Roosevelt’s Burson Conductor 3X GT with HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth

Published on

Sales Burson
April 3, 2024

Post Info

Conductor GT3 | GT4
beyerdynamic DT 1990, Burson Conductor 3X GT, Darkvoice 336SE, Grado RS2e, HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth, Mani, Schiit Audio Vali2, Schiit Vali 2, Sennheiser HD 600, Sennheiser HD 650, Sennheiser HD 660S2, Woo Audio WA2

My Burson experience has been nothing but wonderful. The Conductor 3 GT is an outstanding Amp/Dac.

The System

Listening with

HiFiMAN HE1000 Stealth · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 93 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 458 g

^[1]

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 3X GT at 0.64 W (XLR) / 0.32 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.9 V / 9.8 V RMS (calc.), roughly 10 dB / 7 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Sennheiser HD 650 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

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 3X GT at 0.64 W (XLR) / 0.32 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.9 V / 9.8 V RMS (calc.), roughly 16 dB / 13 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[7] [8] [4] [5] [6]}

Sennheiser HD 660S2 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 300 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 98.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 8 Hz – 41.5 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm jack plug cable and 4.4 mm balanced cable (1.8 m each)
Other: THD <0.04% (1 kHz, 100 dB); 38 mm transducer

Matching notes: At 300 Ω and 104 dB/V, the HD 660S2 is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2 V (13 mW, 6.7 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3X GT at 0.64 W (XLR) / 0.32 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.9 V / 9.8 V RMS (calc.), roughly 17 dB / 14 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. ^{[9] [10] [4] [5] [6]}

beyerdynamic DT 1990 PRO · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (45 mm Tesla), circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 250 Ω
Sensitivity: 102 dB SPL (1 mW / 500 Hz) ≈ 108.0 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 5 Hz – 40 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: detachable cable: 3-pin mini-XLR at cup; 6.35 mm stereo jack plug

Matching notes: At 250 Ω and 102 dB/mW, the DT 1990 PRO is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 1.3 V (6.3 mW, 5 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 250 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT. Its 150 Ω and 300 Ω ratings (1.3 W XLR / 0.65 W SE; 0.64 W XLR / 0.32 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/500 of the load. ^{[11] [4] [5] [6]}

Grado RS2e · Headphones: open-air, dynamic (44 mm), supra-aural (on-ear) · discontinued

Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 99.8 dB SPL @ 1 mW ≈ 114.7 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 14 Hz – 28 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: fixed 8-conductor cable
Other: mahogany housing; drivers matched to 0.05 dB

Matching notes: At 32 Ω and 99.8 dB/mW, the Grado RS2e is a low-impedance load: about 0.58 V (10 mW, 18 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3X GT at 8 W (XLR) / 4 W (SE) into 32 Ω, which is about 16.0 V / 11.3 V RMS (calc.), roughly 29 dB / 26 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/64 of the load. ^{[12] [13] [4] [5] [6]}

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

^{[4] [5] [6]}

Also in the system

Darkvoice 336SE

Mani

Schiit Vali 2

Woo Audio WA2

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.