Peter’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with Focal Clear MG

Published on

Sales Burson
March 11, 2024

Post Info

Conductor 3R | 3XR
Burson Conductor 3 Reference, Burson Timekeeper 3X GT, Edifier Stax Spirit3, Focal Clear MG, Rotel RCD-1073

I’ve been a fan since owning the Pre160/PP160 and then hearing what the opamps could do to a Rotel 1072

The System

Listening with

Focal Clear MG · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (40 mm Mg M-dome), circumaural

Impedance: 55 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1 kHz ≈ 116.6 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 28 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm cable (1.2 m) with 6.35 mm adapter; 4-pin XLR cable (3 m); cup sockets 3.5 mm

Matching notes: At 55 Ω and 104 dB/mW, the Focal Clear MG is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.47 V (4 mW, 8.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 55 Ω rating for the Conductor 3 Reference. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (5 W SE; 1.75 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/110 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Edifier Stax Spirit3

Ambience Slim 1800

Burson

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

Output power (headphone): 16 Ω 7.5 W · 32 Ω 5 W · 100 Ω 1.75 W · 150 Ω 1.16 W · 300 Ω 0.58 W
Output impedance: 0.5 Ω (headphone); 1 Ω (pre out); 25 Ω (DAC out)
Output voltage: RCA 2 V (DAC out)
Gain: High / Medium / Low; dB not published
Inputs: 2x RCA; 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: RCA pre out; RCA DAC out; 2x 6.35 mm headphone
DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038Q2M
Other: Model R180 (3R); SE only; THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz

^{[3] [4] [5]}

Burson Timekeeper 3X GT · Power amplifier (monoblock / stereo) · discontinued

Power: 8 Ω: 110 (high gain); 30 (low gain) · 4 Ω: 180 (high gain); 55 (low gain)
Output impedance: <0.015 Ω (20 Hz-20 kHz)
Gain: 29 dB; 2 gain levels (high / low)
Inputs: 1x RCA; 1x XLR
Input impedance: 100 kΩ (SE); 200 kΩ (balanced)
Outputs: speaker binding posts
Other: Model R300 (“GT3”); max power 210 W; THD <0.03% @ 1 kHz; S/N 108 dB; Super Charger 32V/6.5A

^{[6] [5]}

Also in the system

Rotel RCD-1073

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.