[Feischmaker]

Hi, i am thinking of buying Soloist GT amp. to pair with Chord Qutest

Does the soloist GT single ended input stage sound worse than their balanced input stage?

 

[escalibur]

Hi, i am thinking of buying Soloist GT amp. to pair with Chord Qutest

Does the soloist GT single ended input stage sound worse than their balanced input stage?

There shouldn't be any other difference apart from output power.

 

[12kurupt]

I don't see any source components in your signature, I assume you're using your "normal" PC as player/streamer, right?
My advice, buy a DDC to clean up your USB out to DAC. It will significantly improve SQ. Some DDC that have good reviews are from Denafrips, AudioGD and also Singxer.

Ah, yes. I need to add my source to my sig. It's my custom PC w/ Windows 11 and I play my music via qobuz/Tidal/Apple Music or my personal collection. I have the Singxer SU-6 on its way for my DDC.

 

[rreynolds]

I don't see any source components in your signature, I assume you're using your "normal" PC as player/streamer, right?
My advice, buy a DDC to clean up your USB out to DAC. It will significantly improve SQ. Some DDC that have good reviews are from Denafrips, AudioGD and also Singxer.

The Denafrips Gaia made a night & day difference to the sound quality. Much better sense of space and micro details.

 

[12kurupt]

The Denafrips Gaia made a night & day difference to the sound quality. Much better sense of space and micro details.

what power cable do you use with your terminator-plus? I'm leaning towards R2R for this new setup I'm going for and realized the higher end denafrips/musician dacs don't come with a power cable and so I'm down another hole of researching power cables. It never ends haha!

PS: Texas forever!

 

[rreynolds]

what power cable do you use with your terminator-plus? I'm leaning towards R2R for this new setup I'm going for and realized the higher end denafrips/musician dacs don't come with a power cable and so I'm down another hole of researching power cables. It never ends haha!

PS: Texas forever!

I use Audioquest Monsoon for all components except the Soloist GT. 1M for DAC & DDC, 2M for the BIC500 power conditioner. With the Terminator + & Gaia, it was easy to hear the noise floor dropping each time another Monsoon was added. Adding the power conditioner felt like the finishing touch in terms of sound, cymbal crashes hang in air just a bit longer and decay like smoke settling to the ground. The GT with an R2R DAC is the perfect combo imo. You get the best of solid state with accuracy, detail, and impact along with the natural, holographic, large sound of R2R.

P.S. Since 1845

 

[Erwinatm]

I use Audioquest Monsoon for all components except the Soloist GT. 1M for DAC & DDC, 2M for the BIC500 power conditioner. With the Terminator + & Gaia, it was easy to hear the noise floor dropping each time another Monsoon was added. Adding the power conditioner felt like the finishing touch in terms of sound, cymbal crashes hang in air just a bit longer and decay like smoke settling to the ground. The GT with an R2R DAC is the perfect combo imo. You get the best of solid state with accuracy, detail, and impact along with the natural, holographic, large sound of R2R.

P.S. Since 1845

Good choice.

I've heard gaia & T+ combo in my system, headfi and stereo. I can tell it could match my Bartok quality.

I recall, it was better in midrange, more forward (not at shouty level), more organic. Better for midcentric songs.

Bartok excels in dynamic, more refined edges, tighter bass -) not by much.

At that time I haven’t updated Bartok to 2.0 firmware, now I can select Bartok with different mapping with different emphasize for mids, bass or dynamic. Beauty of FPGA DAC.

 

[LegionofDoom]

The SIL 994 is the greatest semiconductor package in mankind’s history.

There, I said it.

100 hours in. Pure slamtastic glory.

 

[Slim1970]

The SIL 994 is the greatest semiconductor package in mankind’s history.

There, I said it.

100 hours in. Pure slamtastic glory.

What op-amp configuration have you settled on?

 

[12kurupt]

what power cable do you use with your terminator-plus? I'm leaning towards R2R for this new setup I'm going for and realized the higher end denafrips/musician dacs don't come with a power cable and so I'm down another hole of researching power cables. It never ends haha!

PS: Texas forever!

deleted

 

[12kurupt]

I use Audioquest Monsoon for all components except the Soloist GT. 1M for DAC & DDC, 2M for the BIC500 power conditioner. With the Terminator + & Gaia, it was easy to hear the noise floor dropping each time another Monsoon was added. Adding the power conditioner felt like the finishing touch in terms of sound, cymbal crashes hang in air just a bit longer and decay like smoke settling to the ground. The GT with an R2R DAC is the perfect combo imo. You get the best of solid state with accuracy, detail, and impact along with the natural, holographic, large sound of R2R.

P.S. Since 1845

my system is gearing up to be very similar to yours, except not the TOTL models you have. I'll get there one day haha My question is what do you have connected to the BIC500? I'm watching Alvin's video saying it's not ideal to plug in the amp to the BIC. Just want to have an idea of what the connections will look like to have the optimal experience. Thanks!

 

[aseedsea]

my system is gearing up to be very similar to yours, except not the TOTL models you have. I'll get there one day haha My question is what do you have connected to the BIC500? I'm watching Alvin's video saying it's not ideal to plug in the amp to the BIC. Just want to have an idea of what the connections will look like to have the optimal experience. Thanks!

A headphone amp will be fine. He is more talking power amps for speakers. My system is in my sig below and it is marvelous

 

[Pashmeister]

Just a slight tangent from the topic, but Burson is releasing a 3GT (not 3X GT) version of the Conductor, which is single-ended only and has very different amp internals (from ground-up optimised for single ended, has shorter signal path) vs the XLR GT version. It outputs the same power single ended (10w), so double the 3X GT’s single ended at 5W.

From their website:

The 3X-GT takes your breath away with its dynamics and deep dive into micro details. In comparison, the 3-GT relaxes those shoulders with its transcending tonality.

If the Conductor 3X GT is a car, then it is the one that gives you those microseconds you need to win every time! It conquers corners and lets you feel the road as if you are walking on it barefoot!

The Conductor 3 GT lets you listen to your favourite song anew, look up and realise that you are cruising down the Great Ocean Road!

Call me intrigued. I also prefer this classier copper colorway compared to the red knobs. I am on the lookout for a good Susvara/TC all-in-one for a secondary listening station and this is really really tempting because it seems it will be just as good with a different enough flavor from our Soloist 3xGT. Won’t he surprised if Burson puts out a similar single-ended only version of the Soloist if the copper Conductor 3GT doesn’t flop.

 

[escalibur]

3GT style screams for Focal Clear MGs.

 

[Pashmeister]

3GT style screams for Focal Clear MGs.

I see it!

To some extent, similar Susvara colors too with the silver and gold