Giovanni’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with Cabasse Goeland M4

• Impedance: 300 Ω
• Sensitivity: 103 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 97.8 dB/mW (calc.)
• Frequency response: 10 Hz – 41 kHz
• Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm stereo jack plug (3.5 mm adapter)
• Other: THD <0.05% (1 kHz, 1 V); 42 mm transducer

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 103 dB/V, the HD 650 is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2.2 V (17 mW, 7.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3 Reference at 0.58 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.2 V RMS (calc.), roughly 15 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

• 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 3 Reference at 0.58 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.2 V RMS (calc.), roughly 14 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[6] [3] [4] [5]}

• Impedance: 32 Ω
• Sensitivity: 114 dB SPL/V ≈ 99.1 dB/mW (calc.)
• Frequency response: 12 Hz – 28 kHz
• Plugs / cables supplied: fixed 3 m OFC cable, 3.5 mm plug + 6.3 mm adapter
• Other: max input 200 mW; 305 g

Matching notes: At 32 Ω and 114 dB/V, the AKG K550 is a low-impedance load: about 0.63 V (12 mW, 20 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3 Reference at 5 W (SE) into 32 Ω, which is about 12.6 V RMS (calc.), roughly 26 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/64 of the load. ^{[7] [8] [3] [4] [5]}

• Impedance: 62 Ω
• Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL/V ≈ 92.9 dB/mW (calc.)
• Frequency response: 10 Hz – 39.8 kHz
• Plugs / cables supplied: fixed 3 m cable; 3.5 mm plug + 6.3 mm adapter
• Other: max input power 200 mW; 235 g

Matching notes: At 62 Ω and 105 dB/V, the AKG K701 is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 1.8 V (51 mW, 29 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 62 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 1/124 of the load. ^{[9] [3] [4] [5]}

• Impedance: 110 Ω
• Sensitivity: 101 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 110.6 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 110 Ω and 101 dB/mW, the LCD-3 is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.93 V (7.9 mW, 8.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 110 Ω rating for the Conductor 3 Reference. Its 100 Ω and 150 Ω ratings (1.75 W SE; 1.16 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/220 of the load. ^{[10] [3] [4] [5]}

• 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]}

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.

1. Sennheiser HD 650: us.sennheiser-hearing.com
2. Sennheiser HD 650: support.sennheiser-hearing.com
3. Burson Conductor 3 Reference product page (conductor-3 page, archived 2019)
4. Burson Conductor 3 Reference product page (conductor-3-performance page, archived 2020)
5. Burson Conductor 3 References User Manual V1.6 (Burson downloads)
6. Sennheiser HD 800: PDF (bhphotovideo.com)
7. AKG K550: PDF (literature.puertoricosupplier.com)
8. AKG K550: PDF (akg.com)
9. AKG K701: archived page (web.archive.org)
10. Audeze LCD-3: audeze.com