Steve’s Burson Playmate 2 with Sennheiser HD 560S and Grado SR80x

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Sales Burson
October 13, 2022

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Feedbacks - Playmate 02 | 03
Burson Playmate 2, Grado SR80x, Sennheiser HD 560S

Great. Fantastic

The System

Listening with

Sennheiser HD 560S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 120 Ω
Sensitivity: 110 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 100.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 6 Hz – 38 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm cable (1.8 m) with 6.3 mm screw-on adapter
Other: THD <0.05% (1 kHz / 90 dB SPL)

Matching notes: At 120 Ω and 110 dB/V, the HD 560S is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 1 V (8.3 mW, 8.3 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 120 Ω rating for the Playmate 2. Its 100 Ω and 150 Ω ratings (0.6 W SE; 0.4 W SE) fall either side of it. The Playmate 2’s under 2 Ω headphone output impedance is less than 1/60 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

Grado SR80x · Headphones: open-back (“open air”), dynamic (44 mm X-driver), supra-aural

Impedance: 38 Ω
Sensitivity: 98 dB SPL / 1 mW ≈ 112.2 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: fixed cable, 3.5 mm plug (6.3 mm adapter)
Other: driver matching 0.1 dB

Matching notes: At 38 Ω and 98 dB/mW, the SR80x is a low-impedance load: about 0.78 V (16 mW, 20 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 38 Ω rating for the Playmate 2. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (2.5 W SE; 0.6 W SE) fall either side of it. The Playmate 2’s under 2 Ω headphone output impedance is less than 1/19 of the load. ^{[5] [3] [4]}

Burson

Burson Playmate 2 · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp · discontinued

Output power (headphone): 16 Ω 3.5 W · 32 Ω 2.5 W · 100 Ω 0.6 W · 150 Ω 0.4 W · 300 Ω 0.15 W
Output impedance: <2 Ω (headphone); 15 Ω (pre out)
Output voltage: RCA not published
Gain: High / Low; dB not published
Inputs: USB (XMOS; PCM to 768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); Toslink
Input impedance: 38 kΩ
Outputs: RCA pre out; headphone jack (SE)
DAC / chipset: ESS SABRE32 ES9038Q2M
Other: Model P171; SE only; THD <0.002%; FR ±1 dB 0-35 kHz; DAC THD+N 0.0018%

^{[3] [4]}

Specs from manufacturer data unless a source below says otherwise. “calc.” values are worked out from those figures (V = √(P × R); 110 dB SPL used as a loud reference level). Gear listed without specs is not in our spec library yet.