Chris’s Burson Soloist 3X GT with HiFiMAN HE1000se and HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth

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Post Info

  • Feedbacks - Soloist GT3 | GT4
  • Burson Soloist 3X GT, Burson Voyager, Focal Bathys, Focal Clear MG, Gustard R26, HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth, HiFiMAN HE1000se, Martin Logan 4i, Roon Nucleus Plus, Sennheiser HD 6XX, Sennheiser HD 800 S, SVS 3000 Micro, Topping LA90

I am a Buston fan for life. After owning a plethora of headphone amplifiers, I must say that the Burson Soloist series is fantastic compared to Topping, SMSL, Schiit, and Singxer offerings. I sold all of my Chi-Fi units after listening to the Soloist. The soundstage on the Burson Voyager is expansive, and the dynamics are incredible. The low frequencies are tight and powerful. I expected some roll-off in the higher frequencies, but not with this unit! If you’re looking for a class-A headphone amplifier, I highly recommend adding any Soloist series to your shortlist.

FYI. The Voyager unit was not available in your drop-down menus, so I selected the closest thing, the Soloist 3XGT.

The System

Listening with

HiFiMAN HE1000se · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural
  • Impedance: 35 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 96 dB (reference not stated by HiFiMAN)
  • Frequency response: 8 Hz – 65 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: not published (HiFiMAN spec page lists no connector)
  • Other: weight 440 g

[1]

HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural
  • Impedance: 32 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 93 dB (reference not stated by HiFiMAN)
  • Frequency response: 8 Hz – 65 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: not published (HiFiMAN spec page lists no connector)
  • Other: weight 458 g

[2]

Focal Clear MG · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (40 mm Mg M-dome), circumaural
  • Impedance: 55 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1 kHz ≈ 116.6 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 5 Hz – 28 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm cable (1.2 m) with 6.35 mm adapter; 4-pin XLR cable (3 m); cup sockets 3.5 mm

Matching notes: At 55 Ω and 104 dB/mW, the Focal Clear MG is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.47 V (4 mW, 8.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 55 Ω rating for the Soloist 3X GT. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (8 W XLR / 4 W SE; 3.8 W XLR / 1.9 W SE) fall either side of it. The Soloist 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/110 of the load. [3] [4] [5] [6]

Focal Bathys · Headphones: closed-back, dynamic (40 mm Al/Mg M-dome), wireless Bluetooth with ANC
  • Frequency response: 15 Hz – 22 kHz (±3 dB)
  • Plugs / cables supplied: Bluetooth; 3.5 mm mini-jack; USB-C (USB-DAC mode)
  • Other: battery 30 h Bluetooth / 35 h mini-jack / 42 h USB-DAC

[7]

Sennheiser HD 6XX · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural
  • Impedance: 300 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 103 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 97.8 dB/mW (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 10 Hz – 41 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm stereo jack plug (6.35 mm adapter); 1.8 m cable
  • Other: THD <0.1% (1 kHz, 1 V)

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 103 dB/V, the HD 6XX is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2.2 V (17 mW, 7.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Soloist 3X GT at 1.3 W (XLR) / 0.65 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 19.7 V / 14.0 V RMS (calc.), roughly 19 dB / 16 dB more than that. The Soloist 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. [8] [9] [5] [6]

Sennheiser HD 800 S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural
  • Impedance: 300 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 102 dB SPL @ 1 V ≈ 96.8 dB/mW (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 4 Hz – 51 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm unbalanced; 4.4 mm balanced

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 102 dB/V, the HD 800 S is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2.5 V (21 mW, 8.4 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Soloist 3X GT at 1.3 W (XLR) / 0.65 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 19.7 V / 14.0 V RMS (calc.), roughly 18 dB / 15 dB more than that. The Soloist 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. [10] [5] [6]

Burson

Burson Soloist 3X GT · Headphone amplifier / preamp (Class-A) · discontinued
  • Output power (XLR / SE): 16 Ω 10 W / 5 W · 32 Ω 8 W / 4 W · 100 Ω 3.8 W / 1.9 W · 300 Ω 1.3 W / 0.65 W · 600 Ω 0.64 W / 0.32 W
  • Output impedance: 0.5 Ω (headphone); 25 Ω (pre out)
  • Gain: High / Medium / Low; dB not published
  • Inputs: 2x XLR; 2x RCA; mic bypass
  • Input impedance: 35 kΩ
  • Input sensitivity: line level
  • Outputs: XLR + RCA pre out; RCA subwoofer out; 4-pin XLR + SE headphone
  • Other: Model R-120X (“GT3”); THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-48 kHz

[5] [6]

Burson Voyager

Also in the system

Topping LA90
Gustard R26 · DAC: discrete R2R DAC / network streamer · discontinued
  • Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (±0.2 dB)
  • Output impedance: 100 Ω
  • Output voltage: RCA 2.5 V (fixed) · XLR 5 V (fixed)
  • Inputs: USB (768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); coax; AES; optical (192/24, DoP64); I2S (to 768 kHz, DSD1024); LAN streaming; Bluetooth; 10 MHz clock in (BNC)
  • Outputs: RCA; XLR
  • DAC / chipset: discrete R2R ladder; XMOS XU216
  • Other: dynamic range 115 dB; SNR 122 dB; crosstalk -134 dB; THD+N <=0.003% @ 1 kHz; 30 W

Matching notes: Burson lists the Soloist 3X GT’s analogue inputs as line level (35 kΩ input impedance). The Gustard R26 is rated at 2.5 V (fixed) (RCA) / 5 V (fixed) (XLR) output. [11] [12] [5] [6]

Martin Logan 4i
Roon Nucleus Plus
SVS 3000 Micro