Zhe’s Burson Conductor 3X GT with Focal Utopia and Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000

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Sales Burson
September 8, 2023

Post Info

Feedbacks - Conductor GT3 | GT4
Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000, Burson Conductor 3X GT, FiiO M17, Focal Arche, Focal Utopia, HiFiMAN Arya, HiFiMAN HE6se V2

This is my first time to buy a Burson Audio product. Very impressive experience

The System

Listening with

Focal Utopia · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (40 mm beryllium M-dome), circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 80 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1 kHz ≈ 115.0 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm cable and 3.5 mm cable, 4-pin XLR cable; Lemo connectors at the cups
Other: THD <0.2% @ 1 kHz / 100 dB SPL

Matching notes: At 80 Ω and 104 dB/mW, the Focal Utopia is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.56 V (4 mW, 7.1 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 80 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (8 W XLR / 4 W SE; 3.8 W XLR / 1.9 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/160 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5]}

Audio-Technica ATH-ADX5000 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 420 Ω
Sensitivity: 100 dB/mW ≈ 103.8 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: detachable 3.0 m cable, A2DC; 6.3 mm plug
Other: 58 mm driver; max input 1,000 mW; 270 g

Matching notes: At 420 Ω and 100 dB/mW, the ATH-ADX5000 is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2 V (10 mW, 4.9 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 420 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT; its nearest published rating is 0.64 W XLR / 0.32 W SE into 300 Ω. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/840 of the load. ^{[6] [3] [4] [5]}

HiFiMAN HE6se V2 · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 50 Ω
Sensitivity: 83.5 dB (reference not stated by HiFiMAN)
Frequency response: 8 Hz – 65 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: not published (HiFiMAN spec page lists no connector)
Other: weight 470 g; HiFiMAN labels the figure “Efficiency”

^[7]

HiFiMAN Arya · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 35 Ω
Sensitivity: 90 dB (reference not stated by HiFiMAN)
Frequency response: 8 Hz – 65 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: not published (HiFiMAN spec page lists no connector)
Other: weight 404 g

^[8]

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

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

Also in the system

FiiO M17 · Digital audio player: desktop-class portable music player / USB DAC / headphone amp

Output power (headphone): 16 Ω 1.5 W · 32 Ω 3 W · 300 Ω 0.5 W
Output impedance: not published
Output voltage: RCA not published · XLR not published
Gain: low / medium / high / headphone mode / enhanced over-ear mode (on DC power)
Inputs: USB-C (DAC, DSD512, 768 kHz/32-bit); Bluetooth 5.0 RX; SPDIF RX; AirPlay
Outputs: SE + balanced headphone; line/coax out
DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038PRO; THX AAA 788+ amp; XMOS XUF208
Other: power at THD+N <1% (output jack not specified per figure); SNR >=123 dB (A); THD+N <=0.0007% (1 kHz/32 Ω); noise floor <=3.5 µV; 9200 mAh

^[9]

Focal Arche

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.