Burmester 911 MK3 Power Amplifier

The 911 MK3 is Burmester’s second-largest power amplifier and a close derivative of the 909 — the reference that has sat at the top of the range since 1990. The MK3 designation marks the third generation of the 911 itself, and the output stage is where most of that development went: four parallel-connected stages built from eight selected matched-pair transistors per channel.

Behind them sits a 750 VA toroidal transformer and 130,000 microfarads of filter capacity. That reserve, combined with a damping factor of 2750, is what lets the amplifier keep hold of a bass driver rather than merely energise it — the quality Burmester amplifiers are usually described by, and the one that matters most on a difficult loudspeaker.

The circuit is fully balanced and purely DC-coupled, with no capacitors anywhere in the signal path, and a Class-A X-Amp input stage. Construction is fully modular, so a unit can be brought forward rather than replaced. A protection circuit sits outside the signal path, watching for overheating, DC offset and overdrive without intruding on the music.

As a stereo amplifier it delivers 350 watts per channel into four ohms. Bridged to mono it delivers 770. Burmester will configure the bridging internally at the factory when a pair is ordered together.

Note: The 911 MK3 is a legacy model, no longer part of Burmester’s current published catalog. A pair remains on demonstration in Scottsdale as part of the Amati Supreme system, and inquiries about acquisition should be directed to LMC.