[Icenine2]

Does anyone have one of these? I would have to believe the sound to be incredible.

Keith

 

[El_Doug]

There doesnt seem to be anything about that preamp that would lend itself to an amazing headphone-out, nor do we even know if the headphone amp is even tied to a preamp gain stage, or if there is a small chip amp in the front

Although the unit is expensive, it is unwise to jump to such conclusions


of course, if the headphone-out does sound as good as the line-out, and the unit is as good as the reviews say, then is would sure be a treat to listen to

 

[krmathis]

That it cost $16k is no guarantee that they have put much effort into the headphone amplifier stage.
They sure make some stunning gear though, so who knows.

 

[Dinan]

Having owned plenty of Burmester gear over the years and having a pretty good idea of how they do things, it is equally possible that there is a crappy IC based headamp or a passable headamp in it. It is highly unlikely that there is anything approaching a great headamp in it as they expect that you will run your own external unit if you are truly into it. Also, keep in mind that despite the $22K price point, the 011 is still an "economy" model compared to the 808.

 

[milkpowder]

Dinan, what was the model number of the mysterious Burmester headphone amplifier that never made it into production (iirc)?

 

[Dinan]

I vaguely recall such a product but never saw a prototype or any information on it. It would have been interesting (not to mention expensive and very shiny).

 

[spritzer]

It's name was 983 if I remember correctly. It was at least 98* something since that's the year the design was finalized. It was also not for normal headphones, electrostatics only.

 

[Dinan]

Hmmm, I wonder if they have the prototype kicking around. Any idea if it got that far?

 

[spritzer]

I believe there were a handful made but I'm not sure what happened to them....