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Burson vs. Antelope as headphone amps with DACs: Quoting from my Zodiac+ review,"...to headphones the Antelope was Sennheiser's HD800. The Burson was beyer-dynamic's T1. The Zodiac+ was more aerated, lithe and fluffy plus—here the tie-in with the stock HD800 stops—smooth. This combination of qualities proved very much secondary however to the Burson's audibly greater drive. This drive translated into higher solidity, density, tone color richness and, quite simply, more substance. That suite of qualities dominated. The general difference was very much like swapping in a more powerful speaker amplifier. Superior control nets greater firmness, higher power greater dynamic contrasts. While smaller amps in a line routinely are somewhat more sophisticated, that's often outweighed by improved drive into wide-bandwidth more demanding loads.

"While Antelope's headphone output had sufficient voltage to generate fully satisfactory levels from today's best headphones—on loudness, the Zodiac's circuit was as 'powerful' as the Burson—and while it was of obviously higher quality than raw convenience sockets on receivers; it was bested by the less than half-priced Australian. The latter's raison d'être is first and foremost as dedicated headphone amplifier. To that platform then were added a DAC and relay-switched inputs. The Zodiac+ seems first and foremost a converter to which were tagged headphone outputs for studio monitoring. For demanding audiophile headfiers, the Burson is the better more focused choice... In that context, don't think of the Zodiac+ as a headphone amp with DAC. Think of it as a very advanced pro-audio DAC with studio caliber (but not ultimate audiophile) headphone sockets."


To recapitulate, the analog part of the equation proved more important than a few possible percentage points of math in digital signal processing. As a headphone amp, the Burson clearly beat the Antelope. Would this hold true for speaker listening when each machine acted only as variable-gain converter? Not as a clear win but simply two equally valid though different presentations. The Zodiac+ had somewhat higher resolving power and the clearly upper hand on upper harmonic finesse for spookier soundstaging particularly on m.a.-type minimalist location recordings in ambient-rich monastic settings. On the lower hand, the Burson was beefier, grippier and more robust. To overdraw for emphasis, the Burson was a Zu Essence, the Antelope a Franck Tchang Tango R with two of its three woofers disconnected. In an upscale context well beyond the Burson's own price where everything was balanced just so, most would likely give the Zodiac+ a nod on ultimate sophistication and refinement. In a context financially matched to the Burson as $1.100 DAC/pre, I'd expect a draw. Whenever a system was shy on tone density and color saturation to put the burden of those aspects on the DAC, the Burson would clearly win.

Burson vs. Weiss as DACs: This was a repeat performance. Burson's converter clearly was no 3rd-class USB traveler. On bass heft and impact, it relegated my Weiss to 2nd place, the Antelope to 3rd. This produced a very solid foundation. More importantly, it affected the perception of tone colors by adding black to the midrange. Timbres and images grew denser and more saturated. This was quite similar to replacing my FirstWatt F5 amp with the white Serbian monos below. The F5 is more lit up, lithe-ankled and microdynamically highly responsive and astute. The Kaivalyas are a bit richer overall and heavier in the bass in particular while not painting with quite as fine-tipped a brush. Even so, the valve monos are the more toneful and saturated just like the Burson.


The HA-160D also reminded me of Yamamoto's YDA-01 DAC. It too had excelled at these rich colors mixed with potent bass and a very organic feel. Like team Burson, Shigeki Yamamoto had made no bones about being an analogue man. He had focused his personal contributions to the DAC project on the I/V conversion stage—discrete, in his case passively with resistors as Ivo Linnenberg does with his one-box cd3E top loader—and a single-ended class A transistor output stage. Perhaps the sonic and philosophical similarities between Yamamoto and Burson were pure coincidence? If so, they certainly presented themselves quite loudly.

Frankly, I was shocked by how dominant a performer the Burson was as D/A converter. All it needed to 'arrive' was being warmed up for about 30 minutes. My newer sound room's lack of wall behind the listening seat (it's about 7 meters away) lightens the overall bass balance at the ear. I very much enjoy the lack of corner-induced bass compression which usually assaults one from the corners behind the seat. A certain lack of the usual room gain in the bass meanwhile makes for a leaner overall tonal balance. With the Burson permanently in the chain, I wouldn't feel rushed to address it. Rather than lean and prickly, it sounds full and rich.


The Australians' claim that insufficient attention is spent on the I/V conversion stage to promote instead fawning over high-spec digital 'ultra' chips repeated itself like an earworm. I was trying to silence it as marketing propaganda. My ears meanwhile knew that something vital was in place. The Weiss Minerva aka DAC2 received widespread attention during its pre DAC202 reign. For the upstart from Oz to beat it on important core qualities was unexpected. On general image density in the stage's outer quadrants, it did better than the Weiss which is denser in the center but fades a bit at the edges. If you find the Weiss somewhat cerebral, the Burson is clearly more earthy and gutsy. It is stronger on tone saturation and image heft. This difference is not subtle. It's like swapping a transistor preamp for a tube preamp*. In my context depicted above, I had a clear preference for the Burson. Given the price difference—the Weiss is essentially three times more—and the HA160D's excellence on headphones for which the Weiss provides no sockets, this was a real discovery. Far from being a fashionable convenience feature, the 'D' part of the new HA160 stood on its on own feet with exceptional merit.
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* When I received my Audez'e LCD-2 orthodynamic headphones with Ken Ball's chain-mail cable, I did extensive A/Bs between iMac/Entreq Firewire/Weiss/Woo Model 5 and iMac/Entreq USB/Burson to determine which of the two amps would be my personal go-to amp for my new favorite headphones. The Woo ($4.000 with all the optional parts upgrades I had the manufacturer install) is a 300B SET with 6SN7 drivers and twin 5U4G rectifiers. Mine runs with all Synergy Hifi glass. The tube amp was texturally richer and dimensionally larger but particularly on the first count a lot less than expected. The Burson was grippier in the bass and dynamically more exciting. Because its tone textures were so close to the direct-heated triodes which in headphone mode never approach deep THD colorations, the HA160D got the final nod. While that's a personal call, the important fact remains that on tube virtues relating to timbre, the Australian transistors on an innately rich vibrant headphone like the Audez'e were such a close second.

HiPod headfi detour. The below setup should get headfiers' attention. For €200 retail and delivered by post, Onkyo's ND-S1 dock is cheaper than Wadia's 170i but likewise extracts the raw digits from an iPod via Apple's authentication chip over Toslink or coax with a ±10ppm circuit clock. Basic features include auto switching to the iPod upon insertion, iPod recharging and a small remote (not that the latter should see much if any use in a standard bedside or similar headphone context though it does work splendidly from 5 meters away). The power supply is a universal 5V/1A wall wart, dimensions are a petite 205 x 24 x 175mm WxHxD and weight is 530g. Trim is black or silver and a USB port can pass digital files from a hard drive through the digital outputs or sync up the iPod to an iTunes library. In streaming terms, this Onkyo + iPod combo makes for a complete digital transport. It's small and cheap but very effective.

To report on how Apple's Wolfson DAC with its IC output stage stacked up to Burson's far beefier converter stage, I connected my usual Sieben Technology dock to one of the amp's analog inputs and played musical docking chairs. Likewise for comparing iMac/USB and iPod/coax feeds on the same music files.

Over both headphones and speakers, I thought that the S/PDIF feed over the Onkyo had a slight advantage in solidity and substance where the iMac's USB feed being somewhat sharper on the leading edge sounded a tad thinner. I have no idea how or whether Apple's authentication chip differs from an iMac's USB output to feel comfortable assigning cause. I simply felt vindicated that with uncompressed files, a little iPod plus mass-market digital dock stood up fine to an $1.800 iMac server.


iPod analog vs digital ended very badly for analog. In the most basic terms, going through the iPod's own analog outputs diluted everything over putting the Burson in charge. Words like pale, ghostly, emasculated and spatially imploded and compacted all capture the effect.

For headfi, the smart money wants to know how the $999 Peachtree Audio iDecco held up to the $1.500 Onkyo/Burson combo ($123 Black Cat Veloce digital cable included). The Burson's winning streak continued. Whether due to higher gain, beefier power supplies, discrete current-to-voltage stage or actual converter implementation, it again had the more robust intense presentation with deeper blacks. The iDecco was more laid back energetically and in staging perspective and injected more white into the color palette. Even accounting for taste, I believe that a good cross section of listeners would have unanimously crowned the Onkyo/Burson duo victorious while admitting that this came at the cost of 50% more money. For an all-in-one solution that drives monitor speakers to boot, the iDecco still rules. If your needs don't include loudspeakers however, the Burson with an Onkyo or Wadia-style iPod dock become an unambiguous and very noticeable step up over headphones.

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