Burson Soloist Prime Voyager Passion for Sound Video Review

Lachlan Fennen of Passion for Sound has reviewed the Burson Soloist Prime Voyager. His video is titled “Is This The Best Headphone Amp Ever Made? Burson Soloist Prime review”. He tested the fully specified version, which comes with the Fusion Core power supply and the Class A IEM module. Here are the highlights.

A flagship headphone amp built by subtraction

Lachlan explains that Burson made the Soloist Prime by removing the volume control. That makes it a headphone power amp, so you need volume control further up the chain, for example from your DAC or a preamp. He describes it as a 12W Class A, dual-mono design. Removing the volume control freed space for a dedicated IEM circuit with its own power supply. He quotes pricing from $4,499 up to $5,499 for the version he tested.

Silent with sensitive IEMs

With his E1000 IEMs, he heard hiss from the Soloist Voyager, while the Prime was silent. The IEM stage is engaged by switching to low gain. Compared with the headphone output of the Chord DAVE, he found the DAVE a little crisper up top, while the Prime was more punchy, dynamic and authoritative. Overall he found the Prime the more enjoyable listen. The IEM stage has a zero-ohm output, and he does not recommend it for full-size headphones.

Sound with headphones

• With the Audeze LCD-5S and Meze Elite it sounded excellent, and he says he has “never heard the Meze Elites sound as good”.
• The ZMF Atrium Open was a good match.
• It drove the demanding Lilly Audio Genesis 1 with around 16dB of headroom to spare.
• The single-ended output is about 3dB quieter, with slightly narrower width and tighter centre focus. He recommends a balanced chain for the hardest loads.
• HIFIMAN Susvara Unveiled and HE1000 Unveiled sounded glorious, and it drove all the HIFIMAN headphones comfortably in medium gain.

He describes the Prime as neutral and natural rather than clinical. It drove the Genesis 1 and another warmer-leaning pairing without trouble, but he felt those headphones are a better tonal match for warmer amps such as the Cayin HA-6A Mk II. It may also be less suited to bright headphones.

Soloist Prime Voyager vs Soloist Voyager

Running both from the Chord DAVE with matched levels, he heard the two as tonally identical, with the Prime more transparent and resolving, with better separation. He puts it at roughly 5–10% better. If you need a preamp for speakers or don’t use IEMs, he suggests the Soloist Voyager may be the better buy.

Things to know

• On his early unit, the gain button cycles from IEM mode to high gain before medium gain. Burson acknowledged this and says it will change the behaviour in future batches.
• The analogue VU meters can hit their end stops with very hard-to-drive headphones. Burson can talk owners through a roughly 10-minute sensitivity adjustment.
• The dual-mono Class A design runs hot, which he says it is designed to do.

Verdict

Lachlan calls the Soloist Prime “an easy recommendation from me as probably the best headphone amp or headphone power amp that I have ever ever heard. And that’s with both IEMs and headphones.”

Watch the full review on Passion for Sound’s YouTube channel.

Discover the full features and specifications on the Burson Soloist Prime Voyager product page.