[TomekZ]

Interesting.
I had the A90 and the Soloist side by side and what I noticed was the A90 pushed all the scene to the front. It made some things more noticeable, but the lack of depth was a problem for me. The Soloist had all the details (mind you, this is using the same Composer dac) and a bigger soundstage with more depth in my opinion.
To me the difference wasn't even subtle.

I too had them at the same time. The Soloist 3 had depth: could deep into space. The Topping A90 was clear & smooth but altogether flat. The tonal qualities of the Burson was more organic. Strings were metal in a wooden box. Breath of wind instruments felt like human breath.

 

[Golyatx]

Yea thats why I want to keep the RME ADI 2 DAC FS, so I can tweak EQ a little to bring me whatever I need.
About to receive Burson Soloist 3XP next week. Cant wait! Should be some serious sound upgrade. HP: LCDX 2021.

 

[betula]

Yea thats why I want to keep the RME ADI 2 DAC FS, so I can tweak EQ a little to bring me whatever I need.
About to receive Burson Soloist 3XP next week. Cant wait! Should be some serious sound upgrade. HP: LCDX 2021.

I am pretty sure it will be an improvement, but speaking from personal experience, do not put your hopes too high. I had the exact same gear as you. The ADI-2 drives the LCD-X pretty well to be honest. You can add some mild EQ and so on.

Adding the 3XP to the chain with single ended output did not turn the world upside down for me. Yes, balanced mode was more improvement and then using the 3XP in headphone power amp mode another step. (Make sure, you do not use the low impedance LCD-X in high-gain, as you will hear some hiss. Medium gain is alright.)

What I am saying from my own experience, is that the ADI-2/3XP combo with the LCD-X versus the ADI-2 alone was not as big of a revelation to me as the ADI-2/3XP combo can be with some truly high-end headphones like the Empyrean for example.

While I definitely heard some improvements with the LCD-X (and a little more improvements with the Arya), the combo basically transformed my Empyrean versus ADI-2 alone.

There is always a limiting factor in anyone's chain. To my personal experience the limiting factor in the ADI-2/3XP/LCD-X combo is the headphones. Which is a rare case, as usually that is the link in the chain that lasts the longest. Saying this as someone who really likes the LCD-X.

I just want to save you from potential disappointment due to high hopes. This was my experience, your experience might differ.
Either way, please make sure you share your thoughts once your 3XP arrives.
Also, don't judge the amp too soon. Give it the deserved burn-in time and your ears to adjust to the sound and appreciate its delicacies.

 

[Golyatx]

Yea thanks @betula !
I will really need to justify the price for 3XP with X, because it is a ton money for me.
If I dont hear any big improvement, I return it. I dont want to do A/B testing with AMP this pricey.
Emps are still much money for me and I dont want to have only Emps+ADI2 as I know they should sound (and like you already said) much better with ext. AMP.
I will write my impressions here next week.
Thanks for insight.

 

[lugnut]

1. Great headphones with a good amp ?
2. Great amp with good headphones ?
I would choose great headphones first.

 

[sabloke]

I would choose great headphones first.

Totally agree. I use IER-Z1R with a BTR5 Bluetooth dongle on the go and couldn't be happier. This combination easily beats a top spec DAP with some regular IEMS for price, sound quality and convenience. Same with a desktop setup, surely. No amp & DAC combo will make your M50X cans sound like Empyreans

 

[ishmaelk]

The problem is defining what a good amp is when your headphones are great. Good enough for a great headphone? That's a great amp.

 

[qsk78]

I will really need to justify the price for 3XP with X, because it is a ton money for me.

Well, on the other hand this is one of the best price/performance ratio amp in my opinion. I don't count Chinese brands here since this is a different league.
I believe that the next quality level would be somewhere at Nimbus US4/5 which are 4-5 times more expensive.

 

[Golyatx]

Yea @qsk78, thanks for confirmation.

Anyway, we are not talking some 30$ headphones.
This is LCDX, price above 1000$, I consider them GREAT, not good.
Not everyone have 6k$ to spend on audio.
I rather have GREAT AMP - which should Burson be, together with FOR ME GREAT LCDX.
LCDX can definitely handle my crazy requirements which is high volume and bass boost. Sometimes I want to blow my head off, so I turn the volume knob realy high. I want to listen to music. I want to have a fun.
Thats what is all about. I dont care more expensive things, if this setup can deliver it for me.

 

[sabloke]

Anyone using the Soloist 3XP with active monitors? it is mind-blowing good in my opinion. Friend of mine listened to my set, couldn't believe Class D built in amps sounded so good. However, after checking active monitors specs, it turned out the amps are in fact Class AB, so no mystery there Imaging is far superior to any of my cans, and I have a few...

 

[godmax]

Well, on the other hand this is one of the best price/performance ratio amp in my opinion. I don't count Chinese brands here since this is a different league.
I believe that the next quality level would be somewhere at Nimbus US4/5 which are 4-5 times more expensive.

Agree, price/performance ratio of the Soloist 3XP is very good!

I will really need to justify the price for 3XP with X, because it is a ton money for me.
If I dont hear any big improvement, I return it. I dont want to do A/B testing with AMP this pricey.
Emps are still much money for me and I dont want to have only Emps+ADI2 as I know they should sound (and like you already said) much better with ext. AMP.

Anyway, we are not talking some 30$ headphones.
This is LCDX, price above 1000$, I consider them GREAT, not good.
Not everyone have 6k$ to spend on audio.
I rather have GREAT AMP - which should Burson be, together with FOR ME GREAT LCDX.
LCDX can definitely handle my crazy requirements which is high volume and bass boost. Sometimes I want to blow my head off, so I turn the volume knob realy high. I want to listen to music. I want to have a fun.
Thats what is all about. I dont care more expensive things, if this setup can deliver it for me.

Only spend the money you are comfortably with on an amp, since it is not guaranteed, that it will sound to your individual liking with your specific headphone. High volume is probably not an issue anymore, since all current amps provide plenty of power (yes, I know "just" power is not everything). If you don't expect that your amp increases the natural bass response of your headphone and just brings out out the best possible from an powering perspective, than the Soloist 3XP is for sure a good candidate for you.
For example my Denon D9200 sound very good on the Soloist 3XP, but I like them even more on the less expensive all-in-one Questyle CMA 400i. But I like your principle not to A/B multiple amps, since this can be a long and tedious process with unknown outcome. What is important from my experience, you need to spend a longer time period with an specific amp and not overestimate the initial impression, this can change very much over time (even nothing changed physically).
You should spend some time with your current RME ADI-2 DAC together with the Soloist 3XP and than evaluate if you are missing something.

 

[Capunk]

Just checking, does your 3XP noise floor is noticeable with Med/Hi gain?
i know iem is overkill to use with this amp but does your one hiss?

 

[ishmaelk]

I use my IE800S with this amp in low gain with no audible hiss at all.

 

[MakubexGB]

Just checking, does your 3XP noise floor is noticeable with Med/Hi gain?
i know iem is overkill to use with this amp but does your one hiss?

I can clearly hear hissing with my Dunu SA6 on all gains. It's pretty quiet in low gain so it's not very noticeable and totally usable. On medium and high gain, though, I would not use IEMs.

 

[Aquileolus]

Has anyone used soloist 3xp on ZMF headphones? Waiting for my Verite Closed, wondering if they will be a good match