burson new soloist headphone amp - Page 19

The Soloist is in the house and been switched on for 10 hours - and I have listened for approx. 6 of them. Using the LCD-3, HE-6 and HE-500 more or less equally distributed over the same hours. The DAC is V800 from Violectric. Source is MacBook Pro with ALAC played from Audirvana Plus. 

Some initial impressions *)

LCD-3: I have used the Violectric V200 since March last year and loved it for the LCD-2s. Used it almost every day. Some time in April this year, I got the LCD-3 and found the combination with the V200 to be a surprise. Hm. The LCD-3 **) sounded a bit laid back, but the detail retrieval was very good. The Burson makes the LCD-3 play more as I hoped them to from the start.

HE-6: This is one headphone I hate / love. Having used four speaker amps to drive them, combined with several DACs, the HE-6 still puzzles me - and frustrates me. The Burson Soloist, for some strange reason, makes the HE-6 sound less strident than I thought they would be after hearing what the Burson did to the LCD-3s

HE-500: These sound absolutely fantastic on the Burson

LCD-2s: Haven't tried them yet on the Soloist

So, what I do not understand after day 1 is that the HiFiMANs can sound so mellow and enjoyable, whilst the LCD-3 sounds brighter and open on the Burson compared with the V200 *)

End of day 1.

*) New toy syndrome for the Burson might be live 'n' kicking here, so beware while reading. I have to power-up the V200 after some days for benchmarking

**) The FR graph, damping material and point-in-time buying tells me that these are not veiled

Do any of Soloist owners have Volume Static noise?(especially when you turn the volume down?) or is it just my bad luck?

It's loud enough to make me uncomfortble :(

A very good question. I forgot to mention that above.

When I had the HA-160D the clicks it made in the headphones were a deal breaker for me. I sold the 160D. Another head-fier had the same problem (heard his 160D too). The 160DS came and the stepped attenuator was gone. Good. 

My primary concern before ordering the Soloist was the stepped attenuator. My Soloist is practical dead silent while turning the volume knob. YES. Finally a stepped attenuator that "sounds like a stepped attenuator should". :)

If yours is loud: Read Headfonias Burson Solist review - and maybe you'll find the solution. 

mine was dead silence when I first turned it on, it started a day after :( Now I can hear static noise even when I'm not wearing my headphone :( I just wanted to see if it's common or not so I can decide either get it replaced or just return it

Its a mechanical stepped atten.  That's normal.  Unless you are saying there is noise AFTER you stop on a step?

Let's differentiate:

a) Stepped attenuator on the Burson is a mechanical device and audible "click" / "clonk" is therefore heard from the volume knob when adjusted - regardless

b) On the 160D, the stepped attenuator also made audible "clicks" / "pops" in the headphones

The Burson Soloist "suffers" from litera a), but not b) (so far).

If you can hear the static noise ("click" / "pops") from the headphones when they are not on your head; RMA is evident - or "the Headfonia fix".

Yup I have b). Oh well I'll send it back on Monday.

Quote:

Originally Posted by senson 

Yup I have b). Oh well I'll send it back on Monday.

I'm afraid you gonna always send back your unit once for couple of months because that "click" sound will appear again after some times. (actually it also happens in conventional potensio pot, only in different way and take longer time to show up)

Just use contact cleaner and that annoying sound will disappear ( I found regularly giving contact cleaner once a month will keep that click sound goes away)

Or just accept that a stepped with full size components does that.  When you get noise when stopped on a step, thats repair time.  While making and breaking electrical connections... normal.

Hello guys, I recently purchased a Burson Soloist to drive my new Fostex TH900, and it sounds amazing right out of the box! I don't think I've ever heard such a dynamic sounding solid-state headphone amplifier. I'm breaking it in right now, and I'd like to ask you some questions who are more familiar with the amp.

1. Did the Soloist's sound change noticeably with burn-in? Approximately how long was burn-in time (that is, until you no longer heard changes in sound)?

2. I understand higher gain setting means higher volume, but is there all there is to it? I can't say I have the best ears, but I wonder if different gain settings change anything else. If it was only about the volume, I could simply use the volume knob instead. Does gain setting affect other aspects of sound, such as treble, mid, bass, imaging, soundstage, et cetera?

3. Has anyone used an audiophile-grade power cable with the Soloist? If so, did it make a lot of improvement in sonic quality compared to a stock cable?

No burn in, higher gain lowers feedback.  As for power cord I always use a Quail for audio, Volex for computer gear.

I heard the Soloist on the weekend again. We A/B'd it using a regular power cable against a Shunyata Cobra ZiTron ($1250)

IMO, the Cobra made the sound a little more vibrant and dynamic. It actually sounded slightly louder, if that's possible. Perhaps a blacker background made the music stand out in greater relief.

To me it was a subtle but noticeable improvement. If it were $250 instead of $1250, I'd probably buy it :-)

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheMiddleSky 

I'm afraid you gonna always send back your unit once for couple of months because that "click" sound will appear again after some times. (actually it also happens in conventional potensio pot, only in different way and take longer time to show up)

 

Just use contact cleaner and that annoying sound will disappear ( I found regularly giving contact cleaner once a month will keep that click sound goes away)

Either the contact cleaner fix or this. 

I dont have a HA-160 but im curious to try. 

The Soloist does not have the artifact my 160D had. It could be a temporary relief though - I don't know yet.