Ben’s Burson Soloist 3X GT with Audeze LCD-3

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Post Info

I actually have the Soloist 3GT, but it was not a choice above.

The System

Listening with

Audeze LCD-3 · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural
  • Impedance: 110 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 101 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 110.6 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 10 Hz – 50 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: 4-pin XLR cable; 4-pin XLR to 6.35 mm adapter cable; 6.35 to 3.5 mm adapter
  • Other: recommended power >250 mW;

Matching notes: At 110 Ω and 101 dB/mW, the LCD-3 is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.93 V (7.9 mW, 8.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 110 Ω rating for the Soloist 3X GT. Its 100 Ω and 300 Ω ratings (3.8 W XLR / 1.9 W SE; 1.3 W XLR / 0.65 W SE) fall either side of it. The Soloist 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/220 of the load. [1] [2] [3]

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

[2] [3]

Also in the system

Chord Qutest · DAC
  • Output impedance: not published (Stereophile measured 0.4 @ 1 kHz)
  • Output voltage: RCA 1 / 2 / 3 V (selectable)
  • Inputs: USB-B 768 kHz/32-bit DSD512; 2x BNC coax 384 kHz (768 kHz dual-data); optical
  • Outputs: RCA

Matching notes: Burson lists the Soloist 3X GT’s analogue inputs as line level (35 kΩ input impedance). The Chord Qutest is rated at 1 / 2 / 3 V (selectable) (RCA) output. [4] [5] [6] [2] [3]

Specs from manufacturer data unless a source below says otherwise. “calc.” values are worked out from those figures (V = √(P × R); 110 dB SPL used as a loud reference level). Gear listed without specs is not in our spec library yet.

  1. Audeze LCD-3: audeze.com
  2. Burson Soloist 3X GT product page
  3. Burson Soloist 3XGT User Manual V2.0 (Burson downloads)
  4. Chord Qutest: chordelectronics.co.uk
  5. Chord Qutest: PDF (chordelectronics.co.uk)
  6. Chord Qutest: stereophile.com