I’m a big fan of the Burson sound. I have several other Burson products in another setup; The Burson Swing, Burson Bang, and the Burson Fun. But the Conductor 3XR exceeds them in sound quality. I’m really glad that you all decided produce a product with a balanced connection. It’s my favorite way to connect all of my headphones for ultimate sound quality.
The System
Listening with
HiFiMAN Susvara · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural
- Impedance: 60 Ω
- Sensitivity: 83 dB (reference not stated by HiFiMAN)
- Frequency response: 6 Hz – 75 kHz
- Plugs / cables supplied: not published (HiFiMAN spec page lists no connector)
- Other: weight 450 g
[1]
HiFiMAN HE1000se · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural
- Impedance: 35 Ω
- Sensitivity: 96 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 440 g
[2]
Abyss Diana Phi · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic (63 mm Phi), circumaural · discontinued
- Impedance: 32 Ω
- Sensitivity: 91 dB/mW ≈ 105.9 dB/V (calc.)
- Frequency response: 6 Hz – 26 kHz
- Plugs / cables supplied: not published
- Other: 350 g
[3]
Sony MDR-Z1R · Headphones: closed-back, dynamic (70 mm), circumaural · discontinued
- Impedance: 64 Ω
- Sensitivity: not published (archived Sony US spec page lists none)
- Frequency response: 4 Hz – 120 kHz
- Plugs / cables supplied: detachable Y-type; 3 m 3.5 mm cable; 1.2 m 4.4 mm balanced cable
- Other: impedance 64 Ω at 1 kHz; 385 g without cable; CCAW voice coil, neodymium
[4]
ZMF Auteur · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (biocellulose), circumaural
- Impedance: 300 Ω
- Sensitivity: ~96 dB/mW (approx., “~” as published)
- Frequency response: not published
- Plugs / cables supplied: not published (ZMF lists no connector type)
[5] [6]
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
[7] [8] [9]
HiFiMAN HE6se · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural · discontinued
- 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
[10]
HiFiMAN HE-500 · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural · discontinued
- Impedance: 38 Ω
- Sensitivity: 89 dB (reference not stated)
- Frequency response: 15 Hz – 50 kHz
- Plugs / cables supplied: screw-on SMC sockets on cups; detachable cable
- Other: approx. 502 g
[11] [12]
Burson
Burson Conductor 3X · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp family (Conductor 3X Performance / 3X Reference / 3X GT) · discontinued
- 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: USB (XMOS; PCM to 768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); Toslink; Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD; microphone (3XR / 3XGT add analogue and coaxial inputs)
- Outputs: XLR pre / DAC out; 6.35 mm + 4-pin XLR headphone
- DAC / chipset: ESS ES9038Q2M / ES9038 (1x in 3XP, 2x in 3XR / 3XGT)
- Other: 3XP (M180X): 6/3 W @16 Ω, 3/1.5 W @32 (bal/SE), 1x ES9038Q2M. 3XR (R180X): 7.5/3.75 W @16, 5/2.5 W @32, 2x ES9038Q2M. 3XGT (R-181X): 10/5 W @16, 8/4 W @32, 2x ES9038. All THD <0.0015%, FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz.
[13] [14] [15]
- Power: 8 Ω: 80 (stereo); 240 (bridged) · 4 Ω: not published
- Output impedance: not published
- Gain: not published
- Inputs: 2x RCA; RCA + XLR for bridge mode
- Input impedance: 20 kΩ
- Input sensitivity: 0.24 V
- Outputs: 2x stereo speaker binding posts
- Other: Class AB; THD 0.03% (1 kHz @ 8 Ω); FR 0-50 kHz (±3 dB); S/N >98 dB
[16]
Also in the system
