I decided to try a
Burson V6 Classic in my Little-Dot I+. My goal is to put them in my DAC but I don't have three of them yet, so I figured I might as well give it a whirl in my Little-Dot I+. I was happy with the results. Here is my little mini-review:
History:
A while back, when deciding which Opamp to use in my Little-Dot I+ Headphone amplifier, I had narrowed down my favorite opamps to the LM4562 (dual opamp) and the OPA627 (two single OPA627 opamps on an adapter board). The LM4562 had a texture to the sound that I enjoyed, but was also just a little bit harsh. The OPA627 was very smooth, but almost too smooth, and lacking texture. I generally preferred the LM4562. The Burson V6 Classic Dual seemed to be the next step up, but I was not actually sure what to expect.
My system:
-Maverick Audio TubeMagic D2 DAC (Sylvania 5654W tube & 3x LM4562 Opamp)
-Little-Dot I+ (Sylvania "Gold Brand" 408A tubes)
-Beyerdynamic DT770-Pro 80ohm / Sony MDR-XB700 24ohm headphones.
First impressions:
The Burson V6 Classic Opamps come in wonderful packaging, also containing an optional riser. The riser was very helpful in keeping the Burson Opamp up above the other components on the circuitry on the Little-Dot I+ (at least with my PCB version).
Case with one Opamp and one riser removed:
When playing the first song after installing the Burson V6 Classic, what I noticed immediately was that the sound just seemed a bit more energetic, especially vocals, and making for some very punchy midbass. Thinking back to my previous comparison between opamps, this Burson seems to have both the smoothness of the OPA627 while having even more texture than the LM4562; truly a best of both worlds, and more.
Unfortunately, the V6 Opamp is so large that the bottom of the case for the Little-Dot I+ won’t close with it installed (and the riser only makes it worse). As I have seen in other reviews, some have simply cut a hole in the bottom of the case, others have used custom extensions/adapters to use the Opamp at an angle. I will have to decide which route I want to take, but for now, I will simply use my Little-Dot I+ on its side.
Extended listening:
First, I went through some Hard Rock and Metal using my Beyerdynamic DT770-Pro 80ohm headphones. I use many of these songs as my benchmark to test vocals, to see if the vocals can retain their clarity and energy even in the middle of a very “busy” song. The Burson V6 Classic had no problems passing this test. There was no accentuated treble either, and listening fatigue was not an issue even after a long session.
Next, I swapped over to my Sony MDR-XB700 24ohm headphones. These have very large drivers, and at 24 ohms the Little-Dot I+ can put out almost a full watt. I use this for listening to music with very deep bass, including some Pop, Hard Rock, EDM and Dubstep. Bass can have a texture of its own, and I have observed differences between Opamps in this regard before. Using the Burson V6 Classic, I did not notice anything special about the deep bass. But at least, it didn’t seem to be doing anything worse than past Opamps that I have tried, and even bass-heavy songs still have plenty of midrange and midbass that clearly does benefit.
Conclusion:
My experience with this Burson V6 Classic Dual Opamp has been fantastic. Everything about my listening experience was either equal to, or better than, every past opamp that I have tried.
The tall size does make installation in devices such as a Little-Dot I+ a challenge without getting creative, but in my opinion, It’s worth it.
Ultimately, I really look forward to trying these in my DAC also and seeing if they make a noticeable change there as well.