Burmester 259 Amplifier

For forty-five years the Reference Line was anchored by one amplifier. The 909 appeared in 1980 and reached its MK5 form in the 2010s, and for most of that time it was the amplifier Burmester used to define what the rest of the range should aim at. The 259 replaces it. It was shown at High End Munich in May 2025 alongside the 249 preamplifier and the 257 turntable as the first all-new Reference Line in a generation, and Burmester North America introduced it in June 2026. The brief was not more power than the 909 but more control: lower noise, higher linearity under any load, and a thermal design that holds the output stage at one temperature for as long as it is switched on. Like the 909 it is a stereo amplifier that was designed for mono operation from the outset; unlike the 909, the mono version is a factory configuration with its own optimized ground wiring rather than an adapter, and Burmester quotes roughly 3.6 dB lower distortion for it than for an adapter-bridged stereo unit.

The circuit is Class A/B, fully balanced, with Burmester's X-Amp gain stages. The output transistors are mounted on a solid copper base, current is carried on massive copper rails to a large capacitor bank, and internal wiring is kept short by a layout that places each stage where the signal needs it. The 450 mm cube is itself the heat sink: Burmester's fully passive thermal concept uses the mass of the enclosure and vents in the chassis floor to dissipate heat with no fans or moving parts, so the amplifier reaches a stable operating temperature and stays there, and the same thick-walled enclosure shields the circuits from electromagnetic interference. The chrome front, the functional heat sinks and the pressure-sensitive power switch carry the Reference Line's design language forward.

Burmester's production specification rates the 259 at 465 W per channel into 4 Ω under IEC 62368-1 at 240 V, with 600 W of impulse power per channel (CEA), and the mono configuration at 950 W into 8 Ω with 1,200 W impulse. The damping factor is specified above 5,000 at 100 Hz into 4 Ω, THD+N at 0.0006 percent (1 kHz, 50 W, 4 Ω) and the unweighted signal-to-noise ratio at 125 dB at rated power; gain is 34 dB and the balanced XLR input presents 28 kΩ. Burmester's 2025 preview material quoted the round figures of 500 W per channel and 1,500 W bridged, and a weight of about 100 kg; the figures above are from the shipping product. Either way the numbers describe an amplifier whose output impedance is low enough that loudspeaker impedance swings have almost no effect on frequency response, which is what the damping-factor figure actually buys you with a difficult speaker.

In a system the 259 takes the position the 909 MK5 held. Its natural partners are the 808 MK5, the modular Reference Line preamplifier, or the new 249; the 111 Musiccenter can drive it directly from its balanced output for a two-box streaming system. It is specified for loudspeakers that need current and control, from Burmester's own BX100, BC150 and BC350 to the larger Magico S and M Series and Sonus faber's Reference models, and it is at its best in large rooms where a stereo pair of channels, or a pair of monos, is asked to hold low-impedance drivers steady at high level. We pair it with the 808 MK5 and the 111 Musiccenter, Burmester's B38 and BC150 loudspeakers and Nordost cabling, and we can set it up with the loudspeakers you are considering.

Burmester's power amplifiers run from the Classic Line 036 and 956 MK2 through the Top Line 216 and the Reference Line 218 to the 259 and, above it, the Signature Line 159 monoblocks. The 218 shares the line's circuit philosophy in a 92 lb chassis for medium and large rooms; the 259 is the step up in current delivery, damping and noise; the 159 pair is for the very largest systems. Two finishes are offered, silver with chrome elements or all-black anodized aluminum, at the same price.