Burl Audio
Burl Audio B80 Mothership AD/DA Interface
Best premium conversion for professional audio engineers.
The Burl Audio B80 Mothership is a revolutionary AD/DA interface designed to bring soul, warmth, and musicality back to digital recording. Built upon Burl Audio's dedication to analog class-A circuitry, this 4U chassis offers up to 80 analog channel capability through a flexible card-based system. It features 10 card slots that accept various 2, 4, and 8-channel AD/DA cards, all utilizing discrete electronics without integrated circuits in the signal path. The Mothership's digital interconnect is configurable via swappable motherboards, including options for Digi-link, MADI, Dante, and SoundGrid, allowing for seamless integration with various DAWs and digital consoles. With its robust power supply and meticulous build quality, the B80 Mothership bridges the gap between analog warmth and digital precision for music, live sound, broadcast, and film recording environments.
$2895.00
Owner Satisfaction
4.8
/ 5
Category Rank
1
/ 1220
Best Audio Cards & Adapters
Price vs Category Average
+156%
Above average
Who it's for
- Audio engineers seeking distinctive, high-fidelity analog character in digital recordings.
- Professional studios needing flexible I/O configurations and future-proof expansion capabilities.
- Recording professionals requiring rock-solid, dependable equipment for critical studio operations.
Who should skip it
- Budget-conscious producers or home studio owners with limited financial resources.
- Mastering engineers or purists demanding uncolored, perfectly transparent audio conversion.
- Less experienced engineers or those preferring plug-and-play simplicity.
Performance breakdown
Analog Sonic Character
Discrete class-A circuitry delivers unparalleled warmth and musical harmonic depth.
System Scalability
Ten-slot chassis design allows for massive, custom-tailored analog channel counts.
Digital Interconnectivity
Swappable motherboards ensure seamless integration with any professional digital ecosystem.
Build Integrity
Heavy-duty steel construction provides a robust foundation for high-end studio environments.
Signal Path Purity
Eliminating integrated circuits preserves the integrity of the original analog signal.
Conversion Precision
High-definition AD/DA cards capture every nuance with professional-grade 24-bit resolution.
Key Specs
4U main chassis
BMB3 Dante motherboard
2 Dante Ethernet ports
64-channel IO at 44.1k, 48k, 88.2k, 96k
32-channel IO at 176.4k, 192k
2 BNC Word Clock outputs
1 BNC Word Clock input
10 card slots
Features
- Up to 80 analog channel capability
- Flexible card-based system for custom configurations
- Analog class-A circuitry for warm, musical sound
- Swappable motherboards for digital interconnect flexibility
- High bandwidth BURL BACKBONE for superior throughput
- Robust BP300 power supply for analog circuitry
- No integrated circuits or capacitors in signal path
- Durable 4U steel chassis for professional use
What customers say
Customers consistently praise the Burl Audio B80 Mothership for its unparalleled audio quality and distinctive analog character. Users frequently highlight how this interface elevates their entire studio sound, delivering warmth, depth, and clarity that truly stands out. While a significant investment, its robust build and exceptional sonic performance are widely considered to offer immense value for professional applications. It is seen as a cornerstone piece for those seeking the highest fidelity and a unique sonic signature in their recordings.
Know before you buy
The B80 Mothership features 10 slots that can be populated with various 2, 4, or 8-channel AD/DA cards. This allows you to mix and match input and output configurations to suit your specific studio needs, whether you require more analog inputs for tracking or more outputs for summing.
Yes. The B80 utilizes swappable motherboards, meaning you can change your digital interconnect between Digi-link, MADI, Dante, or SoundGrid without replacing the entire chassis. This modular design ensures the interface remains compatible as your studio infrastructure evolves.
The Mothership is built on discrete Class-A circuitry and avoids integrated circuits and capacitors in the signal path. By incorporating Burl’s proprietary BX1 transformers and BOPA2 op-amps, it provides a distinct analog warmth and musicality that is often lost in purely digital conversion.
While the B80 supports up to 80 analog channels at standard sample rates like 44.1k or 48k, the channel count is halved to 32 when operating at higher sample rates of 176.4k or 192k due to the increased data bandwidth requirements.
The unit comes equipped with the robust BP300 power supply, which is specifically designed to provide the clean, stable power required for the high-performance analog circuitry. It is a 4U rackmount unit, so ensure your rack has the necessary space and depth to accommodate the chassis and its power requirements.
Absolutely. The B80’s durable 4U steel chassis and flexible digital interconnect options like Dante and MADI make it a reliable choice for professional live sound, broadcast, and film recording environments where high-channel counts and sonic integrity are critical.
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$2895