Short answer
Both are desktop amplifiers, $2799 against $3000.
The Burson Soloist 3X GT reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here, the McIntosh MHA200 on 566.
| Specification | Burson Soloist 3X GT | McIntosh MHA200 |
|---|---|---|
| Power into 32Ω | 4.0 W | 500 mW |
| Power into 150Ω | 650 mW | 475 mW |
| Power into 300Ω | 320 mW | 485 mW |
| Power into 600Ω | 160 mW | 500 mW |
| Output impedance | 0.5 Ω | not published |
| Output noise | 1.5 µV unverified | not published |
| Price | $2799 | $3000 |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | 566 |
Not published means the maker leaves it out, so that axis cannot be compared.
| Balanced | Burson Soloist 3X GT | McIntosh MHA200 |
|---|---|---|
| Socket | XLR4 | no separate rating |
| Power into 32Ω | 8.0 W | — |
| Power into 300Ω | 640 mW | — |
| Output impedance | 0.5 Ω | — |
| Output noise | not published | — |
| Headphones it reaches 100 dB on out of 567 | 567 | — |
Only the Burson Soloist 3X GT has a separate balanced rating from its maker; through it, it reaches 100 dB on 567 of the 567 models here. The McIntosh MHA200 may still have a balanced socket — its spec sheet simply gives no figure for one, so there is nothing to put beside it.
| Load | Burson Soloist 3X GT | McIntosh MHA200 |
|---|---|---|
| 32 Ω | Published | Published |
| 150 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 300 Ω | Published | Derived |
| 600 Ω | Derived | Published |
Both makers publish a power rating. Burson Soloist 3X GT publishes at 32 Ω, at 150 Ω and at 300 Ω; McIntosh MHA200 at 32 Ω and at 600 Ω. The other rows are worked out from those.
So the two columns are not equally firm row by row: at 150 Ω and at 300 Ω only the Burson Soloist 3X GT figure is the maker’s own and at 600 Ω only the McIntosh MHA200 figure is the maker’s own. On those rows the derived number is the one to doubt first.
1 headphone reaches 100 dB on the Burson Soloist 3X GT but not on the McIntosh MHA200 — Symphonium Titan.
566 of the 567 models here reach 100 dB on both.
Headroom is at a 100 dB SPL peak.
The widest gap on the list is the Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020: Burson Soloist 3X GT has +28 dB of headroom there against +15 dB. 13 dB is about 20 times the power, which matters for peaks rather than for how loud the music sits.
The hiss columns are empty for Burson Soloist 3X GT and McIntosh MHA200 because neither maker publishes no output noise figure.
| Headphone | Impedance | Needs | Burson Soloist 3X GT headroom | McIntosh MHA200 headroom | Burson Soloist 3X GT hiss | McIntosh MHA200 hiss |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Shure SE846 | 9 Ω | 0.04 mW | +48 dB | +35 dB | not published | not published |
| Campfire Audio Andromeda 2020 | 9 Ω | 4.0 mW | +28 dB | +15 dB | not published | not published |
| Audeze LCD-2 Classic | 70 Ω | 0.79 mW | +35 dB | +28 dB | not published | not published |
| Beyerdynamic DT 1990 Pro (250Ω) | 250 Ω | 0.63 mW | +28 dB | +29 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN HE400se | 25 Ω | 7.9 mW | +27 dB | +17 dB | not published | not published |
| Audio-Technica ATH-R70X | 470 Ω | 1.6 mW | +21 dB | +25 dB | not published | not published |
| Sennheiser HD 600 | 300 Ω | 6.6 mW | +17 dB | +19 dB | not published | not published |
| HiFiMAN Susvara | 60 Ω | 50 mW | +17 dB | +10 dB | not published | not published |
The McIntosh MHA200 costs $201 more than the Burson Soloist 3X GT, and on these three axes the money buys nothing: among the 567 models here there is not one that the McIntosh MHA200 handles and the Burson Soloist 3X GT does not — not on power, not on the one-eighth rule, not on hiss. The traffic runs the other way: the cheaper Burson Soloist 3X GT drives one model to 100 dB that the McIntosh MHA200 does not.
Only published figures count here; blank axes are counted separately.
Each in full: Burson Soloist 3X GT and McIntosh MHA200.