Saying Hello - and the BURSON HA-160D versus the CORDA CONCERTO + CORDA STAGEDAC
Feb 4, 2011 at 6:32 AM Post #16 of 37


Quote:
red jacket mike said:
I'd have to agree with the poster above who mentioned the Concerto's low noise floor.  I ordered the Concerto/Stage DAC combination 3 weeks ago, and they arrived today.  I haven't had much chance to listen yet, but I have noitced how extremely quiet the amp is.  I also have a tube amp (Woo WA6SE) which sounds amazing, but it is not totally silent.  The Concerto is.
 
I purchased the Stage DAC because of the crossfeed features; I haven't yet had a chance to experiment with them though.  So far, I love the sound, and the build quality (fit and finish) are excellent as well.  
 
Because I am in the USA, and these came from Germany, I also paid attention to the packaging, and what was included with the 2 units.  They were double boxed, well padded, and included were 2 heavy duty AC cords, a USB A/B cable and a very nice quality optical cable.  Very detailed instruction manuals for both were included as well.  
 
So far, I'm quite pleased with my purchase, and anxious to explore all of the options the Stage DAC offers.
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Thanks Mike, I'll be interested in your future experience of the combination as I've got until April until the fund are available. Regards
 
Feb 14, 2011 at 4:26 PM Post #18 of 37


Quote:
brasewel said:
I have ordered a Concerto + StageDAC combo and will post my impressions once I receive them
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Great 
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Feb 14, 2011 at 5:21 PM Post #19 of 37
Feb 19, 2011 at 9:16 PM Post #22 of 37
Fellow Head-Fi'er Zenpunk and I had a 2-hour head-to-head session comparing the Burson HA-160D vs. the combination of the Meier Audio StageDAC and the Concerto. The headphones used included: Sennheiser HD600, HD650, AKG K 702 and Denon AH-D2000. Sources were: Onkyo dock (coaxial), Pure i-20 dock (coaxial and optical) and laptop via USB.
 
I brought a legal pad to take notes.
 
I didn't write a word.
 
Why? Nothing interesting to say. There was virtually no difference in sound. We compared the DACs only, we compared the headphone amps only. We compared the complete systems against eachother. Nothing interesting to say about any of the comparisons, period.
 
There are physical differences, which I may write up sometime when I have more time and less work. But for sound quality, I'd say it's a dead heat. The only differences worth mentioning are (i) that the Meier setup includes his (optional) crossfeed (but as I've written elsewhere, crossfeed is subtle -- hardly noticeable in most songs -- and has the potential to degrade clarity), (ii) volume can be more finely controlled on the Meier and the volume knob isn't nearly as stiff as the Burson, (iii) the Meier setup is limited to 16 bit / 48 kHz via USB (but not via coaxial. It also has an internal upsampling feature), and (iv) the Burson has more inputs (but no optical input, for digital it is USB and coaxial only - there are also three analog inputs).
 
Best regards,
Adam
 
Feb 20, 2011 at 4:51 AM Post #23 of 37
As Adam said our comparaison was only remarkable by how similar the Meier stack and Bursron sounded. I thought the Burson was a smidge more lit up in the treble region but both sounded very good. Bass extension and weight, mids, details or soundstage presentation were indistinguishable between the two . I believe anybody hesitating between those units will have to make their decision more based on features than on SQ. As said the Burson as 3 extra analogue stereo inputs which are great to compare sources but only one SPDIF coax input in addition to the USB while the Stagedac offers 2 coaxs and one optical but the Concerto only has one analogue input.
The most surprising to me was how good the dac inside the Pure-i 20 is, showing how far digital audio technology has come.
 
Feb 20, 2011 at 9:29 PM Post #24 of 37
Too bad no Senn 800 on hand as thats the can that showed differences in the Concerto v B22 in the bass region on my rig.  Personally leaning towards the Burson to free up some cabling and desk space but Jan is world class and very good to deal with.  Burson has been very quick and eager to fix problems but that also means... there have been problems with early units of pretty much their entire line up.
 
Feb 20, 2011 at 11:14 PM Post #25 of 37
I'm pulling the trigger on the 160D.
Burson have done a good job with this version with Dac...sounds more refined to my tastes and very powerful. (driving K702's) i had the chance to audition it on my friend house, using 24bit files with foobar 2000.   
Simply awesome. 
 
Feb 21, 2011 at 9:26 AM Post #27 of 37
solude said:
Too bad no Senn 800 on hand as thats the can that showed differences in the Concerto v B22 in the bass region on my rig.  Personally leaning towards the Burson to free up some cabling and desk space but Jan is world class and very good to deal with.  Burson has been very quick and eager to fix problems but that also means... there have been problems with early units of pretty much their entire line up.
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It is true that using cans such as HD800 could have unveiled more differences. I should also points that the Burson is definatly more powerfull so might be a better choice for hard to drive headphone.
Regarding desk space the Burson is quite large compare to the Meier. It also get quite hot and Adam told me the case acts as a heatsink so stacking things on top might not be good idea.
 
Feb 21, 2011 at 9:39 AM Post #28 of 37
I definitely would not recommend placing anything on top of the Burson. It may not reach the ridiculous levels of some amps in terms of temperature, but it is not insignificant. The case is made of fairly massive aluminum panels. They did this for a reason (to act as a giant heatsink, as zenpunk noted), so I would respect it and let the case do its thing unimpeded.
 
Lest anyone get the wrong idea, the Burson won't heat a room (even a small one), so I don't think it will affect ambient comfort levels. But you're not going to feel a strong desire to leave your hand on it for extended periods of time. Unless you're a masochist, of course...
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Feb 21, 2011 at 4:44 PM Post #29 of 37
Meant space saving compared to my B22 and Stello which have to be side by side.
 
Feb 27, 2011 at 4:06 AM Post #30 of 37
Hi everyone!
 
I'm actually in the same dilemma and thanks for providing your impressions i this thread. I've also gathered some advantages of the Burson 160D over the Meier combination, please correct me if I'm wrong!
 
1. Cheaper in terms of RRP, further cheaper because doesn't require interconnects
2. Has 2 headphone outs instead of 1
3. Higher sampling rates through direct USB output
 
I have another question:
 
Does the Burson 160D have a line out directly from the DAC so that I can use another amp? Asking this because I'm considering getting a STAX system with a separate electrostatic amp. If it is possible, can sound be output to both systems (the Stax amp + headphone and say 2 headphones connected to the Burson DAC/Amp)? Occassionally my friends bring their headphones and we listen together in the same room (yeah, sounds odd but it does happen :p)
 
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