Note that this is a discontinued product. You may want to visit the brand's page here to browse their newer products.
What reviewers think
Bloggers and YouTubers have tried this product—so we've summarized their strongest opinions below. Links to full reviews follow.
Product Strengths
- Boasts a sweet, refined, and exciting sound
- Class-leading composure, excellent detail retrieval and exceptional build and finish
- Build is sturdy and the finish immaculate, with precise controls and distinctive toggle switches
- Conveys a solid rhythmic structure and fills it with an explosive combination of vivid dynamics and hefty punch
- Capable of delivering a sound of huge scale when the recording demands, with refinement and rich tonal balance
- The unit works well as a stripped-down system preamp due to the inherent transparency of its circuitry
Product Considerations
- The remote control has an unintuitive button layout, making it harder to use than it needs to be
- May not appear to be highly detailed, such is its tranquil, unforced demeanour
- Requires setting the gain to improve the silence between notes
- It lacks a USB input
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- Vs EMM Labs CDSA: The Emm Labs CDSA was better
Takeaway: The Burmester 069 is a top-of-the-line CD player with exceptional build quality and refined sound, making it a luxurious choice for audiophiles. It delivers powerful bass and smooth highs, creating an immersive listening experience.
What are hifi reviews useful for? (1) Identifying products you should demo in person at a dealer. (2) Learning which products reviewers unanimously praise as the best they've heard (this means they probably are legitimately great). (3) Identifying a product's attributes that satisfy your idiosyncratic needs and tastes. Beyond that, we often discount what reviewers say because they heap praise on most products—and are often apprehensive about publishing strong criticism or comparisons between products. Further, they seldom have more than a few products on-hand, often relying on their memories to compare past products. Always listen for yourself.
All
069
reviews
[{"title":"Burmester 069 review","link":"https://www.whathifi.com/burmester/069/review","source":"What Hi-Fi?","datePublished":"2013"},{"title":"Burmester Reference 069 (£34,135)","link":"https://www.hifinews.com/content/burmester-reference-069-%C2%A334135","source":"Hi-Fi News","datePublished":"2012"},{"title":"The TAS Review of the Burmester $65K 069 Reference CD ...","link":"https://audiofederation.com/blog/2008/08/13/the-tas-review-of-the-burmester-65k-069-reference-cd-player-pre","source":"audiofederation.com","datePublished":""},{"title":"Burmester 069+911 english","link":"https://www.audio-activity.com/burmester-069--911mk3-english.html","source":"audio-activity.com","datePublished":""}]
An excellent review of a great product
/
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
An excellent review of a great product
Publisher
/
3/1/2022
Video Review
Manufacturer details
Features
Specifications
Description
The Reference Line CD player 069 sets the ultimate technical standard for CD playback. Cutting edge technology combined with a proprietary belt-drive system form the technical basis for providing a musical experience of the highest order.
The Reference Line CD player 069 sets the ultimate technical standard for CD playback. Cutting edge technology combined with a proprietary belt-drive system form the technical basis for providing a musical experience of the highest order. Dieter Burmester invented the belt drive for CD players in 1990 and only a year later introduced the first CD player with a belt-driven CD platter to the world market. Like an analog turntable, the belt drive in a CD player provides complete decoupling of the pick-up system, in this case the laser, from any mechanical interference by the motor drive. As a result the data on the CD is read with ultimate precision, translating into the decoding of the smallest musical detail as well as complex acoustic structures. Add to this the latest generation of DA conversion and you know that you will miss nothing on a recording: Spatial resolution, musical timbre, airy highs and deep, controlled bass.
Release Timeline
Manufacturer Site
Brand highlights
Taking a step back to look at reviewers' thoughts of the brand's entire lineup—not just this product—what stands out most is the following:
- The brand's products feature a high level of configurability including adjustable gain, loading, and capacitance, allowing for fine-tuning to specific system needs and preferences, though this adjustability may not always be easily accessible or well-documented.
- Burmester aims for a sound that combines refinement with a powerful and controlled bass response, creating a large-scale soundstage with solid instrument placement.
- Reflecting German engineering principles, products are built to extremely high standards with attention to build quality and finish that is often described as exceptional, even decades after initial purchase and offering long-term serviceability.
Select products
Select product comparisons
B18
- Positioning: The entry-level loudspeaker in Burmester's B-Series.
- Description: Designed for dynamic and musical performance in a compact form, featuring a 2½-way bass reflex design. It includes a unique ring radiator tweeter for high transparency, making it ideal for smaller rooms or those seeking a balance between performance and size, unlike the larger BC350 which offers more expansive sound.
BX100
- Positioning: The mid-range loudspeaker offering in Burmester's lineup.
- Description: Combines a modern design with advanced sound technology, featuring a 4-way system for precise sound distribution. Its Air-Motion-Transformer tweeter provides a wide soundstage, unlike the B18 which is more compact and less complex.
BC350
- Positioning: The top-tier loudspeaker in Burmester's Signature Line.
- Description: Offers exceptional sound quality with its dual-mode tuning options, Pure and Live, for different listening experiences. Its massive size and advanced technology make it suitable for large spaces, far exceeding the capabilities of the BX100 and B18 in terms of scale and detail.
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Avg. Product Price
$40,001-$75,000
Used For Sale
14
Available (Scroll Down)
Brand Popularity
128
of 900+
Badges
Top 50 Brand
Top 250 Brand
Products Listed
34
Founding Year
1978
Our take on the brand
Burmester, a high-end audio brand renowned for its German craftsmanship, designs and handcrafts its components in Berlin. Known for its distinctive industrial aesthetic with chrome finishes, the brand supplies premium sound systems for Porsche and Mercedes-Benz.
Look inside the brand
Brand Page
Our interview with the brand
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What if you spend more?
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What competes at this price?
CH Precision
D1.5
42099
/
Released
2021
Despite advances in high-resolution file-replay, the optical disc remains the reference standard for digital music replay. Those who have predicted the imminent demise of CD and who already danced on the grave of SACD might want to take a look at the rude health of the vinyl LP, a format long ago consigned by many to the dustbin of audio history. In fact, there have never been so many CD and SACD titles (or formats) available – and they have never been so affordable, making them the most consistent and stable digital source currently available – and one that is constantly evolving as superior materials and manufacturing techniques continue to improve performance.
CH Precision is known for its modular design philosophy that lets customers tailor and upgrade their units over time without replacing the entire component, with sophisticated controls accessible via tablet from the listening position. Their amplifiers offer five different operating modes (stereo, bridge, passive and active bi-amplification, and monaural) and allow users to adjust specific audio parameters like global feedback ratio and input gain settings for optimal speaker matching.
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Our Summary
Product Strengths
- Solid build with a modular design allowing for future upgrades of daughter boards
- Capable of playing CDs and SACDs
- High-mass transport mechanism (MORSe) designed to minimize vibrations
- Excellent sound quality with a neutral presentation of the music played, irrespective of music or format
Product Considerations
- The original D1 cannot be upgraded to the D1.5 due to significant changes in the transport mechanism
- The 'preproduction D1.5 supplied for review selected one of the minimum-phase filters from our library of available algorithms'
- The D1.5 had old firmware, and was using an incorrect filter
- The Android app is only available on the Android platform—no iOS (Apple) version is available
Comparisons (according to reviewers)
- The D1.5 is the first digital player not named Neodio or Wadax to transport the reviewer to the Musikverein without leaving the listening room
Takeaway: The CH Precision D1.5 is a robust and versatile player that delivers excellent sound across different disc formats. Its modular design and focus on time-domain performance ensure a worthwhile investment for audiophiles seeking a long-term, high-quality digital source.
Video review
Our take on the brand
CH Precision is known for its modular design philosophy that lets customers tailor and upgrade their units over time without replacing the entire component, with sophisticated controls accessible via tablet from the listening position. Their amplifiers offer five different operating modes (stereo, bridge, passive and active bi-amplification, and monaural) and allow users to adjust specific audio parameters like global feedback ratio and input gain settings for optimal speaker matching.
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Product Page
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CD Players
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