[Andrew_WOT]

Trying to decide between these two, anybody compared both?

 

[fabio-fi]

I've seen comparisons of the Auditor vs HA160, but not with the Soloist. What kind of sound do you like? what about asking on the Soloist thread? 

 

[Asr]

I've owned both, didn't really like either of them, though the Soloist overall I'd say is a more versatile amp as it can effectively drive low-impedance to high-impedance headphones, plus orthos. The Auditor was much more limited and couldn't drive low-impedance headphones well at all. It was only good with the Beyerdynamic T1 which at 600 Ohms matched well with its highest output power at that impedance. Neither are exactly a good HeadAmp replacement either, IMO (especially one with the Dynalo+ modules).
 
If you have any specific questions about either amp, just ask.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

  I've owned both, didn't really like either of them, though the Soloist overall I'd say is a more versatile amp as it can effectively drive low-impedance to high-impedance headphones, plus orthos. The Auditor was much more limited and couldn't drive low-impedance headphones well at all. It was only good with the Beyerdynamic T1 which at 600 Ohms matched well with its highest output power at that impedance. Neither are exactly a good HeadAmp replacement either, IMO (especially one with the Dynalo+ modules).
 
If you have any specific questions about either amp, just ask.

LOL, no, God forbid, you can only pry GS-1 with new modules from my cold, dead fingers.

I am looking for the amp for my secondary system, as Justin stopped making GS-1, the only closest SE option on the market is Soloist, as it seems.
 
There is a Auditor with Soloist SL comparison
http://www.head-fi.org/t/649113/new-burson-soloist-sl-headphone-amp/165#post_9795253
 
I think I'll skip on Auditor then. Should I consider anything else, besides Soloist, V200 seems to be warmish/colored and I am really after "wire with the gain" kind of amp.
 
Thanks for all the replies.

 

[Asr]

I got to compare the Soloist to the HeadAmp GS-X MK2 in unbalanced mode (and have a review in progress of those results) and while the two weren't identical-sounding, they certainly had an overall sonic similarity. I'd imagine that the Soloist SL would retain some of that sound as well - plus it certainly looks like a better value on paper if you don't need so many features.
 
The Soloist SL would probably be one of my personal short-list options if I needed a "budget" amp to drive a variety of headphones that included low-impedance efficient types plus orthos, at least if I wanted to stick to solid-state amps.

 

[preproman]

Andrew,  Have you looked at any of the Audio-GD options?  
 
I wonder if the Solosit SL would drive the ADs well?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

  Andrew,  Have you looked at any of the Audio-GD options?  
 
I wonder if the Solosit SL would drive the ADs well?

Nope, not a big fan of Kingwa's overcomplicated designs and execution.
I went after Soloist, non SL. Hope it'll work.

 

[formula1]

  Andrew,  Have you looked at any of the Audio-GD options?  
 
I wonder if the Solosit SL would drive the ADs well?

 
You mean the Alpha dogs right? 
 
@Andrew, here in Germany we have the chance to try the auditor in most places. Not of my liking, and went with the conductor which have the same amp of the soloist and i felt it has better dynamics overall. 

 

[preproman]

   
You mean the Alpha dogs right? 
 

 
Yup..

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Thank you all, guys!

Soloist it is, didn't like Conductor much but that's because of the DAC section, it was pretty sour to my taste.

 

[preproman]

  Thank you all, guys!

Soloist it is, didn't like Conductor much but that's because of the DAC section, it was pretty sour to my taste.

So you never tried the amp with other DACs?

 

[Andrew_WOT]

 

  Thank you all, guys!

Soloist it is, didn't like Conductor much but that's because of the DAC section, it was pretty sour to my taste.

So you never tried the amp with other DACs?

Nope, guess the whole thing was quite bad for me to bother.

 

[Andrew_WOT]

Any thoughts on AURALiC Taurus MKII. This one looks like a nice alternative to GS-X. 6 Moons called it more refined Burson, but they compared to HA-160, which is inferior to new Burson offerings.