[Makiah S]

I too have a unit in as well, but the V6 Vivid Op Amps I have are too tall to fit into the unit... I cannot re-seal the top plate with them installed, has any one else had an issue with this? The v6 Classics fit just fine, but the V6 vivids seem to have some kind of DIP extender on them

 

[newdoughboy]

Remove the dip socket

 

[Makiah S]

Remove the dip socket

Perfect thanks! I feel kinda stupid for not trying to yank it off. But seeing as it's not mine I try to be more careful with Manufacturer products than I would my own stuff. Either way thank you!

Though I will mention the adapters on the 2 Singles were kinda obvious and came off without much fuss.

The Dip Sockets on the 3 duals were MUCH more flush... It took me around 6 minuet's a piece to loosen it

Hopefully new customers are getting these units without the Dip Socket pre installed, thankfully I've got a "sturdy" finger nail I use during my day job to gently pry stuff like that apart... but I think a regular customer might have a greater risk at bending the pins trying to separate that adapter from the base unit

Either way it's not a big deal! Thanks again for the direction

 

[Makiah S]

With the Vivid Op Amp installed I'm finally giving this unit a listen! Starting out with my Audeze LCD 2 Pre Fazor, I have to say it sounds pretty good! I only did a quick and dirty comparison with my Geek Out V2+. But all in all I'm finding the Burson play to have better control down low from it's single SE output than the Geek Out V2+ from it's balanced output! So the Play is certianly packing the kind of power I expect from desktop amp!

 

[raoultrifan]

I spent some time testing the Basic 299.99 version of the play and I have to say it sounds pretty darn amazing. I still prefer it to the Schiit Multibit stack and it costs less money. Its one of the better values in DAC/AMP combos IMO, long as you can deal with the 8 ohm output impedance. Its not quite as detailed as the V6 Vivid version nor does it expand the soundstage in the same way but still sounds fantastic and a better deal as it is a lot cheaper.

[...]

I probably missed that, sorry. I wouldn't worry much about the 8 ohms impedance unless you're using 16 ohms headphones and you aim for the perfect dumping factor. I did some measurements recently and found out the following:
- max. volume 1 KHz @600 ohms = (7.5V RMS x 7.5V RMS)/600 = 93.75 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @300 ohms = 187.5 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @60 ohms = 925 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @30 ohms = 1.825 W
I was using dummy resistors to do the above tests and 10MHz scope.

From the above seems that output resistance for PLAY's amplifier is about 0.5 ohms for a load resistance > 32 ohms. For 16 ohms headphone most likely that PLAY's internal output resistance is around 8 ohms, like BURSON states, but I don't really care about this because I don't have 16 ohms IEMs and this amplifier was not designed with 16 ohms in mind, although it supports 16 ohms headphones (other amplifiers could get damaged or start oscillating the output stage when using low-impedance headphones, which is not the case with PLAY).


Explains how to measure output resistance of an amplifier

Below there are few scope graphs of a 1KHz sine-wave test signal (16 bit/48KHz).


7.5V RMS for loads of 600 ohms up to infinit


7.45V RMS for 60 ohms load


7.4V RMS for 30 ohms load

Seems a very potent headphone amplifier with an internal gain of 3.75X (7.5V RMS on outputs when 2V RMS applied) driven by latest generation of XMOS USB transport followed by an ES9018K2M DAC, a very good addition inside a PC case.

L.E.: The signal used was -3dB; with 0dB sinewaves the max. output voltage gets up to 10V RMS before clipping @600 Ohms!

 

[Makiah S]

I probably missed that, sorry. I wouldn't worry much about the 8 ohms impedance unless you're using 16 ohms headphones and you aim for the perfect dumping factor. I did some measurements recently and found out the following:
- max. volume 1 KHz @600 ohms = (7.5V RMS x 7.5V RMS)/600 = 93.75 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @300 ohms = 187.5 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @60 ohms = 925 mW
- max. volume 1 KHz @30 ohms = 1.825 W
I was using dummy resistors to do the above tests and 10MHz scope.

From the above seems that output resistance for PLAY's amplifier is about 0.5 ohms for a load resistance > 32 ohms. For 16 ohms headphone most likely that PLAY's internal output resistance is around 8 ohms, like BURSON states, but I don't really care about this because I don't have 16 ohms IEMs and this amplifier was not designed with 16 ohms in mind, although it supports 16 ohms headphones (other amplifiers could get damaged or start oscillating the output stage when using low-impedance headphones, which is not the case with PLAY).


Explains how to measure output resistance of an amplifier

Below there are few scope graphs of a 1KHz sine-wave test signal (16 bit/48KHz).


7.5V RMS for loads of 600 ohms up to infinit


7.45V RMS for 60 ohms load


7.4V RMS for 30 ohms load

Seems a very potent headphone amplifier with an internal gain of 3.75X (7.5V RMS on outputs when 2V RMS applied) driven by latest generation of XMOS USB transport followed by an ES9018K2M DAC, a very good addition inside a PC case.

Excellent hard data and measurements thank you! I've also got a set of the Basic Op Amps heading my way as well. At $299 I'm curious how it compares to my El Dac Vali 1 combo

 

[ostewart]

Glad to see more people enjoying the Burson Play

 

[selvakumar]

I got my second play circuit has improved with more capacitor in DC-DC converts stage output more refined

 

[Audio Addict]

Just an FYI for Play users, you might want to try a different USB cable than the one that came with the Play. I swapped out to a BLACK CAT USB I had laying around and the clarity plus volume was much improved. On my HE560, volume had to be dropped from 40 down to 27/28 range.

 

[newdoughboy]

My review is up guys. If you have been following This Thread then it was just the same results and a full write up.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-play.22702/reviews

And audio addict, I thought digital signal was just digital. I didn't think better cable would change the volume. Shouldn't the USB card just relay the same information to the DAC? I Can Only Imagine damaged cords to cause false information and errors. I am no expert in this topic by the way.

 

[newdoughboy]

Perfect thanks! I feel kinda stupid for not trying to yank it off. But seeing as it's not mine I try to be more careful with Manufacturer products than I would my own stuff. Either way thank you!

Though I will mention the adapters on the 2 Singles were kinda obvious and came off without much fuss.

The Dip Sockets on the 3 duals were MUCH more flush... It took me around 6 minuet's a piece to loosen it

Hopefully new customers are getting these units without the Dip Socket pre installed, thankfully I've got a "sturdy" finger nail I use during my day job to gently pry stuff like that apart... but I think a regular customer might have a greater risk at bending the pins trying to separate that adapter from the base unit

Either way it's not a big deal! Thanks again for the direction

Mine came with the ic opamps installed, and they were much harder to remove without damaging. But for my testing between the discreet versus the IC, I put the IC in the dip socket so they were safely protected and easy to swap.

 

[Makiah S]

Mine came with the ic opamps installed, and they were much harder to remove without damaging. But for my testing between the discreet versus the IC, I put the IC in the dip socket so they were safely protected and easy to swap.

It's a matter of height, for the smaller IC opAmps yes the DIP sockets are likely a big help on opAmps so small. For the larger ones it's too much. Either way, it's good that I have them as I'll be listening to the Play with the smaller "basic" op amps as well. I'm curious to hear both the Basic and totl set up

 

[Wiljen]

I wonder what it would take to put together an opamp A-B switch? Would be fun at a show with blind testing to be able to put together a rig using the Play or maybe a Soloist - let the end user bring the headphones and see how much difference the Vivids make to the chain when compared something like the Muses or the 2134.

 

[Audio Addict]

My review is up guys. If you have been following This Thread then it was just the same results and a full write up.

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-play.22702/reviews

And audio addict, I thought digital signal was just digital. I didn't think better cable would change the volume. Shouldn't the USB card just relay the same information to the DAC? I Can Only Imagine damaged cords to cause false information and errors. I am no expert in this topic by the way.

I won't get into a cable debate but I had to turn the volume down after switching out the stock cable. The lower may have been the basis for perceived improved clarity.

If you wanted to try, consider something from Blue Jean Cable. They are pretty inexpensive.

 

[newdoughboy]

I will definitely give it a try. I was going to ask you for the suggestion too. Thanks