Hello everybody who may be reading this eventually, here comes my Burmie story.
Grown up in Germany from 1964 onwards I must have been reading my first HiFi journals when the Burmester 808 started to show up. At this spoint in time I was happy with my beloved ReVox A720 (a preceiver, no one had that baby anymore, let alone most people didn´t even know what that was) combined with a Sansui TT, the ReVox power amp and self made speakers. As for most of us at young age given the cost involved the 808 was a dream only at that stage.
Many years later and seasoned by experience gathered with Audio Research, McIntosh, Krell, etc. a 808 came my way. A MK3 with a full set of moduls, pots verywhere, in chrome and it even came with that famous wooden box to stock resistors and capacitors in cinch connectors to properly adjust the load to your balanced cabled cartridge. In one word, heaven.
I fully upgraded this baby with Burmie in Berlin to the MK3 XLR version (costed as much as the unit in the first place) and had it wired internally in a way that it can take up to 5 balanced sources. I guess I am the only one who ever did this. Over some time I completed this with a 001 CD table, a 948 power supply, a pair of 911s which I monoed via the Burmie adapter. To make it look nice I have completed the set up with Burmester Racks. All this drove a Sonus Faber Amati Homage (the original one of course). I lived in heaven.
As it has been said many times Dieter Burmester is a musician himself and likes it dynamic. His gear is made in a way to deliver the maximum erruptive presentation possible. It promisses and it delivers.
Well than came one of those days where everything takes a different direction. I took my tool kit and opened the two 911s. I guess you would agree that we all have been hearing over and over again that selection of components and matching is key. Well guess what, my two 911s though very close in production date (a few months off only) where equipped with caps of different production, same values off course but different make. hmmmmm....
I tried to find a solution with Burmester that woukd have been satisfactory for me and fit with the whole high end upbringing that we have enjoyed but Berlin had a simple message for me: they sound identical and if you don´t like what you see you may buy two new units........ at full cost of course
Well, what shall I say? I have now my whole gear produced in Japan from Accuphase and don´t worry about things like that anymore. However, the story doesn´t stop there. The guy who bought the 808 from me upgraded later on to the 077 preamp. He didn´t quite know what to do with the 808, keep it because it is among the coolest and emblematic that is out there (like an ARC SP 10 or a Quad 57) or sell it. Well I bought it back some time later. I had used it in the past already with a slightly unusual number of phono moduls in it. Now I do it again. Three Phono MC2s, two Phono MM (for the days I would like to use on of my mc step ups) and one bal. high level (to connect my EMT 928 who comes with an internal preamp). Why do I do that? Cool? Emblematic? ya sure, but it is still probably today one of the handfull of phono stages that you need to get all from your vinyl gear. The output moduls are removed and the signal goes via the tape out to my preamp. And, for those who are familiar with the unit the mini 712 connectors for the bal. inputs are sill in use since they are to date - for me - the best phono connectors due to their little use of metal.
What would I like to say with all this? Burmester is great stuff and sounds wonderful just don´t let anything interfere with your "love affair" once it is on.
PS: After I had changed over to Accuphase I met Dieter again and told him my story. Guess what he told me: You should have sent your 911s back to us and we would have made them identical, you just pay shipping and testing. If he only had said that 10 years earlier I would have kept Burmester without hesitation - as I said - it is great stuff.
