You got this opamps for free. Its rather rare, that you write something bad about a present, so all of this reviews based on presents are not really something that we should care about.
If you had to pay $150 for a pair, then a review would make sense. Are this opamps worth the premuim price point if you consider that highend ti opamps cost 10 times less money.
This is nothing more than a clever advertising strategy and does not belong here, but into the commercial part of this forum. This is not really DIY.
If you had to pay $150 for a pair, then a review would make sense. Are this opamps worth the premuim price point if you consider that highend ti opamps cost 10 times less money.
This is nothing more than a clever advertising strategy and does not belong here, but into the commercial part of this forum. This is not really DIY.
Yes, it's true that Burson has an offer of free opamps when you write a public review. That being said, I have spent hundreds of dollars on different opamps through the years. I have a collection of about 7 V6 duals, only 2 are in use right now. The V6 Vivid is an excellent op amp, but not the best. The best I have used are the Sonic Imagery 994Enh, but they do have special requirements. They are the most expensive (at $94 per op amp) and are very demanding on the power supply if you want good results. This means something like 2x6800uf or 2x10,000uf on the main power supply (depending on number of op amp circuits). Plus you need really good local filter capacitors right next to the op amp (like 100uf or 220uf+47uf in parallel). If you don't have good local caps, it will still have good sound quality but may be just a bit thin, have less bass strength and not be as smooth sounding. They are extremely large and do not fit in all spaces, but if you are able to meet the above requirements, there is no other op amp.
The Burson V6 Vivid is the next best thing. It is very small square footprint (although it is tall). It is just very slightly warmer sounding than Sonic Imagery. It is not demanding on power supply, so you can get away with good sound on many more devices.
Sparkos is also excellent and an extremely clean sounding op amp, but they are voiced warmer and will have the high frequencies softened.
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I never looked at the graphs.
And it should have read “excellent feature”, not feather...
Nice to read about power supplies here also.
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If you paid 150 for them, then you have to deal with comfirmation bias, not sure how that helps.
Weirdly, none of the amateur psychologists ever mention the buyer's remorse bias. I wonder why this may be
That's exactly why this bias exists: you don't want to feel remorse, hence you force yourself to like it.
Being proud of that expensive purchase and trying to convince others that it was a great purchase is another way to look at it.
Anyway, I received free V6 vivid and classic, and vivid is clearly the best Op Amp I own so far. I did not like the V6 Classic which lacked dynamics and sounded soft.
Being proud of that expensive purchase and trying to convince others that it was a great purchase is another way to look at it.
Anyway, I received free V6 vivid and classic, and vivid is clearly the best Op Amp I own so far. I did not like the V6 Classic which lacked dynamics and sounded soft.
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Hearing biases are huge effects and can swamp actual differences: double-blind protocols are the only way to determine if your ears can really hear any difference. Consider the McGurk effect where your subjective hearing is startlingly changed by what you are looking at - your auditory system is influenced by other parts of the brain in involuntary ways.
YouTube
Anyway everyone knows that appreciation of music is dependent on mood (should be obvious really), so that the emotional response to the same sounds at different times can be very different.
So to get a level playing field for auditory response you have to be ignorant of the source so that you can't attach emotional meaning to the source, and you have to randomize the switching between sources and run multiple trials to build up a statistical measurement. When differences are small this is the only way to measure human hearing... For large differences everything is easy and straightforward, but not for subtle differences.
Another problem is when differences are small you have to match everything else (such as volume and room acoustics) accurately between the difference sources under test.
For an effect to be proven as real you have to be able to judge just from hearing it, not from prior knowledge.
Consider being asked to discriminate between two brands of electric guitar by listening to the same guitarist playing the same riff on each - if you're allowed to see the guitars its not a test of hearing at all...
YouTube
Anyway everyone knows that appreciation of music is dependent on mood (should be obvious really), so that the emotional response to the same sounds at different times can be very different.
So to get a level playing field for auditory response you have to be ignorant of the source so that you can't attach emotional meaning to the source, and you have to randomize the switching between sources and run multiple trials to build up a statistical measurement. When differences are small this is the only way to measure human hearing... For large differences everything is easy and straightforward, but not for subtle differences.
Another problem is when differences are small you have to match everything else (such as volume and room acoustics) accurately between the difference sources under test.
For an effect to be proven as real you have to be able to judge just from hearing it, not from prior knowledge.
Consider being asked to discriminate between two brands of electric guitar by listening to the same guitarist playing the same riff on each - if you're allowed to see the guitars its not a test of hearing at all...
Before I write an listening impressions of V6 Vivid, I would first like to thank Mr Carlos from Burson Audio for their samples.
I use them in my Najda DSP as a preamplifier compared with Classe Audio CP-500 and as 2 & 3 way digital crossover.
Najda DSP as a preamplifier:
Stock Najda use LM833N and after replacement with V6 Vivid the sound become more authoritative,had more details with better bass extension.
In the past i was using OPA2134 and OPA627 (with adapters). V6 Vivid shares qualities with OPA627. Details and soundstage are similar but it is easier to listen, music have soul.
Maybe on my Elsinore speakers i like OPA627 better on top end, but overall i prefer sound with Bursons.
Compering Najda DSP (with V6 Vivid upgrade) vs. Classe CP-500 it is hard to chose wich to listen (happy to have both)
Najda have very balanced sound from top to bottom. On the other site Classe is more transparent with huge soundstage but on some tracks sounds to thin.
It would interesting so hear Classe CP-500 with V6 Vivid op amps upgrade as it use OPA2134 originally.
The bad thing is that it uses 16 of them so it would be quite expensive. Maybe sometime.
Najda DSP as digital crossover.
Here i replace output op amps with Burson since i use optical input on my Najda. I really like now how my active speakers sounds.
It feels that there is even more difference like in preamplifier mode. Sound gains in same areas and its even more transparent.
Caution: those op amps are big. Fix them with care. While moving my Najda on rack one of the opamp was not completely in socket.
I broke some of my output channels because i was not careful enough. The good thing is that op amp survived without scratch.
Thanks again for the opportunity to test your op amps. Good luck in the future and keep up the great work.
Regards.
I use them in my Najda DSP as a preamplifier compared with Classe Audio CP-500 and as 2 & 3 way digital crossover.
Najda DSP as a preamplifier:
Stock Najda use LM833N and after replacement with V6 Vivid the sound become more authoritative,had more details with better bass extension.
In the past i was using OPA2134 and OPA627 (with adapters). V6 Vivid shares qualities with OPA627. Details and soundstage are similar but it is easier to listen, music have soul.
Maybe on my Elsinore speakers i like OPA627 better on top end, but overall i prefer sound with Bursons.
Compering Najda DSP (with V6 Vivid upgrade) vs. Classe CP-500 it is hard to chose wich to listen (happy to have both
) Najda have very balanced sound from top to bottom. On the other site Classe is more transparent with huge soundstage but on some tracks sounds to thin.
It would interesting so hear Classe CP-500 with V6 Vivid op amps upgrade as it use OPA2134 originally.
The bad thing is that it uses 16 of them so it would be quite expensive. Maybe sometime
.Najda DSP as digital crossover.
Here i replace output op amps with Burson since i use optical input on my Najda. I really like now how my active speakers sounds.
It feels that there is even more difference like in preamplifier mode. Sound gains in same areas and its even more transparent.
Caution: those op amps are big. Fix them with care. While moving my Najda on rack one of the opamp was not completely in socket.
I broke some of my output channels because i was not careful enough. The good thing is that op amp survived without scratch.
Thanks again for the opportunity to test your op amps. Good luck in the future and keep up the great work.
Regards.
HI . Here are my 2 cents on the subject ... First, I must mention that my opinion is in no way influenced by the two free samples by Mr. Carlos of Burson Audio. Anyway, I had already got all the necessary 10pcs. V6 Vivids for my 3-band active filter. Subsequently, I managed to damage one V6 after exposing it directly to 56 volts DC and had to use the kit from Mr. Carlos. Who was so kind as to offer me a free replacement for the damaged operational amplifier, even I explained to him, that the fault for the damage was entirely mine! So I can only confirm everything nicely written about these amplifiers. In my case, they replaced the LM4562. Of course I realize the difference in price, but this time I decided to make a system in which everything is at the highest (in my opinion) level. The speakers are Volt BM2500.4, Scan Speak 12mu and Raal 70-10. Sub is with Volt rv3143. Even the slightest change is quite audible. I really liked the LM4562 system, but Burson is on another level. I realized that it was not normal for my ears to hurt after half an hour of listening at a high level. With the Bursons, the pain disappeared. The resolution (which I drastically increased several times with various upgrades - most of which did not have to change anything) increased by a clearly audible level. The only place where Burson V6 Vivid was not the best choice in my system was on the input buffer of my filter. According to an explanation from a person from the forum, the Bursons are very fast and the bass (in buffer position) is slightly thinner. Now I use another op amp there, but with it, the highs are not at the level they were with Burson - so the search continues there ... As a summary I can say - not cheap, but the level of my system would not be the same without them. Including the free samples and the lifetime warranty - the price no longer seems so high. So I can only thank you for the opportunity to own this jewelry in my system! Thank you Mr. Carlos and Burson Audio!
Attachments
Hi Milen,
Great work!. Thank you for your honest review!.
Best regards,
Burson Audio
My particular opamp phono stage exploits the principal advantage of using opamps: the possibility for DC coupling. Something tells me even the best discrete opamps are not offset champions.
As for the postulate concerning gains below 5, i'm gonna show willpower and leave it unmolested. It's too cute to insult.
Not at all surprised at the results. IME IC opamps are more complicated than standard measurements and specifications encompass.
So I did this, put Burson V6 Classic on the output sockets which come stock, very courteous of Classe. 2134 swap. I would recommend this to any CP-500 owner, per pictures on the balanced outputs, huge dramatic lift in performance at every level. I took the plastic off the bursons to fit, and perfect... Better heat management too. Night and day.Compering Najda DSP (with V6 Vivid upgrade) vs. Classe CP-500 it is hard to chose wich to listen (happy to have both
Najda have very balanced sound from top to bottom. On the other site Classe is more transparent with huge soundstage but on some tracks sounds to thin.
It would interesting so hear Classe CP-500 with V6 Vivid op amps upgrade as it use OPA2134 originally.
The bad thing is that it uses 16 of them so it would be quite expensive. Maybe sometime
