Burson 160D ????

[Bigfish8]

I was talking with a friend earlier this week and he told me he will likely purchase a Burson 160D for his second system.  He needs a DAC and a little more gain in his system.  Apparently there has been a professional review of the Burson 160D and the reviewer gave it outstanding marks as a DAC and as a headphone amp. 

Do any of you guys have any experience with the Burson 160D?  I am not in the market but would be interested in your comments.

Ken

[lonewolfny42]

This review Ken.... ?

[Regg]

I've had one here for a little over a week.

Very smooth, very musical, and generally non-fatiguing would be the best way I could describe my initial impressions of this unit.

The trade-off here, in my opinion, is that there is a slight lack of dynamic 'heft' and energy...as opposed to my Metric Halo DAC, which sometimes has the kind of 'slam' that will give you a headache.

If some additional break-in time can bring out a bit more presence and weight out of this DAC, I'd say we have quite a bargain here.

So far I prefer using the Burson without my preamp, BTW. Your mileage may most certainly vary.

[philotechnic]

I'm the friend, so thanks for posting this Ken.

I've just seen that Burson are bringing out a dedicated DAC/Buffer in the next few weeks, based on the 160D - so this will be the one for my second system.

[stringdriventhing]

Hey Ken - we've "touched bases" before via Computer Audiophile. I was in the initial "study" phase of my Great DAC Search and emailed you regarding some remarks you had posted, you were nice enough to respond.

Anywho, I do not own the Burson HA-160D but have read the 6moons review I believe you were referencing and have read quite a few postings, primarily on Head-Fi about the Burson. I'm wrapping up assembly of a new speaker-based system but intend to transition into assembling a secondary headphone-based system for "critical" listening, in a manner that will free me from the cruel bondage of crappy room acoustics.

The Burson, while certainly offering much in the way of features at a "reasonable" price, hasn't made it to MY list of candidates. I was more than a little putt-off by reports of operational issues, at least in the early run of production - difficulties with computer recognition of the Burson via USB, gain that ramped up too quickly, and some noise/hum issues scattered amongst a number of unrelated posts. I would suspect that Burson has been proactive in addressing these sorts of problems and the units currently available for purchase may be impeccable, but I moved on to the Centrance DACmini as my prime candidate for a USB DAC / HP amp / preamp combination.

http://www.centrance.com/products/dacmini/

It's more affordable at $795, is suitably compact for my application, is at least designed here in the U.S.of A., and best of all for me, is getting positive feedback as a good match for the Audeze LCD-2 orthodynamic headphones I intend to acquire. Anyway, best of luck - String (Maldeguerre at CA)