Burson Timekeeper Voyager Passion for Sound Video Review

Lachlan Fennen of Passion for Sound has reviewed the Burson Timekeeper Voyager monoblocks. His video is titled “One listen and I knew this amp was different!”. He compared them with the Timekeeper GT3 and with his reference, the Enleum AMP-23R. Here are the highlights.

A clear step up from the Timekeeper GT3

On paper, Lachlan found the Voyager looked very similar to the Timekeeper GT models, but it sounded clearly better. Compared with the Voyager, the GT3 was less refined and less smooth. Amos Lee’s vocals on “Seen It All Before” were edgier, sibilance was more pronounced, and imaging was less precise. With the Voyager, “the image was precise and lifelike.” The differences “weren’t massive, but they were clearly obvious”, and the GT3 was already the second-best amplifier he had used.

Design and pricing

• Lachlan describes the Voyagers as a Class A design. The Cool Case lets Burson use low-speed fans with rear-firing vents, which he could not hear.
• 100W into 8Ω and 200W into 4Ω, with XLR and RCA inputs and a 12V trigger input and output.
• Gain is 0dB in low gain, or extra gain in high-gain mode (he quotes +6dB on RCA and +12dB on XLR).
• A pair costs $4,999 with the Supercharger power supplies, or $5,999 with the GaN-based Fusion Core supplies, which retail separately for $1,600.

Sound: marvellous tonality and control

His system was the Chord M Scaler and Chord DAVE, the Burson Soloist Voyager as a preamp, and ProAc Response D2R speakers. He says the guitar tonality on “Whiskey and U” was “nothing short of marvelous”. Strums and plucks were clean and crisp, with excellent resonance and weight, and the Voyagers kept control and energy from the quietest to the loudest moments.

Timekeeper Voyager vs Enleum AMP-23R

Against the $6,500 Enleum AMP-23R, Lachlan found the Enleum resolves the finest details slightly better and is a touch more transparent. The Voyager is more refined and a little smoother, with more weight and focus in the central image. He likens it to a great R2R presentation, compared with the Enleum’s Delta-Sigma style. The Voyager handles large rooms and difficult speakers with ease, while the Enleum offers just 45W into 4Ω. He also notes that the Voyager has no headphone output.

Verdict

“If you do have the space and the power points and the desire to have a couple of boxes driving your speakers, then the Voyagers are going to reward you with world-class sound,” Lachlan concludes. “These are now more than ever a premium, transparent, and refined sounding speaker amp.”

Watch the full review on Passion for Sound’s YouTube channel.

Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Timekeeper Voyager product page.