[Daygloworange]

Love the alligator clips and wires hanging out all over the place. What a bunch of mad scientists. I love it! 

Cheers

[mgalusha]

...so is the water bottle in the picture to put the fire out??  Lot's of opportunities to mix your AC's and your DC's there with batteries and all

It's actually denatured alcohol, I was using it to clean my turntable bearing.

[Double Ugly]

DU, correct me if I'm wrong - your experience was between A battery powered device and a similar device powered by quality AC, correct? 

Nope.  My experience involved a battery-powered device and the exact same device powered with a well-built PS.  I owned both, and the comparison took place in my home, and with my equipment.

The recent comparison was also extremely limited in scope. 

What comparison?

Drawing a sweeping conclusion related to one power source's superiority over the other is far beyond the reach of these experiences.  Add in human variability, and . . .

Maybe, but since I don't know to which experiences you're referring, I can neither agree nor disagree.  In the end, the best any of us can do is draw conclusions from (hopefully) valid comparisons, and apparently my personal data points conflict with yours.

I'm OK with that, but does it make me wrong?

Lessloss produces a DAC which uses battery power AND AC.  Why?  They say filtered AC is better at digital processing and that batteries are better with analog output functions.  They choose this approach for pure sonics, and I doubt anyone would claim this would be done to cut costs.

My experience makes me question why you'd think the only reason could be sonics.  Maybe it is for some - Lessloss, perhaps - but I have a very strong suspicion the same cannot be said of others.

Without disputing the results of the listening session (I can't, as I wasn't there), it is possible that other types of devices or simply other devices of the same type could benefit of one power source over the other.  It is similarly possible that 5 people in the same room could disagree over the results of this or any comparison.

Again, I don't know to what listening session you're referring, or what it has to do with my experiences.

I'm not trying to dictate answers here, for all I know AC is universally better all the time for everybody.  I just want to clarify "for the record" that the opinions expressed here should not be interpreted beyond their originating context.

What I said is that it is "prove(n)" to me, and don't recall suggesting anyone take my experiences or opinion any more or less seriously than anyone else's.  That you felt compelled to issue a warning of sorts strikes me as odd.  Is there an opinion expressed in this thread superior to the rest?

"For the record", my opinion is worth what every person here paid for it, meaning that it and a buck-fifty will get you half-way to a decent cup o' coffee.  What's yours worth, Mike? 

[jrebman]

Just out of curiosity, could the Burson Buffer be converted for use as a headphone amp?

Hmmm.. maybe. It has a very low output impedance, I measured 48 ohms @ 1KHz, so it might drive headphones fairly well. It certainly can swing enough voltage but I don't know about the current. Maybe we can convince Wayne to give it a try. We know he's got loads of spare time...  aa

Another possibility... could this buffer be used on the outputs of a TVC or other passive pre in a system where a totally passive setup just won't work due to cable lengths and the added capacitance that adds?

Now, that could be very cool.

-- Jim

[Wayne1]

Jim,

The Burson Buffer will do exactly that.

At some point in time, I hope to be able to offer a "pre-amp" that would consist of a Burson Buffer with a switch and analog volume control in front of it.

[miklorsmith]

DU - just now saw your reply.  After mgalusha's meeting which started this thread, discussion was had about AC vs. DC.  My comments weren't intended to minimize any of the comments made, merely to put them in proper context.  For instance, you corrected me that your comparisons were related to two identical devices with different power sources.

I have no doubt about your findings, nor those of the originating thread.  But, it is a mistake for those uninvolved with the results to expand their significance to all ears and gears.

The comments were not an attack on you.

My opinion is worth no more than anyone elses, though I might take 10x as long to express it.  On coffee, the key at Starrbucks is to go for dark drip - that'll get you the whole cup for $1.50.  

[jrebman]

At some point in time, I hope to be able to offer a "pre-amp" that would consist of a Burson Buffer with a switch and analog volume control in front of it.

Need a beta tester?

A remote and 4 or 5 sets of inputs and I'd be in business.

-- Jim

[zybar]

Well, I have the Burson Buffer in my system and I have to agree that it IMPROVES the sound.

I want to get a little more time before I say how it improves the sound.

Because I don't have a second set of my reference ic's (VH Audio Spectrum Cu), I am using the Electra ic's to go from the Burson to the Moscode 401HR.

So it sounds better, even though I am using a second set of ic's (that I don't like as much as my reference pair)!   

Thanks again Wayne for giving me the chance to hear the Burson in my system.

George

[pardales]

Two questions:

1) In your experiment you preferred the bolder modded (full mods) SB3 to the Attraction DAC in a head on comparison?

2) Where can I get one of those power supplies you mention liking over the SLA type? I'd like to try it with my Attraction DAC in place of my Optima Red Top.

Really interesting thread an experiment. Thanks for sharing


Thanks,

[Wayne1]

Mike's SB2 had the equivalent to the analog mods with Sonicap Platinum bypass caps and Gold Bybee Purifiers. That mod goes for around $1,000.00. It was used with an equivalent to the Ultimate PS MK II with Bybee Purifiers and Summit DC cable. Roughly $1400.00 for the power supply and cable.

I do believe the three of us preferred the sound of the analog outputs of the modded SB2 direct into the Marchand crossover over that of the SB2 digital output into the Altmann into the Marchand.

We did substitute my modded SB2 at one point into the system driving the Altmann. It has similar mods as Mike's with the addition of mods to the digital output with a Silver Bybee Purifier in the signal. We still liked the sound of the analog output of the SB over that of the digital output into the Altmann.

The power supply used for the Altmann is a prototype I built to test the "Ultimate PS" circuit for 12 volt output. I have built a couple more of these as special orders. The cost would be the same as the Ultimate PS MK II: $750.00 for the PS and between $100-$300.00 for the DC cable. The DC cable used with the Altmann for this experiment was a "Nitro"