David’s Burson Conductor 3X GT with Wharfedale 12.2 and Focal Clear

Published on

Sales Burson
December 11, 2023

Post Info

Conductor GT3 | GT4
Audeze LCD-X, Burson Conductor 3X GT, Focal Clear, HiFiMAN Sundara, Marantz HD-1, NAD 3045, Sennheiser HD 660S, Wharfedale 12.2, xDuoo XD-05 Pro

This is the 3rd unit I have purchased.

The System

Listening with

Wharfedale 12.2

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 GT. Its 32 Ω and 100 Ω ratings (8 W XLR / 4 W SE; 3.8 W XLR / 1.9 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/110 of the load. ^{[1] [2] [3] [4] [5] [6]}

Audeze LCD-X · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 20 Ω
Sensitivity: 103 dB/1mW (at Drum Reference Point) ≈ 120.0 dB/V (calc.)
Frequency response: 10 Hz – 50 kHz
Plugs / cables supplied: braided 4-pin XLR combo cable with 6.35 mm single-ended adapter
Other: recommended power >250 mW (min >100 mW; max 5 W RMS); 106 mm driver; max SPL >130 dB

Matching notes: At 20 Ω and 103 dB/mW, the Audeze LCD-X is a low-impedance load, and an efficient one: about 0.32 V (5 mW, 16 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson does not publish a 20 Ω rating for the Conductor 3X GT. Its 16 Ω and 32 Ω ratings (10 W XLR / 5 W SE; 8 W XLR / 4 W SE) fall either side of it. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/40 of the load. ^{[7] [4] [5] [6]}

HiFiMAN Sundara · Headphones: open-back, planar magnetic, circumaural

Impedance: 32 Ω
Sensitivity: 92 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 342 g

^[8]

Sennheiser HD 660S · Headphones: open-back, dynamic, circumaural · discontinued

Impedance: 150 Ω
Sensitivity: 104 dB SPL @ 1 kHz, 1 V (as published) ≈ 95.8 dB/mW (calc.)
Frequency response: 9 Hz – 41.5 kHz (AU page); 10 Hz – 41 kHz (user manual)
Plugs / cables supplied: 6.35 mm unbalanced and 4.4 mm balanced cables (user manual)
Other: THD <=0.04% (1 kHz, 100 dB); max input 500 mW

Matching notes: At 150 Ω and 104 dB/V, the HD 660S is a high-impedance load that needs voltage more than current: about 2 V (27 mW, 13 mA) for 110 dB SPL (calc.). Burson rates the Conductor 3X GT at 1.3 W (XLR) / 0.65 W (SE) into 150 Ω, which is about 14.0 V / 9.9 V RMS (calc.), roughly 17 dB / 14 dB more than that. The Conductor 3X GT’s 0.5 Ω headphone output impedance is 1/300 of the load. ^{[9] [10] [11] [4] [5] [6]}

Burson

Burson Conductor 3X GT · DAC / headphone amplifier / preamp · discontinued

Output power (XLR / SE): 16 Ω 10 W / 5 W · 32 Ω 8 W / 4 W · 100 Ω 3.8 W / 1.9 W · 150 Ω 1.3 W / 0.65 W · 300 Ω 0.64 W / 0.32 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; 2x RCA; USB (XMOS; PCM to 768 kHz/32-bit, native DSD512); Toslink; coaxial (24/192); Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD; microphone
Input impedance: 40 kΩ
Input sensitivity: line level
Outputs: XLR/RCA pre / DAC out; subwoofer pre out; 6.35 mm + 4-pin XLR headphone
DAC / chipset: 2x ESS ES9038 (suffix not stated)
Other: Model R-181X (“GT3”); THD <0.0015%; FR ±1 dB 0-58 kHz; 24V/5A PSU

^{[4] [5] [6]}

Also in the system

Marantz HD-1

NAD 3045

xDuoo XD-05 Pro · DAC / headphone amp: portable modular DAC / balanced headphone amp (swappable DAC & OP cards, 2025)

Frequency response: 20 Hz – 20 kHz (+0.5 dB)
Output power (XLR / SE): 32 Ω 2 W / 2 W · 300 Ω 0.93 W / 0.24 W
Output impedance: 5 Ω (SE); <=0.4 Ω (balanced)
Output voltage: RCA 2.0 V (aux out) · XLR 4.0 V (balanced line out)
Outputs: 6.35 mm SE; 4.4 mm balanced; SE + balanced line out
DAC / chipset: ESS ES9039SPRO (stock DAC card; AK4499EX / ROHM / WM8741 cards optional)
Other: power at THD+N <1%; THD+N 0.0007%; S/N >=120 dB; 13600 mAh battery; 0.78 kg

Matching notes: Burson lists the Conductor 3X GT’s analogue inputs as line level (40 kΩ input impedance). The XD-05 Pro is rated at 2.0 V (aux out) (RCA) / 4.0 V (balanced line out) (XLR) output. ^{[12] [13] [4] [5] [6]}

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.