Burson Conductor 3X Reference | Headphone Amp, DAC, and Preamp

Our Take
The Burson Conductor 3X Reference is a powerful headphone amp and DAC with a clear, natural output that enhances the soundstage on your headphones to massive proportions. The wide range of connectivity options means that it can fit into just about any Hi-Fi personal audio setup.




From Burson Audio
The Conductor 3X is for those who go all the way. Fully balanced with one DAC chip per channel. Pure Class-A and fully discrete with top quality components throughout, including Neutrik XLR connectors, the C3X is the perfect command center for any XLR audio systems.The C3X achieves an even lower signal-to-noise ratio, revealing amazing micro-dynamics, the stuff that makes music magical. Furthermore, by going fully balanced, the C3X achieves ultra-low output impedance, making it the perfect preamp for any power amplifier. Its balanced headphone output delivers 7.5W per channel while its half-the-power single-ended output is still powerful enough to drive any headphones with ease.
Advanced Digital
The SABRE32/ESS9038Q2M DAC and XMOS USB receiver chips are the most advanced and expensive in the industry. There are two ESS9038 DAC chips in our C3 Reference and its USB receiver comes with customized driver by Thesycon, Germany. The result is unsurpassed processing power, perfectly playing back DSD512 and 38bit/786khz audio. The C3 Reference also features a Bluetooth 5.0 receiver Qualcomm/CSR8675 with aptX HD audio codec. It pushes Bluetooth playback beyond CD quality and ease of use to the highest level.
Max Power X 5
Max Current Power Supply (MCPS) raises voltage frequency from 50Hz to 170kHz, pushing noise beyond human hearing. Its low impedance ensures abundant and instant energy for output transistors. The C3 Reference uses 5 sets of MCPS: Which means, Display/Functionality, DAC, analogue left and analogue right are all separately powered.

The Cool Case
Let’s face it, most audio equipment cases are ugly and impractical. They usually have visible screws everywhere, sharp corners and boring colors. Class-A amplifiers even have finger cutting heat-sinks! They diminish the aesthetic of any living space especially modern desktops where every other electronic is slick and refined.Made from high-density aluminum and electroplated to space-grey. The Cool Case has only 4 visible screws under its belly. It is also a unified heat-sink that is 300% more efficient than previous Conductors. It is audio jewelry at its finest and It looks and plays very cool.
Smooth Control
The all-new OLED screen and interface program deliver a calming and intuitive user experience. Its machined solid aluminum knob offers the fines control and feels luxurious.
The Sound
Through a quieter, darker background, micro-dynamics propels forward by the sheer energy of the Conductor 3X. It lets you dive even deeper into the miracle we called music.When listening to Sinner’s Prayer by Ray Charles and B.B. King. Ray’s authentic vocal dramatics, frail yet still capable of true emotion and flashes of fire like a dimming star mixing with King’s stinging guitar and barking vocals Two partners in soul and titans of music, trying to top each other, ripping the joint apart and put it back together again, competitive yet completely in tune and sharing their love for music. A perfect balance of soul, love and heart displaying in full glory.User Manual

Specs



Measurement

Package Content



Input impedance:
40 KOhms
Conductor V3X Ref.Model # R180X
USB Cable


Frequency response:
± 1 dB 0 – 58Khz
Remote Control
Warranty Card


THD:
<0.0015%
Power Cable
24V Power Unit


Output impedance (Headphone Amp):
0.5 Ohm




Output impedance (Pre Out / DAC Out):
1 Ohm / 25 Ohm






General



Inputs:
2 x XLR line-level input, USB, Optical Toslink, BlueTooth 5.0, microphone
Weight:
app. 5 kg


Outputs:
1 x XLR Pre Amp, 1 X Line Level DAC Out, 1 x 6.3mm & 1 x XLR Headphone Jack
Dimensions:
255mm x 270mm x 70mm








Impedance (Headphone Jack)
Power XLR / SE
Signal to Noise Ratio
Separation


16 Ohm
7.5 / 3.75W
96db
99%


32 Ohm
5 / 2.5W
98db
99%


100 Ohm
1.75 / 0.88W
95db
99%


150 Ohm
1.16 0.58W
96db
99%


300 Ohm
0.58 / 0.3W
96db
99.5%








DAC Spec

Asynchronous Isochronous USB Spec



Channel Separation:
142 dB @ 1KHz, 135 dB @ 20KHz
Desktop OS:
Windows XP, 7, 8, 10 Mac OSX


THD+N:
0.0005% @ 1KHz, 0dBFS
Desktop OS:
iOS* , Android (OTG support)


COAX & Toslink / SPDIF :
up to 24bit 192K
PCM Support:
PCM ? 768kHz @ 16, 24 or 32bits




Native DSD:
Native DSD 64 / 128 / 256 / 512


Bluetooth Input
Bluetooth 5.0 aptX HD (Qualcomm CSR8675)
DSD over PCM:
DoP64 / DoP128 / DoP256/Dop512



 
Conductor 3 Comparison



Model
Retail Price
Dimensions (mm)
Digital
Analogue
Power Supply
Others


Conductor 3XR
2,199USD
255 x 270 x 70
ESS9038Q2M DAC X 2

7.5Wpc XLR / 3.5Wpc SE

MCPS X 5
Analogue Inputs X 2


Conductor 3R
1,799USD
255 x 270 x 70
ESS9038Q2M DAC X 2
7.5Wpc SE
MCPS X 5
Analogue Inputs X 2


Conductor 3XP
1,399USD
200 X 250 X 60
ESS9038Q2M DAC X 1
6Wpc XLR / 3Wpc SE
MCPS X 3



Conductor 3P
1,099USD
200 X 250 X 60
ESS9038Q2M DAC X 1
4Wpc SE
MCPS X 3





In the Box

Burson Conductor Unit
IC Opamps for warranty diagnostic use.
USB-C to USB-C Cable
Remote Control
Hex key

Power Supply 
Burson Conductor 3X Reference User Manual