If you’ve followed Burson Audio for any length of time, you know they don’t do things by halves. Their “Cool Case” chassis and discrete op-amp obsession have become part of the furniture in the high-end scene. The Soloist GT4, though, feels like a proper technical reset aimed at squeezing out even more transparency and silence. With a mirror-symmetrical internal layout and a hardware-based crossfeed circuit, it’s pitched as a no-compromise centrepiece for both headphone and speaker systems. It’s also priced like one: between $2,499 and $3,599 USD depending on power supply and op-amp choice. So… does it actually earn that “Grand Tourer” badge? Let’s get into it.

Disclaimer: This sample was provided by Burson Audio on loan for an honest review. All observations and opinions here are my own, based on my experience with the product.

Burson Audio Soloist GT4

Features and Internal Design

From the outside, the GT4 looks very Burson: thick aluminium, industrial vibe, orange accents. Inside, though, things have changed quite a bit. It’s now a fully symmetrical dual-mono design. In practical terms, each channel has its own power and amplification path, which helps keep the stereo image stable when the music gets busy. Think less smearing, more separation, and better control when the track turns into organised chaos.

The Power and Noise Floor

The big headline number is 10 watts of Class-A power into 16 ohms from the balanced output. That’s more than enough for just about anything short of welding equipment. The real trick with amps like this is not how loud they go, but how quiet they stay.

Burson tackles that with their Silent Power (SP02) modules, which are updated voltage regulators designed to clean up ripple noise from the mains. The idea is to get that “battery-powered” black background, without actually having to mess around with batteries.

Volume control is handled by a dual-mono stepped attenuator using MUSES72320 chips. It’s a resistor ladder rather than a cheap pot, so you get proper channel balance even at very low levels. If you’ve ever had vocals drifting left at night-time listening levels, you’ll appreciate this.

User Control and Utility

A few things stood out during daily use:

The Volume Ladder: Granular steps, no channel imbalance, and none of that “oops, too loud” jumpiness. It feels precise, which suits an amp at this level.

Hardware Crossfeed: It’s subtle, but useful. It nudges the soundstage forward and takes the edge off extreme left-right panning. I found it especially welcome with older jazz and some hard-panned rock where everything normally lives inside your ears like it’s paying rent.

Subwoofer Output: You can run headphones and a powered sub at the same time. Slightly mad, but also brilliant. Open-back headphones plus a sub give you a bit of chest-thump without turning the room into a nightclub.

Modularity

As expected from Burson, the op-amps are socketed. The stock Burson Audio Vivids will suit most people, but if you enjoy rolling op-amps like some people roll tubes, you can tune the GT4 to taste. It’s one of those features you don’t need—but once you’ve got it, you’ll probably use it.

Design and Layout

The GT4 uses Burson’s familiar “Cool Case” chassis, which doubles as a giant heat sink. It weighs about 5kg and runs hot, because Class-A doesn’t believe in efficiency. Cooling is handled by a mix of passive fins and two internal fans. In practice, they’re whisper-quiet. In my setup, I couldn’t hear them unless I stuck my ear next to the unit like a confused cat.

Front Panel

Volume Knob: Big, orange, and nicely weighted. It also doubles as a button for menu navigation.
OLED Display: Clear and readable, with the option to flip it for vertical placement. Handy if desk space is tight.
Buttons: Power on the left, with dedicated input/output selectors and a settings toggle under the screen.
Outputs: 4-pin XLR balanced and 6.35mm single-ended. Still no 4.4mm Pentaconn, which feels increasingly stubborn in 2026.

Rear Panel Connectivity

Inputs: Two XLR and two RCA
Outputs: XLR and RCA pre-outs, plus a dedicated RCA sub out
Power: 24V DC input for the standard brick, Super Charger, or Fusion Core PSU

Sound Performance: The “Grand Tourer” Bit

I’ve spent a lot of time with Burson’s smaller amps, so I know their house sound well. The GT4 doesn’t just scale that up—it stretches it out.

Using the Meze Audio 105 AER and HEDDphone D1, the first thing I noticed was how little effort the GT4 seemed to be making. Volume wasn’t the story; control was. Big planars sounded properly anchored, with transients snapping into place instead of wobbling around.

Power and Control

There’s an easy authority to the sound. With the HEDDphone D1, which can feel slightly sluggish on weaker amps, the GT4 tightened everything up. Bass lines were cleaner, and complex passages stayed organised instead of turning into polite mush.

Compatibility & Pairing

Despite all that power, the GT4 behaves itself with sensitive gear. With the Westone MACH 70 and Noble Audio Van Gogh, I could detect only the faintest noise between tracks — and that was with the fan and my computer turned off. On low gain, it was perfectly usable with IEMs, which isn’t something I can say about every desktop Class-A amp I’ve tried.

That black background really does show up here. Quiet passages stay quiet, and you don’t get that faint electronic “shhhh” reminding you there’s an amplifier involved.

Texture and Tonality

This still sounds like Burson: bold, physical, and slightly muscular. The bass has real weight, but it’s textured rather than just thick. On the 105 AER, I was picking out string buzz and finger movement more clearly than usual, which is always a good sign.

Midrange stays clean and present without getting shouty, and treble has bite without turning brittle. It’s not a romantic amp, but it’s not sterile either. Think well-lit, not fluorescent.

Staging and Realism

Soundstage is wide and properly layered. Compared to smaller Burson amps, the GT4 opens things up noticeably. Instruments sit in defined spaces rather than clumping together, and imaging is solid enough that you can almost point at things with your finger, which is always my very scientific test.

The Trade-offs

It isn’t quite a perfect run, however. My main gripe remains a familiar one with Burson: the lack of a 4.4mm Pentaconn output. In an era where 4.4mm has effectively become the industry standard for balanced portable and desktop gear, its absence here is genuinely head-scratching. Having to dig out an XLR adapter just to plug in a modern cable feels like a step backward for such a forward-thinking unit.

Then there is the elephant in the room, which is the price. There is no getting around the fact that the GT4 represents a significant investment. For many, the cost will be a genuine obstacle, especially when Burson’s own mid-tier gear already offers such a high level of enjoyment.

Verdict

So, is it worth it? If you’re chasing an end-game desktop amp that combines brute power with a genuinely low noise floor and the ability to fine-tune the sound via op-amps, the Soloist GT4 delivers. It’s built like a small tank, runs quietly despite being Class-A, and gives music a sense of scale that cheaper amps simply don’t manage.

Yes, it’s expensive, and yes, I’m still annoyed about the missing 4.4mm jack. But once you sit down with a good pair of headphones and realise the amp isn’t getting in the way of anything, those complaints fade pretty quickly. If your goal is to get the absolute most out of your headphones without turning your desk into a science experiment, the GT4 makes a strong case for itself.