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Burson Supreme Op-amps

Member: Marcus

Brief description:
I've been using Burson IC opamps for several years and was pleasantly surprised when I saw a new generation was coming out. The »old« series opamps were quite large and sometimes difficult to install. A new generation is still far from small but is significantly (30%) narrower than the old one and the height was reduced by a millimeter or two (see the photo). So it's more installation friendly than the old one but a version with pins at the side would be even more »build-in friendly«. I tried Burson Supreme Sound IC opamps (BSSO) in my FM tuner, in a headphone amp and in power amps.

The burn-in time is between 40 and 60 hours - almost the same as with the old generation. Reference music was mostly classical not only because I listen mainly to this genre but also because on some »simpler« musical material it was difficult to hear differences and nuances that were easily revealed with complex and more demanding music. First I listened to the BSSO in individual components, later all together. Before I go into details I would like to point out that basic (»factory build-in«) chips that were replaced with Burson old generation opamps, were high quality Burr-Brown OPA 627AP and medium quality OPA 2134PA. After their replacement there was such a huge sonic improvement that is hard to believe. Everything was better: the sound in general was primarily less processed, less electronic, less hi-fi, more organic or natural if you will, airier, clearer and cleaner, bass was stronger, deeper and more defined. Soundstage has also improved and the presentation was more refined. After such a profound improvement, it was hard to imagine that a BSSO would be significantly better. Well, it was and it is better than the old gen. although the magnitude of improvement can not be compared to the first factory installed chip/Burson replacement. Nevertheless there was a noticeable improvement in clarity, the presentation was even more controlled and the bass was tighter. Also, BSSO is even more detailed than the old gen. that seemed just a bit veiled in comparison. My only concern was that it seemed that the old gen. Burson was also just a tiny bit smoother or finer sounding than the BSSO but also, as indicated, less clear.

There is no doubt that BSSO is a winner and if you have chip opamps in your gear I recommend replacing them with Burson' s discrete opamps. Replacement in CD players, preamps and similar gear is straightforward but in power amps you just need to check DC offset with the voltmeter and you're ready to go.

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