Alright! Time for some impressions/thoughts about this thing from last night’s/early morning’s listening sesh…
**Holo Spring 3 > Burson Soloist (stock Vivids) > ZMF VC (all balanced)
Super Charger + Soloist = Super Soloist 
Let’s start on a negative note!
I don’t think I need to say anymore…should have been a straight barrel plug, just saying. One other thing. The Super Charger itself, I feel, could have been a bit more premium feeling like the power bricks you get with a new MacBook. But not a big deal. Aaand that’s pretty much it for downsides. Moving on…
For the past few days, I’ve been experimenting back and forth with the stock Vivid op-amps and Staccato op-amps. Because of this I was able to identify some shortcomings I hear from the Vivid op-amps and, in the end, I ended up slightly preferring the Staccato BUT on certain circumstances. I’ll talk more about it in the Soloist thread at some point. But to sum it up, synergy matters. First, the bass on the Vivids are slightly bloated compared to the Staccato. Second, the stage is not very wide. Lastly, the Vivids trade in detail and control for a slight emphasis on initial attack, giving it that sense of dynamism. With this in mind, I felt that the Super Charger dealt with each of these issues in a slight manner. So, it is not a night and day difference. However, the overall subtle boost in performance makes for a noticeable increase in listening pleasure.
4 main things I noticed with the Super Charger:
Blacker background
- The best way I can describe this is with everyday noise floor from your surrounding environs. The noise floor you hear around you during the day is vastly higher than at night. Think of it that way, but in music and in a much smaller scale.
Details
- With the Super Charger you do hear more of the micro details/nuance. In one of my go-to test tracks DEKIGOKORO, you hear the brush strokes more clearly near the beginning of the song. As the trumpets enter and take over, the inflections of the trumpet players’ breaths and resulting dynamic shifts are heard more clearly. In addition, texture and decay information are handled more easily.
Smoothness
- I find my DAC buttery smooth so the changes here are, for me, even more subtle. I can imagine if someone pairs the Soloist with a sharp DAC like the RME, to experience more of a difference. In summary, you get even less fatigue even though it isn’t really fatiguing in the first place.
Control
- Earlier I mentioned the bass on the Vivids can be a bit bloated and uncontrolled when compared with the Staccato op-amps. I found that the Super Charger holds a tighter grip overall and offers more control. As a result, individual bass lines are heard more clearly–one of the big strengths of the Staccato. For example, in one of my favorite tracks 紅蓮華 THE FIRST TAKE, the piano sounds muddy and uncontrolled prior to the Super Charger. Subsequent the Super Charger, it sounds more controlled and precise.
Bonus: Soundstage
- Burson claims “a bigger and deeper soundstage” with the Super Charger. I didn’t really find this to be the case. If anything, it does present a slightly better sense of stage and maybe slightly improved width but overall, I wouldn’t call it big or deep. YMMV.
To reiterate everything I’ll copy/paste what I said earlier…
The overall subtle boost in performance makes for a noticeable increase in listening pleasure.
This Super Charger is icing on the cake and it makes me even more fond of the Soloist that I own. It’s been a nice and worthwhile experience, at least for me.
Should you buy the Super Charger? At the pre-order price I thought it was reasonable. At MSRP, I would hesitate a bit more. My advice would be to wait for some sale and get it at that discounted price–Burson has some sales throughout the year. Otherwise, put it towards a new headphone, IEM, or op-amps!!! Or pick the wiser choice and invest it in something with potential value.
Afterthoughts
Now I’m really curious and excited what results I’ll hear trying the Staccato op-amps with the Super Charger. In addition, another set of op-amps are coming my way. I’ll keep the reveal a secret, but it ain’t Sparkos…
How does the Super Charger fair with other PSUs that have similar offerings? Not sure…
I wonder how the Super Soloist now fairs against the GSX mini, Bryston, and Violectric. I’ve been seeing/reading that the GSX and the Bryston are a slight step above the Soloist in performance. But with the Super Charger I wonder how close it now gets. If you think about it, the Soloist with the Super Charger still undercuts all those amps in terms of price (assuming you’re not buying used). And you can probably fit in a pair of additional op-amps for a different flavor. Pretty cool…
Happy listening 