Burson Playmate 3 Passion for Sound video review cover

Burson Playmate 3 Review by Passion for Sound: Detailed, Clean and Refined

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Post Info

  • Playmate 3
  • Burson Playmate 3, Class A headphone amplifier, Passion for Sound, Video Review

Andrew from Passion for Sound reviewed the Burson Playmate 3 Deluxe on YouTube, using it as a headphone amplifier and as a DAC.

Sound Quality

Andrew describes the Playmate 3 as detailed, clean and refined. In his view the amplifier stage is its real strength. He also tried the THD compensation setting and found that switching it off gave a more natural sound to his ears.

Compared with the xDuoo TA-32

Against the xDuoo TA-32, he found the Playmate 3 had more energy, more bass impact and greater stage depth.

Features Worth Knowing

  • A digital filter bypass, which suits listeners who upsample with HQPlayer. Burson is updating the manual and menu to cover it
  • Headset microphone support for gaming and calls
  • With Roon or JRiver in exclusive mode on Windows, playback stopped when he switched outputs. On Mac this was not an issue

He felt the Playmate 3 makes the most sense as a combined DAC and headphone amp rather than as a DAC-only unit.

Verdict

Andrew says he is comfortable recommending the Burson Playmate 3, with its refined amp stage as the highlight.

Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Playmate 3 product page.