Matus’s Burson Conductor 3X Reference with Denon AH-D9200 and DALI Opticon 6 MK2

Published on

Sales Burson
April 10, 2024

Post Info

Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
Burson Conductor 3X Reference, Burson Super Charger 3A, Burson V7 Vivid Opamp, DALI Opticon 6 MK2, Denon AH-D9200, Denon PMA-900HNE

I put it on the Super Charger 3A and changed op-amps to v7 vivids as soon as I verified the product was functional. So my op-amps are hardly burnt in yet; but I already really love the sound from the Burson Conductor 3XR. It is wonderfully spacious, detailed and natural, yet not metallic/harsh in the treble – it is a pleasure to listen to. Beautiful sound and very immersive, it makes it hard to raise myself from the sofa. I feel the spaciousness perhaps a bit more using my speakers (through Denon PMA-900HNE), but when it comes to detail, my headphones (Denon AH-D9200 connected via XLR/balanced) are the way to go. And there is a huge amount of detail that I previously didn’t hear with my other DAC-amps. The best performing audio device I have ever owned, I can say. There are two minor things that might be improved and I’m confident that at least one has already been addressed with newer products: First, the headphone-amp volume jump from 00 to 01 is huge (although on low gain) followed by comparatively very minor increments, which fortunately is not a problem for me, since I still listen on louder volumes than between these two values. Second, the manual or the case could bring more clarity into which XLR output on the back side of the Conductor is left and right. From my experience, the bottom one is right, but this is not really described on the product casing nor in the manual.

The System

Listening with

Denon AH-D9200 · Headphones: closed-back, dynamic (50 mm nanofiber FreeEdge), circumaural

Impedance: 24 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB/mW ≈ 121.2 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 56 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: not published on spec page
Other: max power input 1,800 mW; bamboo housing

Matching notes: At 24 Ω and 105 dB/mW, the AH-D9200 is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.28 V (3.2 mW, 11 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 24 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X Reference. Its 16 Ω and 32 Ω ratings (7.5 W XLR / 3.75 W SE; 5 W XLR / 2.5 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/48 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

DALI Opticon 6 MK2 · Speakers: passive 2.5+0.5-way floorstander, bass reflex (29 mm soft dome + 17×45 mm planar, 2x 6.5 in woofers)

Impedance: 4 Ω
Sensitivity: 88 dB (2.83 V / 1 m)
Frequency response: 49 Hz – 30 kHz (±3 dB)
Connectors: bi-wire / bi-amp terminals
Recommended amplifier power: 25 – 200 W
Other: max SPL 110 dB; crossover 800 / 2,200 / 14,000 Hz; 1001 x 195 x 330 mm; 19.3 kg

^{[5] [6]}

Denon PMA-900HNE · Integrated amp: stereo integrated network amplifier (HEOS streaming, DAC, phono MM/MC)

Power: 8 Ω: 50 (20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.07% THD) · 4 Ω: 85 (1 kHz, 0.7% THD)
Inputs: line (CD / network / aux / recorder); phono MM (2.5 mV / 47k) + MC (220 µV / 100 Ω); 3x optical; coaxial; USB-A; HEOS network; Bluetooth
Input impedance: 17 kΩ (line)
Input sensitivity: 0.106 V (line)
Outputs: speaker A / B (4-16 Ω); headphone jack; subwoofer / pre out
DAC / chipset: 192 kHz / 24-bit DAC (chip not named on spec page)
Other: THD 0.01% (rated -3 dB, 8 Ω, 1 kHz); Bluetooth transmit to wireless headphones

^{[7] [8]}

Burson

Burson Conductor 3X Reference · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp · discontinued

Output power (XLR / SE): 16 Ω 7.5 W / 3.75 W · 32 Ω 5 W / 2.5 W · 100 Ω 1.75 W / 0.88 W · 150 Ω 1.16 W / 0.58 W · 300 Ω 0.58 W / 0.3 W
Output impedance: 0.5 Ω (headphone); 1 Ω (pre out); 25 Ω (DAC out)
Output voltage: RCA 2 V (DAC out)
Gain: High / Low; dB not published
Inputs: 2x XLR; USB (XMOS; PCM to 768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); Toslink; coaxial; Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD; microphone
Input impedance: 40 kΩ
Input sensitivity: line level
Outputs: XLR pre out; line-level DAC out; 6.35 mm + 4-pin XLR headphone
DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038Q2M
Other: Model R180X (3XR); THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz

^{[2] [3] [4]}

Burson Super Charger 3A · Power supply (24 V DC)

Other: 24 V / 3 A; noise floor <1 µV; 2.5 mm barrel plug, centre positive; 100-240 V AC in

^{[9] [10]}

Burson V7 Vivid Opamp · Discrete opamp (single / dual) · discontinued

Output impedance: not published
Other: Supply ±4 V (8 VDC) to ±16 V (30 VDC); 18 mA single / 35 mA dual

^{[11] [4]}

Specs from manufacturer data unless a source below says otherwise. “calc.” values are worked out from those figures (V = √(P × R); 110 dB SPL used as a loud reference level). Gear listed without specs is not in our spec library yet.