[dadracer2]

I received mine this morning.
It's definitely a huge improvement over the Soloist SL MKII which I've always had in such high regard.
I'm not going to do a detailed, full review. I just want to mention the depth and sense of space.
In Passion for Sound's review, Lachlan compared it to the A90, saying it gave a slightly more sense of space. That was Lachlan being nice. The difference is huge.
The A90 has a terrific timbre and width, but everything is pushed to the front, whereas the Soloist lets you feel the performance space, the placement and depth with a much better sense of realism.
Of course, the Soloist 3 costs twice as much. But for the same price as the A90, I'd prefer the Soloist SL MKII over the A90, every time.

Hi there can you share a link to that review as I cannot see it on the blog?

 

[ishmaelk]

Hi there can you share a link to that review as I cannot see it on the blog?

Hi.
Sure, here is the link:
Burson Soloist 3X Headphone Amp Review - New tech + old classic = wow!
I think someone posted it before in this same thread.

 

[dadracer2]

Hi.
Sure, here is the link:
Burson Soloist 3X Headphone Amp Review - New tech + old classic = wow!
I think someone posted it before in this same thread.

Many thanks. I had seen this from another source but didn't realise this was Lachlan. I was thinking it was the guy from Minidisc who does loads of headphone reviews. It's not a common name even here in Scotland! Great review though and I am speaking to my dealer (who does Burson) to see how I can access/purchase one. I had the A90 on my shortlist but have seen too many issues on the forum with noise/hum on the SE line inputs.

 

[ishmaelk]

Once more owners get their Soloist 3 I would love to hear feedback. Specifically any users with harder to drive headphones (Susvara, 1266, HE6se) on how the performance/synergy is. How does the Soloist compare to the usual list of suspects (Conductor 3XR/P, V281, Phonitor, A90, FA-10, Ifi Ican Pro, GSX Mkii, GSX Mini, etc..). What Dac pairings have worked well and which struggled? (R2R Dacs and delta sigma dacs).

I ordered mine beginning of September, and received it today. That's a lot of waiting and plenty of days of second thoughts about the purchase.
But now that I have it... I'm very impressed.
I'll take a few days before I post more detailed impressions. I only have 3 headphones that I use regularly: HD6XX, Fidelio X2HR and ATH-MSR7B. Nothing too hard to drive nor very high end.

 

[Sam Spade]

Once more owners get their Soloist 3 I would love to hear feedback. Specifically any users with harder to drive headphones (Susvara, 1266, HE6se) on how the performance/synergy is. How does the Soloist compare to the usual list of suspects (Conductor 3XR/P, V281, Phonitor, A90, FA-10, Ifi Ican Pro, GSX Mkii, GSX Mini, etc..). What Dac pairings have worked well and which struggled? (R2R Dacs and delta sigma dacs).

Do LCD4 count as harder to drive? I've got some on the way.

 

[ishmaelk]

Many thanks. I had seen this from another source but didn't realise this was Lachlan. I was thinking it was the guy from Minidisc who does loads of headphone reviews. It's not a common name even here in Scotland! Great review though and I am speaking to my dealer (who does Burson) to see how I can access/purchase one. I had the A90 on my shortlist but have seen too many issues on the forum with noise/hum on the SE line inputs.

I didn't find any of those issues in the A90 I tried. And it has great sound and all... but it's definitely a few steps behind the Soloist.
On a side note... I lived in a little town near Perth in Scotland a few years ago. I love Scotland.

 

[dadracer2]

I didn't find any of those issues in the A90 I tried. And it has great sound and all... but it's definitely a few steps behind the Soloist.
On a side note... I lived in a little town near Perth in Scotland a few years ago. I love Scotland.

Yes Perth is a really nice town and hasn't changed too radically over the years. I bet you don't miss the winter weather though!!!

 

[ishmaelk]

Yes Perth is a really nice town and hasn't changed too radically over the years. I bet you don't miss the winter weather though!!!

I spent the roughest winter of my whole life there! But winters in Madrid can be meaner!

 

[rmsanger]

yeah I'll definately be watching this thread from now until end of year. I'd like to eventually sell my Phonitor E to "upgrade" in power/dynamics/technical performance just not sure the Soloist is exactly what I'm looking for.

 

[Magic77]

I received mine this morning.
It's definitely a huge improvement over the Soloist SL MKII which I've always had in such high regard.
I'm not going to do a detailed, full review. I just want to mention the depth and sense of space.
In Passion for Sound's review, Lachlan compared it to the A90, saying it gave a slightly more sense of space. That was Lachlan being nice. The difference is huge.
The A90 has a terrific timbre and width, but everything is pushed to the front, whereas the Soloist lets you feel the performance space, the placement and depth with a much better sense of realism.
Of course, the Soloist 3 costs twice as much. But for the same price as the A90, I'd prefer the Soloist SL MKII over the A90, every time.

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new Soloist. I’m definitely interested in getting one,but it’s just way too expensive for me at the moment. I also own the Soloist SL MKII. The new Soloist is a totally different amp than the MKII, both inside and out. Burson really took it to another level in designing the new one. Changeable Opamps and a new volume control. I want to ask you about the power supply. I can see it uses an outboard supply. Is it a switching power supply? or maybe a linear supply? If you’re not sure,that’s ok, just curious. Do you plan on doing Opamp rolling with the new Soloist?

 

[godmax]

Mine has arrived too....d#mn you Burson, the Soloist 3XP sounds great!
Now my GS-X mini and Violectric V281 have a worthy contender in playtime, but time will tell when the new toy syndrome is wearing out.
...only gain switching is a little bit tedious

 

[ishmaelk]

Glad to hear you are enjoying the new Soloist. I’m definitely interested in getting one,but it’s just way too expensive for me at the moment. I also own the Soloist SL MKII. The new Soloist is a totally different amp than the MKII, both inside and out. Burson really took it to another level in designing the new one. Changeable Opamps and a new volume control. I want to ask you about the power supply. I can see it uses an outboard supply. Is it a switching power supply? or maybe a linear supply? If you’re not sure,that’s ok, just curious. Do you plan on doing Opamp rolling with the new Soloist?

I'd say it's a switching ps. Look at this post from JWahl.

Here's my take on it. I think the power-supply design is legit, but the marketing is kind of a gimmick. Their explanation of more instantaneous current being available is a legitimate. An inductive load (like transformer windings) will resist changes in alternating current through the load. Using a higher alternating frequency (like in a switching supply) allows using smaller inductors to smooth out the output, thus presenting lower impedance through the power supply. In Burson's case, I *think* they're using an off the shelf switching regulator with a switching frequency of about 170 Khz, which should be well above the audible range. Being that these are off the shelf solutions, acting as if it's a revolutionary new design is a little disingenuous from a marketing perspective, IMO. That's where the "gimmick" is to me. On the other had, I understand why they feel inclined to do so, since the audio community tends to have an automatic bias against switching power supplies, however well designed. From my experience so far, I think they made the right decision with the power supply from an engineering standpoint.

If you were to add your own linear power supply, it would likely be detrimental, and it's unclear whether doing so may damage the unit, as it has with some recent Monoprice/Cavalli designs with similar implementations. With an external linear/regulated supply, you'd lose the low impedance benefits, while the internal switching regulators would still convert the input to a high-frequency AC waveform regardless. I can see no benefit being gained from doing so.

To be honest, I'm starting to be convinced that with a well designed switching supply, there's almost no case where a linear supply would be a better design choice; you would have to spend so much more in parts cost and space (as a designer), to achieve equal or better results as the well-designed switching supply. You have to remember that Burson used to be one of most ardent advocates of big, discrete, linear power supplies. The fact that they're changing their mind says something. Even the upcoming dedicated power supply for the Headamp Gilmore Lite Mk.2 is a hybrid-switching design. These aren't "your grandfather's" switching supplies haha.

As for the opamp rolling, I got mine with an extra pair of Classics, and I intend to try them too. But I am pretty sure I'll try a couple of times and then just use the one pair that I like the most.
But I'll definitely try the Classics. I don't have any experience with them, but my guess is they'll make the new Soloist sound a bit more like the SL MKII.

 

[ishmaelk]

Mine has arrived too....d#mn you Burson, the Soloist 3XP sounds great!
Now my GS-X mini and Violectric V281 have a worthy contender in playtime, but time will tell when the new toy syndrome is wearing out.
...only gain switching is a little bit tedious

I don't know about the GS-X, but the Violectric system is way more tedious in my experience.

 

[Sam Spade]

I'd say it's a switching ps. Look at this post from JWahl.



As for the opamp rolling, I got mine with an extra pair of Classics, and I intend to try them too. But I am pretty sure I'll try a couple of times and then just use the one pair that I like the most.
But I'll definitely try the Classics. I don't have any experience with them, but my guess is they'll make the new Soloist sound a bit more like the SL MKII.

Im really interested in what the classics are like. Im considering a pair to try in my conductor3x ref

 

[flitcroft]

Im really interested in what the classics are like. Im considering a pair to try in my conductor3x ref

One of the YouTube reviews discusses this if you're interested. This one at the 4 minute mark: