Burson Conductor 3R / 3X Reference
Burson Conductor 3T / 3XR Reference
The Best XLR DAC / Headphone Amp / Preamp
Being the best of its time. This has been the sole design goal of each Burson Conductors since 2007. The Reference Conductors took three years to build and leave the competition for dust.
The Conductor 3 and 3X are uncompromising, with one DAC chip per channel. Class-A and using top quality components throughout, including Neutrik XLR connectors, they are the perfect command centre of any audio system.
The 3X achieves ultra-low output impedance by going fully balanced, making it a future proof all-in-one machine.
If your audio system is single-ended, the Conductor 3 is its perfect upgrade.
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 a customised driver by Thesycon, Germany. The result is unsurpassed processing power, perfectly playing back DSD512 and 32bit/768khz audio.
The C3X Reference also features a Bluetooth 5.0 receiver Qualcomm/CSR8675 [+] with an aptX HD audio & LDAC codec. It pushes Bluetooth playback beyond CD quality and ease of use to the highest level.
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.
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 C3X Reference uses 5 sets of MCPS: Which means, Display/Functionality, DAC, analouge left and analouge 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 colours. 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 aluminium 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 jewellery at its finest and It looks and plays very cool.
The Sound
Through a quieter, darker background, microdynamics 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 gory.
Go to your Roon!
Roon is the most popular streaming and HD music management platform for audiophiles. Burson is part of this fantastic ecosystem.
Our DACs are Roon Tested, and they seamlessly connect with any 3rd party Roon Ready audio streamers.
Specifications
| Measurement | Package Content | ||
| Input impedance: | 40 KOhms | Conductor 3XR (R-180X) | Conductor 3R (R-180) | |
| Frequency response: | ± 1 dB 0 – 58Khz | Remote Control | |
| THD: | <0.0015% | Power Cable | |
| Output impedance (Headphone Amp): | 0.5 Ohm | USB Cable | |
| Output impedance (Pre Out / DAC Out): | 1 Ohm / 25 Ohm | 24V Power Unit | |
| Conductor 3XR Info | |||
| 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 |
| Conductor 3R Info | |||
| Inputs: | 2 x RCA line-level input, USB, Optical Toslink, BlueTooth 5.0, microphone | Weight: | app. 5 kg |
| Outputs: | 1 x RCA Pre Amp, 1 X Line Level DAC Out, 2 x 6.3mm Headphone Jack | Dimensions: | 255mm x 270mm x 70mm |
| DAC Spec | XMOS 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 |
| Impedance (Headphone Jack) | Power XLR / SE | Signal to Noise Ratio | Separation |
| 16 Ohm | 3XR 7.5 / 3.75W | 3R 7.5W | 96db | 99% |
| 32 Ohm | 3XR 5 / 2.5W | 3R 5W | 98db | 99% |
| 100 Ohm | 3XR 1.75 / 0.88W | 3R 1.75W | 95db | 99% |
| 150 Ohm | 3XR 1.16 0.58W | 1.16W | 96db | 99% |
| 300 Ohm | 3XR 0.58 / 0.3W | 3R 0.58W | 96db | 99.50% |