No compromise even with 3 in one !An uncompromising 3 in 1.
When we introduced the HA-160D in 2010, it was met with initial skepticism. Many questioned our approach of combining three main functions; DAC, Preamp and Headphone amp into a small and elegant enclosure. Many were certain that something had to give and one if not all of those functions must be secondary and hence compromised.
The chief editor of 6moons was the first to realize that such worries were unfounded and in fact, each of those three functions were world class and competitive with the single function machines in their individual categories, which were much larger in size and more expensive in price. Furthermore, without the need to cable or equipment match three separate components, the HA-160D put music enjoyment back squarely into focus. It was initially honored with a Blue Moon award with many other recognitions to follow. More importantly it was embraced by audiophiles as a benchmark performer of the time.
We have now pushed our uncompromising 3 in 1 concept to a whole new level. And we have named it The Conductor.
The high performance preamp
The Conductor is not your average headphone amp with an added preamp function. We did not simply solder a piece of wire from the headphone output jack to create an unrefined preamp. Instead the preamp output has been extracted from the voltage gain stage before the current gain section, to create a preamp that reflects the full potential of our FET output stage, and our less is more philosophy. Coupled with the VOS, both performance and versatility are uncompromising.
The Headphone Amplifier
The Conductor also features our well regarded Soloist Headphone Amplifier. We had to deploy another 35W customised transformer to ensure that the Soloist circuitry is independent and optimised at all times. This is to ensure that its performance is exactly the same as the standalone Soloist.
This makes Conductor without a doubt not only the best company headphone amplifier so far, but best overall product that came from the house of Burson. There is no way you could or should avoid Conductor if you're serious about you headphone listening. This is not only an audiophile product, but a stand out reference for professional monitoring. And last but not the least, it's a device for music lovers who prefers headphones.
The DAC
At the heart of our DAC is the ESS SABRE32 Reference DAC chip. With patented 32-bit Hyper-stream DAC architecture and Time Domain Jitter Eliminator technology, the SABRE32 is one of the best and most expensive DAC chips in the world and is truly reference class .
While we are not the first, nor the only, company to use the impressive SABRE32, we are unique in refusing to use IC based building blocks anywhere in our circuitry. Instead, we aimed to unleash the full potential of this chip through the development of tailor designed circuitry. We did not even use our own award-winning discrete circuitry featured in the HA-160D. No, that circuitry was designed and optimised for another DAC chip. We started from scratch and developed a new circuit that is specific to the SABRE32. And the result is a true representation of what it can do when pushed by team Burson.
Connectivity
On the digital front, the Conductor features a 24bit/192khz Tenor TE8802 USB receiver working in Asynchronous Transfer Mode. It also accepts coaxial and Toslink inputs supporting 32bit/192khz audio files. On the analogue front, it accepts analogue input via RCA and outputs in 6.35mm headphone jack, line-level output (DAC) and variable output (preamp). With such versatility, the new conductor works perfectly with any audio system.
Recensie soundnews:
http://soundnews.ro/2012/11/19/burson-conductor-simplicity-squared/Conclusion
For such a complete solution and with the separate modules (preamp, DAC, Headphone amp) that works so seamlessly together Conductor is a clear winner.
I don't give much of nominations and awards, but as all of you requested so often last year I'm starting with them. I cannot see a better product to fit Mono & Stereo VALUE and SOUND award as Burson Conductor. You'll have to work hard to find a competitor that comes even close to the performance of Conductor. More or less you'll have to pay twice the price.
Burson is continuing to refine and create products that brings high-end audio to the crowd of music enthusiasts and true audiophiles across the globe. Unlike many, Burson is not overcharging for what they do. With each new product one can clearly see the dedication and time spend for the new product. This gives confidence and keep the old customers loyal.
I'll end with how I started. Burson Conductor is a true fully blooded audiophile lifestyle and music lover hub for even the most demanding listener.
Recensie 6 moons:
http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/burson10/2.html Isn't this akin to saying that had Burson priced their Conductor at $3.000 instead of $1.850 to therefore limit their appeal to pair with entry-level gear, it would have been award-worthy? That's the first time I would see an award denied on the ground of a product being priced too low.
I hardly see a reason to withhold our award. So while the Conductor walked away without one, it certainly gets my highest recommendation not just as a headfi amp/DAC but also a bone fide DAC/preamp that won't sound out of place in all but the most demanding systems - all at a price that cannot be matched by any comparable component I know of today.
Recensie Headphonia:
http://www.headfonia.com/powerhouse-burson-conductor/The Conductor comes in at quite a premium at $1,850 from Burson’s website. And yet, Lavry’s DA11 is priced just $200 lower at $1,650 and despite the more resolving DAC section I definitely won’t be listening music with the DA11. Fostex’s HP-A8 is somewhere in the $2K figure, and April Music’s Eximus in the $3K region. You can probably find an area where they would beat the Conductor, but looking at the overall package, for music listening, the Conductor earns my #1 recommendation.
Recensie Stereotimes:
http://www.stereotimes.com/amp012113.shtmlthe greatest headphone listening device I have yet heard. You would do well to harken unto it as well.
Recensie Hifi Test:
Unlimited reference status!
http://bursonaudio.com/PDFs/HiFiTest_Conductor_Review_%28Eng%29.pdfSonority Audio
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Contact pagina :
http://www.sonority-audio.nl/index.php/contact.htmlBurson Audio:
http://bursonaudio.com/Burson_Conductor.html