Reviews By WaveTheory reviewed both the Burson V7 Vivid and V7 Classic op amps, using a Geshelli J2S DAC (AK4499 version) as his test bed.
Note: the V7 Vivid reviewed here is the op amp now sold as the V7 Vivid Pro.
His short answer: “yes they are quite good”, and “they sound pretty fantastic”. He notes that the two sound a little different from each other and from other op amps he knows, carving out their own slice of the market.
To his ears the Vivid sounds slightly V-shaped, with accurate, natural tonal balance. He describes it as very dynamic, hard-hitting and fun, with lots of impact in the bass and sub-bass, plus excellent texture, detail and clarity that never sound like detail for detail’s sake.
The Classic is a little more mid and treble focused, with a slightly snappier attack through the mids and treble and a little less low-end slam. He thinks it will appeal to listeners who want vocals to stand out, or who find some headphones lack presence around 2 kHz.
He found both “excellent in holography”, placing instruments naturally in a three-dimensional soundstage, with the Vivid perhaps a little bigger and wider.
He calls the step up from a basic Texas Instruments op amp to either V7 “quite significant”. Against the Sparkos SS3602, he grants both Bursons a slight technical advantage in resolution, detail retrieval and holography. His personal ranking in the J2S was the V7 Vivid first, which will live in his J2S from now on.
“The Burson V7 series op amps are very good”, he concludes: both excellent and noticeable upgrades over cheaper op amps, each with its own sonic flavour.
Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Supreme Sound Opamp V7 Pro product page.
