Burson HA-160 amp

Diamond Dog · « **on:** 3 Jan 2011, 06:46 pm »

Anybody have any experience re: this amp? Reviews are very good and I'm not going to be able to audition it so I'm looking to increase the survivability of a leap-of-faith purchase. Phones I'm using would be HD600's which should not create any issues with this amp. WAF should be throught the roof !

Thanks

Canman · « **Reply #1 on:** 3 Jan 2011, 07:04 pm »

I have heard the HA160D (same amp w/ DAC I think) extensively w/ the HD800s and have found it to be an extemely fine headphone amp. The most remarkable thing has been the complete black background. It is not fatiguing and has a well balanced sound not grainy at all. Highly recommended.

ted_b · « **Reply #2 on:** 3 Jan 2011, 07:30 pm »

At 6Moons review site Srajan has made the Burson HA-160D not only his reference headphone amp but also his REFERENCE DAC, ousting his (and my) Weiss DAC2, a $3k standalone DAC.

dspringham · « **Reply #3 on:** 3 Jan 2011, 08:43 pm »

Hey Ted,

Pretty high praise for the HD160D from Srajan. Do you have any plans to audition one of these anytime soon?

I've got a Zodiac+ on the way but with the glowing review on the Burson I'm wondering if I should have picked up the HD160D to try first. Unfortunately the dealer (Parts Connexion) does not offer a trial period.

Seems Burson puts a lot of effort into it's analogue output stages which would appear to turn Srajan's crank. Accordingly it appears that the output stage is responsible for much of the "fleshed out" signature of the DAC. The 160D output Z is spec'd at a very low 60 ohms. Referencing the Zodiac, I'm wondering if a Burson Buffer hung on the analogue outputs would add some extra heft that is "reportably" missing from the Antelope's sound. Any idea what the o/p Z of the Zodiac+ is?

Dave

ted_b · « **Reply #4 on:** 3 Jan 2011, 08:49 pm »

I told Srajan that he needed to hear the Zodiac Plus with lots more hours on it (300+ hours brings lots of heft and weight, missing early on), but he couldn't..it would have been way beyond his review timeline. One new twist is this...Antelope has a $700 add on power supply called the Volticus which Antelope claims adds huge heft and weight to the Zodiac line, and is standard with their Gold DAC.

No idea of the Z on the Plus.

Also, I'd love to audition the 160D but no dealers willing (not likely a huge profit margin on a $1100 Australian product). Neil (clearsound, see below) is a good guy, though, should you wanna purchase.

clearsound · « **Reply #5 on:** 3 Jan 2011, 10:44 pm »

Hi, We have the Burson HA-160D running here... be happy to go over it with you, if you like. --Neil

clearsoundaudio1.com urthere1@aol.com

Noseyears · « **Reply #6 on:** 5 Jan 2011, 01:07 am »

The HA-160 have a good synergy with Sennheiser hp's, i have listened to it before (HD650) and i was blown away.

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #7 on:** 9 Jan 2011, 04:35 am »

Thanks for your responses, folks. Think I'll be pursuing this!

jules · « **Reply #8 on:** 9 Jan 2011, 05:10 am »

Check out the audio-gd options before you decide. Good prices, good choice and I can vouch for excellent customer service [slightly better than Burson

]

http://www.audio-gd.com/Pro/Headphone%20systemsEN.htm

While I've never seen it confirmed, Burson equipment appears to be made by audio-gd.

jules

Noseyears · « **Reply #9 on:** 26 Jan 2011, 12:25 am »

Hey diamond dog, did you have any chance to give it a try?

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #10 on:** 26 Jan 2011, 03:07 am »

Quote from: Noseyears on 26 Jan 2011, 12:25 am

Hey diamond dog, did you have any chance to give it a try?

Hey Noseyears - thanks for touching base

! It's on the back burner for a bit as other priorities are currently competing for time and $$$ ( and haven't we all been there? ) but it's definitely still on the radar. 2010 was an absolute orgy of system rebuilding for me ( replaced source, power, pre and speakers ) so I've still got the afterglow from all that to tide me over for a bit yet.

D.

Noseyears · « **Reply #11 on:** 1 Feb 2011, 01:39 am »

I feel you, sometimes money is an object and you have to wait to save up a little more. (considering that you spent lots on upgrading)
Keep us posted, to see how everything goes!

Larkston Zinaspic · « **Reply #12 on:** 1 Feb 2011, 11:38 pm »

Well, looks like Srajan just made another sale for Burson...sent my payment to Clearsound for the HA-160D. I hate giving into hype, but I was much too curious this time around. We'll see what happens.

Neil is a pleasure to deal with, BTW.

Diamond Dog · « **Reply #13 on:** 3 Feb 2011, 12:52 am »

Quote from: Larkston Zinaspic on 1 Feb 2011, 11:38 pm

Well, looks like Srajan just made another sale for Burson...sent my payment to Clearsound for the HA-160D. I hate giving into hype, but I was much too curious this time around. We'll see what happens.

Neil is a pleasure to deal with, BTW.

Thanks, fellow King Crimson fan! Keep us posted !

D.

tomwhite · « **Reply #14 on:** 9 Feb 2011, 03:59 pm »

Quote from: Larkston Zinaspic on 1 Feb 2011, 11:38 pm

Well, looks like Srajan just made another sale for Burson...sent my payment to Clearsound for the HA-160D.

Man, i look forward for impressions with your current setup.
Im interested.

rob-fi · « **Reply #15 on:** 11 Feb 2011, 03:51 pm »

Larkston, im curious about your headphones. Which ones you have?

cryoparts · « **Reply #16 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 10:51 pm »

Quote from: jules on 9 Jan 2011, 05:10 am

While I've never seen it confirmed, Burson equipment appears to be made by audio-gd.

jules

No, Burson is made in Oz, not China.

Peace,

Lee

dspringham · « **Reply #17 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 11:13 pm »

Lee,

Notice at Cryoparts you are offering the Antelope dacs as well as the Buson HD-160.

Have you had a chance to compare the 160 with the Zodiac+? If so, impressions?

Thank you

Regards,
Dave

jules · « **Reply #18 on:** 16 Feb 2011, 11:23 pm »

Yes, Burson is an Australian company and I rather wish we could claim their products as "made in Australia" but I've followed Burson and audio-gd for some years, I own products from each of them and I'm confident of my statement. Early Burson buffers for example, were externally and internally identical to buffers produced by audio-gd [no longer available outside China].

jules

cryoparts · « **Reply #19 on:** 17 Feb 2011, 12:02 am »

Quote from: dspringham on 16 Feb 2011, 11:13 pm

Lee,

Notice at Cryoparts you are offering the Antelope dacs as well as the Buson HD-160.

Have you had a chance to compare the 160 with the Zodiac+? If so, impressions?

Thank you

Regards,
Dave

Waiting for my shipment of the DAC's to arrive from Burson, as soon as they do, I will do a comparison after all are run in for a week, or so. Should be an interesting comparison, as the two companies have quite different approaches.

Peace,

Lee