[tamleo]

Hi,
Anyone compared the Soloist mk2 to the newer Soloist 3x? Tks

 

[Bazaar]

Thanks for pointing this out. I'll have to ask an iFi rep in that thread for confirmation. Going by that review, unless iFi specifically told him it's not fully balanced, I think he may be making an incorrect assumption based on "dual mono". Dual mono doesn't imply that a circuit isn't balanced, although admittedly the term is often used very loosely nowadays. It typically implies a large degree of circuit isolation between channels, either up to mirrored power-supply channels, or going as far as dual power transformers.

As far as the Composer, part of it is the higher price, and part of it is the fact that if I was going to go for a Burson DAC stage, I'd just go for the Conductor 3XP or 3XR and keep things simple and less cluttered. I've historically liked Schiit multibit DACs, having owned an Yggdrasil (Original A1) and Gungnir Multibit. I wasn't expecting to like the Neo as much as I did, but I really want to compare it to the Bifrost 2 as a sanity check. The Micro iDSD (original version) was OK at the price, but I think the Neo was a solid step up. I like the appearance and use-case flexibility of the Neo, so I'm secretly hoping it's "good enough", but we shall see.

It really makes me curious to try the Pro iDSD, but it's way out of my budget, and I've tactfully criticized iFi about the price. They'd probably let me review it if I asked, but at this point, I actually don't want to want it, if that makes sense. FWIW, the best sounding digital source I've ever heard at meets (two meets and the same person) was an AMR CD Player, so I know Thorsten has a good design ear when given a big enough budget. The fact that John Curl is given design input now as well is just icing on the cake. Although, that AMR CD player was always connected to some super high-end Eddie Current DHT amps like the Balancing Act, 4-45, and eventually The Studio (at $7,000).

1. Makes a lot of sense that dual mono doesn't imply a circuit isn't balanced...be curious to see what iFi says. For me, it will probably be something so subtle I wouldn't pick it up.
2. The NEO was very tempting, along with the Liquid Platinum when I was looking to upgrade my amp. The high praise for the Burson is making me try this. I see your point about just going for the Conductor if you were going all Burson.
3. Yeah, the Pro iDSD was very tempting, and like you out of my budget. However, I had seen a couple on audiogon for $1100-$1300, which after you factor in my new XLR cables, is not too far off. Maybe down the road, but I'm also curious to try something other than iFi as well. AMR class ($$$$) things, don't think that's happening

 

[JWahl]

1. Makes a lot of sense that dual mono doesn't imply a circuit isn't balanced...be curious to see what iFi says. For me, it will probably be something so subtle I wouldn't pick it up.
2. The NEO was very tempting, along with the Liquid Platinum when I was looking to upgrade my amp. The high praise for the Burson is making me try this. I see your point about just going for the Conductor if you were going all Burson.
3. Yeah, the Pro iDSD was very tempting, and like you out of my budget. However, I had seen a couple on audiogon for $1100-$1300, which after you factor in my new XLR cables, is not too far off. Maybe down the road, but I'm also curious to try something other than iFi as well. AMR class ($$$$) things, don't think that's happening

The Liquid Platinum is a great value at it's current price; I had one but traded it for the Burson Fun. That was more of a sidegrade, but I generally preferred the Burson presentation, which led me to buy the Soloist 3X, which improves the areas that the Fun was weak in relative to the LP. My only gripe with the LP, is they insist on using that tiny volume potentiometer which I think bottlenecks the amp's potential. Another member who's posted in here and briefly owned the Soloist 3X modded the LP with new caps and volume pot, and spoke favorably of the mods. I think the volume control implementation (sonically) is one of the strengths of the Soloist 3X, although it can functionally be a little buggy. I usually prefer tube-hybrid amps, but I enjoy the Soloist 3X as a solid-state amp since I think it shares (although not exactly) some of the positive imaging/soundstage characteristics of quality tube-gain amps.

 

[Bazaar]

That's one of the things that was scaring me off the LP - the volume 'dead' area and the fact that you had to do so much modding to make it workable.

 

[rmsanger]

In case anyone is interested, I've placed some orders relevant to the Soloist 3X. First I've ordered a Quad of the SparkoS Op-Amps (non-pro). I've also ordered an iFi Neo iDSD (Which I've already reviewed a loaner) and a Schiit Bifrost 2, with the intent of returning the one I prefer less. Thankfully, both Schiit and Bloom Audio seem to have fair return policies with a modest restocking fee. I preferred the Neo to the Modius during the loaner review, but I really wanted to try it against the Bifrost 2. Also, I ordered the (discounted) Hifiman HE-6SE V2 since the Soloist 3X should theoretically drive it sufficiently, and to have another comparison perspective besides just my HD-650. I think I'll be done upgrading for awhile after this (hopefully). I almost....almost....decided to abandon the DAC upgrade and Hifiman in favor of stretching to a discounted Focal Stellia, but decided against it. Maybe that will be the eventual next step once I have enough disposable income.

Please report back your findings on the HE6SE... that adorama price is great.

 

[Vercingetirex]

Can anyone compare this to the Jotenheim 2 by any chance?

 

[Sam Spade]

Thanks for pointing this out. I'll have to ask an iFi rep in that thread for confirmation. Going by that review, unless iFi specifically told him it's not fully balanced, I think he may be making an incorrect assumption based on "dual mono". Dual mono doesn't imply that a circuit isn't balanced, although admittedly the term is often used very loosely nowadays. It typically implies a large degree of circuit isolation between channels, either up to mirrored power-supply channels, or going as far as dual power transformers.

The PCB for the NEO appears to use 4 channels of amplification, and page 5 of the datasheet for the DSD1793 shows pin-outs for balanced signaling from one chip. I see no reason not to assume the circuit is fully balanced from chip to output. The only exception might be if there is a volume-controller IC in use that only supports two channels. I've seen claims in reviews that it uses an analog IC volume control (similar to the Soloist 3X, but most likely the PGA23xx series), but I haven't seen any official claim of this on the product page, so I first assumed the volume control was digital. The PGA23xx series does appear to be stereo only, so two would be needed for balanced. Looking at the PCB closer, there appears to be two IC's just before the analog stage that happen to share the same number of pins as a PGA2311. Regardless, volume control is bypassed in direct mode, so it wouldn't make much sense to add two additional conversion stages for Balanced -> SE -> Balanced. It still seems likely to me that it is fully-balanced. Either way, I still enjoyed the sound and that's what matters most to me.

As far as the Composer, part of it is the higher price, and part of it is the fact that if I was going to go for a Burson DAC stage, I'd just go for the Conductor 3XP or 3XR and keep things simple and less cluttered. I've historically liked Schiit multibit DACs, having owned an Yggdrasil (Original A1) and Gungnir Multibit. I wasn't expecting to like the Neo as much as I did, but I really want to compare it to the Bifrost 2 as a sanity check. The Micro iDSD (original version) was OK at the price, but I think the Neo was a solid step up. I like the appearance and use-case flexibility of the Neo, so I'm secretly hoping it's "good enough", but we shall see.

It really makes me curious to try the Pro iDSD, but it's way out of my budget, and I've tactfully criticized iFi about the price. They'd probably let me review it if I asked, but at this point, I actually don't want to want it, if that makes sense. FWIW, the best sounding digital source I've ever heard at meets (two meets and the same person) was an AMR CD Player, so I know Thorsten has a good design ear when given a big enough budget. The fact that John Curl is given design input now as well is just icing on the cake. Although, that AMR CD player was always connected to some super high-end Eddie Current DHT amps like the Balancing Act, 4-45, and eventually The Studio (at $7,000).

The conductor 3x is awesome. But i havent run the Qutest into it to compare dac sections.

But honestly, The Conductor CX3 ref fits my needs perfectly for my main home hifi/home entertainment system with speakers or headphones perfectly for music or AV.

The remote and bluetooth are essential In my main system. My home office system i don't need remote or bluetooth. Also balanced great for main system.

In contrast The remote and bluetooth are of limited value home office. Balanced is a non issue with my use of the Sparko Aries.

So with Sparko Aries and chord Qutest overall it's ended up I'm not paying for features i dont need in my home office for functions i dont need there.

And both systems sound awesome and put such a big smile on my face. I don't really care which is better. they both drive LCD4s like a dream.

As an aside balanced cable on my AK SP1000M drives LCD4s. Full volume no distortion just a little short of the headroom id like. But it is minor. I could easily live with it. The AK drives LCD3 and LCDxc amazingly. The entry level AK 70 does too.

Everyone said DAPs wouldn't drive full size LCD planars. They were wrong.

And i haven't done structured comparisons but I'm used to the desktop gear above that's my benchmark.

 

[JWahl]

The SparkoS came in today, earlier than expected. So far so good. Still giving them some time to fully warm up, but so far it's an across the board improvement in dynamics (macro and micro), bass extension, purity, resolution, and general realism without fully veering into dry or analytical territory. Still using the Modius, so I'm really anxious to test it with DAC upgrades. I think that Andrew (of SparkoS) is on to something with this 2-pole compensation thing.

 

[Bazaar]

actually, re-read your post.

CONNECTING COMPONENTS



Definitely email Burson, they are really helpful. Dennis or Alex have both helped me.


HEADPHONES
Balanced cables will give you more headroom/power (double?) if you have a balanced amp. But i've read that unbalanced has less noise. but it's marginal.

hope this helps
cheers
Sam

Thanks Sam, I did hear back from Dennis as you suggested, and it looks like I'm fine. It's the *output* side of things that you have to be really careful (which I did see in the [sparse] manual).

For connecting the DAC-out to a non-balanced external amplifier you need to not short-circuit any of the V+ or V- to GND. Google-foo about the pinout for the 3-pin wiring and you should easily understand it. I had also explain it recently here: https://www.audiosciencereview.com/...nced-mqa-dac-review.17419/page-66#post-656658 (it was basically Gustard's picture and explanation). Of course, there is always the possibility to purchase a transformer adapter, as Burson suggests.

Thanks! the link was very helpful.

 

[normie610]

I think that Andrew (of SparkoS) is on to something with this 2-pole compensation thing.

Yes that’s why I was curious on the Pros

 

[qsk78]

it's an across the board improvement in dynamics (macro and micro), bass extension, purity, resolution, and general realism without fully veering into dry or analytical territory. Still using the Modius, so I'm really anxious to test it with DAC upgrades.

This is exactly what I feel about my stock Composer + Soloist after ~100 hours of burn-in time)

Anyway, I'm quite intrigued by all sparkos feedback in this thread.
I spoke to their local dealer yesterday, they have them in stock.
We'll see since I'm happy with the stock so far.

 

[Sam Spade]

The SparkoS came in today, earlier than expected. So far so good. Still giving them some time to fully warm up, but so far it's an across the board improvement in dynamics (macro and micro), bass extension, purity, resolution, and general realism without fully veering into dry or analytical territory. Still using the Modius, so I'm really anxious to test it with DAC upgrades. I think that Andrew (of SparkoS) is on to something with this 2-pole compensation thing.

If anyone gets the chance to audition a Sparko Aries do it. You'll be impressed.

 

[Swisstoni]

Hi,
Anyone know if you use rca in to the soloist, can you use a balanced headphone cable out?

 

[SQ13]

Hi,
Anyone know if you use rca in to the soloist, can you use a balanced headphone cable out?

yes

 

[qsk78]

Hi,
Anyone know if you use rca in to the soloist, can you use a balanced headphone cable out?

This is what I did when I was waiting for Composer 3XP