Björn of the German site HiFiGeek has reviewed the Burson Soloist Stellar Max after three months on his desk, at almost eight hours a day. The Soloist Stellar Max receives the HiFiGeek Award and is named a HiFiGeek Referenz (reference). The review is in German; the quotes below are our own translations.
“Spoiler: the point where a device starts to get on my nerves has not come with the Soloist Stellar Max. Quite the opposite: the longer I use the thing, the more I understand why it is causing such a stir on the Head-Fi forum right now.”
Björn calls the build “very good, as is typical for Burson”, with no ugly gaps or sharp edges, and says the compact chassis “looks damn good” on a normal desk. The aluminium remote is “less a remote control than a knuckle-duster”.
He describes the sound as classic Burson: “slightly warm in its basic tuning, but highly detailed in resolution”, with treble that does not tip into sibilance and voices with body in the midrange. “If you want an amplifier you can listen to for hours, without fatigue, without harshness, without the annoyance factor, you are exactly right here.”
“The dedicated IEM mode of the Soloist Stellar Max is currently the best I know in this price class and form factor. Pitch-black background, a separate amplifier stage, enough volume range for every sensitivity: this is not a bonus feature, it is a full second amp in the same chassis.”
Driving his Burson Timekeeper GT4 Max monoblocks, the result was “flawless”, with generous space and tight bass control.
“Three months, almost eight hours a day… The Burson Soloist Stellar Max was there the whole time and simply did what it should, without drama, without dropouts, without the moment where I thought: that annoys me.”
“The Burson Soloist Stellar Max is so transparent, so honest, that I hear through it into the source. It will be my reference amp for every DAC that lands here, because it shows me immediately what is inside.”
He adds that anyone who wants to play everything on one amplifier, “from ultra-sensitive IEMs to power-hungry planars, gets the most flexible tool on the market right now.”
Read the original review in German on HiFiGeek.
Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Soloist Stellar product page.
