Thank you again for sharing your detailed thoughts and experience with the Staccato op amps.
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Posted some thoughts on the Staccato op-amps over at the Soloist thread…
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So I went through the warranty process of getting a replacement opamp. Since I bought my unit used, I wasn’t expecting warranty support (manual states it’s nontransferable). But my support rep said they’d cover it if I sent over the original buyer’s receipt. So that was a pleasant surprise.
The not-so-great part was having to mail the broken opamp to Australia since they don’t have a US based location. Using USPS first class, it costed $17 via Shippo ($32 regular price) which was the cheapest option I’m aware of. Once you give them the tracking number, they’ll go ahead and mail the replacement. Although, I don’t think mine got mailed until right after I asked for a tracking number the second time, 6 days later. If you don’t get an email response from them after 48 hours, you definitely want to follow up again because their support guy probably lost track of it.
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My Super Charger arrived today. In short, worth every penny.
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Sigh…so I was really excited to give this one a go. They looked like some beastly op-amps and the company itself has some pedigree in the space (expensive too). Unfortunately, something went wrong and I was hearing loud pops and ticks coming out of my headphone. I knew.
RIP Audioquest Nightowl (right side)
Fortunately, I made a habit of testing unfamiliar equipment with equipment I don’t mind losing. Although the Nightowl was my first entry into the hi-end headphone space, it sounds pretty bad by today’s standards. It is, however, one of the most comfortable and uniquely built headphones that I’ve seen. They had almost everything right but the sound. A tear was shed 
. I can’t do anything about it so I shall move on…
I honestly have no idea what happened. I didn’t orient them incorrectly so my best guess is it might have unseated from the right-angle adapter I was using. I don’t think it was a faulty op-amp considering the company it came from, but it can still happen. No clue, so I’m sending everything back and hopefully I’ll be refunded as much as I can get back.
Too bad I couldn’t get some impressions. Btw, the Soloist amp itself is working normally once stock op-amps were back so at least there’s some reliability there.
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Sorry. It sucks when that stuff happens. 
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Ahh, that so bad, feel sorry for you :((
I guess i will never have review for Sonic Imagery Labs 994 then
Hope you will have full refund
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Can you buy and review sparkos 3602 
Cant decide beetween 2 Sparkos or 1 Supercharge :))
Ha! We’ll see…depends how much of the refund I get back…
Some already have some impressions of the Sparkos. Basically it sounds more linear and slightly more detailed, so less of the flavor of the Vivids (from what I’ve read). But honestly, if I was in your position, I’d rather get the Supercharger. It has been a really nice addition to my chain for these past few days; no complaints about it. Unless, of course, you just hate the Vivids! lol
Although, I would ask you what you’d want first. Do you want a different signature or an improvement of the current signature? It’ll be mostly preference here as the Sparkos isn’t going to be better than the Vivids, just different.
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Does Burson Audio typically do yearly sales? If so, I’ll probably wait to pick up the supercharger
They’ve had some sales throughout this past year. Best way to find out is subscribe to their email list.
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From the email I got…
Limited Time Funk and Timekeeper 3i Upgrade offer:
We offer existing customers free upgrades to celebrate these wins if they purchase a Funk or a Timekeeper 3is in the next 5 days.
Order a Funk - Basic and we’ll upgrade it with 2 Vivid Dual opamps and a Cool Stand valued at 250USD.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/product/funk/
Order a Timekeeper 3i Reference, and we will include a Cool Stand and 4 Classic Dual opamps valued at 430USD.
https://www.bursonaudio.com/product/timekeeper-3i-reference/
Direct Sales Orders only
Offer Ends: 9th of September, 2021
Shipping in Chronological Orders
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BURSON AUDIO - Burson V6 Vivid Op-amp
“A beginning is a very delicate time. Know then, that it is the year 2021. The known Head-fi Universe is ruled by the Padishah Emperor Jude, Head-fi’s father. In this time, the most precious subforum in Head-fi is the headphone amplifier subforum. The op-amp extends life. The op-amp expands consciousness. The op-amp is vital to audio perfection. The Burson Audio Guild and its navigators, who the op-amp has mutated over four-thousand years, use the orange or red op-amp, which gives them the ability to finesse audio. That is, reproduce music in any part of the Universe without soldering. Oh yes, I forget to tell you. The op-amp exists on only one planet in the entire Universe. A desolate, dry planet with vast deserts. Hidden away within the audio gear of these deserts are a people known as headphone enthusiasts, who have long held a prophecy, that a man would come, an audiophile, who would lead them to improved audio. The planet is Burson. Also known as Burson Audio.” - Frank Herbert, Dune
Burson Audio has gained notoriety for producing high-end audio gear, including my favorite pieces of the headphone audio chain, headphone amplifiers. Here we find implementation of the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp which has been optimized through an evolution of 6 multiple generations, hence the V6 designation. Burson uses the V6 Vivid in their own Burson amplifiers but they can also be easily used in other amplifiers that have removable op-amps. John Burson offered to send me one of his latest iterations of these op-amps for my Little Dot headphone amplifiers in exchange for honest feedback. Which makes this point perfect for the segway to me, with my ”About Hottyson” paragraph.
About Hottyson
Hottyson has been an audio gear hoarder, er… headphone enthusiast I mean, for over two decades. He has a growing suspicion of reviewers that include the disclaimer, “Opinions expressed are solely my own and not been compensated …bla …bla …bla” He does NOT have a monetized YouTube channel and hasn’t a care in the world about numbers of views or subscribers. Instead, Hottyson’s enjoyment stems from his interaction with audio gear and opportunities sharing it with others. His collection of headphones stems from $7 earbuds to $1,200 headphones. His true passion lies in collecting headphone amplifiers and constructing audio cables. Hottyson finds it odd writing paragraphs in the third person about himself. He wonders if this ”About Hottyson” paragraph is long enough and if he should end it with this sentence. He almost did.
Chapter 1 Grado flourish on tubes
The Head-fi $400 secret recipe from ten years ago:
- Little Dot I+ headphone amplifier ($140)
- LT1364 opamp ($15)
- Sylvania Gold Brand GB-408A (gold pins) tubes (±$50/pair)
- Grado SR225 headphones ($200)
Little Dot I+ has been a $140 wonder bringing tubes to the masses at entry level prices. It’s design is over a decade old but has gone through slight revisions that mostly replaced pin jumpers for switches. In its early days, with only a few inexpensive upgrades, the Little Dot I+ was THE budget amplifier for Grado headphones that shined particularly well with rock music, characteristically described in the forums as close-in-your-face headbanging. Eventually, at some point MassDrop offered the Little Dot I+ for $103, and the Grado SR225 revised to newer generations making $150 commonplace on the closeout/used market, making it possible to put together this secret recipe at a $100 savings for a pretty decent complete budget setup coming in at only $300.
I fired up the secret recipe, which is my Little Dot I+ / Sylvania Gold Brand GB-408A / LT1364 and plugged in my trusty old Grado SR225. Transported back a full decade, here was that all too familiar sound that brought sweet rock music to my ears. Once again, I was right up front row, center stage rocking out right in front of the musicians. Directly next to the secret recipe was an exact duplicate setup of the secret recipe with the same magical tubes but with one minor change. The LT1364 op-amp had been swapped out in favor of my newly acquired Burson V6 Vivid op-amp. So, here we had in front of me two setups ready to battle it out. In one corner, the reigning rock champion, our tried and true secret recipe. Versus our new challenger, a twin with only the Burson op-amp upgrade.
Not knowing what to expect, I placed the headphones on my ears and the battle commenced. Right off the bat, the Burson upgrade displayed more refined highs compared to the untamed highs of the LT1364. The harshness of the highs common with the LT1364 was also reduced by the Burson upgrade. As a soundstage lover, I proceeded to compare it next. The Burson upgrade presented a smoother, more wide open soundstage. The Burson also presented more realistic cohesion of instruments and also with voices. Going back to the LT1364, conversely, the instruments seemed disjointed. Comparing further, I found that the overall sound of the Burson was more pleasing. The Burson was full sounding, displaying more substance. More of a weighty and satisfying presentation.
Round one had ended. Burson had won by knockout. What did I learn from this battle? First of all, it brought my $140 amplifier performing closer to one of my $400 amplifiers. To verify this, I brought out one of my $400 solid state amplifiers. This headphone amplifier was a Schiit Jotunheim 2. Listening back and forth I tried to pick the better of the two with my Grado SR225. The Burson upgraded amp won again beating this $400 amplifier. What did it do better? The Grado SR225 can be harsh sounding. And I mean harsh like an Army boot camp drill sergeant yelling directly into your ear harshness. This is where tube magic comes to the rescue and magically turns our drill sergeant into a sparkly unicorn. Combining the Burson op-amp with tubes accomplished this magic. We took an old system and basically used the Burson op-amp to bring it into the realm of modern amplification. Value/performance-wise, we doubled the value of the amplifier. How could I test this? I thought, why not bring out one of my favorite headphone amplifiers, the Singxer SA-1 $500 and then compare it to the Burson upgrade setup, in terms of reproduction of detail. When comparing them side by side, the Burson upgrade setup had the benefit of the magical wet tube sound that I enjoy, but yes. Yes, the detail was there in spades with both setups and the Burson upgrade setup could almost keep up in terms of detail. So, I had reached my conclusion. The Burson upgrade setup might best a $400 amplifier with Grado SR225 but perhaps not a $500 amplifier.
That is great and wonderful hottyson, but now you are talking to yourself. What about a modern Grado? Okay, fine. Even though the Little Dot I+ came out more than a decade before the Grado Hemp, I shall provide some listening observations. Overall, the Grado Hemp is the most bang for buck modern production Grado headphone. The Grado Hemp will scale with high end amplifiers and thereby more easily benefit from improved amplification. So, I listened again with the Schiit Jotunheim 2 and the Singxer SA-1 versus Burson upgraded Little Dot I+. The Jotunheim 2 with Grado Hemp was an unbridled wild steed revealing hyper texture through instruments. The Singxer SA-1 with Grado Hemp was more polite and precise. The Little Dot I+ with Grado Hemp had harsh mids. The Burson upgraded Little Dot I+ tamed the harsh mids and produced a fuller sound. This means that I learned that the old setup did not mesh well with the new Grado Hemp like it did with the old Grado SR225. However, the new Burson op-amp was able to play well with the Grado Hemp.
Continuing with song after song, and just having lots of fun going from system to system with Grado Hemp, I was able to narrow down what the overall benefits of the Burson op-amp upgrade were in terms of tonality. Switching back and forth through these amplifiers with the Grado Hemp I heard refined highs instead of crushed highs. Mid range presented smooth vocals and intelligent cohesion in the center of the soundstage. Bass became full, warm, and enveloping. It was a more defined bass with an increase in sub bass presence. Can I provide a tier list? Yes, but this is only the tier list with the Grado Hemp as headphones react very differently when paired with different amplifiers. With Grado Hemp, this was my preference of amplification of these four amplifiers;
- Burson upgraded Little Dot I+
- Schiit Jotunheim 2
- LT1364 upgraded Little Dot I+
- Singxer SA-1
As you can see, I did not enjoy the Singxer SA-1 with Grado Hemp. While the Singxer SA-1 is one of my favorite solid state amplifiers, and #1 at most technical reproduction of music, I did not enjoy it’s pairing with the Grado Hemp. After the hours of Grado listening, my ears needed a break from the listening fatigue that Grado can build up after time. So I reached for my best headphones of my collection and some VERY warm tubes, the Western Electric 408A. That is where we shall visit in Chapter 2.
Will combining Burson V6 Vivid op-amp with warm tubes bring about the apocalypses or audio nirvana?
Will the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp upgrade play nice with my best headphone?
Does the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp upgrade make a Little Dot I+ sing with a high end planar?
Tune in next post! Same bat time. Same bat channel.
Coming soon!
Chapter 2 Hybrid Burson tube amp with my best headphone
Coming soon!
Chapter 3 Hybrid Burson tube amp begs for a higher-end planar
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Chapter 2 Hybrid Burson tube amp with my best headphone
Welcome back!
In Chapter 1, we established that the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp was able to bring my Little Dot I+ into the era of modern amplification in a big way by turning my $103 amplifier into $400 sound just by adding in a Burson V6 Vivid op-amp. It made sense that I had started this write up with Grado headphones because in the past the Little Dot I+ was notorious for successful pairing with Grados. However, with the unexpected success of the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp upgrade, it would be a logical progression to take my Little Dot I+ to the next level with some other headphones. With it’s new new life and breath via a Burson V6 Vivid op-amp, I am going to pair it with a modern planar headphone. What will happen? Let’s find out!
I have a spending limit on my headphones and amplifiers. Nothing can be priced over $1,200. I have acquired about fifty headphones under this price. What I have found from my collection is that the best sounding headphone to me is a Monoprice M1570 planar headphone. Yes, it sounds even better than any of my more expensive popular planar headphones from Audeze, Focal, Hifiman and the like.
So I plug my Monoprice M1570 into the Little Dot I+ that still had the LT1364 op-amp. The first thing I noticed was that a tube change was needed. The tubes that were chosen for Grado did not mesh with the M1570 headphones. So I rolled some tubes and op-amps. I settled with Western Electric 408A tubes with an OPA2107 op-amp. What I got in return was instant warmth, mellow, dark, dull, non fatiguing sound. I could describe the sound as being reminiscent of similar characteristics to my Focal Elegia or Sennheiser Massdrop 6XX which have a laid back non fatiguing sound that many appreciate for loud or long term listening. This was sounding pretty amazing and now we were ready to get down to business.
I grabbed another Little Dot I+ amplifier to set up the side-by-side comparison. In this Little Dot I+ I placed another pair of identical Western Electric 408A tubes, but of course put in the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp. With the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp and WE408A the warmth mellow dark from the tube was there, but the dull had transformed to clarity. The clarity arrived in terms of mid vocal presentation. A very laid back non fatiguing sound. I was experiencing a very full, round tubey vocal sensation that solid state amps can never create along with the clarity that a $400 or higher amp would bring. This was a great combination.
I continued listening for a while comparing the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp vs the amp with the OPA2107. As I began to move away from rock tracks to modern electric and synthetic instrumentation like Dua Lipa and The Weeknd, I was hearing the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp setup exceeding with very accurate solid-state three dimensional reproduction in terms of sound stage and imaging. Even though I was hearing very enjoyable tubey goodness from both setups, what I was witnessing was a great combination of tube and Burson V6 Vivid op-amp that placed this combination up to par with the OPA2107. Did this combination beat the $28 OPA2107? No, it was a draw. This is a complication of explaining favorable tube sound on a forum. I might like one setup more than another, then the person right next to me might prefer the opposite. But, let it be said that both setups were wet and tubey and I enjoyed both of them. Ultimately, I am going to call this one a draw.
So, I knew I needed to bring in the big guns in order to compete with the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp setup. The Singxer SA-1 is an amazing amp that pairs extremely well with the M1570. This pairing exceeds the Schiit Jotunheim in both sound stage and imaging with a very airy and open presentation. So now I wanted to test if this was a more level playing field. Burson V6 Vivid op-amp and WE408A versus the much higher priced $540 Singxer SA-1.
Having already spent countless hours with the Monoprice M1570 headphone and Singxer SA-1 amplifier, I have developed a strong familiarity with the resulting sound. The Singxer SA-1 brought three dimensional accuracy and powerful dynamic control. I was hoping to witness some magical feat of victory from this inexpensive Burson setup to beat my Singxer champion. But perhaps this was asking too much of a $103 amplifier upgraded with an $85 Burson V6 Vivid op-amp.
I plugged the Monoprice M1570 into the amplifiers. What I was hearing from the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp and WE408A setup was a sacrifice of some three dimensional accuracy and powerful dynamic control compared to the Singxer. BUT, and that is a lot of BUT, once again I was greeted with the best of both worlds. I can speculate that what was happening was that the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp was creating the foundation of decent clarity and accuracy for the tubes to build their magic tubey goodness upon. The Western Electric 408A tubes accentuated the three dimensional portrayal that one would normally get from a solid state amp. The additional micro-reverberation from the tubes made the three dimensional experience over the top to a degree that I have never before experienced on Little Dot I+ amplifiers. For me as a personal preference, this is a good thing. The depth and width of the soundstage reverberated the horizon and the heightened stage rose up into the sky like bottle rockets. In terms of tube sound, this little cheap amplifier was punching way above its weight in terms of fun. Plugging back into the Singxer SA-1 brought me back to my room aware of the headphones and the exact placements of instruments and vocals. However, I was here for fun. The urge to go back to the tubes was too great for my willpower to fight.
What did I learn from all of this? The Burson V6 Vivid op-amp had brought a level of enjoyment and fun that surpassed my $540 Singxer SA-1. If you love wet tubey sound with over the top micro-reverberation, then the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp is a winner when paired with your favorite tubes.
Also, prior to this, the OPA2107 was one of my favorite op-amps for the Little Dot I+. I think the Burson has ruined me. I don’t know if I can ever go back to the OPA2107 when the Burson can extract so much performance out of my tubes!
Are we done? Where do we go from here? Well, I am satisfied with my findings of the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp. It is a winner with my favorite headphone, the Monoprice M1570. However, I am certain that some would want me to share my findings with a more popular expensive planar headphone. For the third and final installation of this tri-audio-thon, I shall bring in the $1,200 Audeze LCD-X headphone!
SO…, tune in again for more Burson V6 Vivid op-amp excitement!
Coming soon!
Chapter 3 Hybrid Burson tube amp begs for a higher-end planar
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Chapter 3 Hybrid Burson tube amp begs for a higher-end planar
Why not try high end planar headphones on this amp. After all, it is a hybrid amp, which means tubey goodness of tubes and the flexibility of solid state amp circuitry able to drive pretty much all dynamic and planar headphones. This last installment will be short and sweet as we drive the Audeze LCD-X (2020) with our Burson V6 Vivid op-amp upgraded Little Dot I+.
I continue my listening by firing up some Post Malone and The Weeknd to get these Audeze moving some bass like they were built to do. Some might call the Audeze LCD-X bass heavy. I would rather state that they are capable of turning out the lowest frequencies. However, the truth of the matter is that they are easy to drive well, so even a $103 Little Dot I+ should be capable of producing the lowest lows. So this begs me to try this amplifier with the Audeze LCD-X. As expected, bass lovers rejoice! The bass is there in spades. After rolling my tubes a few times, I end up pairing the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp with a pair of Mullard 6AK5W.
This time I want to battle with a modern amplifier that is used by many. I also want the amplifier to be a hybrid amplifier. This leaves me with just one choice; the $500 Schiit Lyr 3. They are both hybrid tube amps, meaning they have solid state and tubes. However, as stated earlier, the Little Dot I+ uses op-amps. So, with the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp in place, which one sounds better? Now, you might expect me to say that this Little Dot I+ cannot compete with the $500 Schiit Lyr 3. However, with the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp upgrade it kept pace right alongside the Schiit Lyr 3. Despite the price differences, I cannot say that either one was better than the other but each did certain things better.
First of all, the sound stage because I am a lover of good sound stage. The Schiit Lyr 3 projected a large rounded smoothed out sound stage in Schiit like fashion. This is somewhat part of the Schiit house sound, and is also predominant in the Jotunheim 1 and Jotunheim 2. So the Lyr 3 combines Schiit house sound with added benefits of tubey goodness. Win win for Schiit Lyr 3 in this respect.
What does the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp bring to the Little Dot I+ better than the Lyr 3? With the Burson V6 Vivid, I was hearing an underlying refined articulate detail usually only brought out in amps like my $900 RSA HR-2 or my $540 Singxer SA-1. Clear like crystal. Guitar strings rang. Grit in vocals were textured with air and rasp in such fine detail. I was hearing ultra detail, and with tubes to boot! This was an addicting winning combination. And yet, the soundstage grew to a wide airy presentation that I did enjoy. The Burson V6 Vivid / Little Dot I+ combination made Audeze LCD-X seem like they were much higher end headphones than what I had paid for.
If you have made it to our ending, thank you for reading about my adventure with the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp! I had a blast doing this. Thank you John Burson for providing me with a Burson V6 Vivid op-amp.
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Cool, thanks for sharing your experience.
Are you getting one for yourself?
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I am keeping the Burson V6 Vivid op-amp that John Burson provided until he asks for it back. I am hoping that Burson V6 Vivid op-amp is going to stay in the Little Dot I+ permanently.
Then I have two Gen.1 Little Dot I+ amplifiers (they have blue knobs in the pics) set up for old Grado’s with LT1364 op-amps and Sylvania Gold Brand 408A gold pins. Those two are set up that way permanently as well.
The rest of the Little Dot I+ are going to be used for tube rolling so that I don’t have to open the case each time I switch tubes. There are three types of tubes that the Little Dot I+ take and each time taking the case bottom off was such a put off. So, since they are so cheap it was easier to just buy a whole bunch of amplifiers with the setting set different in each amp and I label them with tape so I know which amp to place that type of tube in.
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Review on the Timekeeper by Sean from zerofidelity for anyone looking into this…
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This is interesting. As I was talking to people about home speaker systems, the overwhelming take I received was that all-in-one means they don’t do any as well as they should. Sean was good about caveats but it makes me rethink the amp/dac/bluetooth transmitter all in one for the speaker setup.
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If you have an exploratory spirit or want to update technology over time, all-in-ones are a trap. They are certainly smaller, easier to manage, and get to actual use quicker than separates. Sometimes that’s perfect. However, separates are extremely flexible and permit radical changes and system redesigns. They also facilitate precise testing and temporary uses.
I have had my share of both, and use both for different scenarios. Some of my all-in-ones continue along with just one relevant feature and a lot of obsolete baggage. This is a fact of life in technology hobbies.
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