The phono preamp is arguably the most important electronic component in any analog audio system. Assuming you have a good turntable, tonearm and cartridge and a fairly neutral set of phono cables (and you’re playing a good record), the better phono preamplifiers manage to deliver such a high quality signal that it leaves relatively little for the preamp and amp to do beyond simply not screwing things up.
Currently I’m using the EAR 324 phono preamplifier in my system. I’ve used a handful of others that include the Moon 110 Lp V2 and the Conrad Johnson TEA2, both of which I reviewed on this site. I also used the CJ TEA2 SE for a few months before the EAR arrived, a unit that I liked a lot and that clearly merited the upgrade cost you’d have to pay for it over the price of CJ’s standard TEA2. I have yet to review the EAR 324, but until I do, suffice it to say, it sets a standard for performance that I expect will be extremely hard to surpass.
And yet, we never know do we? Maybe there’s a unit out there so revelatory that it would force me to part ways with my EAR. So when a friend of mine wanted to bring over a Burmester 100 Top Phono for me to give it a listen, I welcomed the opportunity.
The EAR 324 is, admittedly, not cheap. It retails for $6095 and rarely appears in the used market. But price-wise, the Burmester 100 Top is in a completely different category, the one known as “price no object.” This is the category of gear for the one tenth of the 1%. It is these proud few who buy phono preamps that retail for close to $30k.
I’m calling this a mini-review because I didn’t have a whole lot of time to spend with the Burmester. My friend was only able to stay for a couple of hours. But the time I did spend with this unit was efficiently executed, and I had my friend with me, who has a good ear, to help me evaluate it. We played tracks from 3 different records on my system with both the EAR and the Burmester, and we were both able to appreciate the relative strengths and drawbacks of each unit.
As far as aesthetics go, the Burmester is practically a work of art. The chrome face plate, elegantly long, finger-like toggle switches and stylish VU meter give an instant impression of the very highest level of design sensibility and craftsmanship. The easily executed on the fly output level and cartridge loading settings are a dream for dialing in the phono stage just right. It took me no time at all to set the output and load that best suited my Dynavector Karat 17dx, the rest of my system and my room.
Before installing the Burmester, we had just been playing Heart’s “Barracuda” with my EAR. My early pressing seemed to be doing a lot right. It delivered the big, grungy guitars, punchy bass and muscular drums with “in the room” size and clarity, while placing the vocal track in the studio space with an appealing presence and sweetness.
When we switched over the Burmester, that muscular quality was somewhat enhanced, giving the drum kit and bass a bit more power and force. But this came at the expense of the guitars and the vocals. The guitars lost some of their top end resolution and sounded more edgy, and Ann Wilson’s voice sounded squeaky and got lost in the mix, throwing off the delicate balance of the track.
Before the Heart album, we’d been listening to a track from David Crosby’s If Only I Could Remember My Name, “Cowboy Movie.” The bass track on this song is off the charts big, filling up practically the entire soundstage and serving as the backdrop for the growling guitars and Crosby’s impassioned vocals. With the Burmester installed, we were both impressed with the size and power this unit brought to the table. And yet again, that power came at a cost to the vocal presence and the clear, natural placement of instruments in the studio space. With the Burmester, the track just wasn’t as musical or as engaging to listen to.
Finally, I played Chabrier’s “Joyeuse Marche,” showing off an album of orchestral pieces to my friend I’d been loving and that I’d written about here recently. My copy, a stunning Super Hot Stamper from Better Records that I’d splurged on during their Labor Day sale, delivers an ENORMOUS soundstage and articulates each instrument in the orchestra with a thrilling combination of power and delicacy. My friend, who typically does not listen to very much classical music, commented on the dynamics, and how fine and nuanced the orchestra sounded.
When we played the same piece with the Burmester installed, it was the official deal breaker for this unit. Once again, the power and heft was there, and it more than did justice to the record’s big, wide and open soundstage. In fact, if we’d only been listening to the tympani and bass, and perhaps the cellos, we would have been perfectly content to listen to this record with the Burmester. There’s no doubt that this phono preamp does a very fine job with low end extension and the lower midrange.
But then, so does the EAR 324, and not at the expense of the subtle transients that give the violins, horns and percussion their texture and sweetness. With the Burmester, these and other parts of the orchestra failed to “sing” in the way we both knew they could, the way we’d heard them playing through the EAR 324 just a short time ago.
Having heard systems with modern, higher powered amplifiers, I have to wonder if the sort or audiophile who might own a Burmester 100, the one that plays it through an amp the size of a mini-fridge and a pair of giant Wilsons, would even be able to pick up on the flaws of this unit. High powered amps don’t do well with subtle transients to begin with, and if you ain’t ever heard it, how do you know it’s missing in the first place?
Don’t get me wrong. The Burmester 100 Top is a very fine phono preamplifier, very fine indeed. Perhaps if you’re looking for a phono preamp with some of the 100’s many other features, features that may be more of a priority for you than they are for me, then it’s certainly a unit worthy of your consideration.
But is it worth spending $27,500 for it? I’ll leave that assessment to you. What I can tell you is that you can spend far less and get a significantly better sounding unit if you buy an EAR 324, especially if your income doesn’t allow you to shop in this category and you’d rather not empty out your kid’s college fund. And even if you ARE in a position to pay this kind of money to buy a phono preamp, may I suggest you buy an EAR 324 anyway and donate the price difference to your favorite charity.