Burson Soloist 3XP Review (Headphone Amp)

[SlothRock]

Yeah, that's just another problem to add to the others.......not to mention the philosophy of messing with opamps seems unnecessary as a starter.

Are there any actual reports of a Burson blowing up someone’s headphones? I agree it’s a concern (and I have their 3x GT model) but there are tons of Bursons out there and I don’t think I’ve seen an actual case where the amp has blown up someone’s headphones so far….

 

[asrUser]

Are there any actual reports of a Burson blowing up someone’s headphones? I agree it’s a concern (and I have their 3x GT model) but there are tons of Bursons out there and I don’t think I’ve seen an actual case where the amp has blown up someone’s headphones so far….

Here it is

 

[SlothRock]

Here it is

Faulty op amp that didn’t harm the headphones and Burson replaced as referenced by the comments in the video. Scary sound? You bet your ass. DC offset that blew up the headphones? Not sure.

 

[dtaylo1066]

Wow, I have never listened to a Burson component, but after this test Burson moves to the "avoid" category.

 

[Funnyjelo]

Wow, I have never listened to a Burson component, but after this test Burson moves to the "avoid" category.

It sounds good. Just a high noise floor. Nothing wrong otherwise really. Someone mentioned its kind of like a tube amp and that actually seems to fit my experience too.

 

[PeteL]

True. The DC offset is the thing that scares me the most about accidentally damaging my headphones but if this measures so poorly yet there is no audible distortion present, why does that end up mattering?

I agree that proper protection circuitry ans DC blocking circuitry is mandatory at this price point.

 

[Garrincha]

True that, but theres also the counter part to that, why not just do a good permorming amp, like topping, smsl and so many others have demonstrated its possible and just create a defeatable filter that "rounds" the tonality lowering the highs and lows (which is the real difference between a linear amp and this) and an analog second harmonic distortion generator that you can set to your liking and voila, you have an amp that does it all, has a sound signature you can tailor to your brand and has actual features, not constrains, that you can justify its price on.

I agree and there might be a market for it. I don't get it, but many (in my eyes ignorant) audiophiles think and desire that an amp has a "sound". So with this decive they could create it, if they want to. They should still be considered ignorant and stupid, though.

 

[ku1185]

It's expensive, it's hot, controls are quirky, can potentially damage headphones, audible noise floor on certain gains with certain headphones, and expensive. Love the sound though.

 

[Funnyjelo]

It's expensive, it's hot, controls are quirky, can potentially damage headphones, audible noise floor on certain gains with certain headphones, and expensive. Love the sound though.

its a weird hobby isnt it. I can legitmately say this is true for me. I bought special rubber feet so it wouldnt sit flush on my shelf. BUT, it makes my agrons really pump.
I bought the Burson before I really knew about measurements. I wouldnt make the purchase again. I get more out of headphones than I do headphone amps. My topping a30 is a great cheap amp althought I wish I bought the a90 so I could use the preamp functions better.

 

[amirm]

Those are machine tool (MT) sockets for the opamps.
You line up one side of the pins, then rock the other side into place, squeezing just enough to make them fit. Easy peasy if you do hundreds per day.

I have used a ton of these but never seen them mate so poorly. They are flat out too loose. The pins on the supplied JRC opamps were also very flimsy (much more so than normal) making this task even more difficult.

 

[trl]

I had the bigger brother, the 3X Reference, and I really loved the design and the inside guts as well. The THD+N measured was pretty much the same as Amir's, although with OPA1612 placed in I/V I was able to gain few % in the end.

With CV2+ and C3X I was able to literally drive 8-Ohms speakers with a loud-enough volume (9W/8Ohms) for a small bedroom, so quit a beefy output stage and power supply. Looking forward to see a Burson DAC/headamp having better measurements.

Meanwhile, feel free to check the internals, with lot of details about chips and other parts, here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-conductor-3x.24156/reviews#review-23194.

 

[BrokenEnglishGuy]

I had the bigger brother, the 3X Reference, and I really loved the design and the inside guts as well. The THD+N measured was pretty much the same as Amir's, although with OPA1612 placed in I/V I was able to gain few % in the end.

With CV2+ and C3X I was able to literally drive 8-Ohms speakers with a loud-enough volume (9W/8Ohms) for a small bedroom, so quit a beefy output stage and power supply. Looking forward to see a Burson DAC/headamp having better measurements.

Meanwhile, feel free to check the internals, with lot of details about chips and other parts, here: https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/burson-conductor-3x.24156/reviews#review-23194.

If i remember well the cv2+ had 98dB of sinad?

 

[Eldus]

Where are the DC offset pots?

 

[amirm]

Added measurements for the fixed gain mode to the review. It definitely cleans up its response. Here is the dashboard for example:

See the review for the rest of the tests.

 

[solderdude]

Where are the DC offset pots?

They are the blue thingies (multiturn pots) the copper points is where the screwdriver goes.
When indeed the DC offset wanders about during warm up they should be (factory set) at operating temperature.
Burson should have gone for DC servo for several reasons though.

 

[solderdude]

the fixed gain mode

Does this mode bypass the volume control ?

 

[amirm]

Does this mode bypass the volume control ?

Yes. You can't change the gain setting either (stuck in high).

 

[solderdude]

Ah, so it looks like the volume control/gain circuit is responsible for the most part of the generated distortion.
The weird low/medium/high gain behavior suggested as much. Probably the implementation of the volume control IC rather than the chip itself.
Measurements in the 'fixed mode' is output stage only.

 

[Wegi76]

Just tried the bypass mode. For comfortable listening levels I have to reduce the volume on the ADI2 DAC to about -40dBr (having the DAC set to -5dBu output levels @ 0dBFS, so I guess that means -45dB) This is with Aryas and balanced out comparable levels. HD660S comfy levels are closer to -50dBr.

Don`t beat me for this question, but does it make a real world difference in if you throw a "stong" signal to the amp and have it amplify it "mildly" or if have the amp set to full gaz (bypass mode) and feed it with a much weaker signal? I guess Amirs chart answers this with a "No" and I also use a short, balanced connection between the ADI2 and the amp so that there should not be any interferences but maybe someone can comment on that. Thank you.

 

[solderdude]

For technical best performance use the bypass mode and control the volume of the source digitally.

One mistake though and the connected headphone might blast at full power... don't know if this is desirable with sensitive headphones and the exact reason for Burson to do the volume control bit in 3 'ranges', alas at the, unnecessary when well implemented which it is not, expense of technical performance. That may well not be an audible issue though.