I joined the Solaris 2020 club! I got it last month and have been lurking around this thread, reading your impressions and interesting discussions. I'm only on page 380 of this thread.
I started with the Polaris II and have been enjoying it for over half a year. Then I caught upgraditis and couldn't resist the beauty of the Solaris. Reading your impressions, mini reviews, and full reviews just got me more excited! So I finally bought it.
It now has about 200 hours on it. The burn-in period is real. In the first 50 hours, the sound seemed bloated and lacked the details and airy sound that I was expecting. At around 100 hours, the sound opened up a lot. The bass had the most significant change. It became tighter, deeper, and nicely textured. At about 150 hours, the most significant change was the treble. It calmed down a bit and was extra smooth, while maintaining that airy feel and great extension. Overall, I'm extremely satisfied with the Solaris 2020, and wish I got it sooner. The sound right now, at about 200 hours, is detailed, beautiful, powerful bass; lush and inviting mids; and sparkly airy treble that never sounds harsh or fatiguing. Basically, I concur with what most of you have said about the amazing music that the Solaris can convey.
The ear tips I have tried are:
Campfire Audio Marshmallow, Campfire Audio silicone, Final Type E, Symbio W (regular and Peel), JVC Spiral Dot, and AZLA XELASTEC. My favorites are
--- Marshmallow - Extremely comfortable; warm sound; but bass doesn't have that great impact and the treble is sometimes too smooth. Very good mids though.
--- Spiral Dot - Great sound with nice deep bass, but harder to get a good seal and sometimes I lose the seal after a while. I also have to insert deeper to get a good seal and that irritates my ears after about an hour.
--- Stock silicone - The ones I'm using now. Nicely balanced sound across the range. It has deep and detailed bass; the cleanest mids, and the most airy and extended treble. Also very comfortable for my ears.
I'm currently using it with the Chord Mojo and my sources are:
iPhone with iHeart internet radio in the morning --> Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter --> Solaris 2020.
iPhone with Apple Music or Qobuz the rest of the day --> Camera adapter --> Moon Audio Black Dragon USB --> Chord Mojo.
Desktop computer with JRiver or Qobuz --> Moon Audio Black Dragon USB --> Chord Mojo.
Aurender X100L (music server that's in my main speaker system) --> Moon Audio Black Dragon USB --> Chord Mojo.
I read in this thread that the Solaris pairs very well with the Sony WM1A, and I seem to have caught upgraditis again. I ordered the WM1A and will be receiving it in the next few days!
Question: I read that these earphones sound the best with a balanced cable on the WM1A, but it seems overkill to use the WM1A to listen to internet radio (I do that for a few hours in the morning). Is there such thing as a 3.5mm single-ended male to 4.4mm balanced female adapter? I want to use a balanced cable with the iPhone (Lightning-to-3.5mm adapter), so not have to change cables every morning.
I am totally stupid enough to buy blindly with no reviews , impressions just on how it looks. Fcukme.
