Jordan’s Burson Conductor 3X GT with Audeze LCD-5 and Audeze LCD-X

Published on

Sales Burson
August 30, 2022

Post Info

Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
Audeze LCD-5, Audeze LCD-X, Burson Conductor 3X GT, Peachtree Audio M24, Sennheiser HD 800

I was looking to upgrade my original Topping A90/D90 stack with something that paired better with the LCD-5. After several recommendations and reviews I decided to get the Conductor 3X GT. Being my first Burson product, I found the sound to match my preferences perfectly. It has impactful bass with good texture and smooth, yet clear and detailed upper mids and treble. The overall presentation was very airy.

The System

Listening with

Audeze LCD-5 · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 14 Ω
Sensitivity: 90 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 108.5 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 2.5 m braided 4-pin XLR balanced cable; 4-pin XLR to 6.35 mm adapter; 6.35 to 3.5 mm adapter
Other: recommended power >500 mW (min >100 mW; max 5 W RMS);

Matching notes: At 14 Ω and 90 dB/mW, the LCD-5 is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 1.2 V (100 mW, 85 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 14 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT; its nearest published rating is 10 W XLR / 5 W SE into 16 Ω. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/28 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

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

Impedance: 20 Ω
Sensitivity: 103 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 120.0 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: braided 4-pin XLR combo cable with 6.35 mm single-ended adapter
Other: recommended power >250 mW (min >100 mW; max 5 W RMS); 106 mm driver; max SPL >130 dB

Matching notes: At 20 Ω and 103 dB/mW, the Audeze LCD-X is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.32 V (5 mW, 16 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 20 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT. Its 16 Ω and 32 Ω ratings (10 W XLR / 5 W SE; 8 W XLR / 4 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/40 of the load. ^{[5] [2] [3] [4]}

Sennheiser HD 800 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural (ring radiator) · discontinued

Impedance: 300 Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 96.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 14 Hz – 44.1 kHz (-3 dB); 6 Hz – 51 kHz (-10 dB)
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.3 mm stereo jack plug; 3 m cable
Other: THD <=0.02% (1 kHz, 1 Vrms); max input 500 mW

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 102 dB/V, the HD 800 is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2.5 V (21 mW, 8.4 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3X GT at 0.64 W (XLR) / 0.32 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.9 V / 9.8 V RMS (calc.), roughly 15 dB / 12 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[6] [2] [3] [4]}

Peachtree Audio M24

Burson

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

Output power (XLR / SE): 16 Ω 10 W / 5 W · 32 Ω 8 W / 4 W · 100 Ω 3.8 W / 1.9 W · 150 Ω 1.3 W / 0.65 W · 300 Ω 0.64 W / 0.32 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; 2x RCA; USB (XMOS; PCM to 768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); Toslink; coaxial (24/192); Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD; microphone
Input impedance: 40 kΩ
Input sensitivity: line level
Outputs: XLR/RCA pre / DAC out; subwoofer pre out; 6.35 mm + 4-pin XLR headphone
DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038 (suffix not stated)
Other: Model R-181X (“GT3”); THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz; 24V/5A PSU

^{[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.