[punks15]

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hmm about the HRT MSII, heard its good dac but the size and appearance questions me alot.
Violectric V200 i need to look into that

HRT is a good DACs if you're into neutral to warmish and smooth sound
 
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If you're planning on going the HA-160 or any of its variants, it's a great amp for the HD650, but IMO terrible for the Planar Magnetics.
Can't comment on the soloist as I've never heard it.
 
Schiit is great bang for buck gear.  It's evident that the HA-160 is in another league in terms of technicalities... but I'd almost argue that some of the cheaper Schiit gear is more musical.
 
I'd go with Schiit, as the Bursons currently have terrible re-sell rates on the for sale forums, and they're heavy which makes shipping not fun.  The re-sell rates for the Schiit are still fairly competitive.  This is all with the mindset that you'll get that audiophilia addiction where your gear is never good enough.

I think HA-160 and LCD2 is a great pairing

 

[jackwess]

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I'm sorry, it's not even close the Soloist > Asgard all day. With Bifrost as source.
 
V200 W/DAC option > Soloist/Bifost. FWIW.

 
Are you suggesting the bifrost is a good dac for the soloist? care to comment more on that combination? 

 

[db597]

The Soloist / Conductor (same amp section, which I find identical sounding) is slightly bright due to sheer amount of details it reveals. This should pair well with the HD650's sound signature, which I recall to be slightly dark. It will also aid the low end, where bass is very well controlled. The way I'd describe the bass is tight control and sub-bass frequency extension, but the amount of the bass itself is neutral (quality, not volume).
 
In terms of future upgrade path for your headphones, it pairs best with the LCDs. On the 2 auditions I did with Denosha, I found the combo very musical and natural sounding. The bass extension was simply incredible, and the way down down and then down again further into the deepest depths.
 
A lot of people also like the Soloist / Conductor with the HD800, but on some tracks I found this can be too bright (e.g. Miles Davis when the microphone receives the a full blast from his trumpet). We were using the stock HD800 cable, so there's still some scope to tame this by switching to something copper based. This impression is after 50 hours of burn in on the Conductor, with the Conductor's Sabre32 DAC and FLACs as source.

 

[dan.gheorghe]

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The Soloist / Conductor (same amp section, which I find identical sounding) is slightly bright due to sheer amount of details it reveals. This should pair well with the HD650's sound signature, which I recall to be slightly dark. It will also aid the low end, where bass is very well controlled. The way I'd describe the bass is tight control and sub-bass frequency extension, but the amount of the bass itself is neutral (quality, not volume).
 
In terms of future upgrade path for your headphones, it pairs best with the LCDs. On the 2 auditions I did with Denosha, I found the combo very musical and natural sounding. The bass extension was simply incredible, and the way down down and then down again further into the deepest depths.
 
A lot of people also like the Soloist / Conductor with the HD800, but on some tracks I found this can be too bright (e.g. Miles Davis when the microphone receives the a full blast from his trumpet). We were using the stock HD800 cable, so there's still some scope to tame this by switching to something copper based. This impression is after 50 hours of burn in on the Conductor, with the Conductor's Sabre32 DAC and FLACs as source.

I found the conductor to be very bright at first before burn in. Now it has relaxed a lot. I cannot say it is bright any more. It became quite musical and relaxed. It even relaxed the hd800.

 

[JohannesBrahms]

The Burson is in a completely different class than the Schiit...not even close.  Don't get me wrong, Schiit products are really good "for the money", but Burson Soloist is a really fine piece of audio equipment that you won't need to upgrade for maybe your lifetime.  Agaard is good step up from a portable amp or cheap desktop.  Comparing something like a Asgaard/Valhalla vs Soloist is not even fair IMHO. 

 

[rrahman]

The Burson is in a completely different class than the Schiit...not even close.  Don't get me wrong, Schiit products are really good "for the money", but Burson Soloist is a really fine piece of audio equipment that you won't need to upgrade for maybe your lifetime.  Agaard is good step up from a portable amp or cheap desktop.  Comparing something like a Asgaard/Valhalla vs Soloist is not even fair IMHO. 

I think op was referring to the lyr and mjolnir vs soloist and ha160. When it comes to these amps I think it's a slam dunk for Schiit, esp w regard to orthos. I'd rank

Burson 160/160D >> schiit lyr > soloist >> Mjolnir

Edit: I mean burson 160d << lyr < soloist << mjolnir

 

[MatsudaMan]

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I think op was referring to the lyr and mjolnir vs soloist and ha160. When it comes to these amps I think it's a slam dunk for Schiit, esp w regard to orthos. I'd rank
Burson 160/160D >> schiit lyr > soloist >> Mjolnir

Are you saying that the Burson 160 is better for orthos?  The Soloist puts out 4 WPC in pure class A.  The 160 wasn't even made for orthos. Having heard the lyr, it is a rather crude beast compared to the Soloist.  However, if you want sheer power and brutality, than it sounds like the lyr is up there, alright.  But, if you want finesse and refinement, transparency, timbre, etc

 

[rrahman]

I used the wrong symbol, I meant

Burson hd 160 << lyr < soloist << mjolnir

 

[paradoxper]

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Are you suggesting the bifrost is a good dac for the soloist? care to comment more on that combination? 

Why wouldn't the Bifrost be a good DAC for the Soloist? But to answer yes, it is.
The Soloist is pretty transparent and so a poor source would definitely show.
 
Bifrost is the best DAC within its price pool.
 
But do note I think the V200 W/DAC is a better option.
 
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The Burson is in a completely different class than the Schiit...not even close.  Don't get me wrong, Schiit products are really good "for the money", but Burson Soloist is a really fine piece of audio equipment that you won't need to upgrade for maybe your lifetime.  Agaard is good step up from a portable amp or cheap desktop.  Comparing something like a Asgaard/Valhalla vs Soloist is not even fair IMHO. 

The Soloist is in a different class to Asgard. However the Mjolnir beats out the Soloist. Of course, IMO. Bleh.

 

[MatsudaMan]

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The Soloist is in a different class to Asgard. However the Mjolnir beats out the Soloist. Of course, IMO. Bleh.

Depends on the headphones you use and the music you listen to.  

 

[db597]

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I found the conductor to be very bright at first before burn in. Now it has relaxed a lot. I cannot say it is bright any more. It became quite musical and relaxed. It even relaxed the hd800.

 
Dan, I'd be interested to know how many hours you think it needs to settle down. It was earlier on that I tested the Miles Davis Sketches of Spain album. I've since been listening to other material, all of which is less extreme on the treble, and perhaps need to revisit after it's clocked more hours. Are you also using the stock cable?

 

[fishbone]

I must say that the Soloist (Conductor) is not really a bright amp actually, it is slightly darker than the HA-160 (HA-160D). That's why some say that the HA-160 is more detailed than the Soloist but I don't agree with this statement. I would say it sounds more neutral than bright.
 
 
 
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Dan, I'd be interested to know how many hours you think it needs to settle down. It was earlier on that I tested the Miles Davis Sketches of Spain album. I've since been listening to other material, all of which is less extreme on the treble, and perhaps need to revisit after it's clocked more hours. Are you also using the stock cable?

 

[dan.gheorghe]

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Dan, I'd be interested to know how many hours you think it needs to settle down. It was earlier on that I tested the Miles Davis Sketches of Spain album. I've since been listening to other material, all of which is less extreme on the treble, and perhaps need to revisit after it's clocked more hours. Are you also using the stock cable?

It needs at least 80-100 hours to really break in (Burson says the complete  break in period takes 200 hours).
 
Edited:
 
I forgot to tell you about the cables. I have a Ps Audio Jewel as a power cable, and wireworld starlight as usb cable.

What power cable do you use? Is it for any chance a wireworld or a cable that has some filtering?

 

[db597]

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I forgot to tell you about the cables. I have a Ps Audio Jewel as a power cable, and wireworld starlight as usb cable.

What power cable do you use? Is it for any chance a wireworld or a cable that has some filtering?

 
Thanks Dan. I did some more testing and came to the conclusion it's the recording itself. What I have is the SBM 20bit remaster series for the Miles Davis recordings. Quite a few people have compared this to the original release and found it harsh, overly bright and shrill:
 
http://www.audioasylum.com/cgi/t.mpl?f=vinyl&m=343137
 
http://forums.stevehoffman.tv/threads/miles-davis-kind-of-blue-made-in-austria-cd.106383/
 
The amp and headphones are simply telling the truth as it is - particularly when paired with the HD800 due to it's high level of transparency. The fact that I'm happy with all the other albums (including a different release of Miles Davis Kind of Blue) also points towards this recording being the culprit.
 
Just using a normal power cable, and the USB cable that came with the Conductor...

 

[Solude]

Burson Soloist for a passive listen.
Schiit Mjolnir for an active listen.