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all five USB connectors on the 151 are of the USB-A type...
Description: Music server/ streamer with 24/192 upsampling digital processor and analog volume control, 2TB internal SSD, CD playback and ripping capability, remote control, and downloadable iPad control app that can administer a music library, stream internet radio and music services, and play music from USB stick, NAS, internal memory, CD, or network storage, and streaming services including Tidal, Qobuz, and Idagio. Digital input/output: RCA, TosLink, USB 2.0 (3), USB 3.0, Ethernet (RJ-45, Wi-Fi). Analog input: Stereo mini XLR (2 mini-XLR male to XLR female 1m cables included). BurLink RS232 serial link interface for home integration. Analog outputs: 1 pair XLR (balanced), 1 pair RCA (single-ended). Remote trigger: 5.5/2.5mm DC in/DC out. Audio formats supported: FLAC, WAV/MP3/AIFF/OGG/AAC/ ALAC. Sample rates supported: Up to PCM 24/384 (resampled to 24/192 or 24/96) and DSD256 (converted to 24/192 or 24/96 PCM). Output impedance (balanced/single-ended): 500 ohms/250 ohms. Maximum output level at 1% THD+N: 13V (depending upon output profile). Frequency range, digital and CD: <1Hz½ FS (DAC), S/N ratio: >105dBV. THD+N at 1kHz, 10Hz22kHz: <0.0008%. Gain: variable. Power consumption: standby <20mA, active <200mA.
Dimensions: 18.98" (482mm) W × 3.78" (96mm) H × 14.45" (367mm) D. Weight: 17.4lb (7.9kg).
Finish: Polished aluminum with chromed brass faceplate.
Serial number of unit reviewed: 1395059. Manufactured in Germany.
Price: $27,500. Approximate number of US dealers: 12.
Manufacturer: Burmester Audiosysteme, Wilhelm-Kabus-Straße 47, 10829 Berlin, Germany. Phone: +49 30 7879680. Web: burmester.de. US distributor: Rutherford Audio, 14 Inverness Drive East, Unit G-108, Englewood, CO 80111. Web: rutherfordaudio.com.
"The 151 MK2's playback options are numerous. It can play files from USB sticks: There's a USB-C input on the front panel for convenience."
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if you can cram a USB-C stick into that front socket & get it render music :) check out p. 20 of the 151's manual, it's USB-A up front as well...
You were right and I was wrong,
I apologize for not doing my due diligence.
herb
This is a common problem with music server software generally. Once the music is ingested, everything works fine, but ingesting music and setting up a library is an error-prone process. Fixing it up—in my experience at least—requires a certain amount of competence in information technology.
This is certainly true but I think it is much more significant for proprietary servers, such as the Burmester under review and the many other dedicated boxes whose embedded firmware does not support editing/tagging functions. That category includes those which run under such proprietary systems as HEOS and BlueOS. In all of these, the metadata has to be managed by some external device. Software-based systems that run Roon, Jriver, Audirvana, etc., have internal tagging/editing functions that can manage these tasks internally and more easily.
Kal,
I'm not as familiar with some of the other systems you listed, but I know that for years Roon--which I otherwise greatly admire and use daily--refused to take any responsibility for ingesting music, and even today, its functionality in that regard is limited. It does fine for mainstream first releases, but it struggles with repackaged reissues--especially multidisc boxed sets.
I'll stand behind the assertion that for all these systems, not just the "proprietary" ones, ingestion of music remains a struggle.
Jim Austin, Editor
Stereophile
I was being generous to Roon because of its rich data resources that, afaik, dwarfs those of all other players. That is the reason I included it with the other software packages that I've used even though they really limit the user's ability to edit and manipulate metadata. OTOH, the contrast between players that simply "ingest" music and those that offer the facilities to manage/edit/reconfigure music data and display preferences seems to correspond to the distinction between embedded proprietary players and those that are software based.
I'll stand behind the assertion that for all these systems, not just the "proprietary" ones, ingestion of music remains a struggle.
Yes but ingestion is improved if the input is correctly prepared, flavored and presented to please the palate. The music players that provide useful tools help me insure that.
This is a not a quality review.
I could tolerate unrepentant subjectivity from Art Dudley because of his amusing style, but not from JVS with his empty blather, e.g., "music sings supreme."
There is evidence of poor design with this device-- e.g., "We never make products intentionally complex,"-- yet it sounds like a very unintuitive interface.
Big red flag-- the designer was cagey about which chip is used! Couldn't the reviewer take a peek at the innards? Nothing about the volume control? Coupling caps?
The designer claims "SUBSTANZ" but the reviewer has a duty to apply KRITIK to such claims. This review mostly regurgitated the company line and as such is unhelpful.
For me to regain confidence in JVS, I suggest that he undertake some blind ABX demonstrations to verify his listening ability. Particularly with more subtle devices like a DAC, or a preamp, a reader like me would like to know if any difference is detectable or not.
PS: My primary objection here is a failure to look beyond the marketing BS of the seller. I don't expect a reviewer to be an electrical engineer, but the failure to look under the hood is journalistic malpractice. And to be clear, I'm not asking reviewers to do ABX for every review. It's laborious, time-consuming and risky to one's credibility. But when a review fails to enlighten, a little investment in the scientific rigor of ABX listening would bring us all out of the Dark Ages of total BS. It's the bridge between fanciful subjectivity and honest objectivity.
PPS: I do appreciate the music reviews from JVS. But his product reviews strike me as deeply lacking.
Hi
Agreed. A good reviewer should override the usual marketing/sales pitches provided by the vendors & provide hands-on using/audition experience of the product under review as if a potential purchaser of the product.
That's what we audio consumers go after.
Listening is believing
Jack L
to be exposed to the world at large for business reasons. No consumer by rights of purchase is guaranteed access to technology IP. If they sealed the dac module, would some suggest to bust it open to get to the 'truth'?
The same holds true for the manufacturer. Many simply aren't going to share their trade secrets. It's nice to pretend that consumer transparency is attainable, but I don't think it is. Should the manufacturer lay out their engineering design choices in a crowded field of competition? Do other industries do this, even a bit? No, they don't.
Some feel JVS' music reviews are trustworthy and his product reviews are not. The lack of trust lies more at the poster than the author. I also believe Burmester has a product that JVS states as he hears it. All else is idealistic dross to demand more.
Many high-end preamp reviews display the innards so we can behold the handiwork, e.g., surprisingly NAGRA uses a $10 ALPS pot, while Shindo uses a somewhat less ordinary Tokyo Cosmos pot. And DAC reviews normally indicate the chip or R2R selection. I don't expect a full "open the kimono" from the designer, but here the designer was SO cagey that it's a red flag begging for scrutiny. It's a $30K preamp-DAC! Is it too much to ask a few simple questions? My pre costs much less, and I know about its choke filter and its coupling caps and the different tubes and the pot and the transformer. It's part of the hobby.
Moreover, Burmester makes speakers and preamps and amps and car audio. So are they great at everything? (unlikely) Maybe they're more like Bose. A pricey brand with disappointing SUBSTANZ behind the big prices.
I guess if JVS is used to a very high level of sound reproduction, you would know that he feels Burmester's caliber of sound is definitely up to that benchmark.
We may all disagree of the slight variances in playback preferences, but I firmly believe he would state if the component was so far off the class price point, there would be several mentions throughout the review. Funny thing is, these days you really don't need to take his word for it.
As HR states somewhere in the recent AXPONA posts, this show is really an important time to hear these literally million dollar systems from several manufacturers in a number of disparate systems. This is to directly compare the highest of the high end sound systems extant from companies who offered their very own tip to tail system- like Burmester.
I found their room at 6pm Saturday- too late. (And I already partied the night before in downtown Chicago catching Wilco.) I was bummed- but I won't put forth assumptions as I haven't heard their gear and didn't talk to their staff, also at AXPONA.
Audio shows are really important for figuring out value behind component pricing (and system-matching!). I'm sure we all wanna know about all tech going into gear, but I don't feel that I have a right to demand it. There are exceptions.
I look forward to hitting one of these shows to listen for myself.
But insofar as the readers of Stereophile rely on the staff who attended this show, the issues of trust and confidence come into play. And I must disagree with this conclusory statement: "I guess if JVS is used to a very high level of sound reproduction, you would know that he feels Burmester's caliber of sound is definitely up to that benchmark." There were enough missteps in this review and other recent JVS reviews that I respectfully suggest a blind listening demonstration. The simplest ABX test would be a few DACs connected to the same preamp-amp-speakers. Think of it like a driver's test. Especially once people get older, we're all better off it older drivers recertify their ability. I remember Mr. Atkinson did an ABX to establish if he could hear phase/polarity and he passed the test:
https://www.stereophile.com/content/listening-tests-and-absolute-phase
"The listener's capacity for self delusion so that he really does hear differences which are nonexistent in reality (but enjoy a healthy existence in the pages of magazines) when he is aware of the device being tested, I would say is practically infinite."
Hope to see you at a show I'm covering some day. But please don't shout when you see me; my ears are very sensitive.
Thanks so much,
jason
or just the arguments of these pages, I could agree with you in several of your arguments. Without exposure to those high-priced systems, one has absolutely no reference point whatsoever to the current reality of state-of-the-art music playback.
The 'capacity for self-delusion' comment is so far off the mark, it's as if one has been sitting outside the concert venue simply watching behind a glass window, while others are inside listening first-hand. (No offense intended whatsoever.)
To hear the entire Burmester system or any of the least 20 other rooms that were at the absolute cutting edge of reproduction is to finally say to oneself- "Oh, sorry. I had no idea of how accomplished reproduction is these days". Million dollar systems are utter and complete ear-openers.
You really should go at your nearest opportunity. Take the entire weekend to fully appreciate all of the various performance levels provided in the 100+ rooms.
Next time there's a SoCal audio show, I'm going. My listening experience is confined to concerts and demos at the local dealers, and of course my own systems. What I don't like about the audio show setup is that the marketers are using THEIR chosen recordings.
If you don't think there's self-delusion in audiophilia, I'm not sure where to start. Perhaps Thinking Fast and Slow?
They frequently asked me what I would like to listen to in various demos I attended. Since many if not all are also streaming content, it is very possible they can play anything you request.
Regarding your last statement, I think it's rather the other way around. Perhaps 30 years ago when much of luxury audio was still very nascent, but even then I've heard very stable and accurate demos in the 1990's, albeit it was much more rare.
When you go to the next show, it will become starkly obvious the level of quality that is on display there. Splitting hairs about the top-tier components (and the ones in reviewed in JVS' system) will appear to be just that. At AXPONA, most if not all manufacturers were fully represented in live rooms, including D'Agnostino, Wilson, DCS and Nordost. It's as simple as a listen. I would be nothing less than stunned if all weren't impressed.