Burson Audio V5i review

Burson Audio V5i

About Op-amp

Burson Audio V5i is a kind of hybrid opamp. hybrid means it is assembled with a chip and associated discrete components.more technical details about the V5i can be found in datasheet(https://www.bursonaudio.com/products/supreme-sound-opamp-v5i/)   

I requested V5i mono version for review purpose and Burson Audio response was really appreciable,but it will not influence me in review of product 😉. 

V5i received in a good packing , opamps are placed inside a small translucent box with foam packing under the foam packing company web link and life time replacement warranty details mentioned.

Opamp chip and discrete components are packed inside a metal casing over the casing Burson audio logo and opamp version is laser etched. overall packing and opamp aesthetics gave a good impression. 

Audio Quality     

For testing V5i, i used my audio player xunsound XS-01 which has a provision for opamp rolling(Xunsound Xs-01 review). XS-01 player designed for two mono opamps, so i selected V5i mono version for review. here i have only OPA604AP which is stock opamp for comparison. in future i will try to get another discrete opamp will do a better comparison review.

already i mentioned before the sound signature of stock opamp is superior than hifiman hm603 and zishan stock opamp's(please check my other review for details of opamp). it took a lot of time for me to do the testing because of to and fro installation of two opamps. so finally i end-up with a solution of listening long session with each opamp.

sound stage:-

OPA604AP has a wide sound stage when compare with other dual opamps but V5i has a 3D holographic representation, instrument spacing and position can be resolved more in V5i.

Frequency and signature :-

OPA604AP has almost neutral response with overall good sound signature, V5i improved lower register very well with good resolving nature and mid forward with good tonality. overall improvement of instrument separation and tonality is clearly visible with V5i.

Gain:-

Gain improvement is the first noticeable change i felt over OPA604AP, i used Denon ah-mm400 overhead , KEF m100,KZ zs10 iem and Swans d1080 MKII as near field monitor. with OPA604AP i used volume from 14 to 20 % but with V5i i been forced to reduce gain to 12 to 18 % . so it is clear that gain improvement is their.

Pros:-

Better upgrade from OPA604AP in all aspects .

Cons:-

Over-sized form-factor restrict me from installing it in my portable Xunsound XS-01    

Conclusion 

Using V5i for upgrading from single chip opamp like OPA604AP(don't have muse-01) is a better option until and unless you have enough space to accommodate the opamp in a portable device.