you need add are your current flavor of headphone or IEM. In fact, if I did not use the Arcam for my Linn Sondek Axis turntable (no... not an LP12, I scored the Axis really cheap, and I mean REALLY), I could very easily see subbing in the Burson pair. A Burson of the Conductor series would thus suffice. But that is another tale.

Anyway, back to the Klipsch pair, I found the sound to be equally as pleasant, but for another reason. The R-14M was quite affordable, and the Burson was bringing out the best of its sound. Crisp of treble, vocals that work and bass, which was taut and as deep reaching as the pair could get, the Burson proved the perfect compliment. Plenty of power, and the ability to change opamps affords one the quick and easy ability to change sound. It takes less than five minutes and can bring a warmer sound (V6 Classic), or more vibrant (V6 Vivid). I liked both, and I normally do not take too kindly to vibrant bright sound signatures. Using Drunken Soldier from Dave Matthews excellent Away From The World album, the buildup of the prologue sets the stage for the pirate-like scene. Orchestral sounds permeate the air, and my dog wanders in, for she has never heard music through the speakers. That is how far removed I am from home audio at the moment. But in that moment, I was drawn back to the first time I heard the ProAc’s, and the Klipsch helped recapture that time. It is something I dearly miss, and the Burson pair brought that feeling back. And I will be sure to play this setup more as a result.


Finale:

It is almost like Burson has an opamp on their shoulder. And this is good. I can’t state for sure what drove them to this, but by simply listening to their wares, you get the sense that they decided, “OK, this is how others do it...forget that, we want more and for less.” And it works. Unassuming at which to look, affordable to a “T,” and the sound to back all of that up like few at this price can; the Burson Bang is aptly named. It is like that car at the local races, which most will take for granted because it looks ordinary, but those in the know realize the car is there to perform and OUTperform all comers. And it pretty much does. This is a combination, which will be back in my rotation and I am glad for it.

I thank Burson for their incredible patience with regard to this review. I also thank them for the incredible products sent my way. They have all been fantastic and very much appreciated.

I have to be honest up front. I tend to use headphones for most of my music listening these days. When Burson gave me the opportunity to review their Bang Power Amp I must admit I wondered whether my humble loudspeaker system would be up to the task of showing off any improvements in the audio chain. But then I thought - what the hell, let’s give it a try.



I normally listen to a Sony micro system and Mission bookshelf loudspeakers. Although the system does have a CD player, I tend to listen to the Chromecast Audio most of the time. I have to say that the Chromecast Audio is an excellent piece of kit and more than up to the task of primary listening. My intention is to replace the Sony with the Burson amp and connect the Chromecast Audio directly to the amp - using either my phone or voice control via my Google Home Mini to control the volume. I thought you folks might be interested in hearing about what I’ve discovered and some thoughts.

There’s plenty of reviews which go into a hell of a lot of technical details on the amp - I’m afraid I don’t have the same level of technical knowledge but I do know what sounds good - and the Burson Bang certainly offers one hell of a bang.

Sound Quality

Loud! LOUD. Super duper bloody loud. I used to have the Sony set to around 60 - 70% when I wanted to listen to music loud. And believe me, Sony’s version of loud is not the same as Burson’s. To be honest, with the current setup of Google Chromecast Audio, Burson Cable + interconnect, Burson Bang and Mission bookshelf loudspeakers, I dare not set the volume above 10%.



After listening to a few of my favourite tracks in ‘headbanging mode’ and then re-adjusting the volume to 7% one thing became apparent straight away - the system sounds really nice when playing at lower volume - much fuller and more detailed than the Sony system.

One problem I appear to be having though is that the Chromecast Audio is putting out too much signal for the amp. I changed the High Dynamic Range setting and found that the output was reduced somewhat - basically something like 16% volume is like what 10% volume was link prior to making the change. Whilst that gave me more usable volume range, I personally found the High Dynamic Range setting simply sounded more detailed. I really wanted to be able to use the Chromecast Audio directly into the amp - firstly to keep the audio chain as clean as possible and secondly to save money. I shall continue to experiment.

What this amp does offer you though is superb sound quality and a stability to the sound which is simply missing when using lesser components. The soundstage stability is truly remarkable. You can focus your mind on one specific element of the recording and easily discern it from the rest of the mix. It’s not just the rock solid imagery that this amp conveys - the timbre of the instruments and voices are also quite wonderfully rendered. I must be honest here - I’ve always considered amplification to be a somewhat simple task - take the signal and make it louder without adding or taking away anything from the source. Whilst this is an absolute truth still as far as I’m concerned, the Burson Bang is producing texture and detail to my music in a very positive and enjoyable way.

Each time I listen to the system now I find something new in familiar recordings. The overall frequency of the amp appears to be pretty neutral in my opinion - any colouration in the sound is simply a result of the improved and wonderfully controlled dynamics. What I realised today when listening to the system is that there’s a bigger sense of scale - listening to some comparatively simple music such as Patricia Barber - it truly was like she was stood up singing in my room - right in front of me! Very cool.

Bass is deep but controlled. My loudspeakers are of reasonable quality and this amp certainly makes them shine. Mids are rock solid and offer a really nice soundstage. Treble is sweet and nicely controlled. Music through this system never becomes ‘shouty’ or fatiguing. I think the keywords for the sound quality from this amp has to be “rock solid”. This amp makes me want to consider repositioning my speakers in order to improve the sound even more - unfortunately I’m very constrained with where else I can put them. Ah well!



One final note regarding the Burson Bang - there’s the slightest noise comes through my speakers when I switch on the unit. The noise floor is non-existent without music being played and the only clue that the amp is on is the extremely bright blue LED on the front of the unit. Something that’s going to be mostly covered with Bluetac or black tape in very short order.

Overall System Performance/Findings.

Even when I was using the Sony system (which featured remote control volume control) I used the Google Home Mini to control much of my listening using voice commands. This works really well and I often start a listening session without actually having to touch anything. Whilst this is very cool and Star Trek like, I often find that I have great difficulty in deciding what I want to listen to and can’t verbalise it effectively. I end up reaching for my phone or tablet in order to select some music to listen to. This, I suspect, is very much a personal thing and perhaps will fade once I become more used to living in the future.

There’s something about being able to use your voice for controlling pretty much all aspects of music listening. Tweak the volume in 1% steps, quickly skip tracks, mute/pause the music and even change source (kinda) by jumping from Google Play Music to internet radio for example. It’s not perfect but it’s getting very close.

In my opinion, Hi-Fi is very much regressing. The quality of the source material is generally getting lower and lower (although in all fairness you can now access very high resolution music if you’re prepared to pay for it). Although I’m more than happy with the sound quality generated by the Chomecast Audio, I am fully aware that there are alternatives out there which sound a lot better - but at greater cost - both in terms of storage space and finances. I personally recognise that, partially because of the limitations of my hifi system and partially because of my age, I’m no longer ‘chasing the dragon’ of extracting the maximum signal from my sources - I’m more interested in tone, dynamics and impact - something that the Burson Bang delivers in bucketloads.

The Chromecast Audio is an excellent streaming device in my opinion. It’s integration with the Google Home is brilliant, the sound quality is more than acceptable in my opinion, there’s no noise floor that I can hear from the Chromecast itself and its overall concept is stunningly well executed in my opinion. What the Burson Bang does for me is transform a mid-fi casual listening system into something far more analytical and enjoyable. The size of the amp is ideal for me and I’m toying with the idea of hiding the system away and just having the speakers visible - that should please the wife somewhat.

In conclusion, I rate the Burson Bang very highly indeed. It’s a very well made product that just gets the job done with no bells and whistles. It’s fair to say that the amp is aimed at purists who need to get the best sound quality out of their system without having to compromise on size. Well done Burson - an absolute winner!

As I was copying and pasting this review from my word processor I thought I would add a couple of thoughts that have come to me since I wrote the review a few days ago. The Burson Bang screams quality to me. The cables they thoughtfully include with the package are really nice - I kinda forgot to mention this. Also, I forgot to mention the fact that you can change the op-amps in the device which can potentially improve the sound even more. Interestingly Burson actually supply a tool to get the screws out in order to do this upgrade yourself. To paraphrase Paul Hogan (note Austrailian note here) "That's not an amp - THIS is an AMP!!!). Sorry Burson for the stereotyping - hope you didn't spill your lager on the roo over that one.

Disclaimer: The Burson Bang and Fun sent to me are samples units in exchange for our honest opinion. I thank the team at Burson for giving me this opportunity.

SYSTEM SETUP

My setup for this review is the Burson Fun (Headphone Amp/Pre-Amp), Burson Bang (Speaker Amp), Burson Conductor Air (DAC), Hifiman HE-Adapter, Shiit Loki EQ, iPad Pro, Tidal, Hifiman HE6se amd Hifiman Susvara.


PACKAGING



The Burson Bang came in similar packaging as the Burson Fun. All black pressboard box with the details of the amp on the top cover with the choice of selected op-amp highlighted. Inside the box the amp itself is in enclosed foam in the center of the box with the accessory box to the right and the power supply to the left. The layout is very clean and the amp is well protected for shipping purposes.

Inside the accessory box you get a set of RCA interconnects, an allen wrench for removing the top cover to exchange op-amps, and a warranty card.

BUILD

Just like the Burson Fun, the Burson Bang comes in a black anodized aluminum case. The Burson Fun and Burson Bang are perfectly matched in size and sit atop each without any issue. The Burson Bang lacks any controls on its front panel. You do get a blue led light to indicate that the Bang is powered on.

The Bang is a dual mono class A/B power amp. It utilizes Burson’s own Max Current Power Supply, which gives up the usage of a traditional transformer in favor of transistors. This design is low noise and highly efficient. The use of MCPS is the one of the reasons the Bang can be made so small while still delivering very good output while maintaining the efficiency of switch mode power supplies. You can read more on the MCPS here



The rear panel (going from left to right) are the output binding posts over the external power jack and molex connector for PC power. Just to right of center you have the power switch. To the far right you have the RCA inputs.



SPECS

These are taken right from Burson’s website so there’s no to comment on them :

Input impedance: 100K Ohms
Frequency response: ± 1 dB 0 – 20Khz
Power Supply: 100-240V AC (12V 10A)
THD: <0.03%
Output impedance: 1.5 Ohm @ 1 kHz
Signal-to-Noise Ratio: 92.5dB
Inputs: 2 X RCA (2V RMS line level)
Weight: app. 2.5Kg
Outputs: 2 X Speaker Outputs
Dimensions: 210mm x 145mm x 45mm
Impedance: 4 Ohm Power: 40W Signal to Noise Ratio: 91db Separation: 99%
Impedance: 8 Ohm Power: 29W Signal to Noise Ratio: 91db Separation: 99%
Impedance: 16 Ohm Power: 15.2W Signal to Noise Ratio: 91db Separation: 99%

INTERNALS

To get to inside of the Bang, use the supplied allen wrench and unscrew the top two upper set of screws on the front and rear. Once you get the lid off and you flip it over, you’ll be greeted with a diagram the details the component position and layout. One thing to note on the diagram is the location of the op-amp. This is very useful when op-amp rolling.

The Bang use one dual op-amp that is shared by both channels. In theory the use of a dual op-amp should help with mismatch or channel imbalances. My unit came with the stock NE5532 op-amp. Burson does offer the V6 Classic and V6 Vivid op-amps for rolling. But the Bang should be compatible with other op-amps have a similar pin configuration. Burson encourages op-amp rolling and you don’t void the warranty by doing so.



The Bang uses 4 distinct MCPS circuits to feed the Class A/B dual mono circuitry. You can also see the usage of the high performance ELNA aluminum electrolytic capacitors and Vishay resistors throughout the design.

The Bang also offers the buffer of the Cable+ system to allow for adjustment of input impedance to match your source. This is especially critical since the Bang relies on the pre-amp for volume control. The cool thing about the Bang is the internal gain buffer stage has selectable impedance levels. This will come in handy when using portable products with low impedances or high-performance pre-amps. The Bang offers tons of versatility and should integrate into easily into any system giving you perfect performance and volume control regardless of equipment being used.

SOUND



Using the stock op-amps with the HE6se’s all I can say wow. The Bang sounds big and bold. The soundstage is wide and the tone is so natural. It sounds so much bigger and powerful than its size. The frequency response sounds linear to my ears. I can’t detect any emphasis to bass, mids, or treble.

To me the Bang, like with all of the Burson products, gets the midrange spot on. It’s warm, immersive, has tons of character, and is very musical. The treble is clear and energetic. It doesn’t sound edgy or abrasive but remains crispy and detailed with tons of clarity. The bass is authoritive with good decay and rumble. The drivers on the HE6se’s are in total control when driven by the Bang. The bass on the HE6se doesn’t sound loose or boomy. Instead sounds fast and impactful. The midrange is alive and there’s no sibilance in the treble due to the warm nature of this amp. I love the Burson Fun and Bang pairing with the HE6se’s.

Moving up to the Susvara’s things get interesting. Everything I just said about the HE6se’s the Susvara’s takes it to another. The bass on the Susvara’s is deeper, more layered and is more extended. The midrange is lush and even more present. The treble is so realistic, airy and 3D. The Bang drives the Susvara’s with aplomb. With the Bang the Susvara’s drivers are composed, fast, and natural. There’s not
a hint of muddiness, the instruments never sound crowded. In fact, the imaging is great, the dynamics are superb, and the Susvara’s are holographic.

COMPARISON

I have the Burson Timekeeper on hand. It’s been what I use to drive my Susvara’s, HE6se’s and the Abyss Phi’s when I had. The Timekeeper is 3x’a the cost of the Bang. It’s also 80 watts into 8 ohms compared to the 29 watts of the Bang. I didn’t expect the Bang to compete with the Timekeeper and I was correct in my assumptions. The Timekeeper is more open sounding, has better timbre and instrument separation, it’s even more cleaner sounding, is more transparent, has the betters resolution, and has a dead quiet background.

Timekeeper and Bang are definitely from the same family of amps. The tone is similar, but dynamic range is greater on the Timekeeper. The Timekeeper is like the Bang but on Steroids. Everything is just sounds bigger on the Timekeeper. It’s a heck of amp. You can bridge the Timekeeper and get 240 watts out it.

With all of the said the Bang is warmer sounding and has a musicality about it the is a more enjoyable listen. The Timekeeper is way overkill for any headphone but it’s better than headphone amp I’ve heard. The Bang fits the bill perfectly it’s 29 watts of power on tap can drive any headphone on the market today. Either directly from the speaker taps or using by using Hifiman’s HE-Adapter.

The compact size of Bang is also more desktop friendly unlike its bigger brother. The Bang is a great value. It’s has a lot character of its own. It gives you a lot of what the Timekeeper has the offer at a lower cost

CONCLUSION

I have no problems recommending the Fun and Bang as headphone system to drive every headphone out there. The warm nature of the Bang adds musicality to all my headphones. Together you have all the power, a wide soundstage, great detail and clarity, a beautiful, natural tone, an amp where every note is heard, and not a single micro-detail gets missed. I have no trouble recommending the Bang for driving speakers and in my case headphones.