Last time I have played with Burson Products, I had some fun with their crazy variety of op-amps, used for modding various amps for the exact sound that is desired. This time around I am playing with the Burson Audio PlayMate 5532. It is a more playful version of the original Burson Play Amp. I was originally planning to put this into an ITX Build, but due to some parts used, that has to wait until the NDA has been lifted. (I am still building a new system with this unit inside...)
Let’s look at the Packaging and Build quality first.
The Unit comes nicely Packed in a box that has all the items needed to install it internally into a 5.5” Drive bay, or left as a desk unit for quick headset volume control. This will make both large & small PC builder happy. Unit is Rock solid, has some weight to it and no cheap plastic feeling, entire unit is made of metal. All the connectors input and output are solid.
Coming from the old Play Amp, the new PlayMate 5532 Amp has some upgrades. Surprisingly Burson did listen to some requests made by gamers towards the old Play model.
There are plenty of other updates made internally also. New USB DAC, Different types of Capacitors, changed amp layout, different set of op-amps and different power delivery layout. Some for the better and some to save money but nothing that really hurts the unit or hinder you from making it sound the way you want to.
Left Playmate, Right Play ------- Op Amps Swaps during a music session.
Headphone and Mic sound:
Now as for my wife, this thing sounded perfectly fine out of the box to her. She was able to go ahead and use it for some frag seasons the second it was plugged in and drivers were installed. Plug in the Mic and Headphones and of she goes onto the frag seasons. Mic input sounded clear no feedback or hum. Clear crisp and tight sound, on any decent type of headphones. Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-7508, Corsair Void Stereo, Steel Series 3H V2, Steel Series Siberia 200, Audeze LCD-2G, Beyerdynamics MMX 300, Various IEMS
And here is where things get a bit complicated, but to keep it simple, let's do this:
I personally like warm sounds, wide sound-stage, Bass and Mids oriented. (Music Movies casual games like Witcher)
Wife likes clear crisps sounds, low volume, Mids and Treble oriented. (Also plays a lot of Competitive shooters)
For Gamers that play Competitive shooters and all sorts of Mobas, wanting to use any type of analog headsets. The PlayMate 5532 sounds great out of the box. The unit seems to be able to bring out mids and treble oriented sounds during the gaming sessions. Think crisp clear highs, footsteps, reload, crawling, entering areas type sound that is crucial for gamers that want to hear the enemy. With a decent tight Bass Rumble. The PlayMate will make even entry level headphones sound pretty nice as long as the headphones can produce the sounds.
As for an Audiophile/Enthusiast you get to play with the menu options and settings a bit. Just after that will you get some nice warm sounds. But even then in stock 5532 form this unit does not sound like the Original Play Amp, think more like 90% of the SoundStage (A hint different). Now once you start playing with the op-amps, you can achieve some really nice sounds that will make most Audiophiles smile. Personally I love tinkering with the op-Amps and i do have to say I enjoy this unit a lot for just that. It did take me awhile to make it work for me after playing with different op amps and making sure some of the enhancements aren’t interfering with the op amps used.
There are Markings on the box for other options of op amps inside the PlayMate. We had some V6CDuals and V6VDuals on hand from our other amp projects and once those puppies were plugged in, you had some nice sounds going on for all sorts of music. Some op-amps got hot during long periods of play, and started to degrade in SQ, others worked just right. We are still playing around with different Op Amps...
Items that I may like to see in the future.
So what do I think about the PlayMate 5532? As a gamer this unit rocks right of the out of the box. As an Audio Enthusiast, I like it after I have swapped the op amps. Don't get me wrong the unit sounds spectacular compared to any high end competition in its class. Though it does need some mods to hang with Audiophile style units or the other Playmate version would be a better pick. The Playmate 5532 does bring a lot of versatility to the table. All your ports are right there in front of you. Headphone Mic and Volume, with the added ability to control inputs, outputs and the audio enhancements. The ability to swap op amps makes this unit virtually adaptable to almost any type of sounds that you prefer. I was even able to use it attached to my Home Entertainment system as my DAC to 2x Parsound Amplifier Powering a set of Micas RB42 Reference Speakers.
Let’s look at the Packaging and Build quality first.
The Unit comes nicely Packed in a box that has all the items needed to install it internally into a 5.5” Drive bay, or left as a desk unit for quick headset volume control. This will make both large & small PC builder happy. Unit is Rock solid, has some weight to it and no cheap plastic feeling, entire unit is made of metal. All the connectors input and output are solid.
- PlayMate 5532
- AC power supply
- Set of HiFi RCAs
- USB Cable
- Internal Motherboard to USB cable
- RCA BackPlate for output
Coming from the old Play Amp, the new PlayMate 5532 Amp has some upgrades. Surprisingly Burson did listen to some requests made by gamers towards the old Play model.
- Display update: The new inclusion of the multi line LCD display with ability to tune and adjust right from the unit is an awesome addition, though a bit small to read. If you like to tinker/play with sound this is for you. If you want presets that sound great right out of the box then it may disappoint you a bit depending on who you are. I will get back to this topic in a bit.
- Volume knob update: Not expecting to get this update at all, I was extremely surprised that they did ad it. The original knob felt nice, but it had this click mechanism when you press it in, as if it was used to set or turn something off/on. This time around it is actually functional. The knob is used for volume and once you enter the menu it is used to navigate and select menus.
- Driver update: The Playmate has a fresh set of drivers, and absolutely no issues with official Intel and AMD based motherboard. No Driver or Chipset conflicts of any sort. As long as I was using official released components, I am still testing some unreleased items and ran into some issues. At this point it is too early to say who is at fault Motherboard or Amp. Unlike the original Play unit which was a bit picky on the AMD Chipset selection. This time smooth sailing.
- USB-C Port adition: You can plug a USB-C Phone to the Playmate and have it output the audio directly from the USB port.
- Option Button: This button allows you to get into the settings of the PlayMate and set some items up such as Input/OutPut. Items like DSD and other Audio enhancements are also present here.
There are plenty of other updates made internally also. New USB DAC, Different types of Capacitors, changed amp layout, different set of op-amps and different power delivery layout. Some for the better and some to save money but nothing that really hurts the unit or hinder you from making it sound the way you want to.
Left Playmate, Right Play ------- Op Amps Swaps during a music session.
Headphone and Mic sound:
Now as for my wife, this thing sounded perfectly fine out of the box to her. She was able to go ahead and use it for some frag seasons the second it was plugged in and drivers were installed. Plug in the Mic and Headphones and of she goes onto the frag seasons. Mic input sounded clear no feedback or hum. Clear crisp and tight sound, on any decent type of headphones. Sony MDR-V6, Sony MDR-7508, Corsair Void Stereo, Steel Series 3H V2, Steel Series Siberia 200, Audeze LCD-2G, Beyerdynamics MMX 300, Various IEMS
And here is where things get a bit complicated, but to keep it simple, let's do this:
I personally like warm sounds, wide sound-stage, Bass and Mids oriented. (Music Movies casual games like Witcher)
Wife likes clear crisps sounds, low volume, Mids and Treble oriented. (Also plays a lot of Competitive shooters)
For Gamers that play Competitive shooters and all sorts of Mobas, wanting to use any type of analog headsets. The PlayMate 5532 sounds great out of the box. The unit seems to be able to bring out mids and treble oriented sounds during the gaming sessions. Think crisp clear highs, footsteps, reload, crawling, entering areas type sound that is crucial for gamers that want to hear the enemy. With a decent tight Bass Rumble. The PlayMate will make even entry level headphones sound pretty nice as long as the headphones can produce the sounds.
As for an Audiophile/Enthusiast you get to play with the menu options and settings a bit. Just after that will you get some nice warm sounds. But even then in stock 5532 form this unit does not sound like the Original Play Amp, think more like 90% of the SoundStage (A hint different). Now once you start playing with the op-amps, you can achieve some really nice sounds that will make most Audiophiles smile. Personally I love tinkering with the op-Amps and i do have to say I enjoy this unit a lot for just that. It did take me awhile to make it work for me after playing with different op amps and making sure some of the enhancements aren’t interfering with the op amps used.
There are Markings on the box for other options of op amps inside the PlayMate. We had some V6CDuals and V6VDuals on hand from our other amp projects and once those puppies were plugged in, you had some nice sounds going on for all sorts of music. Some op-amps got hot during long periods of play, and started to degrade in SQ, others worked just right. We are still playing around with different Op Amps...
Items that I may like to see in the future.
- Return of the enthusiast decal of the diagram on the inside
- Smaller unit 3.5”
- Softer edges on the housing
- Quick EQ control from the Knob
So what do I think about the PlayMate 5532? As a gamer this unit rocks right of the out of the box. As an Audio Enthusiast, I like it after I have swapped the op amps. Don't get me wrong the unit sounds spectacular compared to any high end competition in its class. Though it does need some mods to hang with Audiophile style units or the other Playmate version would be a better pick. The Playmate 5532 does bring a lot of versatility to the table. All your ports are right there in front of you. Headphone Mic and Volume, with the added ability to control inputs, outputs and the audio enhancements. The ability to swap op amps makes this unit virtually adaptable to almost any type of sounds that you prefer. I was even able to use it attached to my Home Entertainment system as my DAC to 2x Parsound Amplifier Powering a set of Micas RB42 Reference Speakers.
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