burson new soloist headphone amp - Page 46

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan 

I've just clocked around 200 hrs on my Soloist and It has just reached another level of amazingness.  The music is just effortlessly transmitted through this baby.  Not only is it absolutely dead quiet, the tone and texture of instruments just pop.  Dynamic swings are fast and accurate.  For classical music (currently listening to string quartets) this thing is just killer.  Will it blow your brains out?  I don't know and I haven't tried.  Medium gain around 12 o'clock is more than I ever need with my 300 ohm HD580.  The guys at Burson must voice their amps using classical music, because it is just SO right with the SOloist.  BTW, also more than happy with the V-DAC II/Soloist combo - great synergy going on here.  

I hear you, MatsudaMan!

I've only just started appreciating classical music in the past year or so, but the Soloist + T1 has accelerated my interest in classical.

Janacek's Sinfonietta is my favorite, currently.  If you decide to get it, listen to all of it, of course, but my favorite sections are the latter halves of tracks 3, 5, and 8.  Amazing power and emotion!  The very aggressive flute ensemble in track 3 is mind blowing.  Especially for a guy who really isn't into classical.  This stuff is very "accessible" to my unaccustomed ears.      

And it's pretty obvious that the Soloist + T1 is doing it justice - everything clearly defined, every instrument a discrete voice, nothing harsh, violins and flutes that sound so pleasing.  And then the brass joins in!  So much texture!  This stuff is really FUN to listen to.  

I've decided that the reason I've never enjoyed classical until recently is because I've never actually HEARD it correctly reproduced, until recently!

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000042DG

Mike

Quote:

Originally Posted by zilch0md 

 

I hear you, MatsudaMan!

 

I've only just started appreciating classical music in the past year or so, but the Soloist + T1 has accelerated my interest in classical.

 

Janacek's Sinfonietta is my favorite, currently.  If you decide to get it, listen to all of it, of course, but my favorite sections are the latter halves of tracks 3, 5, and 8.  Amazing power and emotion!  The very aggressive flute ensemble in track 3 is mind blowing.  Especially for a guy who really isn't into classical.  This stuff is very "accessible" to my unaccustomed ears.      

 

And it's pretty obvious that the Soloist + T1 is doing it justice - everything clearly defined, every instrument a discrete voice, nothing harsh, violins and flutes that sound so pleasing.  And then the brass joins in!  So much texture!  This stuff is really FUN to listen to.  

 

I've decided that the reason I've never enjoyed classical until recently is because I've never actually HEARD it correctly reproduced, until recently!

 

 

 

 

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B0000042DG

 

Mike

That's funny...I was just listening to Taras Bulba the other day!  Janacek is very cool.  That recording is probably really good - love the sound of Decca recordings.  Right now I'm super into Schumann string quartets and piano quartets.  It's something different every week, and there really is no end to it - the repertoire is just so vast and endless!  And every genre/composer opens up our ears to new sounds, textures, tonalities, etc...very exciting stuff.  And yes, the Burson just facilitates in this incredibly.  It is so freaking transparent and dynamic!  

Please tell us of some specific classical CDs that are well recorded and enjoyable for a newcomer like me.  I'm tired of rolling the dice and being disappointed.  I have no clue what music to buy, and listening to classical radio stations on my unworthy home and car stereo systems just doesn't excite me.   Everything's too veiled.

Anyone with a Soloist (or better) and a kit to match, at least has a chance at discovering what they've been missing in classical music.  I've lived my entire life ignorant of what it can offer, but good gear has opened that door.   Now where do I go from here?  

I really like brass (french horn, trumpet, trombone, etc.) in high energy, complex pieces.  Bring it!   

Any suggestions?

Mike

Wow...where do I begin?  Ok let's start with symphonic brass:  Tschaikovsky Symphonies, namely his 4th, 5th, and 6th are fantastic, especially for their awesome brass sections ( the Decca recordings of Chicago Symphony with Sir George Solti are legendary).  Mahler symphonies are just gigantic and sometimes hard to comprehend for new listeners, but if you are looking for awesome brass, you can't really go wrong.  I would start with his first symphony (Deutsche Gramaphone recording with Chicago Symphony with Boulez conducting)...If you like it you can go from there to his later symphonies.  I like all of Boulez's recordings on the Deutsche Gramaphone label (incredible sound quality/recording).  Be forewarned though, that Mahler symphonies are very long, but if you have the time and patience, you will be greatly rewarded with some incredibly deep and moving music.  I'm currently on a chamber music kick - string quartets, piano quartets/quintets, trios, etc. - I would recommend any albums by the Hagen String Quartet (also Deutsche Gramaphone), Emerson Quartet, Guarneri Quartet, and Tokyo String Quartet.  Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart Quartets are a good start and you can branch out from there...meat and potatoes, man.  When you get a feel for some of this stuff it will inevitably lead to branching out to other things.  Hope this helps.

Hello,

Just a quick word for a special occasion.  I usually never write on the forums, I just avidly read them.  But since I've (finally) got a new amp, guess which one, I thought I'd leave a quick and first comment about this new purchase:

Whoooa this thing sounds good, just like ...  you know the rest ;-)

Well, I know it's not very informative, but I'm more than happy to be part of those who enjoy this wonderful amp.  Thank you everybody on this forum for helping me make the decision to buy it !  I especially more than appreciate the dead black silent background with my Sennheiser HD650, even on high gain at full volume, and since it's got enough power at low gain a bit past 12 o'clock to make the HD650 sing and rock like crazy, I guess this gives you an idea of the impressive signal/noise ratio that can be achieved.

And you know what ?  The music sounds better just by looking at it !  It's so sleek and sturdy that it gives you lots of confidence about its ability to reproduce music faithfully :)

I stop my message here ...  I'll have some more listening pleasure with you know who ...

Quote:

Originally Posted by MatsudaMan 

Wow...where do I begin?  Ok let's start with symphonic brass:  Tschaikovsky Symphonies, namely his 4th, 5th, and 6th are fantastic, especially for their awesome brass sections ( the Decca recordings of Chicago Symphony with Sir George Solti are legendary).  Mahler symphonies are just gigantic and sometimes hard to comprehend for new listeners, but if you are looking for awesome brass, you can't really go wrong.  I would start with his first symphony (Deutsche Gramaphone recording with Chicago Symphony with Boulez conducting)...If you like it you can go from there to his later symphonies.  I like all of Boulez's recordings on the Deutsche Gramaphone label (incredible sound quality/recording).  Be forewarned though, that Mahler symphonies are very long, but if you have the time and patience, you will be greatly rewarded with some incredibly deep and moving music.  I'm currently on a chamber music kick - string quartets, piano quartets/quintets, trios, etc. - I would recommend any albums by the Hagen String Quartet (also Deutsche Gramaphone), Emerson Quartet, Guarneri Quartet, and Tokyo String Quartet.  Brahms, Beethoven and Mozart Quartets are a good start and you can branch out from there...meat and potatoes, man.  When you get a feel for some of this stuff it will inevitably lead to branching out to other things.  Hope this helps.

That's wonderful, MatsudaMan!  You've given me so much to run with.  I'll send you a PM when I've ordered some CDs and want to follow-up.   Thanks again for your recommendations!

Mike

Hi CoolBurn,

Welcome to the club, so to speak!  

I like your comment about how looking at the amp makes it sound better!  

I can testify that this is true!   

Mike

Hi Mike,

And thanks for your greetings !

So, I'm not totally out of my mind, I'm not the only one whose listening abilities are magically affected by the looks of the Soloist.

As an update to my quandary from a couple weeks ago, where in a fit of insanity I was going to sell everything I have and get the lcd-3 and soloist...I kept calm and decided to take it slow. Instead of doing something crazy and buying very expensive stuff completely blind, I was able to acquire a loaner pair of lcd-3 for a few weeks. This is with my home setup of squeezbox touch>bifrost>lyr mind you, I do not have the soloist with me. I felt this was a good opportunity to listen to the phones on my gear that I have now as a benchmark, just to see if they are really thaaat much better to where I'd want to sell it all and get the burson. I've had them for 3 days now and I feel it time to give some impressions and comments.....

The first time I put them on my head, I knew the comfort could potentially be an issue. I have the HE-5 which is in the large woody ortho category of things, but the lcd-3's fit is pretty weird to say the least. Those pads are like a vacuum seal to your ears. Once they're on, the pressure keeps building up minute by minute and you can really notice that the music is getting louder and louder as time goes by. I had to adjust the volume at one point on a second listen to the same song. Also, the sitting of the front part of the pad near your temples is a very bad pressure point. With my SA5000s after 10 minutes of listening its as if nothing is even on your head. With the audeze's, I knew they were on my head the whole time and it didn't feel great.

Sound wise, I've had an interesting couple days listening. I decided my first song would be one of my all-time favorites 'The Predatory Wasp of the Pallisades Is Out To Get Us' by Sufjan Stevens. You could say this is my reference song because if you've ever heard it before, you'll know that there's a whole lot of music going on. Well, it was...uninspiring. I didn't get it. It sounded great, but I really couldnt tell much of a difference between the lcd-3 and HE-5. It sounded pretty much the same. I was definitely bummed out but I remember hearing over and over on these boards that they don't hit you right away. After a while with the right recordings it will just click. While going through my music, I finally realized what all the fuss was about. VOCALS. 'Ana Begins' by Counting Crows was unreal. The vocals are incredibly lifelike, anything else compared to it now sounds grainy to me. I'm definitely blown away by the midrange.

Bass is another killer feature of these lcd-3's. With all the audeze king of bass raving going on, I didn't really know what to expect. They definitely aren't as impactful as I thought. But the bass is incredibly detailed and deep. You really could get lost in the bass tones. In terms of soundstage I'm conflicted. Some music sounds more spacious to me, some sounds the same. I absolutely see what everyone means by the lcd-3 is ruthless to the recording. There is no glossing over on the babies, if its on the record, its in your ear canal. Sibilance and all.

So all in all, I'm still torn as to whether or not I want to pony up the cash for the lcd-3/soloist pair. From any of your experiences, do you think this would give me more impact, larger stage, and better fit on my head {kidding}? And thank you to zilch0md for your insight after my first post. Now you have me thinking about those T1's :)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Uncle00Jesse 

As an update to my quandary from a couple weeks ago, where in a fit of insanity I was going to sell everything I have and get the lcd-3 and soloist...I kept calm and decided to take it slow. Instead of doing something crazy and buying very expensive stuff completely blind, I was able to acquire a loaner pair of lcd-3 for a few weeks. This is with my home setup of squeezbox touch>bifrost>lyr mind you, I do not have the soloist with me. I felt this was a good opportunity to listen to the phones on my gear that I have now as a benchmark, just to see if they are really thaaat much better to where I'd want to sell it all and get the burson. I've had them for 3 days now and I feel it time to give some impressions and comments.....

 

The first time I put them on my head, I knew the comfort could potentially be an issue. I have the HE-5 which is in the large woody ortho category of things, but the lcd-3's fit is pretty weird to say the least. Those pads are like a vacuum seal to your ears. Once they're on, the pressure keeps building up minute by minute and you can really notice that the music is getting louder and louder as time goes by. I had to adjust the volume at one point on a second listen to the same song. Also, the sitting of the front part of the pad near your temples is a very bad pressure point. With my SA5000s after 10 minutes of listening its as if nothing is even on your head. With the audeze's, I knew they were on my head the whole time and it didn't feel great.

 

Sound wise, I've had an interesting couple days listening. I decided my first song would be one of my all-time favorites 'The Predatory Wasp of the Pallisades Is Out To Get Us' by Sufjan Stevens. You could say this is my reference song because if you've ever heard it before, you'll know that there's a whole lot of music going on. Well, it was...uninspiring. I didn't get it. It sounded great, but I really couldnt tell much of a difference between the lcd-3 and HE-5. It sounded pretty much the same. I was definitely bummed out but I remember hearing over and over on these boards that they don't hit you right away. After a while with the right recordings it will just click. While going through my music, I finally realized what all the fuss was about. VOCALS. 'Ana Begins' by Counting Crows was unreal. The vocals are incredibly lifelike, anything else compared to it now sounds grainy to me. I'm definitely blown away by the midrange.

   

Bass is another killer feature of these lcd-3's. With all the audeze king of bass raving going on, I didn't really know what to expect. They definitely aren't as impactful as I thought. But the bass is incredibly detailed and deep. You really could get lost in the bass tones. In terms of soundstage I'm conflicted. Some music sounds more spacious to me, some sounds the same. I absolutely see what everyone means by the lcd-3 is ruthless to the recording. There is no glossing over on the babies, if its on the record, its in your ear canal. Sibilance and all.

 

So all in all, I'm still torn as to whether or not I want to pony up the cash for the lcd-3/soloist pair. From any of your experiences, do you think this would give me more impact, larger stage, and better fit on my head {kidding}? And thank you to zilch0md for your insight after my first post. Now you have me thinking about those T1's :)

You should read Skylab's review of the Soloist at innerfidelity.com.  He basically says that it's a match made in heaven and he definitely holds some major street cred in the headfi world.  Also the review at headphonia echoes this sentiment.  Many people can attest to the LCD2/3 having amazing synergy with the Soloist....not so much with the Schiit Lyr though, which is not in the same class as the Soloist..

Hey Uncle00Jesse,

First, that's great that you were able to borrow the LCD-3 for a few weeks - especially given the less than stellar first encounter.  Imagine experiencing all this having forked over nearly $2000.  Ouch!

I'd say that of everything you've described, your biggest showstopper is the lack of comfort.   It would be somewhat safe to assume that the right combination of source and amp could improve what your hearing from the LCD-3, but "fixing" the comfort problem wouldn't be easy.  

The LCD-2 rev. 1 has pads that aren't quite as thick as the LCD-3, which were enlarged to tilt the drivers outward, in the rear, a little further - for improved soundstage. But the LCD-3 isn't known for its soundstage any more so than the LCD-2.  They're both weak in this regard compared to something like the HD800 or even the T1.  

You might find yourself learning to ignore the awkward weight and pressure of the LCD-3, so stay open-minded for a while longer.  In the end, I wouldn't put up with it if you're unable to forget you're wearing it while listening for long periods.  Just discussing such things early on is a setup for disappointment, so again - try to stay open-minded.  

Thanks for your honest feedback, though - I'm forever seeking excuses not to buy the LCD-3.  Seriously!   

Mike

Moon Audio is currently offering a demo Burson Soloist for $849 (15% off).

Considering how mine has only improved with burn-in, the fact that this unit is a demo could actually be a good thing.  And you just don't see them at this price very often...

http://www.moon-audio.com/burson-soloist-headphone-amp-734.html

I don't work for Moon Audio - just posting a good deal.

Mike

(Listening to Welcome to the Jungle, from Guns N' Roses Appetite For Destruction)

Quote:

Originally Posted by Solude 

Pretty high considering the used price is $700 and Parts Connexion sells their demo at $650 shipped.

I'd rather have a demo than a "used" one, depending on the seller, and there might be a difference in available warranties, but $650 is hard to ignore.  I've personally never seen a price lower than $850 for a demo.  But I must not get around much - I had never heard of Parts Connexion.  They don't seem to be offering a demo currently.  

Thanks,

Mike

(Listening to A Whiter Shade of Pale, on Annie Lennox' Medusa)

I just sent the following e-mail to Burson Audio...

Tick, tock, tick, tock....

Mike

(Listening to Don't Let it Bring You Down, from Annie Lennox' Medusa)