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When something is designed with ideals and custom made the old school way, the end result will always surpass anything that is mass produced and profit driven. This simple rule applies to all things, from carpentry, and masonry to automobiles, and it is certainly the rule for the world of music and audio design. Our HA-160 headphone amplifier was painstakingly hand built, with each component exhaustingly matched. It was based on a design with only sonic purity in mind and free from the constraints and downfalls of standard production building blocks such as ICs and 3 pin power regulators. The end result has been applauded by many audio critics around the world and more importantly appreciated by fellow headphone audiophiles who share our passion for music. Through the HA-160D, we hope to deliver even more of our idealism and understanding through a single machine that is unmistakably Burson.
The HA-160D (DAC / Headphone Amp / Preamp)
The HA-160D took over 18 months to realize. Apart from the DAC chip, the entire machine was meticulously hand assembled with top grade, perfectly matched discrete components. It is powered by 5 sets of custom built low noise power supplies to eliminate noise pollution. We have also employed two custom built transformers to ensure the job was done properly. One transformer is used to power our HD Audio DAC, while the other purely supplies power to the hungry Class-A amplification circuitry. It ensures that the DAC stage and the headphone amp stage are working independently and at an optimum level, while still in complete synergy.
The result is a high definition DAC, headphone amp, preamp 3 in 1 machine that is entirely uncompromised.
To better serve the growing popularity of PC based audio systems, the HA-160D also features a USB input function which is compatible with both Mac and PCs.
Burson HD Audio DAC
While most of the marketing spin centres on the DAC chip, the output stage is in fact one of the critical stage in any audio DAC design. It is not getting the air time that it deserves because a properly designed stage is not simple, and the concept is harder to sell to a customer compared to a DAC chip model number. After the digital signal (0s and 1s) is converted by the DAC chip into stereo signals, an important LP (low pass) stage is need to reconstruct the analog signal from the rectangular pulses from the DAC output Any distortion and signal loss during this conversion stage is irreversible. Unfortunately, due to the lack of customer awareness of the output stage, this is where most audio companies cut their costs, and it is common to see an output stage designed around a cheap IC opamp.
The HA-160D has a fully discrete output stage that is independently powered. It has a high slew rate and fast recovery time. Operateing in pure Class A the HD Audio DAC ensures the highest level of signal preservation. The result is higher resolution audio playback, with a completely transparent sonic signature consistent with our ideals.
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Measurement Input impedance: 36.5 KOhms
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Package Content
General Dimensions 265 mm x 250 mm x 80 mm
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Sonic Characteristics
The 160D is open, honest and transparent, the very qualities that stand the test of time.
Be it Inger Marie Gundersen's intimate "Let it be me" or the apocalyptical thunderstorm from Beethoven's "Pastoral", music shines against a dark background and presents a realistic recorded ambience that holds not only the notes played and the air in between, but the moments of intense emotional expression that makes the love for music a universal human experience.
HA-160D Review & Feedbacks
The function of Opamps at the output stage is as important as the lens on a cinema projector. Regardless of the analytical capability of the audio gear, an inferior opamp will halve a machine's performance, and distort every dB of sonic imagery.
Just like our acclaimed HA160, the 160D features our Burson HD audio opamp. It enables the 160D to reproduce music in superior resolution and accuracy.
At the time when an audio signal is passing through the volume control, it is still at its weakest. At this stage, the audio signal is very vulnerable to noise pollution and interference. A major source of such distortion is the commonly used remote volume control adopted by most manufactures.
Just like an athlete needs clean air to perform at an optimum standard – audio equipment needs clean power to reproduce transparent and natural music.
The 160D is housed in a 6mm case, constructed from high precision machined aluminium. This enclosure allows the 160D, to achieve a very high mechanical damping factor, which reduces any microphonic effects, that may degrade the clarity of sonic performance.