Chord Burndy
- Thread starter lyndon
- Start date
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
The prototype Burdy I mentioned a few posts ago is now with a fellow PFM'er on his 552 preamp, and it's made a significant difference for the better in his system. He'll maybe post his thoughts on this thread later on.
anotherdom
pfm Member
So, Minh‘s ‘Clearer Audio Copper-Line’ Burndy has now passed, via Frank and Tony, to me. Thank you.
Those with an appreciation of poetic prose and the tenacity to get through a significant volume of posts can read up on the history in the ‘Clearer Audio Prototype Burndy for Naim NAC 552’ thread! Fair warn though, there’s an awful lot of cable scepticism in there!
For my part, having tried SL interconnects and found that I prefer the presentation of the Sarum Ts with my music in my system/room etc, I was interested to see what difference a more-appropriately constructed Burndy might offer. The experience of replacing DIN-XLR pre-power interconnects, first with WitchHat, later with Chord SuperAray and now with Sarum T suggested shielding to be beneficial, while the WitchHat Burndys I’ve previously used on NAC52s were constructed to better-separate power from signal. So, worth a go - and particularly with a very kind ‘take it away, try it for as long as you like’ offer from Tony.
Back at mine I had the usual fight with the NAC 552 Burndy’s plugs and swapped in the prototype Copper-Line. An immediately obvious difference - it was quieter. Genuinely. I know some will scoff at the thought that two cables, both constructed of copper and of similar length could have any such effect. I’m a degree-qualified and Chartered engineer, with a principally nuclear and aviation background. In fact my first degree was in manufacturing, so I’m pretty good on materials engineering, metallography etc. And I’d agree with them - but I heard it. No calibrated noise meter here, sorry, and I prefer to make investment decisions around my enjoyment of the music in any case!
Next observation - the presentation is markedly different. Here we go trying to describe sound with visual cues(!) but darker and more textured in the bass. My system (details in profile for those that are interested) already goes low, but this was definitely more musical ‘down below’. At this point I’m a little nervous, as I’m using large speakers in a small room, and that’s occasionally bought issues.
I’m just mulling that over when Joe Bonamassa lets rip and Beth Hart does one of her spectacular whisper to scream transitions. Arresting. Stop what you’re doing/thinking and focus - this is incredible and you may not get the opportunity to hear this again. Only it’s absolutely repeatable, and I can listen to it whenever I like. Wire the money over to Tony; trial complete. I know I should have spent longer blind demoing with a variety of music, but honestly there’s no need - and my wife can’t undo the Burndy plugs anyway. There’ll be time to swap the Naim Burndy back in later, I’m enjoying this too much at the moment. And that’s what this hobby is about, at least for me. Thanks for reading.
Those with an appreciation of poetic prose and the tenacity to get through a significant volume of posts can read up on the history in the ‘Clearer Audio Prototype Burndy for Naim NAC 552’ thread! Fair warn though, there’s an awful lot of cable scepticism in there!
For my part, having tried SL interconnects and found that I prefer the presentation of the Sarum Ts with my music in my system/room etc, I was interested to see what difference a more-appropriately constructed Burndy might offer. The experience of replacing DIN-XLR pre-power interconnects, first with WitchHat, later with Chord SuperAray and now with Sarum T suggested shielding to be beneficial, while the WitchHat Burndys I’ve previously used on NAC52s were constructed to better-separate power from signal. So, worth a go - and particularly with a very kind ‘take it away, try it for as long as you like’ offer from Tony.
Back at mine I had the usual fight with the NAC 552 Burndy’s plugs and swapped in the prototype Copper-Line. An immediately obvious difference - it was quieter. Genuinely. I know some will scoff at the thought that two cables, both constructed of copper and of similar length could have any such effect. I’m a degree-qualified and Chartered engineer, with a principally nuclear and aviation background. In fact my first degree was in manufacturing, so I’m pretty good on materials engineering, metallography etc. And I’d agree with them - but I heard it. No calibrated noise meter here, sorry, and I prefer to make investment decisions around my enjoyment of the music in any case!
Next observation - the presentation is markedly different. Here we go trying to describe sound with visual cues(!) but darker and more textured in the bass. My system (details in profile for those that are interested) already goes low, but this was definitely more musical ‘down below’. At this point I’m a little nervous, as I’m using large speakers in a small room, and that’s occasionally bought issues.
I’m just mulling that over when Joe Bonamassa lets rip and Beth Hart does one of her spectacular whisper to scream transitions. Arresting. Stop what you’re doing/thinking and focus - this is incredible and you may not get the opportunity to hear this again. Only it’s absolutely repeatable, and I can listen to it whenever I like. Wire the money over to Tony; trial complete. I know I should have spent longer blind demoing with a variety of music, but honestly there’s no need - and my wife can’t undo the Burndy plugs anyway. There’ll be time to swap the Naim Burndy back in later, I’m enjoying this too much at the moment. And that’s what this hobby is about, at least for me. Thanks for reading.
Dave J
Übermember
And wasn’t that a huge improvement! I’d been busy experimenting with, at the time, Sarum cables in the conventional areas - interconnects and speaker cables - when my dealer suggested “having a listen”. What a fabulous improvement.
kleinbje
pfm Member
Would that work for a 52, guessing no?
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
not that specific Burndy, no. But given that the 52's Burndy passes signal as well as power, I would guess that similar improvements are to be had, should someone make a suitable cable.
anotherdom
pfm Member
I did have success with the Witch Hat Burndy cables on a couple of NAC52s. Worth a go.
kleinbje
pfm Member
Ok maybe I'll give one a try, saw some negative views in this thread. My WH Snaic for the 52 made a huge difference. I was shocked actually, figured I would take a chance for $100. Well worth it.
Dave J
Übermember
I’m now three days in on a ChordBurndy (which is how it’s labelled) on my 552. I’d not expected these to be available for a while so I was really keen to hear what it could do after an early and extremely positive longish-term dem of the 500 versions at the beginning of the year.
What’s it like? It’s very directional in that I hooked it up one way and, yes, it sounded “good” but didn’t seem quite right. A text exchange with Chord, a swap in direction and yep, listening to David Cosby’s Here If You Listen, hearing the vocal interplay, the artistry, the meaning, it’s just sensational. People get hung up on bass and treble and “prat”, all of which are probably better, but it completely misses the point. It’s about the emotional connection with the music, why the musicians turned up, what the writer is trying to say and staying up till God knows what hour because you really must listen to just one more album.
If you have a 552 and are genuinely interested in music, it’s an absolute must listen. I’ll do the customary thing and swap back to the stock Burndy in a few weeks time to see how things are but, for now, I’ll continue to enjoy my music collection. I may be some time.
What’s it like? It’s very directional in that I hooked it up one way and, yes, it sounded “good” but didn’t seem quite right. A text exchange with Chord, a swap in direction and yep, listening to David Cosby’s Here If You Listen, hearing the vocal interplay, the artistry, the meaning, it’s just sensational. People get hung up on bass and treble and “prat”, all of which are probably better, but it completely misses the point. It’s about the emotional connection with the music, why the musicians turned up, what the writer is trying to say and staying up till God knows what hour because you really must listen to just one more album.
If you have a 552 and are genuinely interested in music, it’s an absolute must listen. I’ll do the customary thing and swap back to the stock Burndy in a few weeks time to see how things are but, for now, I’ll continue to enjoy my music collection. I may be some time.
Dave J
Übermember
Ok, so here’s the thing. If you’d gone for a pair for the 500, you’d be aware of the lack of one on the 552 and the deficiencies of the stock Burndy - in turntable parlance, it’s like having a Radikal on the LP12 without a Keel; it’s great but you really need the Keel for them both to work optimally.
If you “just” went for the 552 version however, I think you could be quite happy at that. They do different things but are extremely complimentary. The 500s do space and shape and scale, stuff which is really welcome in my small listening room but is possibly not quite so important if you had Titan 808s and the room to accommodate them.
Whatever, if you have a 552/500 system, you should try to hear what the Chord Burndys can do.
If you “just” went for the 552 version however, I think you could be quite happy at that. They do different things but are extremely complimentary. The 500s do space and shape and scale, stuff which is really welcome in my small listening room but is possibly not quite so important if you had Titan 808s and the room to accommodate them.
Whatever, if you have a 552/500 system, you should try to hear what the Chord Burndys can do.
I would think the burndy cables that carry sound as well as power make the biggest difference.
Would be interested to try them, but certainly at the costs quoted £11000 for the twin, power only 500 cables and the single 552, power & sound cable, maybe selling the naim and investing the £11000, on a better amp/ pre would be better?
What ever, i will try the much cheaper morgana burndy cable for my 552, as i feel this could be easily the best valve for money, plus as i use the morgana cables for the xlr mono, and both sources, this will complete the loom
Would be interested to try them, but certainly at the costs quoted £11000 for the twin, power only 500 cables and the single 552, power & sound cable, maybe selling the naim and investing the £11000, on a better amp/ pre would be better?
What ever, i will try the much cheaper morgana burndy cable for my 552, as i feel this could be easily the best valve for money, plus as i use the morgana cables for the xlr mono, and both sources, this will complete the loom
Suffolk Tony
Aim low, achieve your goals, avoid disappointment.
I can't comment on the Chord Burdys, but I tried a set of Clearer Audio silver Burndys on my 3X500DRs and 552DR a few years ago. The 552 was a distinct improvement, but very expensive, so I ended up with the copper version (with silver-plated wires as I recall) as mentioned in my previous post. However, the ones on the 500s, (leaving aside the fact that they were absolute pigs to install and dress!) didn't seem to make any significant difference at all in my system. The owner kindly lent me these for a few weeks, so I did give them a very fair hearing. The crucial test, when you swap back to the originals, yielded very little change in sound. I guess, given the 500 Burndys only carry power and not signal, I wasn't totally surprised by this.
jimbot2.0
pfm Member
I found the addition of a WitchHat SNAIC in addition to the (WitchHat) Burndy between my 52 and 52PS made quite a difference. Not sure why, but there you go.
I cant quite bring myself to drop £1000++ on a cable but this is an improvement can be had for £120 and is on a 30 day free trial
I cant quite bring myself to drop £1000++ on a cable but this is an improvement can be had for £120 and is on a 30 day free trial
suzywong
Wot, no electrons?
And yet a roomful of folks at the Chord demo last February at the Bristol show could quite clearly hear a difference with Chord's "power only" Nap 300 cables, compared to the stock Naim...and it weren't subtle.
Dave J
Übermember
Yes, and it was - I know this’ll sound nuts - pretty awful. Yes, you’d adjust after a couple of weeks but it wasn’t a pleasant few hours.