[llamaluv]

I think burn in helps it sound a bit less dark. [...]

Let us know if you have heard them out of speaker amps as they seem very efficient already and not sure how much more performance one can get. They run amazing well on my Dave + Farad3 setup.

Oh, I got mine used so is already well-worn-in.

It actually sounds great of the the speaker amp (Pass Labs X150.8, 150 watts), which I tried for the first time for about an hour the other day. I have more of a usable range with the pre-amp's volume knob than I was expecting (The amp has 26dB of gain, which is pretty much the typical amount of gain for an amp of its power class).

There's no change in tonality, which is good in the sense that sometimes speaker amps will mess with a headphone's tonality in unexpected (undesired) ways.

Tonality aside, the X150.8 imparts a similar character to anything that I plug into it, such that the first time I tried it, my immediate thought was that -- strange as it is to say -- it reminded me of the Utopia. Extra dynamic ("explosive" is the word that comes to mind). And the soundstage is extra grand and open with anything with a lot of air and reverb and stuff.

The heat of this amp is no fun in the middle of the summer though, lol. But I imagine I will use the Sollitaire P much more with it once it cools down at least a few degrees

 

[Roasty]

I definitely prefer the P on speaker amp over the wa33/ferrum stack.

 

[musicman59]

Good question about the stock cable. From the product page:

"We use pure OFC (Oxygen Free Copper) as a base and coat the conductors with pure silver. "​

So far, I've quite liked the XLR stock cable with my Bricasti M3h for its fullness, relative warmth, and depth.

In contrast, the single-ended Arctic Cables silver cable I have sounds pretty underwhelming, and I usually prefer pure silver, especially with planars. It's probably more detailed, but it doesn't even matter because it sounds kind of flat.

But again, one is using the amp's XLR output, and the other single-ended.

I'm currently waiting on getting the silver cable reterminated to XLR. Though I'm torn over whether I want the results to sound better, or not. If it does sound better, that would be a major strike against the DAC/amp's single-ended output, haha.

Remember even that the P are efficient they still like power and the balance output of the M3h has double the power compared to the single ended output.

I use a lot my M3h with the Ultrasone Edition 15. With these headphones there is not much of a difference between balanced and single ended but in the case of the Susvara the balanced is a must to drive them.

 

[ThanatosVI]

I run my Solitaire P directly from the Speakertaps of my PA2000R.

Sounds great togrther but I don’t have a capable 2nd solid state for meaningful comparisons

Rest assured, the Sol P doesn't need the power of a speaker amp at all, however if you have a high quality speaker amp with black background! then the Solitaire-P will sound amazing on it

 

[FooFighter]

Sounds we are drifting into a Susvara thread discussion about what is a fully driven pairing.
In case of the SolPs I don't think it's needed besides different signatures depending on current / frequency response. What I found remarkable between different amp pairings is stage size like more narrow but deep on Ferrum OOR, even smaller on a DAP RS6, very wide on HA200 but oval shaped to the sides with the built-in DAC in contrast to a connected Holo Spring 3 where it's more circular, deeper

 

[Slim1970]

Sounds we are drifting into a Susvara thread discussion about what is a fully driven pairing.
In case of the SolPs I don't think it's needed besides different signatures depending on current / frequency response. What I found remarkable between different amp pairings is stage size like more narrow but deep on Ferrum OOR, even smaller on a DAP RS6, very wide on HA200 but oval shaped to the sides with the built-in DAC in contrast to a connected Holo Spring 3 where it's more circular, deeper

Yes, let’s not turn this thread into a discussion about amps. In no way are the Solitaire P’s difficult to drive. I’ve run mine direct out of my Dave and lately out of Burson Soloist 3X GT with success. They do like power but nearly the power that’s needed to drive the Susvara’s.

 

[musicman59]

I was not saying they required high power like the Susvara to be driven properly but they do like power.

Just mentioned the Susvara to reference the difference in power of the Bricasti M3h between single ended and balanced outputs.

I use my Sol P with my Pathos Inpol Ear and PrimaLuna HP and they sound fantastic with both.

 

[Somatic]

SolP is efficient and runs great off the headphone amp on the Dave but wondering if anyone has run it off AHB2? I am planning to get one again for my Susvara's. Or has anyone powered the SolP off speaker amps? Anymore performance delta left or just loss of transparency and different amp flavor due to added distortion etc. Thanks for the tips.

 

[ufospls2]

SolP is efficient and runs great off the headphone amp on the Dave but wondering if anyone has run it off AHB2? I am planning to get one again for my Susvara's. Or has anyone powered the SolP off speaker amps? Anymore performance delta left or just loss of transparency and different amp flavor due to added distortion etc. Thanks for the tips.

I have. It absolutely doesn't need it, as you know, it can be run off low powered amps very well. With that being said, it has sounded best to me off my Boulder, but I think that is more a question of amp quality, than amp power.

Give a go, can't hurt to try.

 

[betula]

To me the Solitaire Ps are the etalon of a perfect headphone which then you can tweak by different choices depending on your taste.

More bass and bass precision? Abyss 1266.
Slightly lesser technical accuracy but more of that emotionally engaging 'musical' factor? Meze Elite.
Space and airiness? HE-1000SE.
Susvara? Let's test it on a well-matched system...

Yet the Soli P sounds pretty much perfect on the Chord Dave. It is very hard to criticise this sound. Sure the build and look could use some improvements..

I guess I could bring up a few more examples, but the point is the Soli P are etalon level headphones. The only deviation from this kind of perfection is personal taste.

 

[Slim1970]

To me the Solitaire Ps are the etalon of a perfect headphone which then you can tweak by different choices depending on your taste.

More bass and bass precision? Abyss 1266.
Slightly lesser technical accuracy but more of that emotionally engaging 'musical' factor? Meze Elite.
Space and airiness? HE-1000SE.
Susvara? Let's test it on a well-matched system...

Yet the Soli P sounds pretty much perfect on the Chord Dave. It is very hard to criticise this sound. Sure the build and look could use some improvements..

I guess I could bring up a few more examples, but the point is the Soli P are etalon level headphones. The only deviation from this kind of perfection is personal taste.

Yes, this is why they are at the top of my collection. With a tweak here and there to their sound profile they encompass everything musically I like in a headphone.

 

[Somatic]

Ok, I'm an idiot. Haven't been liking the SolP as much as before. Felt a little sibilant at times and the mids too recessed for my liking. I'm not a fan of the UW pads, FYI.

So, I'm packing up to sell them at a loss and I notice the UW pads were not matching. Somehow I left one of the UW pads on the headphone and stock on the other driver.

Once I corrected the issue and went fully to stock. They no longer sounded slightly sibilant, imaging got better and it all aligned again. Before I felt the Lavricable Grand was making them too sibilant. Now they sound perfect. Tried 90s hip hop again to see if the mids were too recessed and nope sound perfect.

Sorry for doubting the power of the SolP. Saved me several hundred dollars in loss.

 

[xenithon]

Ok, I'm an idiot. Haven't been liking the SolP as much as before. Felt a little sibilant at times and the mids too recessed for my liking. I'm not a fan of the UW pads, FYI.

So, I'm packing up to sell them at a loss and I notice the UW pads were not matching. Somehow I left one of the UW pads on the headphone and stock on the other driver.

Once I corrected the issue and went fully to stock. They no longer sounded slightly sibilant, imaging got better and it all aligned again. Before I felt the Lavricable Grand was making them too sibilant. Now they sound perfect. Tried 90s hip hop again to see if the mids were too recessed and nope sound perfect.

Sorry for doubting the power of the SolP. Saved me several hundred dollars in loss.

Hahaha - glad you found out before it was out the door!

I’m eyeing a Lavri cable too. Considering getting one with a headphone adapter to use with my Elite too.

 

[Somatic]

Hahaha - glad you found out before it was out the door!

I’m eyeing a Lavri cable too. Considering getting one with a headphone adapter to use with my Elite too.

I have several adapter cables from Sean over at affinityadapters. Lavri cable is dope if you feel stock SolP is slightly too dark.

 

[Dynamo5561]

Listened to a lot of different IEMs / headphones over the last days. Coming back to the Solitaire P feels like a relief. Pure enjoyment! Without a doubt my favorite at the moment.