Jeremy’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with Focal Utopia and Sennheiser HD 800 S

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Sales Burson
March 6, 2023

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beyerdynamic T1 (2nd Generation), Burson Conductor 3 Reference, Focal Elegia, Focal Utopia, Sennheiser HD 600, Sennheiser HD 660S, Sennheiser HD 800 S

This is an excellent dac amp!

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]}

Sennheiser HD 800 S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 300 Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB SPL @ 1 V ≈ 96.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 4 Hz – 51 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm unbalanced; 4.4 mm balanced

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 102 dB/V, the HD 800 S 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]}

beyerdynamic T1 (2nd Generation) · Headphones: open-back (Beyerdynamic: semi-open), dynamic (Tesla), circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 600 Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB SPL (1 mW / 500 Hz) ≈ 104.2 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: double-sided detachable OCC cable with screw-on jack plugs

Matching notes: At 600 Ω and 102 dB/mW, the T1 (2nd Generation) is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 1.9 V (6.3 mW, 3.2 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 600 Ω rating for the Conductor 3 Reference; its nearest published rating is 0.58 W SE into 300 Ω. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/1200 of the load. ^{[7] [3] [4] [5]}

Focal Elegia · Headphones: closed-back, dynamic (40 mm Al/Mg M-dome), circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 35 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL / 1 mW @ 1 kHz ≈ 119.6 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 23 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm cable (1.2 m) (per datasheet)

Matching notes: At 35 Ω and 105 dB/mW, the Focal Elegia is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.33 V (3.2 mW, 9.5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 35 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 1/70 of the load. ^{[8] [9] [3] [4] [5]}

Sennheiser HD 600 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 300 Ω
Sensitivity: 97 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 91.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 12 Hz – 40.5 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 3.5 mm stereo jack plug with 6.3 mm adapter; 3 m cable
Other: THD <0.1% (1 kHz, 1 V)

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 97 dB/V, the HD 600 is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 4.5 V (67 mW, 15 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 9 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[10] [11] [3] [4] [5]}

Sennheiser HD 660S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 150 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 95.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 9 Hz – 41.5 kHz (AU page); 10 Hz – 41 kHz (user manual)
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced cables (user manual)
Other: THD <=0.04% (1 kHz, 100 dB); max input 500 mW

Matching notes: At 150 Ω and 104 dB/V, the HD 660S is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2 V (27 mW, 13 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3 Reference at 1.16 W (SE) into 150 Ω, which is about 13.2 V RMS (calc.), roughly 16 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/300 of the load. ^{[12] [13] [14] [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]}

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.