Nikhil’s Burson Playmate 2 with HiFiMAN Ananda, Sennheiser HD 599 and RHA T20

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Sales Burson
April 20, 2021

Post Info

Feedbacks - Playmate 02 | 03
Burson Playmate 2, HiFiMAN Ananda, RHA T20, Sennheiser HD 599

I can certainly feel improvement in lots of areas, but not that wow factor (Haven’t tested with my Hifiman yet). Planning on upgrading opamp sometime later.

The System

Listening with

HiFiMAN Ananda · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 26 Ω
Sensitivity: 93 dB (reference not stated)
Frequency response: 8 Hz – 55 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm sockets on cups; 1.5 m cable with 3.5 mm plug
Other: 399 g (original guide)

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Sennheiser HD 599 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 50 Ω
Sensitivity: 106 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 93.0 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 12 Hz – 38.5 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: detachable cable; 6.3 mm and 3.5 mm (as published)
Other: THD <0.1% (1 kHz, 100 dB SPL)

Matching notes: At 50 Ω and 106 dB/V, the HD 599 is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 1.6 V (50 mW, 32 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 50 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 1/25 of the load. ^{[3] [4] [5] [6]}

RHA T20

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%

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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.