Burson Soloist 3X Performance Head/Pre Amp - 8Wpc XLR with MUSE72320 volume control
Sep 23, 2021 at 2:19 PM Post #1,547 of 3,087
My opinion as a TC and Susvara owner is that 3XP leaves me wanting. Not enough detail, soundstage and bass impact compared to my OG timekeeper and what I know I can get from other headamps or speaker amps . It just feels like it 3xp needs improvements to its current delivery at least for these cans. I expect the GT to fill in those gaps.
Yeah the quality of the amplification can still go up from the 3xp no doubt, but it doesn't have to do with the amount of power, more the quality. Also chainging to the Supercharger PSU gives a really nice boost in dynamics and top end smoothness. That's why I would like to be able to a / b them, to make sure there is in fact a tangible jump in the quality of power delivery.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 2:34 PM Post #1,548 of 3,087
Yeah the quality of the amplification can still go up from the 3xp no doubt, but it doesn't have to do with the amount of power, more the quality. Also chainging to the Supercharger PSU gives a really nice boost in dynamics and top end smoothness. That's why I would like to be able to a / b them, to make sure there is in fact a tangible jump in the quality of power delivery.
You are right, more power is unnecessary in most cases although the quality of amplification can still go up. The price of a significantly better amp will however jump a lot, at least two to three times the price of the 3XP to hear much better results. Not many people can afford that, especially when many popular reviewers say you are fine with a $200-300 amp with your flagship headphones. IMO there is a lot of unused flagship headphone potential out there due to this approach.

Anyway, I think the 3XP is at a sweet spot price and performance wise. It is beyond the usual THX or Topping amps yet does not reach the stratospheric prices of really special amps. Especially on second-hand market the 3XP is a real bargain when it comes to price/performance ratio.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 2:41 PM Post #1,549 of 3,087
I am also considering a purchase of the supercharger. You guys who already own it, how would you describe the improvement in sound? Is it a more significant change than let's say an upgrade headphone cable? Is it on similar level? Is it like changing your DAC or not quite to that extent? I am just trying to justify another purchase. Thanks.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 2:44 PM Post #1,550 of 3,087
I am also considering a purchase of the supercharger. You guys who already own it, how would you describe the improvement in sound? Is it a more significant change than let's say an upgrade headphone cable? Is it on similar level? Is it like changing your DAC or not quite to that extent? I am just trying to justify another purchase. Thanks.
It was like going from a THX based amp to the Soloist in the first place, so WAY more than cable and more than the DAC (in most cases) still.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 3:36 PM Post #1,553 of 3,087
Experiencing the same with my RME/Soloist 3X. Feels like something is missing. Just purchased an MHDT Orchid and should be arriving soon.
I hated my rme (didn’t like the taste) but had the orchid for a bit then upgraded to Holo. i think you’ll find this pairing with orchid to be much nicer. You may miss the eq but there are much easier workarounds.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 4:32 PM Post #1,555 of 3,087
My opinion as a TC and Susvara owner is that 3XP leaves me wanting. Not enough detail, soundstage and bass impact compared to my OG timekeeper and what I know I can get from other headamps or speaker amps . It just feels like it 3xp needs improvements to its current delivery at least for these cans. I expect the GT to fill in those gaps.
Yep, this is how I felt about the Soloist 3XP. I‘m hoping the Soloist 3X GT has a more robust sound. I like neutral to a point. Just not at the sacrifice of musicality and what makes listening to music enjoyable. Burson‘s older generation headphone amps were great at giving us both.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 4:42 PM Post #1,556 of 3,087
Preordered the GT. My only question is how hot will this amp get if the fan malfunctions? I guess i'll find out eventually :L3000:
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 5:23 PM Post #1,557 of 3,087
My Soloist 3 XP is operated by an RME ADI-2 DAC. Would like to give it a try with a Denafrips Pontus 2. Can someone say if this is an upgrade?
Yep, this is how I felt about the Soloist 3XP. I‘m hoping the Soloist 3X GT has a more robust sound. I like neutral to a point. Just not at the sacrifice of musicality and what makes listening to music enjoyable. Burson‘s older generation headphone amps were great at giving us both.
After over a year with my Soloist 3XP, I keep thinking perhaps Decware...truly enjoy my solid state / Burson House sound, but not convinced on GT. May take the fork in road and head farther down the tubular path.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 5:49 PM Post #1,558 of 3,087
Have these measurement been posted already?

https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/burson-soloist-3x/

The large DC offset values in the warm-up phase of the am (last three charts) concern me. And I don`t wantl to wait 10-15 minutes before using it after power-on. hmmm

The weird thing that I gathered from the rough translation of the page is that he said despite the low sinad everything else was very impressive. Im not native to the language though so someone who can make better sense of it feel free to correct me, I wouldn't doubt the translation could be wrong.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 5:58 PM Post #1,559 of 3,087
After over a year with my Soloist 3XP, I keep thinking perhaps Decware...truly enjoy my solid state / Burson House sound, but not convinced on GT. May take the fork in road and head farther down the tubular path.
Tubes are whole different rabbit hole to go down. Depending what tube amp you're looking expect to spend nearly an equal amount on tubes.
 
Sep 23, 2021 at 7:13 PM Post #1,560 of 3,087
I am also considering a purchase of the supercharger. You guys who already own it, how would you describe the improvement in sound? Is it a more significant change than let's say an upgrade headphone cable? Is it on similar level? Is it like changing your DAC or not quite to that extent? I am just trying to justify another purchase. Thanks.
I did a brief write-up on it if you're interested...

https://forum.headphones.com/t/burson-audio-official-thread/12357/55?u=hifidj

TLDR: It was not that significant of an improvement if looking at the bigger picture but the enjoyment factor I got out of that slight improvement is definitely significant to me. For level of upgrade I'd say it depends. But I think it's definitely more noticeable than a cable upgrade though not quite to the extent of upgrading DACs.
 
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