Усилители для наушников — Burson Audio Soloist Stellar

The Soloist Stellar is a fully discrete Class A headphone amplifier and preamplifier from Burson Audio of Australia, launched alongside the Conductor Stellar. It accepts analogue signals only and pairs a main headphone stage with a separate output stage for in-ear monitors. Launch prices were USD 1,500, GBP 1,700, EUR 1,600 and AUD 2,600, while the maker's own store lists configurations from USD 1,499 up to USD 2,599. A three-year warranty and a 30-day refund policy apply.

Key specs that matter

With the high gain setting engaged, the headphone outputs deliver 8 W balanced or 4 W single-ended into 16 ohm, 5 W or 2.5 W into 32 ohm, and 500 mW or 260 mW into 300 ohm. The IEM stage is rated 1 W balanced and 0.5 W single-ended. Frequency response is 0 Hz to 55 kHz within plus or minus 1 dB, THD stays below 0.0015%, and THD plus noise is 0.0005% at 1 kHz full scale. Channel separation reaches 143 dB at 1 kHz and 138 dB at 20 kHz. Input impedance is 40 kohm, headphone output impedance is 0.5 ohm, and the preamp outputs offer 1 ohm and 20 ohm. The case measures 210 x 200 x 75 mm and weighs about 5 kg.

Engineering and use context

Each channel uses four Onsemi MJE15032 transistors chosen for high Class A bias. A dual PGA2320 analogue resistor-ladder attenuator handles level, rated at 0.0004% THD plus noise. The IEM module is built on two TPA6120A2 amplifier chips with 0.001% THD plus noise and a slew rate of 1300 V per microsecond. Supply regulation comes from Burson's Silent Power Module 2 with an LT3045 regulator specified at 0.8 microvolts RMS noise. Two gain levels, independent channel-balance controls for the headphone and preamp paths, and swappable V7 opamps are provided, and the mains input accepts 100 to 240 V worldwide. Burson describes the heat-sinking chassis as aerospace-inspired.

Pairing

Sources plug into XLR or RCA sockets on the rear, while headphones connect through a balanced XLR socket, a 6.35 mm jack or a 3.5 mm jack. As a preamplifier it feeds power amplifiers or active speakers through XLR and RCA outputs, and a mono subwoofer output lets a powered sub join a desktop system. An external converter supplying a line-level analogue signal is required, since there is no digital input.

Alternatives

The Burson Soloist 3X GT is an earlier headphone amplifier and preamplifier with two independently powered mono amps rated at 8 W into 32 ohm and 10 W into 16 ohm in balanced mode.