Date: 2024-07-29
These days, Berlin's flagship high-end manufacturer Burmester is always good for a surprise. On the electronics side, they present power amplifiers and amps (for example 218 and 232) that make the competition green with envy, and on the speaker side, the B28, a representative of the 15,000 Euro league that puts almost all of the established competition in this class in the shade. We tested this sound transducer gem for a few weeks.
If you look at Burmester's price list, you quickly reach the ranges that iconic sports car manufacturers also charge. In other words: You can get really cheap prices elsewhere. This naturally raises the question: Is such a luxury manufacturer able to be competitive in areas that are still affordable? Or can you see cutbacks?
The Burmester B28…
...with its pair price of 15,700 euros, is still in a range that is now fairly normal in high-end hi-fi and which Burmester probably treats as entry-level class. Nevertheless, the slim 3-way beach box shows at every corner that it comes from the most noble of all German stables. First of all, there is the sparkling clean construction. A housing made of cleanly painted or veneered MDF with a solid metal front. The high rigidity of the metal front enables the drivers to be firmly attached. The MDF usually used in speaker production is - no matter how strong - more flexible and usually only second place in terms of precision in playback...
But just how high Burmester's standards really are with the B28 can be seen when you look at the crossover. The circuit board is filled with components from the high-end supplier Mundorf - neatly soldered and intelligently distributed according to electromagnetic aspects. It is the opposite of the often hand-wired simple crossovers of many small audiophile suppliers.
But the graphics of the interior structure also underline that everything here is well thought out. The housing, which is mainly made of MDF boards (except for the metal baffle), is reinforced in many ways and is very solid: it weighs 37 kilos. And then there are the little things that show how serious the design is: for example, the bass reflex tube, which is quieted by a layer of insulating wool on the outside. Or the selective damping of the housing. If too much insulating material is used, the bass reproduction quickly becomes thin and fluffy.
The 3-way floorstanding speaker is equipped with the AMT tweeter known from Burmester's B38, as well as three 17-centimeter bass-midrange speakers with glass fiber membranes. The three look like triplets, but the midrange speaker is actually different because it is designed for its operating range between 150 - 2,500 Hertz: The membrane mass is lower, the voice coil is shorter. This makes it easier for the vibration system to follow the impulses even faster.
Practice:
The optimal setup in the LowBeats listening room was completely problem-free. Because the B28 produces a precisely tuned bass range without any significant overtones. The foam plugs supplied for closing the bass reflex tubes are also helpful - in case it really booms. In the opposite case, where it sounds a bit too thin, the Burmester developers have built in a small bass boost: if you set the toggle switch on the terminal to the "+" position, a subtle 2 decibels are added in the range below 120 Hertz. In any case, I found the optimal position very quickly and, at 40 centimeters from the rear wall, it was by no means space-consuming.
You can also act without hesitation with regard to the connected amplifiers: the impedance of the B28 is always above the DIN specification of 3.2 ohms, and the phase is pleasantly flat. So you don't have to use one of the extremely stable Burmester amps to achieve a formidable result. Incidentally, I had my best musical hours with the B28 with the A2 from Soulnote , an integrated amplifier for 7,000 euros.
The level stability of the B28 corresponds to what you can get out of two 17 cm basses today (it is usually the bass that limits the maximum level). In this respect, the 103 dB permanent and 115 dB short-term maximum level are absolutely appropriate for the class and size. The 200 watts (at 4 ohms) of the Soulnote A2 were therefore well proportioned.
Hearing test:
The B28 is one of the few speakers that immediately captivates the listener. The bass has juice and power, the mid-high range has an incredibly precise and open playing style that never becomes tiring. There are still many hi-fi fans who think that a classic cone midrange speaker should not be combined with such a "fast" tweeter as an AMT. With the B28, at the latest, they are completely refuted. Because the B28 manages this very open, very grippy playing completely seamlessly and finely. Our latest audiophile album tip can serve as an example here: "Desert Dream" by Tiwayo . How fine and harmonious the singer's voice came across, how thrillingly precise the sliding of the fingers over the strings was reproduced – great.
During its stay in the LowBeats editorial office, the B28 had to prove itself against many speakers in its class. For example, against the Perlisten S5t , which – in terms of its home cinema qualities – is a real bundle of energy and reproduces bass very dryly, but the mids very clearly and openly.
The B28 didn't quite show this amazing energy, but it was much juicier (but still precise) in the bass range and remained finer overall and even more precise and full-bodied in the micro-details.
The Perlisten were not the only competitors that the B28 had to contend with. There was also the Fyne Audio F702 , the Totem Acoustic Wind and the Piega Coax 611 - all floorstanding speakers in this class that clearly have their merits. The Fyne Audio's dynamic power beats everything else - the Burmester is not spared the same fate either. But the B28 simply sounds more precise, more catchy and finer - and therefore even more realistic.
When comparing the Totem Acoustic Wind with the B28, I'll skip the comparison of the American road cruiser versus the Porsche 911, although it would have been a good fit here. The Canadian sounds much richer and fuller, especially in the lower registers. It lacks the gripping element of the B28, the openness and precision that makes the B28 an experience out of almost every recording. What the "Wind" does well, however, is the generous spatiality that it quickly captivates the listener. At this point, however, I must note that the B28 also knows how to advertise itself with an absolutely credible and physical image...
The Piega Coax 611 is without doubt the toughest opponent for the B28 in this class. Not only because the 611 is also superbly manufactured thanks to its aluminum housing, but because the Swiss company's new coax ribbon is, in my opinion, a real sensation in terms of homogeneous fine resolution.
And now we have, on the one hand, an incredibly fine, seamless mid-high range with a perfectly integrated, slim and "fast" bass (Piega) and, on the other hand, an almost equally good openness and precision, but garnished with a slightly richer bass and greater liveliness (Burmester). And what could also swing the pendulum in favor of the B28: The Berlin-based model has a lot more to gain in the maximum level contest. So if you like to listen to live recordings at (almost) original level, the B28 offers more in this regard too.
Conclusion Burmester B28
Because we have tested many relevant floor-standing speakers in this class over the past six months, the verdict is well-founded: Anyone who can imagine buying floor-standing speakers in the 15,000 euro range will definitely not be able to avoid a listening appointment with the Burmester B28. In my ears, it is the best sounding offering under 20,000 euros, and it is also extremely well made and not very demanding electrically. Result: A straight A, outstanding.
B28 Technical data
Concept: passive Standbox, Bassreflex
Equipment: HT: 1 x AMT, MT: 1 x 17 cm, TT: 2 x 17 cm
Crossover frequencies: 150 / 2.400 Hertz
Efficiency: 88.3 dB (2.83 Volts/Meter)
Max. sound pressure (continuous / short-term): 103 / 115 decibels
Minimum recommended power for max. level: >130 Watt
Versions: black, white, medium grey and American walnut
Weight: 37,0 Kg
Dimensions (W x H x D): 22,3 x 114,5 x 46,5 cm