[CFGamescape]

Some conclusions after properly testing the 4 Vivid/2 Classic mix:

-They did level out to more neutral as they burned in more. And the characteristics of the Vivids became dominant over the Classics which acted like nice seasoning/spice overall, like others said. The Classics did not impose excessive warmth or thickness in this combo ratio.

-Classics in Voltage Gain smooth out edges nicely but cut a good amount of the big stage height that I was used to my Gustard R26 providing. They also pushed the stage very deep so it sounded like you were watching a movie far back in a longer theatre and the height of the screen cut off to letterbox.

-Classics in Volume make the Vivids do most of the talking. The staging and layering while nicely open and wide, is flatter so the lead is on par with the background and the V-shape and loss of richness is apparent.

-Classics in Input is the goldilocks choice, just right. Great amount of air, separation, trailing tones, resolution, attack and dynamics while refining edges. The forward presence of the lead vocals/instruments enhances texture and depth very nicely and accurately. This is my favorite feature overall. You are clearly more immersed and invested in the music.

Overall a worthy upgrade to refine the Soloist in the direction of totl amps. Not as a dramatic wow effect as HQPlayer upsampling, but provides a higher foundation to all round performance.

Nice assessment. I agree, so far, the Classics in the input strike the right balance in combination with other, more revealing op amps (I prefer the SS2950 over the V7 Vivid). I also agree that the volume stage doesn't really do anything in terms of imparting any of its pleasing characteristics, although I did find the Classics to work okay there when combined with the SS2950 in the voltage and V7 Vivid in the input.

 

[RONJA MESCO]

I have vivid duals in both in my Topping D10 and D10s...I have burned them in for 30 hours, but I think they need a bit more. They were rough sounding out the box...at 30 hours they are starting to show their fruit. Opposed to my V5i the soundstage is bigger and the details are more precise.

You can really hear the vocals separated from the music...the singer sits up front and the music sits in the back of the singer when you listen. Both together they surround you from the front of your face to the back of your head. Not exactly holographic but has 'crisp sound that surrounds'. It's been good on pretty much all the music I have thrown at it with Jazz, R&B, House music, rock, EDM, Pop, etc. The only issue so far is with females with high vocal registers...it craps out a tiny bit with those singers (Ariana Grande....Mariah Carey...etc)...but with time I think these will reign that in.

I think with about 20 more hours everything will balance out. In my testing, the older kit (D10) is settling out a bit faster than my newer unit (D10s)...but theyre both coming along.

 

[terontingen]

Nice assessment. I agree, so far, the Classics in the input strike the right balance in combination with other, more revealing op amps (I prefer the SS2950 over the V7 Vivid). I also agree that the volume stage doesn't really do anything in terms of imparting any of it's pleasing characteristics, although I did find the Classics to work okay there when combined with the SS2950 in the voltage and V7 Vivid in the input.

Does your 'tube' opamp mix work for you on your 800S? I'd imagine your R26 with the 800S would make for a killer soundstage but I assume very clinical and maybe thin? Even with LCD-X I found the Soloist + R26 to be very neutral & clean. What made a huge difference for me was HQPlayer upsampling to DSD and playing with filters and modulators. The R26 is a native 1bit DSD DAC. The movie analogy is like upgrading to IMAX. Huge soundstage in all directions and wrapped around you. Thickness, body, organic tonality/resonance and analog goodness. Combined with Soloist + R26 technical performance it's in another league. At higher DSD levels it's a pricey investment if you don't already have a good PC but you can tinker with lower PCM filters on lower spec PC to try it out. Highly recommended if you haven't tried.

 

[CFGamescape]

Does your 'tube' opamp mix work for you on your 800S? I'd imagine your R26 with the 800S would make for a killer soundstage but I assume very clinical and maybe thin? Even with LCD-X I found the Soloist + R26 to be very neutral & clean. What made a huge difference for me was HQPlayer upsampling to DSD and playing with filters and modulators. The R26 is a native 1bit DSD DAC. The movie analogy is like upgrading to IMAX. Huge soundstage in all directions and wrapped around you. Thickness, body, organic tonality/resonance and analog goodness. Combined with Soloist + R26 technical performance it's in another league. At higher DSD levels it's a pricey investment if you don't already have a good PC but you can tinker with lower PCM filters on lower spec PC to try it out. Highly recommended if you haven't tried.

That configuration works quite well with the HD800S. The headphone isn't as bad as people make it out to be, IMO. I do like an airy presentation, but I get adequate bass, note weight, timbre, and mids with these. Part of me is getting used to it and part of it is my chain.

I use Roon and upscale to 512 DSD with NOS enabled.

I EQ a little bit, depending on what I'm listening to, but in my experience, the HD800S doesn't respond that great to EQ compared to HiFiMan and Audeze planars.

 

[CFGamescape]

My very early impressions after trying a lot of different configurations with my Burson Soloist 3X GT is that the SS2590 is still king. But the V7 Vivid is pretty close. If size and money are considerations, V7 Vivids are a great alternative.

I will caveat to say that A/B testing op amps is really difficult. I have to first get a good listening session in on my baseline configuration, then unplug everything, open up the case, plop in the op amps, close the case, plug everything back in, and fire up the same songs, by which point my memory of what I heard is likely compromised. Rinse/repeat.

What I can get from rolling op amps is the overall tonality shift. Kind of within the range of bright and airy to heavy and muddy. My hearing isn't sophisticated enough to pick out a ton of subtlety. Sorry!

That said, here are my first impressions. In the voltage gain stage where my SS2590 has lived for months, the V7 Vivids provide impressive resolution, soundstage, imaging, and dynamics. The attack is about equal on both, but the V7 Vivids seem slightly less precise. The SS2590 has more weight and texture, better decay, and overall wins in detail retrieval.

I'm splitting hairs. Both are really good.

My favorite configuration so far has been the following:

• Voltage Stage: SS2590
• Input Stage: V7 Vivid (replacing the SIL994)
• Volume Stage: SS2590

Where the SIL994 gave me loads of weighty, impactful (but slightly boomy) bass, the V7 Vivids makes up for it with resolution and tighter, faster bass.

My second favorite configuration, which I'm going to stick with for a while to get used to the sound long-term before experimenting more:

• Voltage Stage: V7 Vivids
• Input Stage: SS2590
• Volume Stage: V7 Classics

I don't like the Classis in the voltage or input stages; it heavily colors the sound signature, IMO. Not my cup of tea (for now). But in the volume stage, arguagly the least impactful stage for the amp, it does a nice job of smoothing out the edges of the music and giving a sense of cohesion and holography.

So far, it's not about the V7 Vivids replacing the SS2590, but rather finding combinations with it.

If I were subjectively to rank the op amps I have:

1. SS2590
2. Tie between V7 Vivids and SIL994, with the former providing more air/space/faster bass and the latter providing more weight/bass impact. Both seem equal in terms of detail retrieval.
3. V7 Classics
4. Tie between SS3602 and Muzg Audio
5. V6 Vivids

More to come...

After further op amp rolling using the V7 Vivids/Classics in various configurations and combinations, I still stand by this initial assessment that the SS2590 is just superior in dynamics, resolution, timbre, and imaging/separation. The V7 Vivids are equal in terms of soundstage, but the imaging and timbre are not as natural; I feel as though the V7 Vivids don't have as much control. Again, they are both great in that department, but the Sparkos are greater.

In terms of dynamics, I think the SIL994 may be best out of all. They have a great ability to reach deep into lows and highs while maintaining a mid-forward presentation. This is apparent on busy tracks. With the SIL994 in the input stage, it really gives the music a lot of character and weight.

When I swap out the SIL994 with the V7 Vivids, you lose some of that "musicality" (I hate that term, but it seems appropriate here), but you do gain some perceived soundstage and treble response. Definitely more analytical. With the V7 Classics in the input stage, you gain some of characteristics of the SIL994, but bass is looser/boomier and highs are smoother with less resolution.

Previously, I said I didn't like the V7 Classics in the voltage stage, but after a while, I did quite like it. It gives you a much different experience, like swapping from detailed, analytical headphones to a warm, mid-forward headphone. I imagine it would sound really good with something like the ZMF Atrium Open (on my wishlist).

My preferences do lean towards detail and resolution, so the V7 Classics do find a happy home in the volume stage where its impact and coloration affect my preference the least, but rounds off some of the harshness in the music.

My favorite configuration is still:

• Voltage Stage: SS2590
• Input Stage: SIL994
• Volume Stage: SS2590

This combination is amazing. It seems to give the best of everything in the frequency range.

That said, I'm contemplating getting another pair of V7 Classics to try with the V7 Vivids, so two pairs of Classics and one pair of Vivids. I'm getting the sense that op amps aren't just about what each individual type brings, but how they synergize with each other. After all my rolling, I don't know how well V7s synergize with the Sparkos or the SIL.

 

[Ldejong]

I've started to follow this thread (and backtracked several others, reviews, reddit, etc.) when there was buzz about the V7 opams from Burson. I've been using the Conductor 3 Reference for four years now, paired with a Focal Clear headphone. I was happy with what the stock V6 vivid's gave me, but I also was curious about what my first opamp upgrade would give me. A first time in this beautiful hobby. I've contacted Burson and they advised my to mix in the Classics with the Vivids to get the best of both worlds. In this case, they advised to put the Classics in the I/V stage. Since the conductor uses a pair of singles and doubles I can't swap I/V and LP stages to hear the difference myself, so took the plunge.

So I went from a full V6 vivid set to a combo of V7 Classic + Vivid. There are two moving parts here and therefore also a bit apples to oranges, because I could possibly also achieve (parts of) the below with a V6 classic in the mix, who knows.
With the chance of having a few A/B sessions; I can definitely hear a difference here. One not necessarily better than the other. Rather just different. Of course, audio is also personal/dependent on the mood or situation and the description of audio subject to interpretation. Having said all this, a summary of my notes;

Full V6 Vivid, more transparent, vocals more in line (balance) with the rest of the music and a somewhat more contemplative experience. Everything kind of gets equal attention, nothing pulls to the forefront unless the song chooses to... and I think this is what is described as "analytical". I can definitely enjoy this. Looking back on the V7combi experience, I also think I understand what people mean by "air," because my headspace is less filled here, and so there really does seem to be some space left floating/hanging above which adds something to the experience. Full V6V's had more dynamics.
Combo of V7Classic + Vivid. Less contemplative and more intimate/involved. Vocals just a bit more in the foreground, while the rest is definitely still audible. I felt I had to search a bit less for insturments with the V6V's, because it was evenly distributed. Here the choice is somewhat made for you, but only minor. The sound has more weight/flesh on the bones and feels more real, because of this, a different kind of detailing I guess. Very appealing and realy beautiful. Bottom end a tad more detailed and less boomy. My headspace is more filled and the background feels like a black hole. The pace seems to be just a bit slower and it's an overall warmer experience compared to the full V6V's.

As for listening experience; Full V6V's, i'm looking at the music from a tiny distance and I can see it's beauty. Combi of V7, I'm in the music, it pulls me in instantly and it's very beautiful and lifelike.
Both have their value. I find the new set a more enjoyable experience. It's also that I can compare them now too and I would have been happy with both in hindsight, really.

 

[sawindra]

I prefer v7 Vivid in I/V stage, much more balanced sound and details.

 

[Ben86]

Hi all,

I got my hands on my dual V7vivid and V7singles, and installed them on my SoundBlaster AE9 instead of the V6's (my headset is a Meze99 classics)
Does they sound better?
Hard to answer, because while they do sound different, is it better?
The V6vivid where particularly detailed in the high, with some emphasis on very small treble sounds
The V7vivid, while still detailed, lost this emphasis.

I will keep them for a while, to see if i can get used to this new sound, and if i miss too much the v6's treble details, i'll switch back.
Of course the smaller form factor is good, because they can fit in more devices, but i feel like the size wasn't the only downgraded thing.
Or pehaps it's intended, and they really wanted to make the v7 more "transparent".

V7 sounds a bit less "vivid" than v6's

If you also switched your v6 to v7, tell me if you have the same feeling about them in your specific device

What are your impressions about V7V vs V6V after some time of burn-in?

 

[raoultrifan]

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