Yesā¦ I have not tried just using two and testing the difference yet.
One of the things I noticed with the Staccato is that they lack bass impact on certain headphones. Did you find that to be the case with the Sparkos?
Nopeā¦ listening to my lcdx right now which have the weakest punch and slam (non eqād) of what I own. They sound nearly perfect with the sparkos! If I put on nothing else matters (s&m) I get no harshness on highs and perfect bass slam. The vivids were a big to v shaped for my tastes.
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Staccato op-amp rollā¦
**Holo Spring 3 > Soloist > ZMF VC / IE 900 (all balanced)
**Link: Offer - Staccato Audio
So Iāve been spending quite a bit of time over the past few days op-amp rolling the Staccato op-amps and experimenting with various combinations. To make things easier for me (and the reader), Iāll only write about which combination I liked best.
TLDR:
2 Vivids on the input buffer stage, 2 Staccato on the volume control stage
4 Vivids (only w/ Super Charger)
Quick notes about the Staccato op-amps:
- uses narrower pins which result in a looser fit; might affect noise floor
- noticeably higher noise floor when placed on med gain or higher
- barely fits inside the Soloist chassis w/ no headroom to spare
To start letās talk about the strenghts and weaknesses of each respective op-amp. Note that these thoughts and impressions are without the use of the Burson Super Charger.
Vivids
The bass on these, I feel, is the weakest part of the Vivids with the emphasis here on quantity over quality. As a result, individual bass lines are not easily discernible. For example, in the track ē“ č®čÆ THE FIRST TAKE, the piano throughout sounds noticeably muddier in comparison to the Staccato. At the end where the piano finishes off with a pounding of lower register notes, it sounds like they are all overlapping with one another revealing the Vividsā lack of control and grip in the bass regionāa more fun presentation.
Mids, on the other hand, have a bit of added tonal weightiness to them which adds a certain sweetness and color. In addition, the Vivids tend to alleviate the slight edges presented in recordings giving it a more relaxing and smoother presentation overall. Highs, for the most part, are also smooth and relaxed while still sounding fairly extended and airy. Moving on to staging, the Vivids have decent depth but poor width overall. In all honesty, itās not as impressive as I initially thought when I first had the Soloist.
For dynamics, this is where it gets interesting. I feel that the Vivids slightly emphasize the initial attack of each hit which gives it that extra bit of dynamism. However, this ends up sacrificing control of the decay where it seems to ālet goā a bit too early. So, tradeoffs for an overall engaging presentation.
Staccato
The bass on these, in contrast, is both its strength and weakness. The Staccato handles individual bass lines quite well and more clearly than the Vivids. Itās tighter and more controlled, but the tradeoff here is quantity; it lacks impact. Depending on the headphones used or the preferences of the listener, this can be a good thing. I briefly tried the Audioquest Nightowl with the Staccato and the results werenāt that bad. Not only did it tame the bloated and emphasized bass of the Nightowls, it made them a bit more balanced. So, synergy matters. The lack of bass impact is the reason why I prefer placing the Staccato on the volume control stage of the Soloist. Placing different op-amps on this stage, significantly reduces the impact op-amps have on the overall sound. This is why Burson recommends changing op-amps on the input buffer stage rather than the volume control stage.
Overall, the Staccato sound more balanced than the Vivids and because of that I do perceive it as slightly more detailed. Mids are slightly clearer and cleaner but with noticeably less tonal color on them offering more linearity. As for the highs, they are a bit less smoother overall and the slight edges found in recordings are not slightly masked like they are on the Vivids. In addition, I do hear a tad more sibilance on the Staccato. Iām talking super slightly here, like 0.5% harsher. Iām on the young side, so older people might not notice this at all. Stage on the Staccato is fairly good in terms of width but poor in terms of depth; opposite of the Vivids. Lastly, I found the Staccato, oddly enough, to sort of have this āstaccatoā like quality to them. In other words, to my ears each note is a bit sharply detached. It was just something I noticed while listening to them and thought it was worth sharing.
Combinations
With strengths and weaknesses out of the way, this brings me to the combinations I liked most. The first combination is 2 Vivid op-amps on the input buffer stage and 2 Staccato op-amps on the volume control stage, which alleviates the Vividsā shortcomings to a certain extent. Bass quantity is slightly reduced while gaining some tightness and control. Mids end up being slightly more linear and clear. Highs are also less smooth overall. Stage does end up widening a bit, but depth is more or less the same. Overall, the presentation here is a bit more balanced than you would find placing all 4 Vivid op-amps albeit a bit boring-sounding, at least with the VC. If I didnāt have a Super Charger this is probably what I would be rocking most of the time.
Now my preferred combo is with all 4 Vivid op-amps but only with the Super Charger in the chain. I didnāt think Iād be coming back to the stock op-amps amidst its shortcomings, but surprisingly the Super Charger here alleviated most of the problems I had with the Vivids almost completely. Bass impact quantity-wise is still present but the Super Charger tightens it slightly and gains control as well as grip. Although I say slightly, the subtle change brings a not so subtle improvement with how I perceive the presentation overall. With this you get both quantity and qualityāwho wouldnāt want both? Mids are still tonally weighty and just a bit lush/warm while still remaining clear and nuanced. Highs are still slightly smooth but because of the blacker background the Super Charger brings, you end up hearing even more resolution and detail. Itās a bit difficult to conveyāyou just have to hear it for yourself. Staging does improve slightly as well expanding its width just a little bit. Overall, you get a slightly better sense of stage but you donāt get a big and wide stage. I mentioned earlier that the Vivids tend to slightly emphasize the attack on each note while trading off some control over the decay. To my ears, the Super Charger fixes all that and you end up with something that is slightly even more dynamic, both micro and macro, with greater control of both attack and decay all while being unfatiguing but engaging. Although these changes are a subtle improvement, they all add up to a greater sense of listening pleasure and satisfaction, at least for me.
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Did you get the spring 3 KTE with preamp ?
If so you might want to test the soloist in power amp mode.
I did. Not the biggest fan. I like the bit of color that comes with the op-amps in the volume control stage. Sounds transparent though!
Thanks for the feedback I was hoping the preamp volume stage in the Holo would be better than Burson so that In power amp mode youād get significantly better performance.
I was told the two op amps on the input / output stage were more important to the overall sound that the volume stage.
The pre-amp is technically better on the Holo. It doesnāt sound like anything at all; no coloring I can detect. The Burson, on the other hand, adds a bit of flavor. I just happen to like that bit of flavor. Iāll probably try it out again since I didnāt spend that much time on it.
Yeah the change is more obvious at the input buffer stage, but sometimes you want less of that change in which case you change it at the volume control stage, is what I found.
how does the he6se sound on burson? how does it compare to something like topping a90 or thx 789? Curious if the class A discrete nature of the amp adds much better bass?
The soloist is still my favorite amp for it. I donāt own an A90. But I tested the 789 for a bit and found it did an okay jobāassuming you donāt have an issue with the 789ās treble. The soloist gives better bass performance and has a warmer, thicker sound. Which is also the case when paired with most headphones.
Hereās my post with impressions on the HE-6se
š¶ Hifiman HE6SE - #416 by marcgii
I have both an a90 and a soloist 3xp and itās not even a close race. Soloist drives with far more authority and is way more musical. I never plug my he6 into my a90 anymore.
lol I feel like my purchase decisions are always the same as youā¦ How does the GL2000 sound on the burson soloist? I currently running he6se v2 and GL2000 on smsl su-9 and topping A90
Gl2k sounds amazing on the soloist. I could say with a fair amount of confidence that for different use cases I could be totally content with the burson for music with any of my headphones, the parasound a21+ for my he6se when I really feel like letting it stretch its legs, and the a90 for specific listening and I donāt have any amp itch at all. The a90 gets a lot of hate these days but itās solid. The soloist is a firm step up in musicality and driving power over the a90 but I donāt see myself abandoning the a90 altogether anytime soon though, it has its place.
So do you like the he6se better on the parasound than the Burson? Also I assume Burson more musical does that mean it has less detail than a90?
Hmmā¦thatās a touchy question. I would say that I do enjoy my HE6se on the soloist 3x performance with super charger the most and though Iāve heard a lot of speaker amps through my he6, speaker amps arenāt just a āfixā for the power needs and most Iāve heard sound like garbage. I remember m0n recommending it a long time ago and itās the only speaker amp Iāve heard that I donāt have a single issue with synergy wise with the he6. The burson is definitely close (and honestly for most people close enough not to warrant the behemoth that is the a21+) and I donāt want to say the burson has less detail than the a90, just that itās presented a lot differently. Exclusively with the he6 I feel like the a90 is lacking on power from time to time but the he6 isnāt the reason I still own the a90 (though it was the reason I bought it 
) and the reason I keep it around is the super low noise floor while still having enough power for basically every headphone out there. Itās nice for ripping apart tracks to actively listen and for gaming I love the complete lack of noise. All of the detail is there on the soloist, and more importantly leaps more resolving power which from what I can tell comes mostly from the class a driving power it has. I would say the burson is a solid choice for everyday listening, a90 for analyzing, and the a21+ for the overall experience. But with the super charger, Iād put the soloist as my number 1 pick. Flawless synergy with the he6 and most hifiman products in general.
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Oh and the burson has a big leg up on soundstage over the a90.
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thanks for the info its very helpful!!
ok so the super charger is amazingā¦it should come with their products. noise floor (that was very there before) is completely absent now. bass is tighter, highs are more tame, mids are ever so slightly fuller. solid product but it with how big of a difference it made it should definitely come with the amp.
edit: detail is noticeably improved as well.
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have your rolled op amps? Just wondering if you found that the op amps to make a larger impact or super charger.
they definitely make a bigger difference but i ended up liking the vivids the best anyways and this is just a huge step up in clarity and overall performance and the noise floor completely disappeared.