New: Burson Audio Play Amp/DAC (2W@16Ohm) (op-amp rollers dream)
Sep 20, 2017 at 7:37 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 1,256

ostewart

Reviewer at Sound Perfection Reviews
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https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/play/

Burson-Play-S1.jpg


Play Music
Crisp, dynamic and musical, the Play is a top class DAC with 32bit / 384khz, DXD and DSD256 playback capacity. Pairing effortlessly with Windows, OSX, iOS, and Android systems, its SABRE32/ESS9018 DAC chip and Xmos USB receiver are benchmarks in the industry and our pure Class A circuitry unleashes their full potential.

With a 70W power supply outputting 2Watts per channel, the Play is one of the most powerful headphone amplifiers in the world. Regardless of headphones, you can feel the power and accuracy at any volume levels.

Pure Class A with no ICs on the signal path, the Play is a remote controlled preamp that teams perfectly with any power amp or active speakers.

By changing opamps, you can even tailor its sound to suit your preference.

The Play is peerless!

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Play Opamps
Opamp rolling is a major part of the audiophile hobby. There are countless online discussions dedicated to it. And why not? it offers the opportunity to compare and appreciate different sonic performance in your own comfort zone and it is a valuable opportunity to develop listening preference and taste.

A fully discrete circuitry operating in pure Class-A, the Play is the ultimate opamp rolling platform.

The Play is fun!

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Game Play
Film and game producers know the importance of music and sound in their work. It can turn any ordinary experience into a spiritually enriching one. In fact, audio in gaming is even more vital. Apart from the passive cinematic scores, games rely on interactive sound and music during gameplay to engage with gamers. To become successful, games today need to invest millions and work with top composers to develop their scores and sound effects.

Sadly, PC gamers are denied of audio performance that does their gaming justice. None of the “high-end” sound cards feature advanced DAC chips. They all have high distortion IC based output stages and they all use very noisy Class-D power supplies. The most powerful soundcard outputs less than 100mWatt (0.1 Watt) into headphones. Such soundcards not only degrade the whole gaming experience but also affect the gamers ability to respond to situations crucial to the success of their campaign.

The Burson Play features the SABRE32/ESS9018 DAC chip and Xmos USB receiver chip. Both are technological benchmarks in the audiophile industry. To minimise distortion, the Play is tuned to operate in pure Class-A. Outputting 2000 mWatt per channel, it is over 20 times more powerful than the next best soundcard. To top it off, the Play features a high-performance mic input and fits into any PC case elegantly.

The Play is the missing piece for any gaming PC!

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Review: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-play.22702/reviews#review-19332
 
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Sep 20, 2017 at 7:43 AM Post #2 of 1,256
ok this is quite interesting! Great for op amp rollers and much easier to access and use in a pc it seems.

Would of been nice for just abit more power though although i understand they are marketing for a sound card replacement. So i shouldn't complain.

Impedance (Headphone Jack) Power Signal to Noise Ratio Separation
16 Ohm 2W 92db 99%
32 Ohm 1W 95db 99%
100 Ohm 0.32W 94db 99%
150 Ohm 0.20W 96db 99%
300 Ohm 0.1W

Wouldn't mind testing this against my essence stx to be honest.
 
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Sep 20, 2017 at 10:03 AM Post #3 of 1,256
this one look very interesting, i wish to review one of those, i like the design already
 
Sep 20, 2017 at 10:10 AM Post #5 of 1,256
Would replace my HA-2 which is used pretty exclusively for my desktop headphone amp - I'm guessing it comes unpopulated regarding opamps?

well at least for me nothing can replce my little special ha2-se, coz ,is my baaaby, shhtt; but in the end who knows ....
 
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Sep 20, 2017 at 11:09 AM Post #6 of 1,256
Would replace my HA-2 which is used pretty exclusively for my desktop headphone amp - I'm guessing it comes unpopulated regarding opamps?

If you go to the product page, you can buy it without the remote, and standard op-amps, or get it with remote and upgraded op-amps (prices vary).

USB input only, no analogue input.
 
Sep 20, 2017 at 6:28 PM Post #10 of 1,256
Sep 20, 2017 at 10:11 PM Post #11 of 1,256
Here's a picture of the back for you all:

_DSC3143a.jpg

Also they are offering the following discount for pre orders:

"Pre-order now open: Type foreplay at the checkout to receive 15% off (ending 30th, September 2017 )"
 
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Sep 20, 2017 at 11:48 PM Post #12 of 1,256
Very interesting, and if I'm not wrong, it has a lot in common with the Conductor Air. Plus I looked at the pricing table and saw that it'd be a bargain to buy this amp/DAC with Burson op-amps. Very nice indeed!
 
Sep 21, 2017 at 12:35 PM Post #14 of 1,256
I'm already sold! I have a Burson Conductor Air and an Asus Essence STX I use to source all my amps at my PCs. The Conductor Air already destroys the Asus at everything but SNR but the Cable+ more than makes up for that.

I plan on buying the PLAY - Basic, using the three v5 Duals from my Asus, and buying v5 Singles 2x, then using my remote from my Air (which I rarely use now). I am so stoked to hear what it is going to sound like :) I can only imagine a big brother to my Air which is already phenomenal.

Going to pre-order before the coupon expires. Hope the OpAmps arrive with or before the unit.

I've done reviews for Burson before and their stuff is no joke. I plan on comparing them to the Asus and each other when the PLAY and OpAmps arrive. I will post a review for everyone after.

Oh yeah, bye bye Essence STX :wink:
 
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