Burson Soloist 3X Grand Tourer Head Amp/Pre Amp w/Sub out - 10W XLR

[DAPpower]

Just copped the bundle from Bloom Audio, I cannot wait to recieve this monster. Probably overkill for my ZMF VC but at least this will hold up for a while in the future.

 

[neogeosnk]

The thing is, I had 4 or 5 Burson devices and currently enjoy the Soloist 3XP. I guess that makes me a fan

However, no matter how much I like the sound of their devices, I must say they have serious quality issues. I had problems with almost all of them, including the 3XP. In these newer ones, the opamps fail. I'm simply not comfortable with a device that overheats by design, and the only thing keeping it from melting components is a mechanical fan - i.e. the most likely part to fail.
It also means it will gather dust in time, just like a computer with a fan.

Besides, I don't get these devices that are contrived in an unsuitable form factor which is ultimately detrimental to their intended purpose. Just like Fiio M17 requiring a stand with active cooling - at least they don't claim it's pocketable.

I'll wait until they release a similar amp but with a larger case able to dissipate heat without a fan. After all, there are plenty of more powerful class A amps that don't need a fan.

I had a similar experience with Schiit gear where 4 out of 6 of them had issues. Burson had zero issues other than the screw that goes in the stand was inside the amp somehow. Just opened it up, took it out and it was fine. Point is, sometimes you just have bad luck with a manufacturer and yes totally justified that you would be skeptical and cautious.

 

[DAPpower]

Since I do use my DAP often via 4.4mm with my VC, should there be any issues with using a 4.4mm to 4pin XLR Ultrashort adaptor I bought from DHC to output audio from the Burson? Do adaptors sometime cause damage to amps? Asking becuase I'm not sure if it is related or not but I have had Schiit Jot 2s permanantely damaged (bad op amps) whilst using that Ultrashort adaptor but it doesn't make sense why an adaptor would damage the amp or the headphones am I right?

 

[m9dlh]

First you have a thin-sounding GT followed by a fan that can be easily heard 15 feet away. Return yours if you haven’t yet. Your experience is obviously different from anyone else and you might have a dud.

The problem with returning is a £150 shipping fee and then just over a £150 restocking fee. So quite a bit of money to loose. That is why I am trying to get used to the sound. I am also thinking of trying to replace the fan with a brand new replacement to see if that makes a difference.

 

[Tubewin]

Has Sandu and Jay mention anything about reviewing the GT at all? It's been awhile now. Curious to see their take on fan noise (I don't notice it when listening to music), sensitive iems (I don't have any), etc. I am still loving the amp. I have been upgrading fuses and power supplies lately so the sound keeps changing, but the GT is a constant part of the chain. I have a Uptone JS-2 power supply on the way to connect to a Jcat xe usb card in my pc.

 

[aseedsea]

Has Sandu and Jay mention anything about reviewing the GT at all? It's been awhile now. Curious to see their take on fan noise (I don't notice it when listening to music), sensitive iems (I don't have any), etc. I am still loving the amp. I have been upgrading fuses and power supplies lately so the sound keeps changing, but the GT is a constant part of the chain. I have a Uptone JS-2 power supply on the way to connect to a Jcat xe usb card in my pc.

What devices have you changed fuses in? What changes did it bring?

 

[Tubewin]

What devices have you changed fuses in? What changes did it bring?

I put a synergistic purple fuse in my holo may kte. There was a definite (subjective to me) difference from the red nano the holo may comes with and the SR purple fuse. The holo may's normally rich (sometimes overly so), condensed, and concentrated mids were pulled back slightly and you gained what appeared to be a larger stage and with improved detail retrieval. I was hearing things that I absolutely did not hear before. The separation also improved markedly, so much so, that "some" songs that I enjoyed before, became less engaging. A track I listened to before and loved was Moln by Menke. The red nano fuse was able to seamlessly combine the vocals that were on top of one another where as the purple fuse separated them. But the sense of "realism" was definitely more present with the purple, while the red nano was more exaggerated. I sometimes miss the condensed mids with the red nano, but I feel I would miss more if I took out the SR purple. I ordered 2 more purple fuses. I plan on putting one in my uptone js-2 and one in either the ps audio stellar 3 power plant or the ferrum hypsos power supply. Maybe I'll be able to put the red nano back in once I put two purple fuses else where.

 

[Korean audiophile]

Has Sandu and Jay mention anything about reviewing the GT at all? It's been awhile now. Curious to see their take on fan noise (I don't notice it when listening to music), sensitive iems (I don't have any), etc. I am still loving the amp. I have been upgrading fuses and power supplies lately so the sound keeps changing, but the GT is a constant part of the chain. I have a Uptone JS-2 power supply on the way to connect to a Jcat xe usb card in my pc.

Yes Sandu said in his review of the Ferrum that the GT will be reviewed in February

 

[DAPpower]

I just received my GT, I have limited desk space, would you recommend me placing the GT in standard desk position on top of my Gustard DAC or using the "cooling stand" put the GT in stand position on top of the Gustard DAC? I'm just worried the weight of the GT might sink that area on the metal body of the Gustard over time LOL.

 

[Pashmeister]

Yes Sandu said in his review of the Ferrum that the GT will be reviewed in February

In one of his responses to the comments in his Oor review he says that his GT review drops on Feb 5.

 

[erobin82]

I'm at a crossroads, and need some feedback. I Like (with capitol L) the Burson, but for the for the cost I still have some buyers remorse. For the price, it should work better with iems, and be a somewhat capable preamp. I'm still within my return window and strongly considering exchanging for either the ifi ican pro signature, or going with the oors/hypsos stack. Anybody have any experience with the ican pro sig (the one i'm leaning strongly toward) What I can find review wise it seems like this may be a better fit for me, but with so few reviews out I'm torn. I wish I had a brick and mortar where I could hear before purchasing equipment that is SOO subjective, but I guess those days are behind us. Now we need to read/watch reviews and hope for the best and just accept the fact that if we don't like it we have to pay the restocking fee tax.

TLDR: Burson GT or ican signature?

 

[DAPpower]

I'm at a crossroads, and need some feedback. I Like (with capitol L) the Burson, but for the for the cost I still have some buyers remorse. For the price, it should work better with iems, and be a somewhat capable preamp. I'm still within my return window and strongly considering exchanging for either the ifi ican pro signature, or going with the oors/hypsos stack. Anybody have any experience with the ican pro sig (the one i'm leaning strongly toward) What I can find review wise it seems like this may be a better fit for me, but with so few reviews out I'm torn. I wish I had a brick and mortar where I could hear before purchasing equipment that is SOO subjective, but I guess those days are behind us. Now we need to read/watch reviews and hope for the best and just accept the fact that if we don't like it we have to pay the restocking fee tax.

TLDR: Burson GT or ican signature?

Sorry if this isn't much help but I had the original ifi Stack and with the GT, there is definitely superior separation and layering than the original ifi iCAN and considering there isn't a crazy difference between the OG iCAN and the newer signature one, I personally would lean towards the GT as I recall there was hiss on IEMs with the iCAN I had.

 

[neogeosnk]

Sorry if this isn't much help but I had the original ifi Stack and with the GT, there is definitely superior separation and layering than the original ifi iCAN and considering there isn't a crazy difference between the OG iCAN and the newer signature one, I personally would lean towards the GT as I recall there was hiss on IEMs with the iCAN I had.

The last version of iCan was just ok. Nothing near the GT level.

 

[erobin82]

Sorry if this isn't much help but I had the original ifi Stack and with the GT, there is definitely superior separation and layering than the original ifi iCAN and considering there isn't a crazy difference between the OG iCAN and the newer signature one, I personally would lean towards the GT as I recall there was hiss on IEMs with the iCAN I had.

Thank you for the feedback. I saw that the original iCan did not measure well and Amir at audioscience was not a fan. The few videos/reviews I've seen on the Signature seems to be better but they are limited. I have 2 more weeks to make a decision, so hopefully more reviews drop. Definitely interested in Sandu's take on the GT.

 

[greyforest]

Thank you for the feedback. I saw that the original iCan did not measure well and Amir at audioscience was not a fan. The few videos/reviews I've seen on the Signature seems to be better but they are limited. I have 2 more weeks to make a decision, so hopefully more reviews drop. Definitely interested in Sandu's take on the GT.

i think gt would not measure well...as 3xp is measured quite badly. however burson and ifi are both chifi company reputation wise burson is much better.