Предусилители — Burmester 100

The 100 is a phono preamplifier from the Burmester Top Line, hand-assembled in Berlin, and with it Dieter Burmester returned to the idea behind his 838 phono stage of the 1980s. It went on sale in Japan in November 2010 at JPY 2,079,000, rising to JPY 2,250,000 in April 2013 and JPY 2,600,000 in March 2014, and the US list price was later USD 22,000. Besides playing records, it was designed to digitise vinyl through an optional converter.

Key specs that matter

Up to two phono modules can be fitted, each with a balanced three-pin XLR input, and buyers choose the combination at order - MC plus MC, MC plus MM, or MM plus MC. MC gain is 57 to 72 dB and MM gain 37 to 52 dB. MC loading offers 33, 75, 220 and 390 ohm plus 1 kohm and 47 kohm, while MM capacitance runs from 68 pF to 400 pF in six steps. Maximum input before 1% THD+N is 8.5 mV for MC and 78 mV for MM. Signal to noise is 74 dB on MC and 84 dB on MM, or 79 dB and 88 dB A-weighted. Response from 20 Hz to 20 kHz deviates by less than 0.25 dB, and the subsonic filter acts at 10 Hz. Outputs are one XLR pair and one RCA pair. The case is 482 x 95 x 345 mm and weighs about 10 kg, with 25 W consumption in use and under 1 W on standby.

Engineering and use context

RIAA equalisation combines passive CR and feedback NF networks. A toroidal transformer and more than 30,000 µF of capacitance feed the circuit. The unit recognises each module and stores its settings separately. An automatic routine balances left and right levels using a supplied test record, and phase can be inverted by 180 degrees. A front-panel volume function lets the 100 drive a power amplifier directly. The optional A/D module, priced at JPY 300,000 in 2010, adds USB, S/P-DIF and TOSLINK outputs, with sampling set to 48, 96 or 192 kHz at 24 bit, so LPs can be archived to a computer. Carbon fibre feet decouple the chassis. The package includes the 005 remote, four XLR to RCA adapters and a DIN 5-pin tonearm lead.

Pairing

The two inputs suit an owner running a pair of arms or turntables, one with a moving magnet and one with a moving coil cartridge. Low-output MC designs benefit from the high maximum MC gain. In a conventional chain the XLR output feeds a balanced line preamplifier, while the RCA pair covers single-ended inputs.

Alternatives

The Burmester 088 is a Top Line preamplifier that accepts optional MM2 and MC3 phono modules in its expansion slot.