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Burmester 111 streamer server revisited

Burmester 111 black finish

In issue 97, we reviewed the original Burmester 111 music server and streamer. That was almost 12 years ago, and the 111 is still in production.  

In fairness, the 111 has held up well over the years. It’s surprising how much modern heavy-lifting an audio platform from the early 2010s can muster. However, Burmester has this covered for future-proofing. The platform is upgradable in hardware, software, and firmware. The latest 111 might look identical to its 2012 counterpart, but it’s very mid-2020s on the inside. Thanks to an upgrade path, 111 owners can—and should—bring their older machines up to the latest specification.

Big Changes

The significant change is from spinning hard drives to SSD drives for music content storage. That gives it two 4TB solid-state drives instead of the older Winchester-style hard disc drives. This means no more worrying about RAID arrays or disc crashes and less latency. The other big upgrade is the move to the X-AMP 3.  Developed for the new 232 integrated amp, the X-AMP 3 is a three-stage, fully balanced signal amplifier with outstanding audio characteristics thanks to careful component matching. Even without negative feedback, it has high linearity and almost complete independence from environmental or operating conditions.

The X-AMP 3 circuit uses components within a very narrow tolerance range. These are selected according to rigorous standards, with the transistors in the circuit subject to intense scrutiny. In addition, the shielding aluminium cover protects the sensitive electronics from external interference. This discrete amplifier module is an all-analogue design and raises the performance significantly.

Burmester X-AMP3 module

X-AMP 3 is a custom operational amplifier with 100 components per module. It can be used as an output amplifier stage for DACs, phono modules and the volume controllers in preamps. Most high-end brands will use discrete amplifier circuits. They dismiss op-amps as an exercise in cost and size-saving. However, a custom op-amp controls the stage’s thermal and noise properties and bandwidth. As the name suggests, it’s the third iteration of the X-AMP. Burmester has been using operational amplifier modules since the late 1980s. 

Recap

Given the original dates back so far, a quick recap is in order. The big screen might look quaint by today’s standards, but it still serves the Burmester 111 music server and streamer well. It is a helpful command and control interface when streaming, serving or ripping. Since many hide their servers from view, the Burmester demands to be front and centre of your system. It can be used as a preamplifier as well as a server. Although best used as a ripping server, it can act as a CD player.

What’s strange is the 111 shows just how far European and US listeners have travelled in the last few years. Many countries still use CD regularly (for good reasons, because the format sounds excellent in the right hands and because it’s hard to stream in countries where an internet connection is either very patchy or might end in a jail sentence). However, we may consider the format at best ‘legacy’ across much of the West. A disc, ripped into the 111, makes a very cogent argument to question that ‘legacy’ statement. It did so with the original version and now makes that argument more succinctly with the latest upgrades.

More than chrome

New purchasers of the Burmester 111 music server and streamer can do something hitherto impossible. The ultimate in shiny audio has introduced a more understated matt black coating scheme. I know many who love the mirror-chromed finish of traditional Burmester products. I also know that the chrome finish puts others off.

The new finish will appeal to almost none of Burmester’s existing customer base. They will continue to buy ultra-shiny products. Instead, it adds a new generation of buyers. It’s for those who want and can afford the Burmester experience but found the original chrome a little garish. Naturally, the black finish is beyond compare. Burmester’s products are astonishingly well-built. It’s not uncommon to find people with 30+ year-old Burmester products in their systems, and they look as good as new.

This longevity in Burmester products is part of the reason you rarely see one appearing on the second-hand market. But that burdens Burmester’s products heavily; they must be ‘deep time compatible’ by audio standards. And that’s not generally associated with music servers, with the 111 being a notable exception. That’s why the 111 includes a front-panel display built for mission-critical displays in aircraft cockpits.

In search of deep time

Despite this ‘deep time compatible’ standing, the Burmester 111 music server and streamer needed some gentle nudging into the mid-2020s. Perhaps more significantly, though, that ‘gentle nudging’ revolved around the X-AMP 3 modules. This is proof of concept for Burmester’s next big stage of development, as this module is the core of Burmester’s next generation of digital platforms and line-level devices. This is, in essence, the first product to sport X-AMP 3 modules, and it is available as a retrofit for existing clients. If it doesn’t make a big difference to performance, those clients will be less excited by the next generation of audio from the Burmester brand. So, the mid-2020s-spec 111 has a bigger than expected task.

Burmester 111 original finish

The English have a phrase; “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater.” It’s apt in this context as it means ‘in improving the 111, don’t accidentally make it worse while trying to make it better!’ The 111 is now the core of many Reference Line systems – acting as a server, DAC, and preamplifier – and improving one leg of the stool could unbalance the others. Fortunately, in the case of the 111, the improvements are deep-seated and universal. Far from risking undermining the performance, the 111 is now better than ever in its individual parts and as a Reference Line hub.

Pre’s are good

When I last used the 111, I felt that although it had a delicate preamp stage in its own right, it was no match for the flagship 077 or classic 808 Mk 5 preamp from the brand. This still holds, but the gap has closed considerably. Cutting out the preamp middleman was a good idea in theory with the original 111; now, it’s more than just an exercise in cost-saving and shelf management. The improvements in detail resolution, transparency and bass integrity are immediately audible enough that if someone sends their 111 for an upgrade, they will hear the difference minutes after installing the revised version.  

The X-AMP 3 modules are used throughout the latest and upgraded 111s. Still, if you use the original 111 in its fullest sense, improvements to the preamp stage will be the most immediately noticeable performance aspect because they apply universally. Improving the DAC improves the digital side, but the preamp benefits all inputs. 

Not that the improvements to the server-side of the 111 are trivial; the sound retains its distinctly Burmester warmth and richness, but alongside that chocolatey-smooth presentation, the leading-edge performance, the dynamic range, the energy, solidity and soundstaging are all improved. I used both tracks back when initially testing the 111 and new additions, and it was clear the 111 had lost none of its platform-defining edges over the years. I suspect an original, untouched 111 might not have quite the same advantage, as there have been significant improvements in server and streamer performance in the intervening decade and change.

Trends change

That decade has seen listener trends move from ripping discs to local hard drives to online streaming, and the 111 takes both in its stride. It makes a strong case for being one of the best; it always had a tendency to bring out the musicality and elegance in a recording – listening to Billie Holiday and Donny Hathaway then and now brought a lump to the throat, and that happens whether the album is ripped or streamed. What’s happened over the years is you stop minding where the music comes from and focus instead on its sonic properties. 

Burmester 111 rear panel

Although this is an audiophile product written about in an audiophile magazine, the 111 is intended for the music lover first and foremost. The audiophile obsession over the twinkly bits is a distant second. Music – whatever it is, wherever it came from – is portrayed with a rare grace and serenity that is not common to digital audio. However, grace and serenity are not codes for ‘bland’ or ‘boring’. This highly detailed and exciting player makes you want to listen to more and more music. It did that in its original guise; it does it much more today. 

Is 2013 still with us?

There are aspects of the Burmester 111 music server and streamer that have not moved with the times. The original design pre-dated Roon, super-high-resolution PCM, MQA, and streaming DSD files’ popularity. However, many of those ‘important’ improvements to audio sound quality have waxed and waned in popularity. From a purely pragmatic argument, the 111 has all you need to listen to music in the real world. However, Roon is an omission. 

The 111 Mk II uses the ‘plug ‘n’ play’ standards of the early years of the last decade. There are more automated installations today. That said, I doubt the end user installs many Burmester 111 devices, and the dealer requires those IP addressing skills, not the end user. This also has a stealth advantage; installation is exceptionally robust, and you won’t find a 111 having a temper tantrum – or a senior moment – unless your network is very sketchy. It connects to the outside world in a manner befitting its build inside and out, a solid, belt-and-braces approach.

Simply the best?

The Burmester 111 music server and streamer is tough to follow, so the company didn’t follow it up with a new model; it made the best, better. Things may change, trends in audio may come and go, and maybe the need to rip discs will be less of a draw in 2025 than in the early 2010s. But one thing remains constant: good sound never goes out of fashion. And the 111 makes an even better sound in its latest guise. For the CD hardcore, streaming is enjoyable. To those already happy with streaming, it represents the best in streaming. Back when it was first launched, streaming was more about internet radio than dealing with Tidal and Qobuz. Whether you use it as a CD player with a really, really long memory or a state-of-the-art network streamer, the Burmester mid-2020s 111 is still the high-end digital hub to beat. 

Technical specifications

  • Type: CD-ripping music server and streamer
  • Storage: 2x 4TB SSD capacity for music data storage, SSD drive for system storage 
  • Supported audio formats: FLAC / wav / mp3 etc. 
  • Sampling rate for D/A conversion: can be selected from either 96 kHz/24 bit or 192 kHz/24
    bit 
  • 7” display 
  • UPnP server 
  • Uninterruptible power supply (UPS) 
  • Analogue inputs: 3x XLR
  • Digital inputs: 3x RCA, 3x TOSLINK
  • Analogue outputs: 1x XLR stereo, 1x RCA stereo, 1x RCA tape out (fixed) 1x headphone jack
  • Digital outputs: 1x RCA, 1x TOSLINK
  • Dimensions (WxHxD): 46 x 22 x 41cm
  • Weight:  Approx. 28 kg (depending on configuration)
  • Price: £41,500, $55,000, $44,975. Upgrade available.

Manufacturer

Burmester Audiosysteme GmbH

www.burmester.de

+49 307 87 96 80

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Tags: BURMESTER 111 CD PLAYER CD RIPPER SERVER STREAMER

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