Ronald’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with Focal Utopia and Focal Clear

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Post Info

I LOVE the sound profile! I have owned many head phone amps. I have yet to find one with such a wide yet detailed soundstage, but a touch warm where it needs to be. I can listen to my Burson for hours on end without fatigue.

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 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 1/160 of the load. [1] [2] [3] [4] [5]

Focal Clear · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (40 mm Al/Mg M-dome), circumaural · discontinued
  • 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: 4-pin XLR; 6.35 mm; 3.5 mm cables supplied

Matching notes: At 55 Ω and 104 dB/mW, the Focal Clear 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. [6] [7] [8] [3] [4] [5]

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]

Also in the system

Bluesound Node · Streamer: network streamer / DAC with headphone out
  • Output power (headphone): 16 Ω 0.16 W · 32 Ω 0.23 W · 250 Ω 0.053 W · 600 Ω 0.022 W
  • Output impedance: not published
  • Output voltage: RCA not published
  • Inputs: Ethernet; Wi-Fi; optical/analog 3.5 mm combo; HDMI eARC
  • Outputs: RCA analogue; optical; coaxial; USB; headphone
  • DAC / chipset: ESS ES9039Q2M
  • Other: SNR 118 dB; THD+N 0.0007%; up to 192 kHz, DSD256; AirPlay 2, Roon Ready, Tidal/Qobuz/Spotify Connect

[9]