My Soloist will be in today, ill follow up with everyone, let you know what I think.
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Hello everyone.
So the Burson 3x Soloists is a nice AMP, it sounds really good. Very nice separation and stage, maybe a tad bright. Thatās my subjective opinion on the sound, take it with a grain of salt.
The build is OK, for 1200 bucks I feel like it could be better. The volume knob is not dead center on mine, the XLR ports on the back are not clearly marked L and R. The remotes cool, I like it. I donāt like the push to release XLR on the front, that might not bother you. It could also use 4.4 balanced instead of a 3.5 connection I think, but it is what it is. Aside from those things, itās built like a tank. You could probably drop it 10 feet and it would still be fine. It has a sleek minimalist look to it too.
To get to the point, the Susvara works great with this AMP. You need high gain of course, but the volume control is good between 40-60 out of 100. So, 4-6 oāclock is plenty loud enough. Then again I am using the RME ADI-2 Dac FS, I am probably putting out well over 4V-5V into the amp via XLR. I have the volume on the RME at -3dBr. Which is the highest gain for the output. Your experience may vary based on what Dac you are using and if you are using 2v RCA.
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Yup, I posted which ones are the right markings on the Soloist threadā¦but basically the port closest to the power port is Rā¦
Source is from Burson
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Yes, I figured as much, I was glad I got it right the first time around, lol.
Thanks man.
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I just got my Susvara a few days ago. Iām still waiting for my Phonitor XE w/dac to arrive but Iāve had a chance to do some listening with my current gear. Wow! Iām blown away at how good the Susvara sounds. I canāt imagine how good theyāll sound once I have a proper amp.
In case youāre considering getting these before you have the āperfectā amp, Iād say donāt hesitate. Maybe I just lucked out or maybe my listening isnāt as fine-tuned but they sound way better than I was expecting driven by the Focal Arche. And to my surprise they even sound decent out of my Pioneer DAP (XDP-300R) via the balanced 2.5mm jack. In both cases thereās plenty of volume, bass extension, imaging and excellent frequency balance. Of note is how detailed the treble is presented in a non-sibilant fashion.
As Iām going through some of my hi-res tracks Iām noticing how revealing the Susvara is. Take for example āEverytime I Drownā by Jack Broadbent. The ārecorded in a closetā sound is not only present but the Susvara seems to paint a clear audio picture of just how big that closet was, if that makes sense.
If anyone is at all curious, I plugged the Susvara into my Galaxy S10+ phone (gasp!) expecting nothing (crap actually) but what I heard still sounded better than my super efficient cans, albeit at a volume Iāll call low-medium (phone volume cranked up).
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Does anyone know the specifics of this cable?
Initially thought it was a Norne Silvergarde but looks nothing like this:
I love how chunky it looks and how tight the braiding is.
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Looks a lot like the Norne I have, but with silver wire instead of copper.
The 12/16 and 24 wire Norne braids look like that, and I donāt know of anyone else using the triangular splitters.
This is a Draug3 in clear, with no splitter, because they annoy me
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Thanks for sharing that Polygon. Nice setup btw! I prefer naked cables and agree with no splitter.
I donāt know if sound or cost is affected but I do like the look of a tighter braid. Would these be considered herringbone whereas the looser braid is quad-braid? Iām just learning about different braids.
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Thanks for sharing that Polygon. Nice setup btw! I prefer naked cables and agree on the no splitter.
Regarding the original image from Tyler, I just heard back from Trevor at Norne: āThat is a Draug Silver 24-wire, it will be making a comeback later this year. It has been unavailable for sale for about a year and a half now.ā
This looks pretty cool too:
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I would have no idea.
I made a DIY 3 pin XLR cable for the Susvara to see if there was a difference, then decided to buy one. I wanted to try a Norne cable, and you see the result.
I will say itās probably the best behaved cable I own, and it sounds great.
Iād certainly buy them for my other headphones, itās a pity you canāt get aftermarket D8000 Pro cables with the locking connectors.
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Sorry for the delayā¦ been offline for a couple days on staycationā¦ I can confirm the Norse cable in the picture is easily one of the best if not best feeling chunky cable Iāve had the pleasure of holding! Ha! Beautifully made, and surprisingly supple !
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No problem, I think I solved the mystery with the help of Polygon and Norne Audio. I noticed you made no mention of sound which leads me to believe you heard no difference in sound when swapping or didnāt try swapping at all. Either way Iām glad to āhearā you enjoyed handling themā¦they do appear to be pretty flexible.
Iām in the middle of talking with Trevor to get a cable built. So far my top choice is the Draug Silver 24 but I canāt wait so then the hybrid copper/silver becomes my top choice.
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My Susvaras arrived a few days ago. Iāve got about 20 hours on them now. First impressions are below:
They are incredibly comfortable headphones. The clamp force is just right. I donāt get a hotspot on my head. The ear pads are very soft and donāt irritate my skin. They are very adjustable too. My daughter tried them on (and her heads much smaller than mine) and I was able to get a good fit on her too. Some headphones, like my HD800s, pull on my hair and I find the earpads to be a little itchy - not the case with the stock pads on the Susvaras.
They are very well constructed as well. They donāt feel as sturdy as my LCD-2Cs, but those headphones are also incredibly heavy so Iām willing to make this trade off. Itās not like Iām taking them outside to go for a run. They are appropriately weighted.
When they first arrived Thursday, I listened to a few tracks and the first one that really stood out was Silent All These Years by Tori Amos. Her voice sounded so perfect and clear and detailed. I really felt like I was sitting next to her as she played her piano and sang. Her voice was positioned right above her piano. The layering of the background vocals was just right.
A few other tracks passed me by and then Stinkfist by Tool played. I canāt help but crank the volume on this song every time it plays. No matter how loud I went, it just stayed perfectly balanced. With every headphone Iāve heard before, something ends up feeling out of place - not so with the Susvara. Iām pretty sure I could have cranked this thing up until I was deaf and it would have sounded perfect the whole time.
I feel like I just jumped the line with this purchase. Thereās a lot of daylight between this purchase and everything else I own. They are already a strong contender to be my favorite headphone; outclassing the Focal Clears in nearly every way (my current favorite). Iād like to spend more time with the Susvaras and then put the Clears back on for a while and really get a feel for what I like more. So far I am very happy with these headphones.
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Congratulations and nice impressions. 
They really have the best timbre of any headphone that Iāve tried. They are my favorite headphone.
Cheers.
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Congrats and welcome to Club Susvara! Youāll also find Susvaras can scale with all your future gear upgrades. Enjoy!
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Thatās what Iāve heard. I have a speaker amp on the way. Should be here in a week or two. Right now Iām using a Jot.
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Iāve seen Tori Amos in concert a few times and she sounds the same in person as she does on those headphones. Itās incredibly impressive.
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Nice! Which speaker amp? The Susvara really opens up and bass gets more extended and authoritative with enough power.
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The Benchmark AHB2 amp. Iāve got a passive preamp that just arrived today. I got my speaker taps to 4 pin xlr cable in. Iāve literally got everything I need to do this EXCEPT the amp 
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Nice! @driftingbunnies just got the AHB2 with Susvara as well!
Congrats on the new headphone!
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