Rob’s Burson Conductor 3X Reference with HEDD HEDDphone and HiFiMAN Arya

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  • Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
  • Burson Conductor 3X Reference, Campfire Audio Solaris, Empire Ears ODIN, Focal Clear, HEDD HEDDphone, HiFiMAN Arya, Unique Melody MEST MK2 Ciem

My overall experience with the device has been superb.

The System

Listening with

HEDD HEDDphone · Headphones: open-back, AMT (air motion transformer, VVT), circumaural · discontinued
  • Impedance: 42 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 87 dB SPL / 1 mW ≈ 100.8 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 10 Hz – 40 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: not published
  • Other: impedance “42 Ω flat”

Matching notes: At 42 Ω and 87 dB/mW, the HEDD HEDDphone is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 2.9 V (200 mW, 69 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 42 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X Reference. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (5 W XLR / 2.5 W SE; 1.75 W XLR / 0.88 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/84 of the load. [1] [2] [3] [4]

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

[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 3X Reference. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (5 W XLR / 2.5 W SE; 1.75 W XLR / 0.88 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/110 of the load. [6] [7] [8] [2] [3] [4]

Empire Ears ODIN
Unique Melody MEST MK2 Ciem
Campfire Audio Solaris

Burson

Burson Conductor 3X Reference · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp · discontinued
  • Output power (XLR / SE): 16 Ω 7.5 W / 3.75 W · 32 Ω 5 W / 2.5 W · 100 Ω 1.75 W / 0.88 W · 150 Ω 1.16 W / 0.58 W · 300 Ω 0.58 W / 0.3 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; 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: XLR pre out; line-level DAC out; 6.35 mm + 4-pin XLR headphone
  • DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038Q2M
  • Other: Model R180X (3XR); THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz

[2] [3] [4]