Mad Audio reviewed the Burson Funk on YouTube and tried rolling in the Burson V5i op amp.
The reviewer describes the Funk as a Class A headphone amplifier and a Class AB speaker amplifier in one compact device. One button switches between speakers and headphones. He found the design elegant, solid and well made, with no plastic and an “absolutely so smooth” all-aluminium volume knob.
With the stock NE5532 op amps and his RME ADI-2 DAC, he found the sound congested and lacking in detail. Burson then sent him the V5i op amp. Swapping it in was “really nothing difficult”, and the result was a “night and day difference”: “Everything was more alive, there was more details, it was just more pleasant”.
Because one op amp feeds the speaker stage and the other the headphone output, he points out that you can roll them separately for speakers or headphones.
He found a good match with the Sennheiser HD 800S, where the Funk kept an analytical sound while adding a touch of warmth to the bass. With the HiFiMAN Edition XS he heard “a great synergy between the two” and the string textures he was looking for. The Meze 109 Pro also worked perfectly. Very hard-to-drive loads such as the HiFiMAN HE-6, and low-sensitivity speakers, are not a good fit.
Considering the price range, he says the Funk “did a great job” running almost all his headphones, and recommends upgrading to at least the V5i op amp. He calls it a really unique solution that brings Class A and Class AB to the desktop in a compact size.
Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Funk product page.
