Ah my bad. I think auteur is default on any VC for the installed pair. They are the thickest and most angled pad. Easy to tell compared to the universe and be2.
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So I’ve had the VCs for a while now and I absolutely love em!
But occasionally, at times, it sounds a bit sharp and shouty (I could EQ but let’s leave that aside for now). I’m thinking that my RME DAC might be the bottleneck of my chain (RME>Burson Soloist>VC w/ auteur pads).
I am thinking of upgrading my DAC to a Spring 3 when the time comes. However, I’d like some additional thoughts/insights on this approach. Wise or stupid choice?
And no tube amps for me…at least as of right now. Thanks in advance!
Chord Qutest? Great DAC at the price.
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I have but I’ve heard that it has similar performance to the RME edging it out slightly.
Also, it doesn’t have balanced which I know doesn’t particularly matter but the Soloist was designed for a fully balanced connection in mind…
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Wyred4Sound is another DAC brand I like. I’ve owned two of them. Very durable and trouble free. You have to be a ESS sabre fan though.
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Cool, I’ll check it out thanks!
But I guess my main question at hand is if I’m right to think the RME is the weakest link of the chain? And that if that’s the direction I should be heading…in upgrading the DAC?
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W4S has some trade in DACs at great prices with a two year warranty (instead of 5 years). I have the Anniversary model DAC-2v2se. They have trade-in DAC-2v2se for $2k (normally $3800) Great DAC at a great price. Fully balanced, half rack sized. Great for desktop.
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I’d think a $3k amp and $1k DAC or a $2k amp and $2k DAC would tend to influence better/preferred sonics than a $3k DAC and $1k amp.
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I know you don’t want tubes, or not right now but…I’d introduce some tubes.
And or like @bpcarb said, spend a little more on a really good amp and a decent dac.
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If you live in SoCal, try visiting the Schiitr and bring by our amp and VC to try some of their offerings. Start with Bifrost 2 and go up the DAC line?
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Thanks for all the insights! That’s definitely not a bad idea @Roark…I keep forgetting that they’re so close to me. lol
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The VC is a pain in the arse when it comes to system matching and synergy. It’s so revealing it lets you hear all the inherent traits of the upstream gear, good or bad. Is your Soloist one of the new Gen 3 models? Or one of the older models? My buddy had an older Soloist and Conductor, and I found those to be a bit bright and steely up top. I can see pairing the VC with those older models to be shouty for sure. I’ve not heard the newest Bursons though, only the older models (Gen 1?). If the Burson is an older unit, i’d focus on that instead of the RME, that might solve your troubles. If it’s a newer model disregard my ranting 
Are tubes an absolute no go for you? I resisted tubes for years, but after getting deep into the ZMF pool i finally took the plunge, and they definitely live up to their reputation. My VC on tubes is never shouty now unless the track is over the top bright and sibilant.
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This is news to me about the Burson stuff…where did you hear it from? I pre-ordered mine so I’m guessing it’s the older model.
Not an absolute no-go, but as of this moment yes…
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I can respect a preference for solid state.
There a different degrees of tube amp. As a mild entry point, you could go hybrid or solid state rectified. For versatility to use with different types of headphones, there is transformer coupled rather than output transformerless.
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My buddy had a full Burson lineup (separate dac and amp) years ago with his HD800. At that time my main headphone was an HD650, which I found to be noticeably brighter on his system than mine (Bifrost MB and Lyr 2). I also compared my rig to his using his HD800 and his was again noticeably brighter. I always found the HD800 bright no matter what, but man it was really bright there. I did get a good amount of listening time on his rig over the years, but take my comments with a grain of salt. I don’t know exactly which models he did have, and it’s been quite awhile since i’ve heard it all. But my main takeaway when I did use his Burson rig was it sounded bright to me.
EDIT - another grain of salt…i’m pretty treble sensitive, so i tend to overreact to any brightness…
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Indeed…I have learned all kinds of things about cables I am using and some of the tweaks that I like to play with. The Verite really makes tweaking easy. I really enjoy that.
Happy listening,
jgwtriode
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The Olive’s are gorgeous. I’m 150 hrs in to burning and I have to say, everyone stating to burn these in are spot on!!! (including Zach)
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I have the Olive LTD on order, but wondering what people think about magnesium chassis vs. aluminum.
I chose aluminum for purely aesthetic reasons, but do owners find a real advantage to the lighter magnesium chassis? I’m early enough in the order process that I could make a change.
Seemed like a relatively small weight differential but wondering what owners have found. Thanks!
I haven’t compared the two, but I opted for the magnesium chassis on mine. If there was a discount for “downgrading” to the aluminum chassis, I would have definitely opted for that. I’m not sure how noticeable the weight difference would be. I like the durability of the aluminum vs the painted magnesium, but I am just very careful with my magnesium VC’s!
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