Yevgeniy’s Burson Conductor 3X Reference with Sony MDR-Z1R

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Post Info

  • Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
  • Burson Conductor 3X Reference, Dan Clark Audio ETHER Flow 1.1, Focal Clear, HiFiMAN Arya, Sennheiser HD 800 S, Sony MDR-Z1R, Topping DX7

Had a great experience with the product and customer service. The Conductor 3XR is fantastic but has a slight hiss with my MDR-Z1R. I am going to buy an upgrade USB cable and see if that helps.. otherwise, I’m really happy with my purchase.

The System

Listening with

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

[1]

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 3X Reference at 0.58 W (XLR) / 0.3 W (SE) into 300 Ω, which is about 13.2 V / 9.5 V RMS (calc.), roughly 14 dB / 12 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/600 of the load. [2] [3] [4] [5]

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

[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

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. [7] [8] [9] [3] [4] [5]

Dan Clark Audio ETHER Flow 1.1

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

[3] [4] [5]

Also in the system

Topping DX7