Burson Soloist Voyager Review - Per Aspera Ad Astra

[@rdraghiciu]

The fact that plays in the same ballroom with Enleum is a great achievement for the Burson team, excellent review!

[@Soundnews]

They targeted that amp immediately after dropping the AMP-23R review and I'm glad they were able to close the gap and provide a similar performance at a lower price. The Voyager is indeed more organic and smoother sounding, reminding me more about their older doings (HA-160 and 160D) tonality-wise.

[@johenkay1129]

@@Soundnews But clearly.... the 23r is still better am I right?

[@PassionforSound]

Nice review, Sandu! I'm hoping to receive a production unit this week and cant wait to remind myaelf of the benefits over the 3X GT.

[@Soundnews]

Hi Lachlan, sorry for my late reply (going through a less pleasing period). It will be worth the wait, the amp is truly fantastic, especially with the V7 discrete op-amps.

[@kurt120032002]

Burson needs to stop this BS. I got a 3000Euro amp 6 months ago, and I didn't even consider Burson because 1 single reason: there are too many variants for every god damn tier. 1, MAXIMUM 2 is enough. They so what china does and it''s not cool, and in audio cool is a big factor, because we don't need any of this. We want it, and when we start to pay serious money the product needs to also be cool and interesting, not only sound good. When you speak about HD600, v281 or Qtest everyone knows what you are talking abut because it is 1 product, made with intent. You got that, that is is. Burson has 3-4 variants and doesn't matter what you get you will never be fully satisfied because you feel like maybe missing something, so I skiped their entire line. I hope they read this and stop their BS. Just do the best device you can do for that price and that is it.

[@robertreynolds2212]

Currently own one around 45hrs of burn in. Loving every minute.

[@Soundnews]

Congrats! There's no upgrading after this

[@klaymoon1]

Great review! Any comparison you can offer against a more reasonably priced all in one units such as Topping DX9? Thanks.

[@Soundnews]

Hey buddy! DX9 doesn't offer as much headroom on tap, but it still provides high quality power. The biggest differences are in the dynamics department. Voyager simply kicks (much) harder with everything I'm throwing at it and you can sense an incredible sense of control, which isn't quite there on the DX9. Both are incredibly clean and transparent, but the Voyager provides a more spacious sound on all axes. While the DX9 is far from being mellow or lean, the Voyager takes dynamics and transients and pushes them to 11, you can literally feel your ear-drums shaking when music plays.

[@klaymoon1]

@@Soundnews Voyager must be a killer unit! Thanks for the response.

[@dynamic-audio]

Hello friend, check some Violectric amplifiers like V380/v340, V550 to compare with Burson. I have only compared the v281 with the soloist 3xp, but the more expensive models would be more interesting.

[@yogiwp_]

How does the v281 compares against the 3xp? I find the highs of the 3xp can be unbearably harsh.

[@dynamic-audio]

@@yogiwp_ susvara in v281 sounds a lil bit smoother than soloist. Is very difficult to describe. But the control in bass and details are the same in both. The big difference is the presence of bass around 60Hz in the v281. It has more quantity than soloist and maybe that is the reason of that more mellow sound in v281. Soloist is not harsh. Is more neutral but it is also warmth as v281. It has same sensation of power but more linear. But i am using the super charger 5a in soloist. This supercharger also round a lil bit the treble.

[@alwynroberts8465]

Another great video thanks, so you had a glowing review of the Trafomatic Audio Head2 and now the Burson. If you are buying one of them which would it be, Take the Trafomatic and have more money to upgrade headphones with. Or take the Burson and use your existing headphone.

[@bendzy169]

My music collection contains mostly of Jazz, Blues, Soul, Vocal oriented Instrumental music, with some rock and melodic, symphonic metal tracks and albums. So I decided to go with V7 Classic instead of V7 Vivid. Hope that I made the right choise 🙄🤞

[@ruffandruff]

Outstanding review mate!! I wanted to know this, Have you heard any solid state amp that slams as hard as the Head 2?(except the 23R)

[@Soundnews]

Thanks! The AMP-23R is the no.1 headamp in that department, followed by the Voyager, then by the OOR & Hypsos. The first two are slamming harder than the Head 2 with upgraded tubes. There's another amp that slams pretty impressive and so far, the only one that has unlimited headroom (really), but you'll need to wait for 2 weeks for my big reveal ;)

[@ruffandruff]

@@Soundnews Thanks a lot for sharing your insights man. Unlimited headroom!! man that's quite intriguing. I have a feeling it's the new flux labs amp, anyway will wait for your reveal 🤩

[@Flavius7]

I was hoping Burson could engage in a competition with Enleum and greatly improve the GT, a very weird, although interesting and dynamic amplifier in my tests. Not sure about the design, but the description sounds close to "my type of fun". While not going too far from their origins, if they managed to go further in transparency and resolution, with smoother accents...COULD BE AN AMAZING PRODUCT! Good work, Sandu!👍👍

[@GENERALALEXARMYPROPAGANDA]

I traded my Enleum with Voyager. No regrets, happy owner. Much more flexible in terms of tuning the sound, matching headphones.

[@johenkay1129]

How does it compare to the Cen Grand Silver Fox?

[@SIZLL]

I would love to know that too. Im also thinking about getting one or the other

[@x32i77]

Are you excited to hear the new upcoming raal 1995 immanis ? It will be the absolute highlight of 2024 🔥

[@Soundnews]

I'll try them at the Munich High End Show in May 2024, hopefully they are really good. I also want to try the Mod House Tungstens

[@x32i77]

@@Soundnews I will try them ( raal Immanis ) in Heidelberg in two weeks 🔥 so excited

[@georgechirayus4865]

Great review. Very detailed and comprehensive. Thanks 🙏 A side question: what is the brand of you audio / AV rack, please? Very classy looking. 👏

[@Soundnews]

My pleasure, you will get All your answers in this video: kzbin.info/www/bejne/a4mWZYKjeriMm9U

[@georgechirayus4865]

@@Soundnews Wonderful. Many thanks - will watch. 🙏

[@ludwigtheholyblade79]

How does the Burson Voyager compare to the HPA4 and Topping A90? Thanks

[@GENERALALEXARMYPROPAGANDA]

More Powerful, musical and rhytmic. If you want to unwind and immerse yourself into the music..get the Voyager and experiment with different OP-Amps

[@fadofado1727]

Thoughts on this versus the Holo Audio Bliss?

[@trun1979]

I own both. They trade blows: whilst the Bliss is more incisive, the Voyager has smoother mids and slightly better sub bass.

[@urbenkam]

i wonder when they will officially release v7 opamps.

[@Soundnews]

I'll come back in a couple of hours with an answer.

[@urbenkam]

@@Soundnews you will come back 😵‍💫

[@erikleonardi6642]

Is the voyager better for susvara compared to oor + hypsos ?

[@aceofspades6667]

Woot going to get popcorn for this one. Question on the sub out does it contain individual gain output? I heard with prior soloist there was a problem integrating subs with headphones as they volume didn’t scale in sub with headphone volume ? 🤷‍♂️

[@Soundnews]

Hey Ace, since getting standfloor speakers some 3 years ago, I no longer use subwoofers and I cannot comment much on that feature. However, once I'm engaging the HP+SUB Out, I see that the volume changes the amplitude of the SUB out (just measured it) I guess the issues are now solved.

[@aceofspades6667]

@@Soundnews thank you!

[@aceofspades6667]

@@Soundnews​​⁠if you had the opportunity to buy a soloist 3xgt 2023 with sp2 module and fully upgraded v7 (4x v7 classics 2x v7 vivid) for 1500 USD used or a fully upgraded Voyager for $3k slightly used. Is the soloist gt close enough that the value discrepancy it makes sense to just to cheaper? If the voyager was 100s across the board would the gt be a 85 a 90 or like a 95?

[@antonristo1096]

Thanks for the review! Do you still have the Trafomatic Head 2 amp at hand? Would you say the Voyager is a significant upgrade over it? I got the Head 2 based on your review. I currently have it with upgraded Electro Harmonix 6N30Pi Gold tubes and Genalex Gold Lion 6922 tubes, and it does sound amazing. I would love to someday own the Primavera, but it will probably be outside of my budget for a long long time, so I wonder if the the Voyager would be an endgame amp before something like the Primavera, or should I just stick with my Head 2 and maybe upgrade my DAC (Gustard R26) first.

[@ozymandias7940]

Hi Sandu, a question for you, I have a Conductor 3 GT with V6 Opamps. To upgrade to the V7's, do I just replace the pair of output Opamps, or all 6 of them? At $350AUD a pair, obviously over $1,000 to replace all 6 is somewhat painful....

[@psysword]

I got the Topping dx9 pro as a Dac feeding the Burson voyager functioning as a preamp for my gt timekeeper monoblocks and as a headphones amp too. Just burning them all in.

[@HungryEatNow]

How much improvement can you get from sub 1k head amp? 10%?

[@ancientalien815]

We need to hear about the v7s in the 2023 soloist!

[@aceofspades6667]

P4S will be doing that at some point

[@PassionforSound]

I just received shipping advice so that's definitely coming soon!

[@ancientalien815]

@@PassionforSound I kinda hope they make the 2023 sound just like the voyager so I can find a cheaper used 2023 and upgrade it.

[@robertreynolds2212]

I posted mine for sale on Head-Fi @@ancientalien815

[@masterazlan6999]

Straight to the point bra, which sonically?.. This or ifi phantom?..btw deltaSigma or even r2r r nice to pairs with tubes bra..try it.. Peace!

[@Soundnews]

My colleague Catalin is now reviewing the iFi Phantom (review dropping soon on the website), but I didn't have a chance to try that one yet.

[@masterazlan6999]

O.. Ok..Hmm has energizer for e Stat bra, aesthetics kinda dx9 see through kinda things yet tons of functionality..u know ifi But iem switches still same, really dispointed for iem audiophiles user.. Thx anyway.. Peace!

[@Soundnews]

@@masterazlan6999 Hey mate, I would like you hear your voice one day, for no reason I'm thinking about Bob Marley when I read your comments 😅 Peace!

[@masterazlan6999]

Bob marley into audiophile's iem?..kewl..Peace2! Btw my fav playlist frm mrbob is 'Turn your lights down low' But u must've rec copy of the highest codec just to get wut im sayin bra..njoy it. Peace3!

[@orangemoon1708]

How will this compare with the Ferrum Oor+ Hypsos in general? And how about with Empyrean 2?

[@trun1979]

The Voyager is quite clearly superior to the Oor (owned both): it's more detailed, more olographic and with better sub bass. Oor is a great amp too, don't get me wrong.

[@ronsoffer7995]

Half an hour describing the sound characteristic differences between some of the amps, but not once having validated you can actually hear any difference at all. I’ll give you one thing, you have quite the imagination.

[@Soundnews]

Imagination si everything, so I'll take it as a compliment. Thank you

[@WorldView22]

The aesthetic degradation of the new model is painfully obvious! What on earth were they thinking? I understand this is subjective but the following is not: what a stupid idea was it to market this product at the Burson website using sexualised photos of a woman?! Are they selling a TOTL audio product or condoms?

[@Soundnews]

You have a point and I'll make your voice heard.

[@WorldView22]

@@Soundnews To be clear, I'm no feminist or ideologue of any kind, just finding the ad really idiotic.

[@Soundnews]

@@WorldView22 I've got the same feelings when I saw that page.

[@psysword]

Australia has too many babes! Need more amps or both!

[@antonioponzoni4440]

I personally am so offended at the sight of a beautiful woman. I will never buy Burson again.

[@ashred9665]

1st