Review of Burson V6 Classic



I tried a pair of V6 Classics in my test bed 2-Way analogue active crossovers (Orange Module).

Only one channel is shown but both channels were fitted with V6 Classic in the High Pass filter and V6 Vivid in the Low Pass filter, input Buffer is a Sparko Labs discrete unit.

I gave them 110hrs run in before critical listening and as previously the final changes took place around 90 hrs. The final change however, was much more subtle than with the V6 Vivid, so from 30 to 90 hours they sounded pretty close to their best, with just a small change audible at 90+ hrs. The Vivid changed quite a lot at this point, certainly more noticeable.

Again the Burson bar graph gives a pretty accurate picture of the strengths and I wont say weaknesses, because it is really describing their flavour, which will either compliment or work against the balance of the rest your system. So it's horses for courses, with no best version between the two. Your personal taste is going to have a big influence on which you prefer.

My comments reflect how they sound with my partnering gear and is subject to my own preferences.
The differences are subtle and not night and day polar extremes.

The Classic is Richer, compared to the Vivid, but less transparent, hand claps are softer with leading and trailing edges on some digital tracks not as crisp. Yet hand claps on Grace Jones - Night Clubbing (Vinyl) were very sharp. Overall I preferred the analogue source over digital with it.
Sibilance is very Low with the Classic and subtle vocal traits and textures are well portrayed.
Acoustic instruments seemed to benefit from the Classic, electronics and electric guitar less so.
Harmonica and harpsichord sounded particularly good.
There is a nice fullness to bass drum.

So I have tried V5, V6 Vivid and V6 Classic.
My favourite combination is V5 for high pass and V6 Vivid for low pass.
In my application it just works so well, clarity, slam and detail that monolithic op amps can't come close to, rhythm and pace in spades, this combo can boogie.
You will have to think long and hard about which will compliment your own system depending on what your audio expectations are.
Burson have produced units with subtly different tonal colours and by mixing them the possibilities are endless.