That’s so weird. They did not label them bc. left is left and right is right usually. That it’s the other way around is beyond me.
So you asked Burson which is which?
I guess 99% of the users have them connected wrong then?
I am impressed with the Clears so far. Soundstage and detail is wonderful. Voices clear and pronounced. Bass right with nice impact. And : Synergy with the Burson a is great. 
It’s probably the one head-/earphone that I enjoy Rock and Metal with.
I don’t know about that…my rme dac has the same config so I think it really depends if your viewpoint is from the front or the back of the unit.
Yes, they sent me that pic to clarify. Who knows… 🤷
Awesome, glad you’re enjoying em!
Well, I guess if you are hunched over the front of the amp, trying to see the back of it, your left is ← and right is ->, so when you flip it around just remember everything is backwards Down Under and you’ll be fine? I dunno. Kinda funny tho.
Ohhhhhhhhhh. You’re probably right. They’re Australian. 
This is going to be a little stream of conscious because I’m rushing this out before I go on vacation…
I’ll start by saying that I own the Soloist 3XP, and bought it during Burson’s Black Friday sale. Or to be more accurate, I thought I was buying it on the last day of Burson’s sale, but forgot that it was already the next day in Australia. However Burson customer support were nice enough to give me the sale price. This was just one example of the wonderful service I got from Burson, who also politely answered every question I asked them.
Listening Chain:
Flac played on Foobar or Audirvana > Schiit Bifrost 2 DAC > Burson Soloist 3XP > ZMF Verite Open or Focal Stellia
I used both the balanced inputs and outputs, which is what Burson recommends. I did try all the combinations, and I’m not sure if I noticed any difference between the balanced and SE inputs, but the balanced outputs sounded better to me.
Specs & Features:
High current Class A power, delivering 8W XLR / 4W SE.
MUSE72320 volume control, which is typically used in much more expensive pre-amps, and according to Burson, “has perfect channel balance and separation, resulting in a phenomenal sound stage.”
Upgradable Opamps.
Aluminum case acts as heat-sink. Despite being class A, the amp never feels more than warm to the touch, even after several hours of being on.
A menu allows you to switch inputs (XLR or SE), outputs (headphones or pre-amp) or gain (low, medium or high). Personally, I prefer the physical switches that Schiit provides to do the same thing, as it’s a little less fiddly than having to go into a menu every time I want to change something.
Sound:
First, the Soloist needs some time to warm up, in order to reach it’s optimal sound. I haven’t timed it, but I normally give it 30-60 minutes. I don’t think it sounds that good when you first turn it on
Once the amp has warmed up, if I had to come up with short, catchy description, I would call it a baby solid state Pendant, because it sounds very close to my ZMF Pendant amp (with Zach’s NOS tubes), with a fast, neutral sound signature, wide soundstage and a 3D holographic vividness of vocals and instruments. It doesn’t quite reach the heights of the Pendant, but it gets damn close.
Listening to rock music is addictive, because you can almost feel the texture of vocals and and guitars. Paul Rodgers has the finest voice in rock, in my opinion, and listening to the first Bad Company album really highlighted his voice.
The Soloist displays excellent rhythmic timing, using my unscientific measurement of how much my foot is tapping. Listening to “Say It Loud” by James Brown, the interplay of rhythm guitar and the brassy bite of the horns had my whole body moving, not just my foot. The Bee Gees’ Jive Talkin had a similar affect.
The Soloist loves 80’s synth music, especially when there’s a “wall of sound”. In Gary Numan’s Are Friends Electric, and Visage’s Fade To Grey, you can feel the synths pulsating through your head, with the rhythm.
Moving to something a little less pristine, the guitars Bauhaus’ Dark Entries have some bite to them, and then Peter Murphy sweeps in with his vocals. This is a good track to show off both the amp’s impressive handling of both soundstage and separation, because there are things going on all around my head.
Moving onto Metallica’s Creeping Death, this song has a huge soundstage, and it’s fun to switch your listening from James Hetfield’s rhythm guitar to Lars Ulrich’s drums to Hetfield’s vocals floating over the top, and then Kirk Hammett’s coming in and out with a guitar solo. And then you forget about all the detail and start listening to the music again, because it just sounds so great.
Taking the energy down a few notches, Alison Krauss’s Down To The River To Pray reminds me that the Soloist presents vocals in a holographic manner. You can pick out all the individual vocals, but the group of vocalists also sounds cohesive.
Kylie Minogue’s Can’t Get You Out Of My Head shows that the Soloist is just as adept at electronic dance music, with that pulsating synth.
Switching genres again to Lizzo’s Truth Hurts shows the Soloist can handle R&B and hip/hop with a wonderful interplay between Lizzo’s voice and a piano loop.
The Soloist also excels at classical music, whether it is the grand sound of an orchestra playing Tchaikifsky’s 5th Symphony (with the brass sounding especially good) or Jean-Guihen Queyras playing solo cello on one of Bach’s cello suites.
Summary:
I can’t think of anything that the Soloist 3XP does badly. It has a wonderful neutral sound, with no particular emphasis anywhere, great rhythm and a huge soundstage. It could handle every type of music that I threw at it, with the caveat that I’m not a jazz fan, so I didn’t try any jazz.
Comparing it to my Schiit Jot 2 (which is an excellent amp), the Soloist 3XP edges the Jot 2 out when it comes to soundstage and the holographic texture of vocals and instruments.
Can it be improved upon? Absolutely. My Pendant has an even better soundstage and holographic sound. The Pendant also has a little more clarity when it comes to fast-played piano music, such as Malcolm Bilson playing Mozart’s piano concertos on a fortepiano, where you can clearly hear and feel the texture of each note a little better than the Soloist.
But I’m comparing the Soloist to a much more expensive amp that also has the benefit of tube “magic”. And the Soloist gets so close to the sound of the Pendant that I think it’s a huge value.
Enjoyed the great write-up, thanks for this! Been a long time comin! 
Enjoy your vacay
Do you prefer your stellia paired with the Lyr 3 still (synergistically)?
Congrats! You beat me to it. 
(Well deserved!)
Wonderful review. Thank you for the great read.
Regarding greatest rock voice ever, I vote for the late Chris Cornell though. 
Everything in Australia is the opposite of what you would expect in the northern hemisphere. Right?
I guess.
Drainage flow goes the other way and as far as I remember they have left side traffic?
Yes. It makes sense. (to them 
)
Thanks, this was my first review, so I’ve just created excuses to not do it. So at 3am, the night before leaving for the airport, what better time to just start typing and get it over with so I can get at least a few hours sleep. Also, I’ve seen @Tom_Ato’s reviews and the fear of having to follow him was greater than the fear of writing the damn thing. 
Haha, no, I prefer the Stellia on the Soloist over all my other amps (including the Pendant), now that I have an all-balanced setup. But the Lyr 3 is still a close second.
I’m not trying to make a controversial “balanced is better” statement. I know the Stellia doesn’t need the additional power from the balanced outputs, but the Soloist was designed to be all-balanced and I just think it sounds better that way. Maybe there’s less conversion of the signal going on.
Yes, Chris Cornell is probably 3rd on my list, with Mark Lanegan 2nd. And if you threw another 10 names at me, I’d probably tell you they’re all in my top 5. 
Or start creating new categories, like “favorite male rock singer with multiple-octave range” would be Freddie Mercury.
Wait for it. I have planned for 4 more reviews in the coming weeks as time and my health will allow it. One is the Burson comparison.
The others are 3 brand new products that are not on the market yet. Stay tuned.
P. S. I know right now I probably have more time for the hobby than the rest of you that have to work hard every day. I wish though I was back on track too. But I am still in rehab unfortunately.
Anyways, I won’t complain and I hope to at least contribute with some reviews for your amusement. This is a great place with great people! 
Excellent writeup Sir. Sounds like an bit of kit.
Something terrible happened.
I finally got to testing the Soloist/Composer combo. At first everything went just fine.
However, after turning the device off and back on later, a very loud popping noise/bang came from
my Focal Clear. I immediately turned everything off and connected the Clears to the Conductor.
No problem, except that now my Clears are permanently damaged. Ony side only crackles now and I just bought them! 
What has happend? I don’t get it. I did everything according to the manual. How is that even possible?
Apparently the Soloist has killed my headphones. I had it on medium gain (default) and low volume (around 20).
We’re the headphones plugged in when you turned the unit off and back on?
Nope. But I actually don’t know where that comes from because the manual suggests to disconnect only for the sake of longevity of the XLR port.
I actually read it in this very thread to unplugged exceed before I got the device.
Wow, I’m sorry you had that experience…
I have no idea what could have caused this. I do hear popping noises in my clear as well. So, I asked Burson about this and they said they recommend powering down the amplifier first before plugging in any headphones. Additionally, they said the popping noises are normal but it is not cause for concern because it is well within the safety range of any headphone. I’d definitely shoot them an email and I hope focal warranty covers for that.
Maybe there was a certain setting in the composer?..
Yeah I read that too. I was just wondering what the circumstances were because I use the Soloist 3XP. Now I’m afraid to do anything with it.
I leave mine on all the time but always put it in standby before unplugging or plugging in.
I always power it down. The pop was so loud, had I worn the headphones, my ear would have probably been injured too.
On the Composer, I have that slight pop like you, but the pop on the Soloist was very very loud.
I guess I was lucky that I haven’t used my Odins this time. Still. Made me sad. 