Стримеры — Burmester 161

The 161 is the digital all-in-one of Burmester's Top Line, and every unit is put together by hand at the Berlin factory. It is based on the technology of the 151 Musiccenter but adds built-in power amplifiers, so one chassis holds a music server, CD player, network streamer, internet radio and integrated amplifier. Only loudspeakers are needed to complete a system. The German list price was EUR 25,100 and the US price USD 30,000, with a three-year warranty in North America.

Key specs that matter

The amplifier section delivers 170 W per channel into 4 ohm through a pair of speaker terminal clamps. Two mirrored hard drives of at least 2 TB each give about 2 TB of usable library space. Playback covers FLAC, WAV, MP3, AIFF, OGG, AAC, ALAC and DSD, with PCM up to 24-bit, 192 kHz. Incoming data is upsampled to 96 kHz, 24-bit, switchable to 192 kHz. Signal to noise is above 92 dB overall and 98 dB for the DAC. Connections include one XLR analogue input, coaxial and TOSLINK digital inputs, analogue outputs on XLR and RCA, digital outputs on coaxial and TOSLINK and a 6.3 mm headphone jack. Networking uses one RJ-45 port and Wi-Fi through two coaxial antennas, and there are four rear USB 2.0 ports plus one on the front. The unit is 568 mm wide, 121 mm high and 376 mm deep, and weighs 17 kg.

Engineering and use context

All operating software comes from the Burmester R&D department and runs on a custom-modified mainboard. The unit can be controlled with its own buttons, an infrared remote, an iPad app or a web interface, all written in-house. AirPlay is supported, and a Smooth function adjusts playback for listening at low volume on psychoacoustic principles. A separate compartment below the main body houses connected devices such as a set-top box or satellite receiver. The chrome front integrates a display, BurLink control is supported, and a remote trigger input and output work at 10 V DC through a 5.5/2.5 mm barrel connector.

Pairing

Burmester sells the 161 with its B18 or B28 floorstanding speakers as the Phase 3 system in Retro and Loft styles, turning the combination into a two-component setup. Through the analogue XLR output, an external stereo amplifier can be added later, and the balanced XLR input can take a turntable preamplifier or another line-level player.

Alternatives

The Burmester 151 MK2 is the streaming music centre on which the 161 is based, without the built-in power amplifier.