Aviv’s Burson Conductor 3X Reference with V-MODA Zn

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Sales Burson
July 26, 2022

Post Info

Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
Burson Conductor 3X Reference, V-MODA Crossfade Wireless 2 Codex, V-MODA Zn

I have been using the Conductor 3XR for a few months now and this is the first high-end AMP/DAC that I have owned and I am blown away! The sound is so clear and no hissing even at higher volumes. I can’t pass 40 on the volume knob because this thing is so strong. Every song sounds so clear and smooth. The bass is fast and the trebles are not ear piercing. The vocals are very welcoming and a bit warm; I really enjoy that with the LCD-2. I haven’t tried to change the OP-AMPs, but I might try in the future to see what other sound signatures I can play with.

The System

Listening with

V-MODA Zn

V-MODA Crossfade Wireless 2 Codex

Audeze LCD-2 · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 70 Ω
Sensitivity: 101 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 112.5 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 4-pin XLR cable; 4-pin XLR to 6.35 mm adapter cable; 6.35 to 3.5 mm adapter
Other: recommended power >250 mW;

Matching notes: At 70 Ω and 101 dB/mW, the LCD-2 is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.75 V (7.9 mW, 11 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 70 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X Reference. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (5 W XLR / 2.5 W SE; 1.75 W XLR / 0.88 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/140 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

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]}

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.