[LeMoviedave]

Interesting. I was told that they are the same amp, just with or without the extra bells and whistles.

 

[MacedonianHero]

Interesting. I was told that they are the same amp, just with or without the extra bells and whistles.

Funny, I found the V280 had a hotter top end and the V281 had too much bloom down low. If they were just bells and whistles, they made quite a difference.

 

[LeMoviedave]

Well, I will just have to buy both and find out!

 

[hikaru12]

Empyrean, LCD-3 and Z1R. I love them with the GS-X mini.

I got an LCD 3 too. What do you like about it the pairing?

 

[MacedonianHero]

I got an LCD 3 too. What do you like about it the pairing?

Like all other headphones I've thrown at the GS-X mini, I get an amazing presentation that is revealing, detailed and with a welcomed hint of some warmth. Just one very special amplifier. Very transparent and detailed and musical all at the same time.

 

[mixman]

It's funny cause when you hear the Mini without comparing it to other amps it just sounds neutral, and you don't necessarily hear any warmth.

 

[MacedonianHero]

It's funny cause when you hear the Mini without comparing it to other amps it just sounds neutral, and you don't necessarily hear any warmth.

Good point.

 

[KennyDow]

Today I brought my HD800 to the headphone shop in Sydney (great thanks to the AddictedtoAudio staff there!).
And spent three hours A/B testing between the Burson 3X Conductor Ref. and GS-X mini, both of them are new units just arriving the shop.

At first, it was:

• Schiit Gungnir (balanced) -> GS-X mini (DACT) -> HD800 (GS-X)
• Burson 3x Ref (balanced) -> HD800 (Burson)

But later on, I connect the DAC output of Burson to GS-X mini as a direct comparison of the headphone amplification.

Musical wise, I would say Burson tends to be tube sounding, the treble reminds me of the lovely Telefunken sweetness which polish the violin elegantly.
GS-X mini is more straight forward and a little bit fatigued, I would say I prefer the treble presentation in Burson than GS-X.
Mid is where GS-X surprised me, the mid from GS-X has more rhythm and textural than Burson. The mid of the vocal and violin just more vivid than what Burson is offering.
For the bass, GS-X is clearly the winner here. While both of them drive and control the HD800 with authorities, GS-X just gives a tighter touch at the end of nodes. Brilliant!!

Interestingly, when connecting Burson's DAC output to gs-x for direct comparison of the headphone amplification, the soundstage is smaller on gs-x. Burson does have noticeable spacier soundstage than gs-x.
Both units are great and have merit in music that you will miss it so much when you pick one from another. I would say GS-X mini is more exciting and Burson is more musical.

Now I am at home wondering which one shall I pick.....this is really a hard choice.
But I believe whether unit I pick, I will be a happy person for a long time


p.s What I really don't like Burson 3x Ref is that they come with the analog input, but to make the volume control in pure digital, Burson convert the analog input to digital using an ADC which is kinda stupid. This would be a problem for people who use a turntable and want full analog signal experience.

 

[LeMoviedave]

Today I brought my HD800 to the headphone shop in Sydney (great thanks to the AddictedtoAudio staff there!).
And spent three hours A/B testing between the Burson 3X Conductor Ref. and GS-X mini, both of them are new units just arriving the shop.

At first, it was:

• Schiit Gungnir (balanced) -> GS-X mini (DACT) -> HD800 (GS-X)
• Burson 3x Ref (balanced) -> HD800 (Burson)

But later on, I connect the DAC output of Burson to GS-X mini as a direct comparison of the headphone amplification.

Musical wise, I would say Burson tends to be tube sounding, the treble reminds me of the lovely Telefunken sweetness which polish the violin elegantly.
GS-X mini is more straight forward and a little bit fatigued, I would say I prefer the treble presentation in Burson than GS-X.
Mid is where GS-X surprised me, the mid from GS-X has more rhythm and textural than Burson. The mid of the vocal and violin just more vivid than what Burson is offering.
For the bass, GS-X is clearly the winner here. While both of them drive and control the HD800 with authorities, GS-X just gives a tighter touch at the end of nodes. Brilliant!!

Interestingly, when connecting Burson's DAC output to gs-x for direct comparison of the headphone amplification, the soundstage is smaller on gs-x. Burson does have noticeable spacier soundstage than gs-x.
Both units are great and have merit in music that you will miss it so much when you pick one from another. I would say GS-X mini is more exciting and Burson is more musical.

Now I am at home wondering which one shall I pick.....this is really a hard choice.
But I believe whether unit I pick, I will be a happy person for a long time


p.s What I really don't like Burson 3x Ref is that they come with the analog input, but to make the volume control in pure digital, Burson convert the analog input to digital using an ADC which is kinda stupid. This would be a problem for people who use a turntable and want full analog signal experience.

Thanks for your impressions! Was it the Gungnir multibit, out of curiosity?

 

[KennyDow]

Thanks for your impressions! Was it the Gungnir multibit, out of curiosity?

It was a Gungnir DS version instead of multibit. The Gungnir DS is a little bit too clean for my taste when it comes with the gs-x mini.
just my 2cents

 

[Slim1970]

Today I brought my HD800 to the headphone shop in Sydney (great thanks to the AddictedtoAudio staff there!).
And spent three hours A/B testing between the Burson 3X Conductor Ref. and GS-X mini, both of them are new units just arriving the shop.

At first, it was:

• Schiit Gungnir (balanced) -> GS-X mini (DACT) -> HD800 (GS-X)
• Burson 3x Ref (balanced) -> HD800 (Burson)

But later on, I connect the DAC output of Burson to GS-X mini as a direct comparison of the headphone amplification.

Musical wise, I would say Burson tends to be tube sounding, the treble reminds me of the lovely Telefunken sweetness which polish the violin elegantly.
GS-X mini is more straight forward and a little bit fatigued, I would say I prefer the treble presentation in Burson than GS-X.
Mid is where GS-X surprised me, the mid from GS-X has more rhythm and textural than Burson. The mid of the vocal and violin just more vivid than what Burson is offering.
For the bass, GS-X is clearly the winner here. While both of them drive and control the HD800 with authorities, GS-X just gives a tighter touch at the end of nodes. Brilliant!!

Interestingly, when connecting Burson's DAC output to gs-x for direct comparison of the headphone amplification, the soundstage is smaller on gs-x. Burson does have noticeable spacier soundstage than gs-x.
Both units are great and have merit in music that you will miss it so much when you pick one from another. I would say GS-X mini is more exciting and Burson is more musical.

Now I am at home wondering which one shall I pick.....this is really a hard choice.
But I believe whether unit I pick, I will be a happy person for a long time


p.s What I really don't like Burson 3x Ref is that they come with the analog input, but to make the volume control in pure digital, Burson convert the analog input to digital using an ADC which is kinda stupid. This would be a problem for people who use a turntable and want full analog signal experience.

I have the Burson 3XR and want to get a listen to the GSX-Mini. Your review at least gets me into the ballpark on what to expect from the GSX-Mini. I have the Sparkos Labs op-amps in mine, which improves the sound of the 3XR quite a bit. The 3XR is still musical but the technicalities gain a noticeable improvement as well.

 

[passernger10000]

Gotcha. Over the years? Quite a few. Most recently most of my amps have been tubes. But the Hugo 2 new can be had for about the same price or under and it's headphone amp is pretty comparable, for example. However, it's less warm in nature, slightly less engaging, and FAR less powerful than the Mini. I prefer it overall quite a bit.

But exact price range aside, I've had plenty of SS/Tube amps much more expensive that the Mini feels on par with. I've already said multiple times in this thread how much of a value/bargain the Mini is, imo it could sale for $500-$1k more if not higher.

I think both the Burson and the Mini are more than I want to spend on an amp, I know it’s Hifi, but seem supremely overpriced.

 

[thecrow]

Today I brought my HD800 to the headphone shop in Sydney (great thanks to the AddictedtoAudio staff there!).
And spent three hours A/B testing between the Burson 3X Conductor Ref. and GS-X mini, both of them are new units just arriving the shop.

At first, it was:

• Schiit Gungnir (balanced) -> GS-X mini (DACT) -> HD800 (GS-X)
• Burson 3x Ref (balanced) -> HD800 (Burson)

But later on, I connect the DAC output of Burson to GS-X mini as a direct comparison of the headphone amplification.

Musical wise, I would say Burson tends to be tube sounding, the treble reminds me of the lovely Telefunken sweetness which polish the violin elegantly.
GS-X mini is more straight forward and a little bit fatigued, I would say I prefer the treble presentation in Burson than GS-X.
Mid is where GS-X surprised me, the mid from GS-X has more rhythm and textural than Burson. The mid of the vocal and violin just more vivid than what Burson is offering.
For the bass, GS-X is clearly the winner here. While both of them drive and control the HD800 with authorities, GS-X just gives a tighter touch at the end of nodes. Brilliant!!

Interestingly, when connecting Burson's DAC output to gs-x for direct comparison of the headphone amplification, the soundstage is smaller on gs-x. Burson does have noticeable spacier soundstage than gs-x.
Both units are great and have merit in music that you will miss it so much when you pick one from another. I would say GS-X mini is more exciting and Burson is more musical.

Now I am at home wondering which one shall I pick.....this is really a hard choice.
But I believe whether unit I pick, I will be a happy person for a long time


p.s What I really don't like Burson 3x Ref is that they come with the analog input, but to make the volume control in pure digital, Burson convert the analog input to digital using an ADC which is kinda stupid. This would be a problem for people who use a turntable and want full analog signal experience.

Out of curiousity, being a sydney sider, did they have an alo studio six and/or a woo wa5 in there (for demoing too)?

 

[number1sixerfan]

I think both the Burson and the Mini are more than I want to spend on an amp, I know it’s Hifi, but seem supremely overpriced.

I think that's fine if you have a price range you want to stick to, there's no problem with that. I just wouldn't at all call the mini supremely overpriced.. given it's performance and power it definitely is not. But again, understand not wanting to spend thousands on an amp.

 

[KaiserTK]

I borrowed a friend’s Arya today, and unfortunately the system here (Winyl>ifi Pro iDSD>GSX mini>Arya) is definitely not for me. I found it lacked depth, had some unnatural timbre, and overall un-engaging. That being said, the Arya paired very nicely with the ADI-2>IHA-6.