Rob’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with QLN Signatures and AKG K712 PRO

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Sales Burson
July 1, 2022

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Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
AKG K712 PRO, AKG Q701, Burson Conductor 3 Reference, Musical Fidelity KW250S, QLN Signatures, Rega RP6/2M Black

This is my first Burson product and I love it. It has now set me on the path of looking for some very high end headphones to better use its capabilities.

The System

Listening with

QLN Signatures

AKG K712 PRO · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural

Impedance: 62 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL/V ≈ 92.9 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 39.8 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: detachable 3 m cable; 3.5 mm plug + 6.3 mm adapter
Other: max input power 200 mW; 235 g

Matching notes: At 62 Ω and 105 dB/V, the K712 PRO is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 1.8 V (51 mW, 29 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 62 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 1/124 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4]}

AKG Q701 · Headphones: open-back, dynamic (two-layer diaphragm), circumaural (Quincy Jones Signature) · discontinued

Impedance: 62 Ω
Sensitivity: 105 dB SPL/V ≈ 92.9 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 39.8 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: detachable mini-XLR cables (3 m straight + 6 m), 3.5 mm plug + 6.3 mm adapter
Other: max input 200 mW; 235 g without cable

Matching notes: At 62 Ω and 105 dB/V, the AKG Q701 is a low-impedance load, and a fairly demanding one: about 1.8 V (51 mW, 29 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 62 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 1/124 of the load. ^{[5] [2] [3] [4]}

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

^{[2] [3] [4]}

Also in the system

Musical Fidelity KW250S

Rega RP6/2M Black

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.