Burmester's creation story
When you're building a hi-fi system, there's something right about starting with the preamp. It just makes sense. It's what Dieter Burmester did in building a hi-fi company.
The preamplifier is the operational hub of any hi-fi…
For an audio reviewer, too, this presents a challenge. What do you write about when the component under review has no sound? That said, every audiophile has particular sensitivities, things that especially bother them—and also insensitivities, things other people hear easily and avoid that they are more or less immune to. I know that's true of me.
I won't talk about my insensitivities—not here—but a particular sensitivity of mine—and it is a useful one for a reviewer—is to the electrical character audio equipment can take on. Every amplifier—indeed, every element of an active hi-…
Description: Bridgeable, dual-channel power amplifier. Power output (stereo, IEC 62368-1): 100Wpc into 8 ohms (20dBW), 165Wpc into 4 ohms (19.2dBW), 245Wpc into 2 ohms (17.9dBW). Power outputs double when bridged for mono; maximum power output as a monoblock, 490W continuous. Power consumption in standby: 0.46W.
Dimensions: 19.5" (496mm) W × 7.5" (191mm) H × 18.8" (479mm) D. Weight: 77.2lb (35kg).
Finish: Brushed aluminum and mirrored glass.
Serial numbers of units reviewed: 9216060, 9216061.
Price: $35,000 (each unit). Approximate number of US…
Analog sources: SME 30/12 turntable; Ortofon Windfeld Ti cartridge.
Digital sources: CH Precision D1.2 D/A converter with X1 power supply. Roon Nucleus + Roon server; Synology DS918+ 4-bay Network Attached Storage device with 16TB.
Preamplification: CH Precision L1 and Pass Labs XP-32 line preamplifiers; Pass Laboratories XP-27 phono preamplifier.
Power amplifiers: CH Precision M1.1 stereo amplifier; Pass Labs XA60.8 monoblocks.
Loudspeakers: Wilson Audio Specialties Alexx V.
Cables: Digital: AudioQuest Carbon & Cinnamon & Coffee…
The Burmester 216 can be operated as a conventional two-channel amplifier or, by bridging the two output stages using the supplied adapter cable, as a monoblock. I performed a complete set of measurements in both modes on one of the review samples (serial number 9216060) with my Audio Precision SYS2722 system. I preconditioned the 216 by following the CEA's recommendation of running it in stereo mode at one-eighth the specified power into 8 ohms for 30 minutes. At the end of that time, the temperature of the top panel was 96.4°F (35.8°C) and that of the side panels…
Beatles fans span at least four generations, and the group's promotion machine is looking to hook today's youth, and perhaps rekindle old flames, with 50th Anniversary deluxe reissues of the "Red" (1962-1966) and "Blue" (1967-1970) compilations. These expanded editions—12 new tracks on Red and nine on Blue, including the new-old single "Now…
At the risk of writing hyperbole, I will state that Audio Video 2023, held October 27–29, 2023, was unlike any other audio show I've attended. At no other audio show have I encountered so many young people, so many women, and so many brands unknown in the United States. Not even in Munich have I encountered crowds as dense as those that mobbed the show's biggest site, the National Stadium of Poland, PGE Narodowy, on Saturday. A press badge counts for nothing when you're 11" short of 6'3", attempting to…
Closer Acoustics demoed their new 94dB-sensitive Forlane loudspeakers in an all-Polish system that also included an Elins Audio amplifier and preamplifier and Tentogra turntable. The company's smallest floorstander, the Forlane utilizes 60-year-old distributor resonance cabinet technology. The design eschews damping and funnels sound…
In my house, I have a little stack of CDs that I bring out once a year—for Christmas Eve and Christmas day. I then put them away on the shelf until the following year. This annual Festival of Christmas Albums is met with varying degrees of pleasure and resignation by the family members present; listening is non-negotiable, though we may not make it through all of them. Once in a while a new Christmas album will make the cut and be added to the stack, but not every year.
First up, because it always gets played, is Elvis Presley's If Every Day Was Like Christmas (RCA 07863-…
Even more recently, I dipped my toe into Dolby Atmos, which made it necessary to lash up at least four more channels. That was a big problem, since neither JRiver nor Roon can support and sync more than one output device at a time, and the multichannel DACs I already owned tap out at eight channels.
I turned to the Arvus H2-4D Renderer, which offers 16 channels of digital output over AES3 and 16 channels of…