Burson Soloist 3XP Review (Headphone Amp)

[respice finem]

And better measured performance out of it, if you're still looking for that sort of thing at this point.

Yes, but not that much (i have both):

RME ADI-2 FS Version 2 DAC and Headphone Amp Review

This is a review and detailed measurements of the updated version 2 of the RME ADI-2 FS DAC and headphone amplifier. It was kindly sent to me by the company. The cost us US $1,149. The ADI-2 looks very nice in black with a bright, super responsive display (doesn't come out as well in the...

www.audiosciencereview.com

Shenzhenaudio Topping EX5 Review (DAC and Headphone Amplifier)

This is a review and detailed measurements of the Topping EX5 produced exclusively for Shenzhenaudio. The EX5 is slated to cost US $349.99 which it is released. The sample I have is from production run but is awaiting the manual for formal shipments. It was sent to me by Shenzhenaudio. The...

www.audiosciencereview.com

And, last but not least, both also work as DAC/preamp...

 

[Veri]

Not too impressed with this Burson..

 

[Mario Sanchez]

L7AudioLabs did a measurement of a Burson here:

Measurements of Burson Soloist 3X HeadphoneAmp - L7Audiolab

台式设备 前阵子在网上看到一款外观颇为精致的耳放 Burson Soloist 3X 因为我身边的朋友都没有购买，所以经过联系经销商之后从经销商处借得了这款耳放来进行测量

www.l7audiolab.com

and somebody in the comment said something among the lines of "oh but the relatively high 2nd harmonic is just a minor chord on top of source material"
It gets amusing...

Back to the product itself, for $1200 I could buy a lot more than this, I see neither craftsmanship in appearance nor superior measured performance, so I guess a hard pass.

 

[Jimbob54]

About as expected but I also suspect the picture gets even worse if you were to measure one of the much vaunted dac/ amp combos from the conductor range.

 

[restorer-john]

So why do they label the PCB socket MIC2? And picture a headphone with a mic on it?

Gotta agree with Amir on the front panel. It's putrid. Not even Topping can mess up horizontal alignment that badly.

 

[beefkabob]

Just because a proposed solution to a problem seems like an amazing idea doesn't mean it'll actually work for shit. That's what I thought upon seeing this horrid mess of a headphone amp.

 

[Veri]

They've shown with the FUN review they can do a pretty proper amp if they want to though. Guess they went full "NFB" nonsense with the Soloist.

 

[Metronomy]

Incredible I would never have said that instrumentally it was so far behind, really a surprise.

 

[solderdude]

So why do they label the PCB socket MIC2? And picture a headphone with a mic on it?

The microphone part of the signal from a headset is 'forwarded' to a second 3.5mm on the rear. That can be connected to a mic input on a device that has this.

 

[Wegi76]

From the (translated) l7audiolabs article linked above:

Tips for use: Because the output DC of this earphone is relatively high before the warm-up is completed, it is recommended that players do not plug in the earphones within the first 10-15 minutes when the earphone is turned on. (Because it is a discrete device, I am not sure if it is unique to this individual) The preamp mode is basically similar. It is recommended that users wait until the warm-up is completed (more than 10 minutes) before turning on the power.

I notice quite a loud "plop" when connecting headphones to this amp and guess that`s because of DC offset.

@amirm Any chance that you repeat these DC voltage measurements over time after the unit is being switched on? (check last three graphs in the L7audiolabs test https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/burson-soloist-3x/)

 

[Funnyjelo]

It looks almost like a paradigm. The more a brand is respected in certain circles and the more the price is up, the harder it fails on the measurements.

I bought it because they are an Aussie company. Sounds silly but if I was buying a silly amp I will support Australia. The sound quality isn't as bad as the numbers suggest. But yeah sensitive headphones are a no.

 

[Vict0r]

It's not exactly broken, so I guess it's not terrible. It looks awful, though. Enough power to damage your hearing, enough ugly to damage your sight.

 

[Snoopy]

Reading the Burson webpage it seems a good hobby project for a teenager. Can have the loudest amp around and it's class A with roll able OP amps. Currently selling in USA for $1200.00 + tax.

In the EU it's 1500 USD including tax. Kinda crazy compared to what you get for this money from Other brands.

I'm hoping that the new RME DAC with the balanced headphone output will cost less.

 

[Wegi76]

It's not exactly broken, so I guess it's not terrible. It looks awful, though. Enough power to damage your hearing, enough ugly to damage your sight.

From a aesthetic point of view I can`t complain: All metal & precisely machined case, massive frontplate, crisp & high contrast OLED Display, big & tactile volume knob, matching remote...

Not so great: Takes ages to do big adjustments to the volume (no accelaration, as Amir mentined too), really audible hiss with sensitive headphone on high gain, "plop" noise when connecting phones. My unit came with an empty remote battery and an op-amp died weeks after purchase. I`m happy that the headphones survived this...

To my ears it sounds absolutely fine btw... Have it set to about 70 on mid gain and use my RME ADI2 DAC to adjust the volume for different headphones from there. Will problably change to high after reading the test, and set a lower output level on the ADI2 to compensate if needed...

 

[3125b]

at this point you might as well just buy a clean power amp. Noise performance of this is terrible as well.

 

[Lupin]

Well another model from a brand that is highly regarded by subjective audiophiles that doesn't hold up when looking at objective performance... somehow it doesn't even surprise me anymore.

I'm certain this review will not be popular with the subjectivists and I'm sure enough of them will pop-up in several places to defend Burson with their usual excuses and outlandish reasoning.

 

[solderdude]

whispers....
It shows that for amps to get high praise from audiophiles you really don't need low distortion amps but merely a good story and positive reviews in the 'hifi press..

 

[Jimbob54]

whispers....
It shows that for amps to get high praise from audiophiles you really don't need low distortion amps but merely a good story and positive reviews in the 'hifi press..

*and lots of powwwwwwerrrrrrr specs

 

[HarmonicTHD]

From the (translated) l7audiolabs article linked above:



I notice quite a loud "plop" when connecting headphones to this amp and guess that`s because of DC offset.

@amirm Any chance that you repeat these DC voltage measurements over time after the unit is being switched on? (check last three graphs in the L7audiolabs test https://www.l7audiolab.com/f/burson-soloist-3x/)

It is poor engineering that one even have to worry about DC offset especially of this magnitude. SOTA devices have (faster working) compensation circuits.

 

[solderdude]

The DC offset issue is indeed nothing but poor engineering. Especially for sensitive IEM's that can be connected. These are limited to excess power (in the Low gain position) but the DC offset, most likely, would come from the discrete output stage.

A simple DC servo circuit would have prevented this.