[akelew]

Question ... since I am lagging electrical engineering skills ... The Soloist 3XP has 24V/3A (can bee seen on the back of the unit as well). But Burson included a 24V/5A standard charger. According to Burson, their 3A and 5A Supercharger works with the Soloist. Fine so far. But Burson told me that there would be a slightly better sound improvement with the 5A Supercharger compared with the 3A Supercharger. But as far as I know, this can not be possible if the internal unit works with 24V/3A. You can take a charger with more Ampere, if the Volt is 24V, but it should not matter (does not make anythinkg better or worse). It just becomes a problem if you have a charger with less than 3A. Maybe they just want to sell the more expensive Supercharger to me?
Can anyone answer this (specially from the technical side)?

Most likely the 5a super charger has optimized circuitry other then just the increase power capacity, and Burson believes that is responsible for a bit of increased performance.

 

[phalanx2357]

Have had the 3xp for a week now; will try it for a bit longer but probably will return it. Overall compared with the A90 (which has been my daily driver for a while), the 3xp presents a warmer tone on the higher frequencies + boosted bass. On some parts, particularly the higher mids and treble, it's a welcoming improvement; however on the low end, even upper bass, the boost is not pleasant on the Diana TC.

So one of the minor issues I have had with the DTC on A90 is that some high-frequency vocals and treble instruments can sound too bright. The 3xp does fix this issue; it has a smoother, more relaxed sound in those regions and is enjoyable. however the 3xp introduces a much greater and persistent issue that doesn't work for me. Basically it boosts the pressure/energy of drums - toms and floor drums. This is probably a welcoming boost for most other headphones, but the DTC has very strong bass already and this boost simply moves all drums forward in all music, even those are aren't really bass heavy. It kind of hurts my ears... basically on the A90 vocal volume is the limiting factor while on the 3xp bass volume becomes the limiting factor - thus vocals sound less prominent, on essentially all songs. Yet since I want to hear the vocals, the bass ends up hurting my ears...

I don't know if the 3xp sound can be achieved with just an eq from the A90... not sure... don't feel the lower bass, particularly electronic stuff is that bad, it's really just drums... feels like drums moved much closer to me... too close... can feel their percussive power going into my eardrums... so not even sure if I can call it a bass boost, more like a percussive energy boost. This is all on power amp mode. Tried the normal mode to begin with, but mids sound too recessed - feels dark sounding and not enjoyable.

 

[Kozwoz]

Have had the 3xp for a week now; will try it for a bit longer but probably will return it. Overall compared with the A90 (which has been my daily driver for a while), the 3xp presents a warmer tone on the higher frequencies + boosted bass. On some parts, particularly the higher mids and treble, it's a welcoming improvement; however on the low end, even upper bass, the boost is not pleasant on the Diana TC.

So one of the minor issues I have had with the DTC on A90 is that some high-frequency vocals and treble instruments can sound too bright. The 3xp does fix this issue; it has a smoother, more relaxed sound in those regions and is enjoyable. however the 3xp introduces a much greater and persistent issue that doesn't work for me. Basically it boosts the pressure/energy of drums - toms and floor drums. This is probably a welcoming boost for most other headphones, but the DTC has very strong bass already and this boost simply moves all drums forward in all music, even those are aren't really bass heavy. It kind of hurts my ears... basically on the A90 vocal volume is the limiting factor while on the 3xp bass volume becomes the limiting factor - thus vocals sound less prominent, on essentially all songs. Yet since I want to hear the vocals, the bass ends up hurting my ears...

I don't know if the 3xp sound can be achieved with just an eq from the A90... not sure... don't feel the lower bass, particularly electronic stuff is that bad, it's really just drums... feels like drums moved much closer to me... too close... can feel their percussive power going into my eardrums... so not even sure if I can call it a bass boost, more like a percussive energy boost. This is all on power amp mode. Tried the normal mode to begin with, but mids sound too recessed - feels dark sounding and not enjoyable.

I agree with your assessment. I also have the A90 as my first entry level amp. In general I find the Soloist increases dynamics in the bass especially. Bass is visceral and can be felt rather than just heard. Using my LCD4 in power amp mode the cans literally rumble. I still EQ the sound to taste and you could do the same by shelving the bass and bumping the mids with a wide Q-factor. I think the A90 is way to bright and sterile in the upper registers, ultimately this causes a lot more listening fatigue. In the end I think Soloist is in a different league to A90. I would also encourage you to op-amp roll. No doubt Burson will continue to develop their op-amps and I can see the Soloist getting better if you're willing to further invest.

 

[phalanx2357]

I ll try some low shelf at maybe 120 hz +- some hz and -2 or 3db and see how it goes.

 

[adeadcrab]

The Classic opamps are fantasically smooth while still holding onto all the detail, just presented differently. They notably soften the sub-bass like on kick drums; if you want a more relaxed tube character (while keeping the solid state speed and top end) then the Classic opamps might be the answer. However it does make the sound profile more relaxed in both bass and treble so your mileage may vary.

Currently using the Classic opamps in a preamp through to the 789 with the Focal Clear Pro. The sound is fantastically detailed and I often forget that it's not quite as neutral as it could be with the Vivids. I told myself just a few weeks with the Classics, that was a month or two ago now...


(Burson Soloist 3XP is my next purchase and I plan to roll the Classics there also!)

 

[Atriya]

Just received my Soloist 3XP w/ SuperCharger, and loving it with the Arya SE. A couple of questions, especially for Arya users:

1. Do you use Medium or High gain? Of course, the Medium gain gives you a much better range of volume control on the Arya, but I read somewhere that the Arya "likes" High gain for some reason.

2. Do you ever find the upper-mids or treble a little glary/fatiguing at high volumes? Both the Arya & the 3XP have treble peaks, apparently. Has anyone swapped the V6 Vivid opamps with V6 Classics and felt this improve? And if so, did you use the V6 Classic in the input stage or output stage or both? (I can't switch my DAC right now to an R2R, because I got my Chord Qutest relatively recently.)

 

[helloh3adfi]

You could try used V6 Classics and tell us or you use an equalizer. There are a lot of Oratory and AutoEQ profiles to start from.

 

[Atriya]

You could try used V6 Classics and tell us or you use an equalizer. There are a lot of Oratory and AutoEQ profiles to start from.

I don't think there is an Oratory profile for the Arya SE (only for older Aryas). I tried the AutoEQ Arya SE profile by Crinacle (using the convolutional EQ WAV file) but found that it changes the sound signature of the Arya too drastically, and seems to make the soundstage narrower and the vocals recessed.

 

[531412]

Just received my Soloist 3XP w/ SuperCharger, and loving it with the Arya SE. A couple of questions, especially for Arya users:

1. Do you use Medium or High gain? Of course, the Medium gain gives you a much better range of volume control on the Arya, but I read somewhere that the Arya "likes" High gain for some reason.

2. Do you ever find the upper-mids or treble a little glary/fatiguing at high volumes? Both the Arya & the 3XP have treble peaks, apparently. Has anyone swapped the V6 Vivid opamps with V6 Classics and felt this improve? And if so, did you use the V6 Classic in the input stage or output stage or both? (I can't switch my DAC right now to an R2R, because I got my Chord Qutest relatively recently.)

Hm ... Soloist has no treble peak.
I do not have an Arya, but a HE1000V2 and I use medium gain and love it

 

[Slade01]

1. Do you use Medium or High gain? Of course, the Medium gain gives you a much better range of volume control on the Arya, but I read somewhere that the Arya "likes" High gain for some reason.

2. Do you ever find the upper-mids or treble a little glary/fatiguing at high volumes? Both the Arya & the 3XP have treble peaks, apparently. Has anyone swapped the V6 Vivid opamps with V6 Classics and felt this improve? And if so, did you use the V6 Classic in the input stage or output stage or both? (I can't switch my DAC right now to an R2R, because I got my Chord Qutest relatively recently.)

I don't have an Arya, but I do have the HE6SEv2. What I found surprising is that I had recently from a stock cable, to a Norne Vygarde cable. When running the stock, the medium gain did as you said, give a better control range. However, when switching to the Vygarde which is a much more resolving cable - the vocals/mids suddenly became really recessed on both low and medium gains. Only when I finally thought to switch it to high gain, did everything sound correct/perfect - where the planets aligned. With the higher end cable, my cans feel completely optimized and running at perfection on High Gain.

Aside from the classic opamps that could help tame the treble, maybe a cable solution could aid in taming the upper mids/glare/fatigue thing (if you believe that cables can make a difference in SQ that is).

 

[adeadcrab]

Just received my Soloist 3XP w/ SuperCharger, and loving it with the Arya SE. A couple of questions, especially for Arya users:

1. Do you use Medium or High gain? Of course, the Medium gain gives you a much better range of volume control on the Arya, but I read somewhere that the Arya "likes" High gain for some reason.

2. Do you ever find the upper-mids or treble a little glary/fatiguing at high volumes? Both the Arya & the 3XP have treble peaks, apparently. Has anyone swapped the V6 Vivid opamps with V6 Classics and felt this improve? And if so, did you use the V6 Classic in the input stage or output stage or both? (I can't switch my DAC right now to an R2R, because I got my Chord Qutest relatively recently.)

I can recommend the Classics; they act like a hardware eq.

You would want to keep the opamps where they are in the Volume Control Stage; and only change the I/V stage opamps.
As these opamps can be relatively expensive you may prefer EQ, however I can endorse the Classics for their use case. They would do a great job of relaxing the Aryas while retaining all detail retrieval characteristics of the 3XP.

 

[MardukSonofEa]

Just received my Soloist 3XP w/ SuperCharger, and loving it with the Arya SE. A couple of questions, especially for Arya users:

1. Do you use Medium or High gain? Of course, the Medium gain gives you a much better range of volume control on the Arya, but I read somewhere that the Arya "likes" High gain for some reason.

2. Do you ever find the upper-mids or treble a little glary/fatiguing at high volumes? Both the Arya & the 3XP have treble peaks, apparently. Has anyone swapped the V6 Vivid opamps with V6 Classics and felt this improve? And if so, did you use the V6 Classic in the input stage or output stage or both? (I can't switch my DAC right now to an R2R, because I got my Chord Qutest relatively recently.)

I have the Arya SE with the Soloist 3XP and Bifrost 2. I use medium gain because I can't comfortably go past 10-12% on high gain and that just seemed a bit excessive lol. I find the Arya SE to already have enough speed and dynamics, which people usually cite as the benefit of high gain / power amp mode, and like you said the finer volume control is preferable (usually using 30-40%).

I'm not very treble sensitive but I did find the Arya and Soloist combo to be a little sibilant initially with the stock V6 Vivid op amps. That went away after a few days of playing time.

 

[Atriya]

Thanks folks, I just ordered pair of Burson V6 Classic opamps.

 

[masabueno]

Has anyone tested a Soloist 3GT preamp (Muses, muses, muses ) soloist 3xp in power amp mode?

Just for the sake of science...

 

[TheMiddleSky]

Sharing my impression about soloist 3xp from abyss diana thread:

I just tested DTC with Soloist 3X and A90 this afternoon. DAC was from Fiio K9 Pro ESS (Damn good dac, I like it even more than Topping D90SE).

While I felt A90 is cleaner on treble but there is forwardness in frequencies at upper mid/low treble area that bugged me. DTC herself already a bit forward in this area.

Burson definitely meatier, fuller, and harder impact/bite rather than the plain A90. Speed also "more pronounce" make every songs I played more engaging. Soundstage depth and width are no contest, definitely win by Burson,

Having said that, for me DTC deserve Burson GT. It turns the headphone into very spacious and grand soundstage image with joyful sub bass.

Additional note: 3XP with Power Amp mode sound cleaner, a little more spacious, better depth and overall a little higher resolution through all spectrum. Worth to try if you have pre amp feature.