- -€201.00
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At a glance
Burson Soloist Prime: dual-mono Class A headphone power amplifier with 12 W into 32 Ω via XLR and a dedicated IEM stage. No volume control: volume comes from your DAC or preamp. Available as Deluxe or as Max with the Fusion Core power supply.
At a glance
Class A headphone power amplifier with 12 W via XLR and no volume control
Important: The Soloist Prime has no volume control and no preamp outputs. You control the volume on your DAC, streamer or preamp.
The Soloist Prime is the pure headphone power amplifier of the Voyager series. Burson removed the volume control, preamp stage and display and used the space for a two-level layout: input buffers and IEM stage on top, the dual-mono power stage with MOSFET transistors below. Ten Max Current power supplies feed the unit, twice as many as in the Soloist Voyager. Burson specifies 12 W into 32 Ω and 2 W into 300 Ω via XLR, and two analogue meters show the level instead of a display.

On the Prime, the versions differ more than on the other models:
Headphones plug into 4-pin XLR, 4.4 mm or 6.3 mm. You activate the IEM stage via the lowest gain setting, and it is not intended for full-size headphones.

The video review of the Max stayed silent with sensitive IEMs that hissed on the Soloist Voyager. In a direct comparison both sound tonally the same, with the Prime around 5 to 10 % more transparent and better separated. If you need a preamp or do not use IEMs, the review suggests the Soloist Voyager may be the better buy. The unit runs hot, and the meters can hit their end stops with very hard-to-drive headphones.
For anyone who owns a DAC or preamp with good volume control and only needs the power stage, from very sensitive IEMs to hard-to-drive planars. If you also want to use the unit with speakers, choose the Soloist Voyager.
| Amplifier | |
| Design | Class A, dual mono, discrete, no volume control |
| Headphone outputs | 4-pin XLR and 4.4 mm (balanced), 6.3 mm |
| Power into 32 Ω (XLR / 6.3 mm) | 12 W / 6 W |
| Power into 100 Ω (XLR / 6.3 mm) | 9 W / 4.5 W |
| Power into 150 Ω (XLR / 6.3 mm) | 5 W / 2.5 W |
| Power into 300 Ω (XLR / 6.3 mm) | 2 W / 1 W |
| IEM stage into 32 Ω (XLR / 6.3 mm) | 1 W / 500 mW |
| Gain settings | High 14 dB, medium 8 dB, IEM 3 dB |
| Input sensitivity | 4 Vrms |
| Headphone output impedance | 0.5 Ω |
| Input impedance | 22 kΩ |
| Distortion (THD) | < 0.0005 % |
| Frequency response | 0–48 kHz (±1 dB) |
| Signal-to-noise ratio | > 105 dB (high gain), > 100 dB (IEM stage) |
| Connections | |
| Inputs | 1× XLR, 1× RCA, 3.5 mm 12 V trigger |
| Outputs | no preamp outputs |
| General | |
| Dimensions | 265 × 270 × 85 mm |
| Weight | approx. 7 kg |
| Mains voltage | 100–240 V |
| Power figures | Manufacturer data, high gain |