Burl Audio B80-B22-ELMA – four-channel DAC card with a control room monitoring section for the B80 Mothership chassis, in the precision ELMA stepped attenuator version.
The card runs on a fully discrete Class-A analog path with BOPA14 chips, the same design philosophy as the flagship B26 ORCA, emphasizing signal path transparency and a wide stereo image without distorting the source's harmonic balance. The four DAC channels split functionally: two run in mix/mastering class with a switchable BX5 output transformer, and the other two feed the monitoring section with two stereo speaker outputs and one headphone output. The ELMA version replaces the standard ALPS potentiometer with a switch built on 0.1% matched resistors.
Repeatable precision through a stepped switch
The ELMA switch moves in discrete steps between precisely matched resistance values, so returning to exactly the same monitoring level across sessions or across days spent on the same material is fully repeatable - without the uncertainty of a smooth potentiometer, where recreating an earlier setting depends on eyesight and muscle memory. That matters directly in mastering, where a consistent reference monitoring level affects loudness and tonal balance judgments across successive tracks.Flexible signal split for mixing and mastering
The first pair of DAC channels, with a switchable BX5 transformer, routes signal out to external analog processing, summing, or a mastering chain independently of whatever is currently heard on the monitors - the second pair handles only the listening section. That split removes the need to switch a single output between mixing and monitor-check tasks within the same session.KEY FEATURES
- 4-channel DAC with a control room monitoring section
- Two mix/mastering channels with a switchable BX5 output transformer
- Two channels feeding two stereo speaker outputs and one headphone output
- ELMA stepped switch with 0.1% matched resistors
- External meter output and a switchable DAC filter
- Avid delay matching
TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS
- Card type: 4-channel DAC with monitor controller
- Connectivity: 8-channel DB25 (Tascam style)
- Analog path: discrete, Class-A (BOPA14), BX5 transformer
- Frequency response (48 kHz): 10 Hz - 22 kHz, ±0.1 dB
- Frequency response (96 kHz): 10 Hz - 30 kHz, ±0.1 dB, -0.3 dB at 40 kHz
- Frequency response (192 kHz): 10 Hz - 30 kHz, ±0.1 dB, -1.5 dB at 90 kHz
- Dynamic range: 115 dB
- THD+N: -96 dB, full scale output +22 dBu
- Level control: ELMA stepped switch (0.1% resistors)
