[EternalChampion]

Other than being used to elevate the Burson op amps when necessary I found them a must in order to protect the fragile legs of IC op amps from continuous rolling. Every time an IC chip gets pulled out (from secure fit) is one step closer before one of its legs eventually snaps. Thus far I've destroyed probably a dozen or so.

The extra DIP 8 sockets are sold in package of 4 pieces and are very cheap

https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v6/

 

[john57]

While I agree that the legs of the standard IC op-amp are fragile but the Burson V6 op-amps are posts not legs like the standard IC op-amps. The posts will hold up better and I would be more concern about wearing out the DIP socket on the circuit board.

 

[alphanumerix1]

Posted a quick review for those who are interested

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/bu...und-opamp-v6-vivid.22718/reviews#review-19364

 

[mikaelmark]

This week, I compared my two DAC´s; one with AK4399 and the the other with AK4490 with a CD and speaker listening test. The later using only a simple 12VDC Wall inserted transformer, while the AK4399 has a much better Power supply, with BYV-27 rectifier diods and big capacitors. Both are using OPA627AU (but not shure those are genuine Burr Brown, as they´re from eBay).

First, the AK4490 had a tiny bit more bass, but they were very equal in their sound character.

Then, I swopped to Burson V6 Vivid dual for the AK4490, and when I now compared with A/B-listening test, the bass was still a bit more exaggerated. But also, it was like the volume level was a bit higher for the AK4490 with V6, especially for the treble and everything was clearer, like taking off a blanket from the speaker.

Note that the V6 was new, had only played for about 20 minutes.

I´m now listen to the AK4490 with V6 to let it burn in for several hours, and I´m very pleased with what I´m hearing!

My intention is to upgrade the Power supply for this DAC.

 

[raoultrifan]

Hello head-fiers,

It took me awhile since Charles from Burson gave me a couple of Burson SS V6 Classic dual opamps, thank you Charles for these "little beasts"!

The shots I did in one of my previous posts were showing the inside beauty of these solid-state opamps, so now I'm going to share with you "my 2¢" on how does these opamps pair with my heavily modded MATRIX M-Stage HPA-3B balanced headphones amplifier. I did another test in the past with the SS V5 opamps, so especially for this test I did lowered the operation voltage for this balanced headamp from 36V so 30V (+/-15V); this way I can use Burson opamps inside to test'em safely.

The Matrix M-Stage HPA 3B is using operational amplifiers only in Voltage Amplification Stage (VAS), the remaining components from the audio path are solid-state, so from my point of view the main reason to upgrade the original LME49860 opamps with Burson V6 duals would be to transform the MATRIX amplifier from an "opamp/solid-state hybrid" amplifier (opamp in VAS & solid-state in output buffer) into a 100% pure solid-state device. So, this being said, I did managed to fit inside the HPA-3B two Burson SS V6 Classic dual opamps, totally naked of the plastic shell; this way I could actually close the metallic top case of the amplifier (Disclaimer: Do not try to strip out the V6 opamps of their plastic shell, unless you really want to loose the warranty and perhaps break some electronics! Instead, you could purchase "Burson 35mm Extension Lead" cables or 90-degrees DIP8 socket adapters).

Equipment I was using for this test (from mains to my ears):

• DIY power box with additional fuses and RCB protection
• Avocent PDU with ferrites, caps and additional EMI/RFI filters and protections inside
• Digital auto-transformer (AVR) to stabilize the mains voltage to a precise 220V
• Legrand 1500VA wave-sinus UPS
• Petra custom-made isolation toroidal transformer, to isolate mains hum and to lift the ground safely, if needed (only used it for the audio chain, not for computers)
• Windows 10 DIY desktop computer with low noise USB sockets, OSX El Capitan iMac and OS Sierra MacBook Pro
• ASUS Essence One MKii as balanced dual DAC
• 6.5mm jacks switched A/B testing device to compare sound between 2 different headphone amplifiers: Matrix and the one integrated inside the ASUS E1 combo
• Fostex T50RP MK3 headphones (single ended), little bit modded, for getting the soundstage, clarity and frequency accuracy
• AKG K550 (balanced, custom cable) for getting opamp's background noise when idling
• AKG K701 (balanced, custom cable) to compare soundstage, but also used for comparing the clarity in voices and musicality
• Beyerdynamic DT 880 600-ohms (balanced, custom cable) to get all the details from the songs, but also to check how the opamps are dealing with a bit higher voltage outputs when high impedance headphones are used
• Mackie MR6mk3 6.5" Studio Monitors + Mackie MR10Smk3 Sub, quite revealing active monitors that helped me a lot in getting every little bit of sound from these Burson SS V6 opamps
• PicoScope 2204A to get any possible oscillations or strange harmonics on the outputs, just in case the V6 might oscillate in my setup (not the case, of course)
• Digital IR thermometer (a bit over 70C on the inside transistors of the SS V6 opamps)

Songs used for this test (FLAC):

• The Black Eyed Peas - Imma Be
• Travie McCoy feat. Bruno Mars - Billionaire
• Eminem - I'm not affraid
• Nelly - Just A Dream
• Ludacris - How Low
• Timbaland feat. Timberlake - Carry Out
• Jason Derulo - Whatcha Say
• Trey Songz feat. Nicki Minai - Bottoms Up
• Britney Spears - 3
• AC/DC - Thunderstruck
• AC/DC - Shoot To Kill
• AC/DC - Big Gun
• AC/DC - Highway To Hell
• AC/DC - T.N.T.
• AC/DC - The Jack
• AC/DC - Touch To Much
• Deep Purple - Child In Time
• Best Of Chesky Classics & Jazz and Audiophile Test Disc Volume 3 - Rebecca Pidgeon-Grandmother
• Best Of Chesky Classics & Jazz and Audiophile Test Disc Volume 3 - Fred Hersch Trio-Con Alma
• Best Of Chesky Classics & Jazz and Audiophile Test Disc Volume 3 - Drum Set in dry studio
• Marianne Thorsen & TrondheimSolistene - Mozart: Violin Concerto no. 4 in D major, KV 218 - Allegro
• Many disco music albums from 2015-2017, too many songs to get them written all here. I needed to understand how compressed songs sound on the V6, but also to hear the overly bass from some disco songs.

I left the opamps to burn-in for about 100 hours, just to be sure sound will not get changed in any way while I'm testing them.

To compare the Burson V6 with the original LME49860 will probably not be fair because of the price range, but will be doing it anyway. Basically I found the same differences like here, mainly related to:

• Really lower background noise on the V6 (it's so easy to distinguish the difference if changing only the left or only right channel opamp with a V6 and leave the other channel with the default LME49860)
• Way much better soundstage and instrument positioning, stage is bigger now, sound is open and spacious.
• "A veil revealing" indeed, better clarity and details are easily getting into my ears.
• Voices are very clear, a bit more upfront perhaps.
• Sound is definitely less fatiguing and more peaceful, voices are not shouting at you...even when screaming shouts are smoother somehow and not irritating the ears in case of high volume is used. Perhaps I feel this because of a lower THD combined with a bit of warmness from the magic touch of Burson engineers...who knows?
• Frequencies around 3-4 KHz sound a bit...recessed and more pleasant (I like that, as I'm 4 KHz sensitive, especially when Grados are used), tough the V6 is having a completely flat output.
• Sub-bass seems a bit more present, though all-round bass is having a normal "size" and impact, so I don't feel a bass emphasizes.
• Moving from FLAC to DSD files is adding more fluency to the song and scene gets even bigger. A live concert sound more...live now. DSD albums and Burson V6 pair perfectly.

I did compared briefly the V6 with V5 and V5i, but the differences were not high, of course. Regarding the sound character, V6 resembles more with the V5 then with the V5i. V6 sound character is very similar with the V5 and I honestly need a setup with 2 identical devices (Matrix HPA-3B) to say more, as both opamps are sounding great. Instead, the V5i is a bit more analytic sounding and perhaps bass is overemphasized sometimes a bit.

When powered from +/-15V I could measure 70.4C on the inside PCB transistors (plastic shell off) and about 62,5C on the outside plastic shell (top case open on the Matrix headamp). These temperatures are normal for a class-A biased opamp, but if using it inside small-sized devices be aware of the extra heat generated.

Now concluding from my memory and based on the tests I've done in the past with several opamps from TI/OPA, AD etc. and adding on top of this my subjective sound print I'd like to hear it in my ears:

PRO:

• I really liked the sound, especially when rock is involved; try imagining the screaming from an AC/DC songs with volume close to the max., sometimes this could make you wanting to lower the volume a little bit, but when SS V6 is used, the screaming is "upgraded" from tolerable to enjoying...it's like diminishing the 2-4KHz frequencies somehow and make it sound so pleasant...though on my scope the bandwidth was perfectly flat.
• On hip-hope/house/techno/dance music I felt the sub-bass being very "pertinent" and authoritative or perhaps the mid-bass is diminished somehow, but overall I liked the bass more than V5i.
• Balanced and neutral sound, but not on the analytical side and definitely not "overwarming", it's simply: pleasant sounding to my ears. Totally not-fatiguing sound compared with other digital-like sounding opamps (NE5532 or even the LME49720 and similar ones); I could actually listen to my headphones for hours, with an average volume higher then usual and fell no need to stop the music at all.

CONS:

• Size is a bit big, the same as the SS V5 opamp, so it may not fit properly inside some devices (though purchasing additional extender cables and 90-degrees adapters will help a lot here).
• Price could create an impact, though a solid-state opamp could be reused and become helpful on future devices upgrades.

Bottom of line, sound is just perfect to my ears! On both, headphones and active studio monitors, the SS V6 Classic opamp sounds correctly and pleasant, with a wider soundstage, more details and clarity and it's definitely less fatiguing. It doesn't sounds digitally at all, it's more like hearing the vacuum tubes singing, so perhaps on the warmer side a little bit, but I totally love it! This is probably related to the even-order harmonics created by the inside hand-matched FET-transistors (read more about it on OPA604 datasheet, on pg. 12) and a bit of Burson's magic touch perhaps.












Best sound ever,
Raul.

 

[bcschmerker4]

@raoultrifan Thanks for the review. Both the V6 Classic and Vivid should be doozies of dual amplifiers for standalone components that have the room for 'em. I've already shortlisted the Burson® V5i for the STX' I-V sockets in my LinUX box due to space limitations - I anticipate some NOS Advanced Micro Devices Radeon video card right next the STX due to the slot layout of the current Gigabyte® GA-MA78GM-S2HP - and a Signetics® NE5532N for the line-level buffer socket.

 

[selvakumar]

i own both and in Burson play it sound epic with ESS SABRE 9018
https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/play/

 

[mikaelmark]

s week, I modded my DAC Breeze Audio AK4490 with V6 Vivid, and now I´m listening to a wonderful sound!

The changes was following:

Replaced the original NE5532 with Burson V6 Vivid Dual and applied some thin copper tape for screening around and at the top of the V6 (as the V6 is too high, I had to cut a hole in the enclosure´s lid) and painted the foil tape with nail paint and black marker pen

Replaced the original wall outlet transformer with 12VDC powered from an Harman Kardon HD970 CD-player

Removed the original RCA female connectors and soldered an Van damme Twin Audio LC-OFC Interconnect Cable directly to the PCB

Bypassed the DAC´s Power switch to let the HD970 power On and Off the DAC

Lowered the pin´s for one SMD (Surface Mounted Device) capacitor

 

[Onik]

OK let me write a short review in regards to Charles request from SS-Audio who sent me 2 Bursons Vivid V6s for trial. Once again I am really sorry to Charless as I couldn't finish the testing and write the review one time, its because I moved to a new place few weeks ago.

Anyway to test the Vivid V6s I used my own Sound Card Sound Blaster ZXR and for Speaker setup I used logitech Z906 which is an average 5.1 speakers.


for Music I used RCA to RCA and for gaming/movies I used SPDIF and tested with JRiver(ASIO) and foobar 2000.

Single IC OP AMPS I own: LME4970NA, 6 LME4970HA , 2 Signetics NE5534N.
Single Discrete OP AMPS I own: 2 Sparkoks SSS3601.

Dual IC OP AMPS I own: 2 NJM2114D, 2 AD827SQ, LME49720HA
Dual Discrete OP AMPS I own: buying soon

OP Amps I used to compare with Vivid V6s for the Buffer: LME4970HA, Signetics NE5534N and well known Single Discrete Op Amp Sparkoks SSS3601.


I also did a mod called "germanium" 12 uf CAP mod, after this mod the ZXR became a Sweet Analog sounding Card even w/o V6s or Sparkos SS3601 imo.



Now Lets talk about what I heard after installing V6s on my ZXR.

I am a guy who listen to all type of good music and I don't really care who is the band or what type of music I'm listening.

I changed the Crossover Frequency to 100Hz for better Bass Response from Z906 Sub.


Here are the few lists of the Albums I tested after installing SS V6s on Buffer and AD827SQ in I/V by default.

Around The Fur - deftones
The Hunter - Mastodon
Once more round the sun - Mastodon
Take a look at the Mirror - Korn
Jonathan Davis - Alone I Play 2007
Consoler of the Loneliness - Raconteurs.
Start A War - Static-X
††† - Crosses
All 6s and 7s - Techn9e

Impression:



If I want to compare with LME4970HA all I can say is the sound that's coming to my ear wasn't really different for few hours.

But after listening music for like 1hr I was really impressed with the track like "Around the Fur" the cymbals and snares sounded more Natural and Real to my ear, it sounded like it was playing live!

The songs " Ember City and Halloween" from Mastodon sounded a lot different compare to LME4970HA especially the Guitar solo at the end of the song it sounded and felt more Natural.

I also felt the Bass had improved with or without the"germanium" 12uf CAP Mod. The bass sounded more free and clean and not in my face like before.

And I really enjoyed the beats from Album "Crosses" and from "All 6s and 7s"

the Song "Did my time" from KoRn felt sooo Real and enjoyable when the singer starts to sing, you can't miss any lines that's coming from his Jaw, you can also hear the singer's breathing clearly. People who don't really understand what the singer is really singing when they scream will also understand every words while having Bursons V6s on their system. this song also gave me a real Dark feeling.


Sparkos SS3601 vs Burson V6s:



To my Ear I felt they both sounded too CLEAN , NATURAL and WARM with or without "Germanium" 12uf Cap Mod.

Bursons Vivid V6 Single OP AMPS Pros:

• Strikingly clear and dynamic.
• Notcible Treble.
• incredible Soundstage.
• Articulate and expressive midrange.

Bursons Vivid V6 Single OP AMP Cons:

• Too pricey compare to other IC OP AMPS.
• Too big for my Sound Card (big is better init)
• Burn in time is really long for some devices.

The only difference I found that the the Bass is really balanced with sparkos SS3601 compare to Bursons V6s.

For SS3601 I had to turn the level to 5/6 on Z906 ACM where for V6s I had to drop it to 3/4 for better Bass Response with or without changing the Crossover Frequency from 80Hz on Creative SB Studio.

As Creative Pro Studio doesn't have Metal EQ so I had to copy it from WMP LOL.

So far I didnt find any songs that sounded too bright to my ear. But I will have to check few more songs to find out more.

my review is not 100% complete, atm I am waiting for price drop for a decent Stereo Amp like onkyo A-9010/ marantz pm6006 for Bookshelf speakers like Wharfedale Diamond 9.1/ 220. Once I have them I will write another review.

Good Sound card + Decent Amp + Decent Speakers = Best Sounding system imo.

But overall with my current sound setup(Z906) I think SS3601 and Vivid V6s they both sound the same when it comes to Music.

Once again Many Many Thanks to Mr Charles from Burson Audio for giving me the opportunity to try their 2 Sexy looking V6 Single Discrete OP AMPS for my very first review on Head-fi.

 

[393699]

First off, I want to say thanks to Charles from SS-Audio for sending me two of the V6 Vivid duals for a trial listen in exchange for my honest review.

Packaging:

The V6 Vivid Duals come in a plastic case. They are sitting with foam surrounding them, and are firmly seated. There is no way of them being damaged in shipping. They are well protected.

Build Quality:

These are very nice opamps. The build quality is fantastic. The fact that SS-Audio offers a lifetime warranty as well ensures that the buyer is protected in case of any defects or issues.

Equipment used:

Creative ZXR sound card with LME49710HA opamps in the buffer stage, and V6 Vivid Duals in the I/V stage. I originally was using LME49710HA opamps in both the buffer and I/V. Connected to the RCA outs on the sound card I will be using my M-Stage HPA-2 headphone amp. The headphones connected are the AKG K712 Pro. Note that I do not use any sound card effects. I do not use SBX Studio. I do not use Crystal Voice, and I do not use the sound card EQ. This is just a straight up 24bit/192000hz device for me. I have no interest in using gimmicks.

Installation:

As can be seen in the pics, these were used to replace two sets of LME49710HA Metal Can opamps on two adapters that have been used in my Creative ZXR sound card in the I/V Stage for quite a while now. I still have two single LME49710HA Metal Can opamps in the buffer stage of my sound card. I will say now, using the V6 Vivid's in the I/V stage with the LME49710HA in the buffer stage has made for a interesting listening experience. I am now thinking of what improvements I would experience with having two of the V6 Vivid Singles in the buffer stage as well.
Installation is very straight forward as expected. However, it should be noted that the two opamp heatsinks are touching each other, due to size. They are also touching the surrounding capacitors. This results in having to slightly bend the caps to the side to be able to fit the opamps in. I would suggest to anyone interested in doing this upgrade, to just be careful. It works best to just bend the caps a bit to the side to make room before actually installing the opamps. As long as the user is careful, this causes no issue.

Sound Quality:

I have about 50 hours use on the opamps now, so I am certain my opinion of them will be a sound one. At least for the 50 hour mark anyways. The V6 Vivid Dual is a somewhat warm sounding opamp. I will start off by saying that right out of the box, the treble on the V6 Vivid Duals was definitely rolled off. There was some missing energy and sparkle in the upper frequencies. The K712 Pro is a detailed and revealing headphone, so it was easy to detect this roll off. After about 5 or so hours of the use, the treble did end up improving some. However, even at the 50 hour mark, it is still not quite where I would like it to be. Regardless of that, after 50 hours use, these are impressive sounding opamps.

Now, lets start off with the bass. The bass is tight, defined, detailed, and impactful. It extends right down to the sub bass region. There is no bloat, boom, or any muddy nature to it at all. In fact, this is the best sounding bass I have ever heard from any opamp I have tried. I thought the LME49710HA had a great sounding bass, and it does. However, this is on another level entirely. When I first tried the opamp, I was rather shocked at the deep impact and extension the V6 Dual offered. Kick drums in music are so tight and defined. It really gives music a toe tapping character, and makes you want to keep listening.

In terms of the midrange, the V6 Vivid Dual absolutely excels. Everything sounds lush with gorgeous imaging. Instruments are well presented. Vocals are up front, just in front of everything else in the mix. In fact, vocals sound just brilliant on the V6 Vivid. There is just such a smoothness to voices. There is definitely a laid back character to the 3khz region happening with this opamp. This ends up adding to the warm sound signature that this opamp has. Little details in music that are not presented with the LME49710HA make themself fully known on the V6. Soundstage is wide and realistic. Instruments are completely separated, and everything is nice and spacious sounding. There is plenty of depth, and everything is cohesive and focused. This is another area that the LME49710HA also excels in, but the V6 Vivid is once again a huge step above. Electric guitar, piano, keyboards, and any other instrument sounds just right. There is a smoothness and amazingly cohesive character to everything. There is no harshness or grain to any frequency on the V6 opamps. Just as it was with the bass, the mids, vocals, and soundstage on the V6 Vivid are also the best I have encountered.

Now, regarding the treble, this is where the V6 Vivid is actually a step behind the LME49710HA, in my opinion. I have to say that to my ears, the V6 Vivid certainly has an articulate and clean treble response, but it is missing something. I can detect a roll off at 14khz to 16khz. On the plus side, there is no distortion, grain, harshness, or any sibilant nature to it. However, it just does not have the same amount of refinement and detail in the upper registers that the LME49710HA metal can opamps have. The V6 is just missing that little bit of crispness and sparkle up top. I really can't say it is veiled though. That is too strong a word to describe. It is just a slightly warmer sounding opamp than I normally would use, so I am noticing the treble is just not as detailed or extended as I would like. I tested the LME49710HA and V6 Vivid Dual opamps over and over again, and there is no question about it. The treble is just not as good to my ears on the V6 Vivid. Granted, maybe this could change after 100 hours, or 200 hours burn in ? I can't say, as I am reviewing them after about 50 hours use.

Overall, these are still awesome opamps. They have a wonderful and musical sound to them. I definietely recommend them to people looking to step up to audiophile grade opamps.

Thanks once again to Charles at SS-Audio for the opportunity to test these out. I really appreciate it.

 

[Webber1]

After burning-in 2 sets of V6 Vivid on ASUS STXII, I can say from practice, that vivid’s need significant time to settle and become ‘mature’…in first 24 hours I advise to leave playlist on loop and to shut down speakers if you want to avoid stress of thinking you throw away money Up to 200h they settle a lot by becoming more clear and take control over things …but sounding more on the bright side. At about 600 hours (a month of 24/7) they become exceptional, warm with extended rich and controlled bass, fluent mids and silky detailed hi’s...With V6 sound becomes three dimensional, you can point your finger at each instrument in the air. Instruments get more mass and definition. With JBL LSR305 monitors you get holographic stage, almost crazy and another dimension compared to default MUSES op amps, VIVID's really make this monitors sing. As JBL’s are on my desk on each side of the monitor (maybe 25 cm from wall) you can hear singer singing directly from monitor as if it is a speaker. You get impression of being there in the live performance while singer is singing in front of you and the instruments are around you. You can hear the air he takes while he sings. There is really lot of refinement in the sound, instruments like cello, violin, guitar sound as if they are playing live in front of you, with lot of energy and passion. You listen to the songs you love and discover them all over again as they are presented in such way that you did not heard previously. With Foobar (ASIO) and Tidal I get perfect sound for my ears (used EQ to get V-shaped sound that I prefer). Vivid’s are musical, refined and unfatiguing...Once again be patient and let them burn in properly Cheers.

 

[Ampeezy]

I honestly don't know if it is the headphones breaking in, or the V6 Vivids, but yes after three months they sound much more natural sounding with a bit less emphasis on a bright signature. They are truly transparent Opamps. Also, It could just be my ears becoming famliar with the sound over the months.

 

[Webber1]

No chance they are missing highs as someone said before, or missing warmth compared to muses (also said before)...this is the case only during burn-in process...once matured they are another dimension compared to start point. Just dont mix Vivids with other op-amps in I/V and buffer ....put all Burson V6... otherwise it is a mess (tried with muses in buffer ...that ended badly). In short: Vivids rock!

 

[393699]

I just wanted to give an update on my experience with the V6 Vivid Duals in my Creative ZXR card. At around the 50 hour mark, I stated these are fantastic opamps, however, the treble was missing some detail and extension. I ended up purposely letting music run on its own for another solid 50 hours over a few days. The opamps should have 100-110 hours or so on them at this point. I have to say that the treble roll off is completely gone now. I could instantly detect a huge difference when I listened to music last night. This is now the treble I was hoping for. It is crisp, extended, detailed, smooth, and articulate. At this point, including the treble, these opamps completely destroy the LME49710HA metal cans I had in the I/V stage in the card. I have to say I am rather interested to get a pair of V6 Vivid Singles now in the future to replace the LME49170HA metal cans I have in the buffer stage.

 

[393699]

Oh my, these V6 Vivid Dual opamps are really coming into their own. Once they hit that 100 hour mark, they have just continued to improve. Soundstage on these is just the best I have ever encountered. Indeed, just like it says on their website, soundstaging is very 3D in its presentation. The treble roll off I was experiencing when I reviewed them after 50 hours use is no longer an issue at all. The upper frequencies have really opened up now. I highly recommend these to people looking to step into high end opamps.