[dpeterfy32]

you need to look at the half moon, or semicircle, on the underside of the opamp where the pins are. The half moon needs to line up with the half moon on the amplifier's socket.

this is not my op-amp, but I don't see any kind of half moon.

 

[dpeterfy32]

you need to look at the half moon, or semicircle, on the underside of the opamp where the pins are. The half moon needs to line up with the half moon on the amplifier's socket.

elsewhere they said the line strip should be looked at on the side of the op-amp.

 

[adeadcrab]

elsewhere they said the line strip should be looked at on the side of the op-amp.

yes, sorry, for the Burson V6 opamps there is a half-moon as part of the pins, which lines up with the indentation along the red casing.
For you, treat the indentation line as the orientation guide. The V6 opamps will not be damaged by incorrect orientation, but they will not play sound. Be more careful with other opamps (but they would have proper markings which are missing in the photo you provided).

 

[mikeypas]

Has anyone added a tube buffer or preamp to their chain with Burson soloist?
I have a mac mini -> Gustard U18 -> Gustard R26 -> Burson Soloist 3X GT -> Burson Timekeepers 3XGT
I was playing with the idea of adding some "tube sound" by adding a tube buffer or preamp between the R26 and soloist.

Anyone try this out? Or not recommended?

 

[jlemaster1957]

Has anyone added a tube buffer or preamp to their chain with Burson soloist?
I have a mac mini -> Gustard U18 -> Gustard R26 -> Burson Soloist 3X GT -> Burson Timekeepers 3XGT
I was playing with the idea of adding some "tube sound" by adding a tube buffer or preamp between the R26 and soloist.

Anyone try this out? Or not recommended?

I have thought of this as well, i.e. to use a less powerful tube pre-amp to drive the 3XGT. Tried my cheapo Douk Audio P1 (sucks, avoid), considered one driven by 300B such as Feliks Audio Envy (too expensive) Willsenton 300B, or even Schiit Freya+ with upgraded GE 6SN7 matched tubes --but again, 3XGT is maybe not the best pairing for such a pre-amp, since any signal must be routed via the MUSES72320 /V6 volume control circuit, as far as I am aware there is no (approved) way to bypass that as there is for an amp that has a pre-in /poweramp function, such as does the Soloist 3XP. For the 3xP, I think in poweramp mode any of the tube-based pre-amps mentioned (except the Douk) probably would work fine.

An alternative would be rather to use the 3XGT is not a poweramp at the end of the chain but rather as a pre-amp into a tube-based poweramp /speaker amp. . My Chain is Roon from MBP --> Sonore Optical Rendu streamer-> Yggdrasil + OG-> Burson 3XGT -> Susvara headphones, so specifically I aim to add/improve soundstage with Susvaras. Options considered for 3XGT to act as a pre-amp: Willsenton R8 (likely not enough power), Willsenton 8800i (too heavy), Mytek Brooklyn Amp+ (not tube based, but reputedly has a nice, open stage and very clear). There are a lot of pre-cautions to take using a power/speaker amp for headphone listening, so caveat emptor.

 

[mikeypas]

I have thought of this as well, i.e. to use a less powerful tube pre-amp to drive the 3XGT. Tried my cheapo Douk Audio P1 (sucks, avoid), considered one driven by 300B such as Feliks Audio Envy (too expensive) Willsenton 300B, or even Schiit Freya+ with upgraded GE 6SN7 matched tubes --but again, 3XGT is maybe not the best pairing for such a pre-amp, since any signal must be routed via the MUSES72320 /V6 volume control circuit, as far as I am aware there is no (approved) way to bypass that as there is for an amp that has a pre-in /poweramp function, such as does the Soloist 3XP. For the 3xP, I think in poweramp mode any of the tube-based pre-amps mentioned (except the Douk) probably would work fine.

An alternative would be rather to use the 3XGT is not a poweramp at the end of the chain but rather as a pre-amp into a tube-based poweramp /speaker amp. . My Chain is Roon from MBP --> Sonore Optical Rendu streamer-> Yggdrasil + OG-> Burson 3XGT -> Susvara headphones, so specifically I aim to add/improve soundstage with Susvaras. Options considered for 3XGT to act as a pre-amp: Willsenton R8 (likely not enough power), Willsenton 8800i (too heavy), Mytek Brooklyn Amp+ (not tube based, but reputedly has a nice, open stage and very clear). There are a lot of pre-cautions to take using a power/speaker amp for headphone listening, so caveat emptor.

I'm trying to keep the order of my chain (Burson Soloist 3XGT to Timekeepers 3XGT), so the tube preamp would go before the soloist and after the dac
Also, trying to keep everything balanced seems like it reduces most of the tube amps out there..
I did see a couple of tube preamps fully balanced with xlr input/output, but they are indeed pricey.
And many posts say that adding another preamp would likely just introduce distortion.. buying something sight unseen is very difficult.

 

[wrucewayne]

Is there somewhat of a general consensus on what DAC under 1k pairs well with the Soloist/Arya?

 

[jlemaster1957]

Is there somewhat of a general consensus on what DAC under 1k pairs well with the Soloist/Arya?

Had D90SE and it was …OK. D90SE will allow you to usample to hires 2.8 M Hz which it did nicely into the Soloist/Arya streaming from Roon. Sound was clean, clear if not as wide or deep a soundstage as some. Bass dynamics and detail retrieval were v good. I think I could have been happy with that pairing for a few years. As it happened, I upgraded to Yggdrasil OG + BURSON 3XGT 2023 -it’s a fair bit over $1k. But oh my, oh my it is glorious—- bass grip and impact, liquid, harmonically rich mids, spacious soundstage and imaging, detail retrieval and sparkle up top- —never mind. I understand that the Schiit BIFROST 2/64 will get you 90% of the way there and with soloist 3XP it’s probably plenty good enough and is under your target price.

 

[wrucewayne]

Confused if R2R or DS is the way to go with Soloist/Arya.

 

[Thetaburn]

Confused if R2R or DS is the way to go with Soloist/Arya.

If you like analytical than DS.

For more a more musical experience and soundstage depth, R2R.

 

[wrucewayne]

Got it. Just got a bit confused because people are saying DS DACs sound better with Soloist due to Soloist musicality

 

[idairyou]

Got it. Just got a bit confused because people are saying DS DACs sound better with Soloist due to Soloist musicality

When I used the Soloist as my daily driver, I preferred the Soloist with R2R, specifically the Musician Pegasus.

 

[Sam Spade]

Is there somewhat of a general consensus on what DAC under 1k pairs well with the Soloist/Arya?

Try chord mojo 2

 

[wrucewayne]

Yeah deciding between BF2, Ares, Pegasus. Tough to find reviews on Draco right now

 

[jlemaster1957]

Yeah deciding between BF2, Ares, Pegasus. Tough to find reviews on Draco right now

It’s a pity you can’t try all these out on audition- Lachlan Fennen reviewed BF2 Pegasus Pontus 2 and Yggdrasil, worth a viewing I thought - helped with my decision anyway. I believe he used the 3xGT as the amp for this review. Ares 12th is recently much improved and that one is not included though Pontus 2 is a step above that in the Denafrips line-up so possibly comparable.