Jitavit’s Burson Conductor 3 Reference with Sennheiser HD 800 S and Grado RS1e

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Post Info

  • Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
  • Burson Conductor 3 Reference, Empire Ears ERS MK2, Grado RS1e, Grado SR225, iFi ZEN CAN, iFi ZEN DAC, Sennheiser HD 800 S

Great DAC + AMP combo, good sound quality and lots of power. Volume knob is too sensitive, so hard to operate through the menu. Please put Medium gain level as there is a big gap between low and hight gain. Very happy with the purchased

The System

Listening with

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. [1] [2] [3] [4]

Grado RS1e · Headphones: open-air, dynamic (50 mm), supra-aural (on-ear) · discontinued
  • Impedance: 32 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 99.8 dB SPL @ 1 mW ≈ 114.7 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 12 Hz – 30 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: fixed 8-conductor cable; 6.5 mm adapter + extension cable
  • Other: mahogany; drivers matched to 0.05 dB; approx. 9 oz

Matching notes: At 32 Ω and 99.8 dB/mW, the Grado RS1e is a low-impedance load: about 0.58 V (10 mW, 18 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3 Reference at 5 W (SE) into 32 Ω, which is about 12.6 V RMS (calc.), roughly 27 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/64 of the load. [5] [6] [2] [3] [4]

Grado SR225e · Headphones: open-back (“open air”), dynamic (e-series driver), supra-aural · discontinued
  • Impedance: 32 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 99.8 dB SPL / 1 mW ≈ 114.7 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 20 Hz – 22 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: fixed cable, 6.3 mm plug (3.5 mm adapter)
  • Other: driver matching 0.05 dB

Matching notes: At 32 Ω and 99.8 dB/mW, the SR225e is a low-impedance load: about 0.58 V (10 mW, 18 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3 Reference at 5 W (SE) into 32 Ω, which is about 12.6 V RMS (calc.), roughly 27 dB more than that. The Conductor 3 Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/64 of the load. [7] [2] [3] [4]

Empire Ears ERS MK2
Empire Ears Odin

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

iFi ZEN CAN
iFi ZEN DAC