Burmester 933 speaker amplifier clone - first look video

This was one of the interesting amps from my bucket list: Burmester 933 clone called "Berlin 933".
There are also clones of 909 and few others available, but I was wondering about quality of this one in particular because its AFFORDABLE (with capital letters!)
And this baby has some impressive numbers - low thd, high snr and impossible looking damping factor.
Stay tuned for full review as it just had finished 2 weeks of burn-in.
You can get yours from the same shop I got mine from (so tested as safe and reliable - and thats not always the case, but you do not get to see the reviews for the equipement that was damaged or lost on the way, obviously):
s.click.aliexp...

[@clarencehoover6748]

3:41 Nice to see heat sinks on the rectifiers.

[@peterst-uh5me]

Very much looking forward to your sound quality review

[@berndtwagner189]

Danke fürs zeigen, bin sehr auf den Klangeindruck gespannt.

[@thinkIndependent2024]

100 years of HiFi designs sent to China now coming back as refined equipment... Thanks I'm waiting for the Full ...

[@MasterofPlay7]

They sound good too

[@word2RG]

looking forward to the review!

[@sonusancti]

That is a good clone but one tweak I can tell you is the hookup wire from the speaker binding post to the PCB. Consider that the first mile in the signal journey from the amp to your speakers. No matter how short it is, changing it to a quality wire such as a Supra classic cable, makes an audible difference! Those filter caps will also benefit from an upgrade, definitely.

[@k4syx]

Yes, I will probably replace it with something way better. If the listening tests will show that this has good potential (meaning it sounds good right out of the box) then I will play a little with some easy mods :)

[@MarkSWilliams27]

At last! Someone on youtube that knows how to use a pointer to show us stuff.

[@k4syx]

And thats just a beggining of things I can do with pointer :D

[@edverbeek6292]

Thank you very much.

[@ruslanmulyk8601]

Looks good 👍. Waiting for a first impression 😀

[@zizendorf]

Just Wow! All this talk of inflation. Name me one product/commodity that's gone down in price? Okay, how about stereo components! Just wow! For a really simplistic, one source system, this looks amazing!

[@rmzidann]

Interesting amp. Would you consider the Sugden 21SE Class A clone for a review? Thanks! 👍

[@foblivio]

I could only find Sugden A21 and IA-4 clones at Aliexpress. But would love to see a review of any of these!

[@rmzidann]

@@foblivio… I believe you are right. I may have misspoken about the existence of an SE version. Thanks. 👍

[@foblivio]

@@rmzidannyeah, pretty sure the patent has not run out (if it exists) on the SE circuit. Too new.

[@k4syx]

A21 is on my cheap amp bucket list :)

[@rmzidann]

@@k4syx . Thank you! 👍👍

[@RandomShart]

What is the difference Vs the "upgraded" model in the other case? It looks like two volume controls on front,.

[@foblivio]

I think the only significant difference is plain chassis versus a CNC one. The upgraded version has a power switch and one volume dial-they do look the same though.

[@k4syx]

Yes as Foblivio says these are the same except for the chassis, and thats why I got cheaper one: it happens to look better (for me at least) and I wouldnt like to have two amps with alost the same look (I already have MF A1 clone in that case)

[@singleshotjunkie1107]

Hmm... "Burmster" - smart move to avoid the lawsuit.

[@k4syx]

@@singleshotjunkie1107 yes what a happy coincidence with that typo:)

[@marcinwasilewski5414]

Original Burmester 933 has no volume control and is balanced with XLR inputs only. The clone seems to be completely different design.

[@k4syx]

Yes these are "based on" meaning there can be some changes like adding volume control (which I will bypass). BTW there's a version with XLRs and no volume control that sells for 500$

[@marcinwasilewski5414]

​@@k4syx OK thanks. About topping B200, from youtube comparison seems that it is light and clean, sort of uninvoinving sound. I love their Pre90 preamp and D70s double AKM DAC but their speaker amplifers not so much. I am very curious however about FM111 monoblocks (clones). That could be a real gem of solid state though I'm devoted tube lover, I've been using 845 triode monoblocks for 10 years...

[@cruise2023]

Had a look, 44% off and sitting at $349au ( $230us ) surely that's a steal ?

[@k4syx]

That's why I got it, it's very cheap but the build seems fine and the original design was excellent. So this may be another bargain (especially with Ali coupons)

[@ABC-rh7zc]

Seems to be USD 283 now. Pretty steep inflation after just two days :(

[@k4syx]

@@ABC-rh7zc there was a sale just a few days ago, and on top of lowered price you could add coupons. I think the next big sale will be on 11.11 unless they will do something earlier

[@김바-b4z]

If you replace it with a discrete op-amplifier, the sound will be better.

[@k4syx]

I've read about that on the web, but I'm not sure about that. Will have to try I guess. This opamp is not in the signal path, its used in dc servo circuit. It needs to be fast and precise, I was thinking about replacing it with something more modern, not necessarily discrete one

[@justasimplefox]

Is it me but they all start to look the same 😅

[@k4syx]

They are very similiar, some of them have even same chassis (thats why I wanted this one in different). Internally they are usually two mirrored PCBs on two mirrored heatsinks, with transformer and capacitor banks in the middle. I think thats for practical reasons and the result is that yes, they start to look the same :D

[@Carl-yx1ww]

Change your name to clone zone instead of hifi zone. I have a1 clone and nap 250 power amp clone . Both sick and amazing I love them both. I'll be selling my audiolab 9000a and keeping these absolutely amazing . All because of clone zone ...

[@k4syx]

@@Carl-yx1ww Lol thank you.. I guess...? :D How do you find NAP250? I just got that and finished burn in, haven't heard it yet though!

[@Infozavr]

Could you please share the exact link for nap 250 power amp clone, which one have you got? Because there are few different models of nap 250 on Aliexpress, don't know which one is better

[@k4syx]

@@Infozavr I got this one s.click.aliexpress.com/e/_DCiyWrt