Burmester 948 Power Conditioner

The Burmester 948 is Burmester’s Top Line power conditioner — the foundation infrastructure of a full Burmester system, not marketed as an accessory but as a system-level component in its own right. It sits alongside the Reference Line electronics that most LMC Burmester customers are building around (259 Power Amp, 175 Turntable, 088 Preamp, and the rest), and its job is the AC that feeds all of them: cleaner voltage in, blacker backgrounds and stronger dynamics on the way out.

The engineering decision that sets the 948 apart from most competing conditioners is what Burmester’s own engineers identified as the actual mechanism behind AC-supply sound degradation. Not just high-frequency noise — but a tiny standing DC component (a few millivolts) superimposed on the AC supply by switch-mode devices (computers, TVs, microwaves, light dimmers) all over a modern home. That DC drives high-end amplifier transformers toward saturation, which becomes audible as hum. To solve it, Burmester developed a PATENTED switching circuitry for dynamic suppression of DC components — active DC compensation that runs on all eight outlets, WITHOUT power limitation. Alongside, two RF (radio-frequency) line filters kick in at very low frequencies (−6 dB at 2000 Hz), handling the high-frequency noise the DC circuitry doesn’t address.

Eight star-grounded AC outlets on the back panel are custom-configurable at order (switched / unswitched, filtered / unfiltered per outlet) and sit in a multipoint star configuration. A star-grounded protective earth conductor holds ground potential consistent across the whole distribution. The switchable front-panel display shows current AC voltage OR the standing DC component (or off); four green LEDs signal operating status; phase indication is provided at the AC mains connector and sockets. A 10 V DC input takes remote switching from Burmester preamps. Electrically and magnetically triple-shielded Burmester Power 2.5 AC cable (2 m) ships as standard connection. 482 × 153 × 368 mm, 17 kg. Chrome front panel matches the classic Burmester Top Line design. Hand-assembled in Berlin. The Absolute Sound awarded the 948 four stars: “Incomparable and in a class by itself.”

The 948 is the right conditioner for a full Burmester system — the AC foundation the Reference Line electronics upstream and the 259 power amplifier downstream depend on for their quietest, most dynamic behaviour. Hear it on demonstration in Scottsdale on a Burmester reference system — walk in during business hours or book ahead if the audition needs a full A/B comparison against your current AC arrangement.