Nigel’s Burson Soloist 3X GT with HiFiMAN Arya Stealth V2

Published on

Sales Burson
January 29, 2024

Post Info

Soloist GT3 | GT4
AudioQuest NightOwl, Burson Soloist 3X GT, HiFiMAN Arya Stealth V2, Sennheiser HD 660S, SMSL D1se, WiiM Pro

First Burson product.

Amazing. Truly amazing.

The System

Listening with

HiFiMAN Arya Stealth · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 94 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 430 g

^[1]

AudioQuest NightOwl

Sennheiser HD 660S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 150 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 95.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 9 Hz – 41.5 kHz (AU page); 10 Hz – 41 kHz (user manual)
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced cables (user manual)
Other: THD <=0.04% (1 kHz, 100 dB); max input 500 mW

Matching notes: At 150 Ω and 104 dB/V, the HD 660S is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2 V (27 mW, 13 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 150 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 1/300 of the load. ^{[2] [3] [4] [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]}

Also in the system

SMSL D1se

WiiM Pro · Streamer: network streamer with DAC

Output impedance: not published
Output voltage: RCA not published
Inputs: RCA line in (1 Vrms, 48 kHz/24-bit ADC); Toslink in (192/24); Wi-Fi 5; 10/100 Ethernet; Bluetooth 5.1
Outputs: RCA line out; optical; coaxial (to 384 kHz/32-bit per page, bit-perfect to 192/24)
DAC / chipset: TI Burr-Brown PCM5121
Other: built-in DAC SNR 102 dB, THD+N 0.009%; AirPlay 2, Chromecast, Spotify/TIDAL Connect, Roon Ready; USB-C 5 V power

^[7]

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.