[ishmaelk]

If I may ask, how does it work for you in these difficult times? And thanks for having it around!

I'm going to repeat myself, since I already said it in another thread. The ifi Zen Can is amazing for the price, in balanced mode.
Compared to the Topping A90, for example, I found the A90 timbre and width to be better, but the Zen Can had way more depth and it felt more real because of that, even if it wasn't as good as the A90 in other aspects.
In the end, I preferred the Zen Can without hesitation.

 

[iFi audio]

I'm going to repeat myself, since I already said it in another thread. The ifi Zen Can is amazing for the price, in balanced mode.
Compared to the Topping A90, for example, I found the A90 timbre and width to be better, but the Zen Can had way more depth and it felt more real because of that, even if it wasn't as good as the A90 in other aspects.
In the end, I preferred the Zen Can without hesitation.

If I've missed your feedback or if I've asked this question elsewhere, my apologies. But this aside, many thanks for your input

 

[ishmaelk]

If I've missed your feedback or if I've asked this question elsewhere, my apologies. But this aside, many thanks for your input

No worries at all. You asked in another thread about amps for the HD650. At first I wasn't too impressed, but then I tried the balanced cables and I was surprised how good it sounded. Not on the same league as the Soloist SL MKII, but it cost 3 times less too.

 

[Slim1970]

I'm really not worried about when I'll get the Soloist + Composer combo. It's just that patience was never my biggest virtue.
And the economic situation in Spain isn't great at the moment. The wait has given me plenty of opportunities to wonder if there weren't better uses for that money.
Also, I'm starting my own business, so even if it doesn't look like a lot, an extra 1,000€ always come in handy.
But nevertheless, I'm excited to get the combo. I sold most of my gear right after preordering (I didn't expect to sell it that fast) and I've been using just a ifi Zen Can and a Modi Multibit.
When I get the Soloist, I won't have a real contender to put it against. All I'll have is my memory of the Conductor SL 1793 and the Soloist SL MKII that I had. But comparing by memory is useless.
Talking about your LP, it seems you needed to invest some time and parts (in case you did the mod yourself) to better the 3XR. So it wasn't really something under $700 that bested it. Although I guess you didn't spend $400 in the upgrade.
@raoultrifan didn't seem to find the Soloist was perceivably better than the 3XR, but I'm very interested to know what you have to say when you receive it.

Got it, I hate waiting for new gear as well. Like you, I always experience some buyer's remorse after I finally complete a big dollar purchase. None of this stuff is cheap. I'm a big fan of the Burson house sound as I've owned quite a few of their products throughout the years. The Soloist will be my latest Burson experience once it arrives.

I'm fully expecting the Soloist to sound very similar to the 3XR. They are cut from the same family tree. In a sense, I'm getting just the amp section of the 3XR, which is quite good. Especially with warmer sounding heading phones like the Empyrean's or any Audeze headphone. Why I didn't like it so much with my Susvara's or TC's was the sound was a little to incisive and neutral for my taste. I wanted more flavor or color to the sound. In hind site, I probably should have kept the 3XR. But I wanted to try some other gear

I got the LP in a trade for a Burson Fun. In my case, I just paid for the mods and some tube upgrades. Used LP's are going for a little over $400 US dollars and both mods will run you like $300 dollars total. That's how I came up with the $700 dollars. The LP is a nice alternative to 3XR/Soloist. I for one am looking forward to getting that Burson sound back in the house.

 

[raoultrifan]

@Slim1970, you're right, Soloist 3XP and Conductor 3X are outputting about the same sound, with a slight advantage on the pre-amp part for the 3XP (due to the dedicated MUSES chip). Also, I do like the DC-voltage adjust on the 3XP as well, especially if you are swapping the default opamps with others (DC voltage needs to be measured after 20' of warm-up).

To get a slight change in the sound you could try a slight EQ; after getting the correct EQ curve, don't forget to lower the EQ volume with the amount of the highest increase in dB on the EQ (e.g.: for an increase of +2.4dB @30Hz you will need to decrease the EQ volume with -2.4dB). Slightly modifying the peaks and dips for a headphone, if done right, can only bring us advantages.

 

[Sam Spade]

I reached out to Burson and was informed that mine should be shipping out midweek next week. I’m hoping that’s the case. I’m ready to see what it sounds like and if there are any improvements over the Conductor 3XR I previously owned.

Slim for your sake I hope the pair is better. Since I have the conductor3XR and am not about to change I hope they are about equal

Why did you get rid of the Conductor?
cheers
Sam

 

[Slim1970]

@Slim1970, you're right, Soloist 3XP and Conductor 3X are outputting about the same sound, with a slight advantage on the pre-amp part for the 3XP (due to the dedicated MUSES chip). Also, I do like the DC-voltage adjust on the 3XP as well, especially if you are swapping the default opamps with others (DC voltage needs to be measured after 20' of warm-up).

To get a slight change in the sound you could try a slight EQ; after getting the correct EQ curve, don't forget to lower the EQ volume with the amount of the highest increase in dB on the EQ (e.g.: for an increase of +2.4dB @30Hz you will need to decrease the EQ volume with -2.4dB). Slightly modifying the peaks and dips for a headphone, if done right, can only bring us advantages.

How do you find the bass on the Soloist 3XP vs 3X? That’s one of the biggest things I‘ll be looking for. I also like the fact that the 3XP uses Muses for the volume control. The volume control on the 3XR would sometime skip or repeat numbers when turning it up or down. I took it as a lose of accuracy but it did not affect the quality of sound. The Muses should track much better and provide even better low level listening.

I plan on pairing the Soloist initial with my RME then moving up to my TT2. I really want to try and R2R DAC with the Soloist. I think it would pair very well with it. what DAC are you using when listening to the Soloist?

 

[Slim1970]

Slim for your sake I hope the pair is better. Since I have the conductor3XR and am not about to change I hope they are about equal

Why did you get rid of the Conductor?
cheers
Sam

Hi Sam,

I mainly sold it to fund another amp, the FA-10, and some headphones, LCD-X and Quad Era-1’s. The FA-10 is exactly what I wanted the 3XR to be, powerful with a lot of meat on it bones. It has similar traits to the Conductor V2+, but even more grit, punch and slam. All while remaining detailed and clear with a better top end. The 3XR is a totally new Burson sound to me. The 3XR is more resolving, more transparent, more dynamic, improved soundstage, very open sounding with excellent treble clarity. It’s a complete breakaway from the older Burson units. It’s surprising but welcome because the V2+ was a little to think sounding and lacks the detail retrieval of the 3XR. Making the 3XR better suited for a wider range of headphones.

While I did enjoy the sound of the 3XR, it did nothing to make my Susvara’s a more enjoyable listen unfortunately. So I sold it begrudgingly in favor for the FA-10, which I am more than happy with. When I sold my 3XR I had no idea that the Soloist was being released. Since I did like 3XR as an amp with my other headphones, I decided to jump in on the Soloist deal. It was a now brainer to me since the Soloist complements my FA-10 and LP very nicely. Since both have a warmer and a musical tone. The 3XR/Soloist are more neutral, reference sounding amps that reveal the truth in sound and colors nothing. Honestly, there is a place in my collection for a amp like this. I can’t wait to get it!

 

[iFi audio]

No worries at all. You asked in another thread about amps for the HD650. At first I wasn't too impressed, but then I tried the balanced cables and I was surprised how good it sounded. Not on the same league as the Soloist SL MKII, but it cost 3 times less too.

I'll take it as a complement
We never say that our stuff is the best, but if I read stuff like you just posted, that's more than enough

As for Soloist SL MKII, it looks very cool and rather tank-alike to last years to come, which personally I like a lot!

 

[ishmaelk]

Well, I was sent my tracking information today.
I should receive the (Soloist + Composer) 3XP by the end of next week.

 

[Slim1970]

Well, I was sent my tracking information today.
I should receive the (Soloist + Composer) 3XP by the end of next week.

Awesome, I figured you'd be getting it soon.

 

[ishmaelk]

Awesome, I figured you'd be getting it soon.

I had been told it was being sent a few days ago and nothing happened.
So I was ready to just cancel my order and go to a local store, try out something and be done with the wait.
I was actually looking at the FA-10 too after reading your posts. I could buy just the amp, without the dac upgrade the Composer was going to be (from a Modi Multibit).

 

[Slim1970]

I had been told it was being sent a few days ago and nothing happened.
So I was ready to just cancel my order and go to a local store, try out something and be done with the wait.
I was actually looking at the FA-10 too after reading your posts. I could buy just the amp, without the dac upgrade the Composer was going to be (from a Modi Multibit).

You can always get an FA-10 later. It’s a totally different sound signature than the Soloist. Both are very enjoyable amps. This is based on my experience with the 3XR, which the Soloist borrows a lot of tech from.

 

[iFi audio]

I should receive the (Soloist + Composer) 3XP by the end of next week.

A spot on meme considering the context

 

[JWahl]

I got the LP in a trade for a Burson Fun. In my case, I just paid for the mods and some tube upgrades. Used LP's are going for a little over $400 US dollars and both mods will run you like $300 dollars total. That's how I came up with the $700 dollars. The LP is a nice alternative to 3XR/Soloist. I for one am looking forward to getting that Burson sound back in the house.

Your old Burson Fun is still going strong in my setup! It will only be sold soon to make way for the Soloist 3XP. Interesting thing about your LP mods, I had thought about the same cap mod, but changed my mind. I wouldn't have thought about changing the volume pot, though. I do agree that it's probably the weakest point on the LP; it makes the Soloist 3XP's volume implementation even that much more desirable, though. I would consider the Liquid Gold X a direct potential competitor to the Soloist 3XP in price and function if it weren't for those volume pots. I haven't heard it yet, though.