[negura]

Quote:

 
ikr, thats what im trying to figure out 

 
Interconnects?

 

[LionTamer]

so the conductor sounds better than soloist? 

That's hard to say. Either the Conductor's amp section is in fact different from the Soloist's, or the interconnect added to the chain significantly detracted from the sound. Generally, a longer signal chain with the same basic hardware doesn't sound as good.

It was a pretty clear difference...so one of the 2 possibilities has to be the case. I (and the Burson guy) was surprised by the difference - but the Burson guy was a corporate guy, not an audio guy, so his surprise was that reality wasn't bearing out the corporate line he was supposed to be toeing...

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i doubt a cable would make that noticeable of a difference (it might though), the conductor is probably just a slightly better amp, won't know for sure until someone verifys with burson.

 

[LionTamer]

Agreed that the Conductor is likely a bit better than the Soloist as an amp, but I have heard pretty significant differences in the past due to cables, power cords, power conditioners etc, so I don't have enough data to conclusively state that I prefer the Conductor to the Soloist. But it would be surprising to me if that weren't be case - the more authoritative sound of the Conductor certainly sounded like a better amp.

 

[negura]

Quote:

Agreed that the Conductor is likely a bit better than the Soloist as an amp, but I have heard pretty significant differences in the past due to cables, power cords, power conditioners etc, so I don't have enough data to conclusively state that I prefer the Conductor to the Soloist. But it would be surprising to me if that weren't be case - the more authoritative sound of the Conductor certainly sounded like a better amp.

 
That is so very interesting, but it's not the first time that I am hearing that the Conductor is actually better than the supposed sum of its parts: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/burson10/4.html
 
To Quote:

To recap, the Conductor's fullest excellence manifests when all functions are tapped simultaneously. As fixed-gain DAC it's directly competitive with the far costlier Eximus but not better. Ditto as preamp. It's once you enter as digital and exit on 6.3mm that this equality (which isn't sameness just to be sure!) morphs into superiority. That's a real achievement and how the Conductor ought to be used.
 
It so happens that I own one and I've sort of assumed the amp is exactly the Soloist, which I've never heard on its own, but what I can attest is that as a whole it's absolutely brilliant with all that I've thrown at it, from HD650, to LCD-2 and HD800. The only downside are the Tenor USB bugs.

 

[LionTamer]

That opinion (much better written than mine!) matches exactly my experience with the Conductor. Its good to see that others have noticed it too! Perhaps there are some parts upgraded in the more $$ Conductor vs the Soloist? Perhaps it's just biased better?

 

[negura]

Quote:

That opinion (much better written than mine!) matches exactly my experience with the Conductor. Its good to see that others have noticed it too! Perhaps there are some parts upgraded in the more $$ Conductor vs the Soloist? Perhaps it's just biased better?

 
Glad to hear more on these lines.
I am still surprised that the Conductor is a bit underrated around here, while the Soloist is clearly highly praised. According to the reviewer and he is not the only one saying that, it (more than) stands-up to much more expensive high-end competition.
 
In terms of value it should be more of a no-brainer for most high-end headphones, including the LCD-2s, but that's just IMHO.

 

[jackwess]

Quote:

 
 
It so happens that I own one and I've sort of assumed the amp is exactly the Soloist, which I've never heard on its own, but what I can attest is that as a whole it's absolutely brilliant with all that I've thrown at it, from HD650, to LCD-2 and HD800. The only downside are the Tenor USB bugs.

 
Yep, there seems to have some issues with tenor usb. Not surprised why some companies are not using certain tenor chips, but team burson is always working hard to give a solution to problems. (some driver updates are on the way according to some guys on the conductor thread) hopefully that helps. 

 

[Dubstep Girl]

Quote:

 
Glad to hear more on these lines.
I am still surprised that the Conductor is a bit underrated around here, while the Soloist is clearly highly praised. According to the reviewer and he is not the only one saying that, it (more than) stands-up to much more expensive high-end competition.
 
In terms of value it should be more of a no-brainer for most high-end headphones, including the LCD-2s, but that's just IMHO.

 
probably just the cost, and most ppl would rather buy separate amp/dac, or a soloist and a different dac. 

 

[Landmantx]

Yes, I considered all in one units like the WA7 and Pan Am, but in the end, I felt that it is too restrictive. If you decide to sell it for whatever reason, you are out both your amp and your Dac. I like the flexibility of having everything seperate personally. That way you can target each peice for upgrade as required.

 

[Dubstep Girl]

i just dont like amp/dac combos cause usually either one or the other will not be as good. either a good dac with a cheap amp or a good amp with a cheap dac built into it.

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

 
probably just the cost, and most ppl would rather buy separate amp/dac, or a soloist and a different dac. 

I concur. I already had the Bifrost hence I just got the Solo. In the absence of a DAC, I would have probably got the Conductor.

 

[levinhatz]

Hi there,
 
I'm looking into upgrading to the LCD-2 from my current Grado rig. My music is mostly rock. Though I acknowledge that the LCD-2 is all around a better headphone, I definitely love the energy in the mids that my Grados bring and I want to sacrifice as little as possible of that when I upgrade. What do you think the best amp choice would be, given that criteria? 
 
So far I have been able to test a few different amps, and I think the best I've tried is the Schiit Mjolnir. Has anybody tried anything that they would consider to be a better choice? Especially when it comes to bringing out the mids and maximizing the energy & fun factor. This thread has a lot of positive reactions to Burson gear, but how does it stack up against the Schiit?
 
Thanks,
E

 

[kothganesh]

Quote:

Hi there,
 
I'm looking into upgrading to the LCD-2 from my current Grado rig. My music is mostly rock. Though I acknowledge that the LCD-2 is all around a better headphone, I definitely love the energy in the mids that my Grados bring and I want to sacrifice as little as possible of that when I upgrade. What do you think the best amp choice would be, given that criteria? 
 
So far I have been able to test a few different amps, and I think the best I've tried is the Schiit Mjolnir. Has anybody tried anything that they would consider to be a better choice? Especially when it comes to bringing out the mids and maximizing the energy & fun factor. This thread has a lot of positive reactions to Burson gear, but how does it stack up against the Schiit?
 
Thanks,
E

For what its worth, I have my LCD 2.2 hooked up to the Lyr and alternate the amp with the Burson Soloist. Fantastic amps both with plenty of headroom for the LCDs. The Mjolinir is a balanced amp and unfortunately I have had no experience with balanced anything. That will change soon, though.

 

[levinhatz]

Thanks for the tip about the Soloist. I'll check it out at the LA regional summer meet in July. I did get a chance to try a different Burson (I think it was the HA160) with a different set of orthos, and I remember it having a warm, fairly pleasing sound.
 
Nobody can think of an amp to topple the mighty Mjolnir?