Ordered a playmate 2 today. We will see how that goes!
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Just recently asked about when these Superchargers will be shipping outā¦
Those who have orderedā¦
The Super Charger Pre order will be ship out within the next 48 hours, our Logistic Team is now processing all the order in our system now.
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I am going to chime in on the playmate 2 usability. This is not sonic at all. I have a lot to say on it. Will be using the jot as a comparison.
Letās start with the knob. Cause we all know big knobs are important, right? Yeahā¦ well, I like the feeling of the burson knob better than the jot. It is smoother and despite being smaller is satisfyingly grippy. The jot has just enough initial resistance to make micro adjustments iffy. Which, for me, is fine, even preferred. Read on.
And that is where the playmate benefits end.
The knob does everything else wrong. It takes like twenty twists to move the volume a small amount. There is no such thing as quick adjustments. What I do is put my finger on it and twirl rapidly. Itās a one finger knob. I like this, itās not bad, just so fundamentally different that I still screw it up. And it still takes a week for big volume adjustments.
What else does the knob do wrong? All the directions in the menus are backwards. Essentially you turn the volume up to move the cursor down. Or switch a menu item. Itās just awkward. Down under indeed.
Now, you have to make a change. So you tap the knob. And if the knob moves at all you select the next or previous item instead. Every damn time. What is this, finger steadiness training? With some twirling acrobatics for good measure?
Frequently, it seems like those presses simply donāt take. Maybe cause I am not pressing hard enough cause I am focusing on not moving the thing?
Finally, you have to go through all that to switch pre-out to headphone out and back. Which is why I wonāt be doing a comparison of jot + burson pre-amp to just the burson.
I hate when I agree with Zeos. Dudeās not wrong. Burson, get your act together on this
The jot, by contrast, feels like the most elegantly designed device. I can compare the jot to the jot with burson pre-amp volume matched with a flick of the switch. And that switch is super satisfying. I could switch it all day. And I have. And I am. Right next to a big knob that works very well. Largely because micro-adjustments are not my thing. The playmate 2 may make me learn to love micro adjustments. 
And, I do not give a schiit that another wonderful switch, the one for power, is on the back. I donāt turn it off. Kudos for the satisfying switch.
Next, and I mention this next thing for comparison only. I took the jot out of the box and my first thought was āDid they fill this thing with lead?ā. The burson, I was expecting to be similar, but it is a lead free experience. Much lighter despite being almost identical in dimensions. Since we donāt want lead in anything anymore, thatās a good thing, right?
Like I said, not sonic. I canāt even say I actually care about any of this. At the end of the day, once everything is setup, and I am not a/bāing, the only one that matters is the knob volume speed. If they had done that one in the down under direction, I would have sent it back. 
I ordered an ananda, and I am holding all sonic comparisons until that arrives. I think my headphones hide some of these amp/dacs differences. And I wanted a neutral headphone better than the sundara anyway.
Hope it was entertaining! I am trying to be more fun with my negatives. Since they are so common. And annoying.
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Iām not Australian but from what I know they like doing things backwards there. Could be why the interface is what it is. 
Anyway, did you get the upgraded op-amps in there (Vivids)?
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Canāt trust anyone whoās toilet runs the wrong direction.
I did not. Mostly because they were sold/out unavailable from places I was willing to order. I got the playmate here at headphones.com and I donāt think they carry the opamps at all.
I intend to order them (and maybe that funky power supply) if I like the playmate 2 enough to keep long term. But, they were basically not an option in the short term. Wish they were.
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Just received a tracking number from Burson. Shipping via fedex. Item is being shipped from within the US. Expected delivery is Monday, August 9th.
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Haha, I absolutely hate the knob and menu on the Soloist 3XP when Iām trying to AB headphones and have to switch between low and medium gain. The switches on Schiit amps are a much better solution IMO.
But luckily Iām not a headphone reviewer, and I hardly ever need to access the menu during normal use, so itās not normally a problem for me.
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I see that more as a fact. The less the user has to do, the better.
On the plus side (this is just pure preference), I like how the Burson stuff has actual displays where you can see volume clearly. Hits the tech-savvy part of me.
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It drives me crazy in cars. I didnāt understand why more cars didnāt have digital speedometer when they all had screens. Having a number is nice. Both my cars do today. One of them on a heads up display. Finally.
Burson got that part right. And I already liked it as I could return to the exact level I was using previously.
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Box came a bit roughed up, but it came a day early! Letās see if this indeed āsuper charges.ā lol
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You have had 25 minutes. Whatās the result?!?! 
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I got one of these on the way. Also picked up the stand just so more air can run across it. Guessing it will show up sometime next week. Interested to see what your thoughts are about it. I saw the review from Passion for Sound and read a little about what folks were saying on Head-fi. Curious how much of a change it will be.
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Ha, havenāt tried it yet! Will get the chance later tonight.
One minor complaint though is I would have preferred a straight barrel plug rather than right-angled. But not a big deal. Also, I like how compact and conventional it is.
@Rick_Jones
Yeah Iām not expecting a major difference but it would be nice if I end up being surprised. Oh, and happy 
day!
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Well if it was more straight then it wouldnāt be rightā¦ I think is what you are saying? 
Yea but the box says āinstant upgrade to micro-details and macro-dynamics!ā lolā¦ yea I am keeping my expectations low as well.
Yeaā¦ itās funny too. Looks like I join the forum a day after my Birthday last year? I thought it was telling me at first āHappy Birthday!ā I thoughtā¦ āwell aināt that nice lolā
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Alright! Time for some impressions/thoughts about this thing from last nightās/early morningās listening seshā¦
**Holo Spring 3 > Burson Soloist (stock Vivids) > ZMF VC (all balanced)
Super Charger + Soloist = Super Soloist 
Letās start on a negative note!
I donāt think I need to say anymoreā¦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 thatās pretty much it for downsides. Moving onā¦
For the past few days, Iāve 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. Iāll 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 playersā 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 isnāt 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 clearlyāone of the big strengths of the Staccato. For example, in one of my favorite tracks ē“ č®čÆ 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 āa bigger and deeper soundstageā with the Super Charger. I didnāt 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 wouldnāt call it big or deep. YMMV.
To reiterate everything Iāll copy/paste what I said earlierā¦
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. Itās 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 priceāBurson 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 Iām really curious and excited what results Iāll hear trying the Staccato op-amps with the Super Charger. In addition, another set of op-amps are coming my way. Iāll keep the reveal a secret, but it aināt Sparkosā¦
How does the Super Charger fair with other PSUs that have similar offerings? Not sureā¦
I wonder how the Super Soloist now fairs against the GSX mini, Bryston, and Violectric. Iāve 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 youāre not buying used). And you can probably fit in a pair of additional op-amps for a different flavor. Pretty coolā¦
Happy listening 
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Very good review, thank you. I can only buy Sparkos and Sonic Imagery Labs 994 here, hope you can review these soon 
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Hey, welcome to the forum! Thanks for reading.
Guess the secretās already out! lol
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So lucky for me haha :))) Sparkos vs Vivid have many review, i think for me the vivid will suit better (i listen mostly to modern pop/epic/edm music), but have no information about Sonic Imagery Labs 994
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Thank you for your review. My supercharger is on the way and I canāt wait to try.
Also, in regards to the Staccato op amps, I noticed from your photos in the earlier post that you tried the OSH-DHb ā Dual Discrete Opamp Open Sound Hybrid Horizontal ones. These look a bit wider in size than the vivid op amps. Did you use them in both inputs and output stages or only in the input stage of the soloist? Did you have any issues with the size?
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Just to be clear, this wasnāt a review. Just some thoughts/impressionsādonāt want people to get the wrong idea as I just got em. But anyway, no problem!
As for the Staccato, they are able to fit but with no headroom to spare between the top of the op-amp and the cover. It is raised ever so slightly but thatās because of the foam cover adhered to the case. Once situated, I was able to secure the cover just fine and screw it in place. And yes, the op-amps fit at both stagesāthe input buffer and volume control. One thing to keep in mind, however, is that the Staccato op-amps use narrower gold pins than the Burson. So, you get a looser fit when placed on the DIP8 sockets. Functionality-wise, I didnāt have any problems but the Staccato has an unusually high noise floor when I switch to med gain. Iām not sure of the reason so I asked Jakub from Staccato and he said I should try getting an adapter with thicker gold pins to see if its the loose fit. I didnāt want to go to the trouble as itās already a tight fit in there and all my headphones work on low gain (no noise floor btw). The high noise floor doesnāt apply when the Staccato are placed in the volume stage (which is where I prefer it), only in the input buffer stage does it happen.
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