Greg’s Burson Conductor 3X Reference with Sony MDR-Z1R and Fostex TH-X00

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Post Info

  • Feedbacks - Conductor 3R | 3XR
  • Burson Audio Conductor HA 160D, Burson Conductor 3X Reference, Chord Mojo 2, Denon AH D600, Fostex TH-X00, Sony MDR-Z1R

I love Burson Audio products for their excellent sound and build quality.

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]

Fostex TH-X00 · Headphones: closed-back, dynamic (50 mm, >1 T), circumaural (Massdrop collaboration, mahogany cups) · discontinued
  • Impedance: 25 Ω
  • Sensitivity: 94 dB/mW ≈ 110.0 dB/V (calc.)
  • Frequency response: 5 Hz – 45 kHz
  • Plugs / cables supplied: detachable 3 m braided Y cable, 6.3 mm plug
  • Other: max input 1,800 mW; 350 g without cable

Matching notes: At 25 Ω and 94 dB/mW, the TH-X00 is a low-impedance load: about 1 V (40 mW, 40 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 25 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X Reference. Its 16 Ω and 32 Ω ratings (7.5 W XLR / 3.75 W SE; 5 W XLR / 2.5 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X Reference’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/50 of the load. [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]

Denon AH D600

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

[4] [5] [6]

Burson HA-160D · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp · discontinued
  • Output power (headphone): 60 Ω 0.8 W · 300 Ω 0.65 W
  • Output impedance: 5 Ω (headphone); 60 Ω (line out)
  • Gain: not published
  • Inputs: USB; coaxial; 3x RCA
  • Input impedance: 47 kΩ
  • Outputs: 2x 6.35 mm headphone; RCA pre out
  • DAC / chipset: not published
  • Other: THD <0.001% at 6 mW/300 Ω; FR 5 Hz-35 kHz

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Also in the system

Chord Mojo 2 · DAC / headphone amp: portable FPGA DAC / headphone amp (battery, UHD DSP tone control)
  • Frequency response: 7 Hz – 20 kHz (±3 dB)
  • Output power (headphone): 30 Ω 0.6 W · 300 Ω 0.09 W
  • Output impedance: 0.06 Ω
  • Inputs: USB-C; Micro-USB (768 kHz); coaxial via 3.5 mm jack (768 kHz); optical (96 kHz); DSD256 via DoP
  • Outputs: 2x 3.5 mm + 1x 4.4 mm headphone (single-ended)
  • DAC / chipset: custom FPGA (Chord WTA filter, 40 DSP cores) – no off-the-shelf DAC chip
  • Other: power at 1% distortion (4.2 V RMS / 30 Ω; 5.2 V RMS / 300 Ω); THD+N 0.0003% (2.5 V, 300 Ω); S/N 123 dB (A); noise 2.7 µV; 185 g

[8]