🔷 Burson Soloist 3X

Alfredo3001 · November 22, 2021, 4:05pm

Guys I need some advice here. I’m currently running the BF2 to the G111 and RNHP. I’m looking for this amp as my endgame SS Amp. I’m wondering what to expect going from 500$ bracket to the 1000+.
I thinking of getting it from headphones.com with the 3A super charger.

I might not need this amp power in the near future(plan to buy t1.3nd again).

What I like about the G111 is the wide soundstage and bass. With the RNHP the micro detail, timber and engaging factor.

My current cans are t1.2nd, hd800s, dt900, tygr (selling).

Pokrog · November 22, 2021, 4:19pm

The best I’ve personally ever heard the 800s and t1.2 on is the soloist if that helps.

Alfredo3001 · November 22, 2021, 4:24pm

Thanks! I’m a little hesitant about the price jump. But, this BF deals might close the deal.

hifiDJ · November 22, 2021, 6:46pm

If your main cans are the 800s I’d look at a questyle cma800r. I haven’t heard them personally but that amp is known to have great synergy w/ them (hence the name). Not sure how they’d fair w/ the other hps though. There’s one on sale used right now if you’re quick about it…

Alfredo3001 · November 22, 2021, 7:20pm

Thanks!
the Hd800s is not my main can. I want to give them a try with tubes before selling them.

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 8:57pm

Hey guys, here are some of my initial impressions when comparing the Soloist 3X GT vs the Soloist 3XP. I may provide more of my thoughts later as I am still continuing to test some of the features and other headphones I own.

Soloist 3X GT vs Soloist 3XP (Using both with their super chargers)

Listened on:
NEW Meze Liric headphone
Low gain on Soloist 3X GT at 20
Medium gain on Soloist 3XP at 25

Thieaudio Oracle IEMs
Low gain on Soloist 3X GT at 20 (slight hiss sound from amp)
Medium gain on Soloist 3XP at 75

Equipment:
Topping 90se DAC into ONE Little Bear to switched back and fourth between amps

Songs Used:
Feeling Good by Michael Buble (Vocal testing)
Six Cold Feet by Hugh Laurie (Vocal testing)
We’ve Just Begun by Sinne Eeg & The Danish Radio Big Band (Vocals and treble)
Bubbles (Soundstage and low end)

Soundstage:
Sounds pretty much the same to me otherwise
(Crossfeed set to medium) It is more spacious with the Soloist 3X GT. Its a bit more rounded than the Soloist 3XP.

Vocals:
Sound the same to me on both. If there is a difference it is very slight in that the Soloist 3XP could be ever so slightly harsh (very subtle here though)… but this is nit picking if anything.

Low end:
There is a touch more in bass on the Soloist GT. But both are really solid.

Treble:
It is a bit smoother on the Soloist GT

Soloist GT - Other Improvements:

There is no popping noise when I connect the XLR connection to my headphones on the GT (This will stop on the regular soloist but it needs time to warm up. Around 5 minutes or so.)
The RCA left, right and sub out have made my desktop come alive. It sounds really smooth and enjoyable
Lots of headroom for driving any headphone you own. (I kept pretty much everything on low gain except the HE6se v2 and the DT800 at high gain. It was around 20)
Crossfeed is pretty good. But only on low or medium. I didn’t really care for it on high gain as it was a bit too much. It does open up the stage a bit. (Can also depend on the song as well)

Issues:
One gripe I have on the Soloist GT is the knob. While it is nice that it is larger, it also has a problem where it is a bit too sensitive. It can be frustrating when you are trying to change the gain or crossfeed and it selects a different option. It becomes a game that no one really enjoys playing lol.

Other thoughts:
The Soloist GT has a bit too much probably for most IEMs seeing as there was a hissing sound and was around 20 on the volume with the Oracles. (Crossfeed feature on the Soloist GT once again made this enjoyable when using it on an IEM. It gives more of that outside of your head open stage which usually IEMs don’t really provide.)

Final Thoughts
So I know Passion for Sound said that the unit is “cleaner, smoother, spacious and tonality accurate amp”… I think take this with a grain of salt as from what I am hearing they are really rather similar in their performance IMO. If any thing these differences are ever so slight. I would say that both amps do a great job and I don’t see myself parting with either one. I think if you are someone that wants top of the line amp, that you can hook up to some active speakers and subwoofer… and you don’t want to worry about “do I have enough power for said headphone”, then the Soloist GT is a solid purchase. I would think you would be pretty happy with it. But still if you are looking to save some money… the Soloist 3X is still a solid purchase and you can’t go wrong there. (Plus you can save the additional money and get a TOTL headphone instead).

hifiDJ · November 22, 2021, 9:16pm

Hold up! I thought the GT doesn’t have a dedicated supercharger for it yet?

My guess is that you are limited a lot by your DAC. If you pair it with a DAC of a similar tier then I’m confident there will be more of a difference imo.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts though!

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 9:21pm

Yea they ended up shipping the new Super charger for the GT for those who ordered early. It was a nice suprise

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 9:22pm

Yea I might do that later down the line. But need to wait a bit before I do. Going bigger and higher has… been a journey… on the wallet lol.

hifiDJ · November 22, 2021, 9:24pm

Props to Burson for that. That’s how you take care of early adopters!

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 9:25pm

Oh and they also threw in the stand too. So it was a really awesome deal in the end.

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 9:31pm

Side by side shot. You can get an idea how much bigger the GT is. Also included a picture of the charger.

rmsanger · November 22, 2021, 10:00pm

yes as a last minute announcement Burson released the Supercharger for the 3GT. SO think for $2250 you got the 3GT + Supercharger + Cool stand as an early adopter. Not a bad deal.

rmsanger · November 22, 2021, 10:04pm

Based upon your review I’m not regretting passing on the initial purchase of the 3GT. I’m a 3XP owner and really do like the product and have rolled the op amps to my preferred signature (Sparkos) and just bought the supercharge for 50% off. I bought my 3XP used for a very very low price so getting the supercharger on sale is just an added bonus.

My hypothesis is the added benefits of 3XP → 3GT perhaps may only be recognized from Susvara and 1266 Phi TC owners where the added current and power will help. Perhaps you could do some A->B testing with your HE6 SEv2 to see if you notice a substantial difference in dynamics, bass grip/control, and punch & slam?

Perhaps you could also post your thoughts on headfi? I can always copy & paste (if you’re not a user over there). There’s likely a much bigger audience that would value your early opinions on this. Some other people there were saying the 3GT sounded “thin” and were not impressed.

Rick_Jones · November 22, 2021, 10:09pm

Yea you are welcome to post my impressions there if you like. I am currently not a member. I do visit some of the threads but not too often.

I will have to spend some time A->B testing the HE6se. I did very little today with it, but would like to spend more time.

rmsanger · November 22, 2021, 10:11pm

thanks I’m going to copy and paste as well as provide the link… just figure that more people would find it of value. No rush on your A->B but just thinking you might see more gains or benefits using the HE6 than the others.

Pokrog · November 23, 2021, 1:22am

if you have any form of inline volume control or dac volume control i’d definitely suggest the volume bypass on high gain with the he6se. bass control is noticeably improved from 99 to bypass just on the 3xp so i’m super curious if the gt has much of a change.

do you have a DDC of any kind or are you plugged in with usb to your d90?

Rick_Jones · November 23, 2021, 3:18am

Yea I liked using the bypass on the 3XP. It did sound like an improvement when I used it. But the GT does not have this as an option. So I compared both of them in this manner without it enabled. I do use the USB connection on the D90se

Pokrog · November 23, 2021, 4:57am

i feel like i’m beating a dead horse, but you should look into a cheap ddc like the u2 pro since you have an i2s input. the clarity jump is pretty huge. i tried it on a d90 akm variant and it was a pretty big jump in quality especially in the super low sub bass around 20hz. before it sounded ok but afterwards you can distinctly make out the ups and downs of the sine wave frequencies at that super low bass level and the blackness of the background got even quieter and it made for a more realistic and pinpoint accurate soundstage. even the cheap douk u2 pro is a pretty damn big upgrade with headphones that are resolving enough to make use of it. i even have a spare one sitting around if you want to try it before you buy. i’m sure it wouldn’t cost hardly anything to ship.

Rick_Jones · November 23, 2021, 1:54pm

Yea I may pick one up to test whether or not I perceive a difference in sound. What I2s cable would you recommend to connect the D90se to the Douk 2 pro?