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chrispy513 t1_j5zvzfl wrote

What other amps have you tried in the past? I have the Empyreans and have toyed with the idea of getting a Burson amp to replace my Topping stack, but knowing I don't even need a fraction of the power they put out has stopped me from dropping the cash.

If you've had other amps, how do they compare for the Elites?

Edit: autocorrected Burson to Nursing.

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Tommybyte OP t1_j6082s2 wrote

I had the Questyle CMA400i, nice all in one solution for low to middle impedance headphones. Than brought the RME Adi-2 DAC and paired it with the Singxer SA1. Pretty awesome combo for planars, but I had no use for all the fearures the RME is offering, so I searched for a more puristic Class A solution. Ergo Burson Soloist. Got it used in a bundle with the composer just yesterday. To be honest it's a bit overpowered for the Elite. Using it single ended on low gain to avoid the noisefloor in midium/high gain but have to crank it atleast up to 75. So probably not the best solution for the Elite, although it sounds awesome. Appears a bit wider and clearer than RME/SA1, but must do more a/b testing. Getting a balanced cable soon, so I hope that makes a difference.

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ku1185 t1_j60ytgz wrote

I haven't tested too many headphones with my Soloist 3xp in balanced, but I actually preferred the single ended output over the balanced one. I thought SE sounded a little more relaxed and natural. Plus, SE out was more usable with medium gain on certain sensitive headphones like LCD-X.

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Pangolin_Unlucky t1_j60x5tj wrote

Had a topping a90 before switching to soloist 3xp, definitely worth the upgrade if you have the fund for it imho.

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ku1185 t1_j60z7bl wrote

Had SA-1 before the 3xp, and I much preferred the sound out of the 3xp. Amazing sound quality, but gotta deal with crappy controls and other quirks.

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717x t1_j60wjdi wrote

They’re objectively awful amps. If you want distortion go with tubes. Otherwise you’re better with SMSL, topping, schiit or jds stuff.

It’s really cool to downvote without providing why lol. Just trying to save people money here. I’ve owned so many pieces of bad, outdated and overpriced gear in my 15 years of being into the hobby I’m just trying to prevent people from doing the same.

If distorting the sound is something you’re after, tubes are the way to go, not buying a poorly performing solid state amp for over $2k…

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player_9 t1_j6147q2 wrote

Not OP. I use the Burson soloist for a set of LCD-4’s, 200 Ohm

The only time I need to set the amp to high gain is if I’m using a ton of DSP/EQ settings. Most of the time I don’t need to move past the medium gain setting, and I listen LOUD. It’d be tough to find a headphone that this amp can’t drive, including the Susvara. It’s overkill for most headphones.

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