Thanks BleaK,
You can find all my impressions and reviews on my blog: http://headmania.me/about/
or on headfi: http://www.head-fi.org/t/644128/audiophile-by-accident-the-hobby-an-unexpected-journey

funneh wallet jokes

Is this a review or a meme generator?

Why not both ? I have assumed a different type of writing, I know, but I want to keep it personal and funny too, that is my style, and I am aware not everyone may like it, sorry about that.

Nice writeup
Now I want one

that was a very unique and entertaining review! I currently have a HA-160 (no D, no S) so I assume your comparisons to 160D/S would also apply to non-DACed 160 as well. Since the price tag is quite higher than other Bursons, I almost wish they also released a standalone Conductor-class amp for those who already have a good DAC and sell it for $600-800 less.
You put "buggy USB" as a con but it's not mentioned in your review. What did you mean by it? What's buggy about it?

Thanks Quinto, sorry for your wallet man!
Burson has a standalone amplifier in the same class with Conductor. Actually the amplifier came first, and the came the Conductor. It is called Burson Soloist, and actually Conductor has the same amp.:
http://bursonaudio.com/Burson_Soloist.html

Regarding the USB (for conductor only, as it is dac related and soloist doesn't have this problem), on rare occasions the conductor freezes and I have to restart it (power it down, get the usb cable out, put it back in after a few seconds and then power it on again). Sometimes it also gets some clicks on the channel, but very rare and only happened when I used conductor as a default playback devince in windows and also listened to asio in foobar. I will add this to the review, thanks for reminding.

Actually, according to a few other reports, the Soloist doesn't seem to shine so much above the HA-160. Maybe I'm just trying to believe that because I already own the 160 but I would really be interested in hearing them side by side. It's good to know the Conductor uses Soloist as its amp in full. These DAC/Amp combos are getting so good now that even the pickiest audiophiles may soon be converting back to single unit solutions.

"Actually, according to a few other reports, the Soloist doesn't seem to shine so much above the HA-160."
Who said this? I've had both for a long time now and think the Soloist is a lot better.

The headphones mentioned were high-impedance ones. I wonder if it would be as good with low-impedance headphones such as the Sennheiser 598 and the Audio Technica ATH-AD2000X?

Vladinecko. Soloist is in a completely different class than ha-160. I found it to be MUCH better.
for rexinus:
I found that conductor is good with every headphone I paired it with, from triple fi to Creative Aurvana live, AKG K550, Sennheiser Momentum, Focal Spirit One, Audeze Lcd2, Audeze LCD3 and EVEN rocks with HD800.

So I think it would be excellent with Sennheiser hd598 and ad2000 too.

There is an article linked from Burson's website pointing to Steve Guttenberg's blog where he says, "[...] I compared the Soloist with my old Burson HA 160 headphone amp, and the differences between the two weren't immediately apparent ... The biggest difference was power. The new amp can drive very inefficient headphones [...]"

"Steve Guttenberg"

^ There's your problem.

Why, what's wrong with him? What, in particular, did he write that you think is incorrect/invalid/crap?

Maybe power is the first thing you observe, but that doesn't mean that there aren't more major benefits like transparency, details, control, smoothness, etc.
I had the HA-160DS, and heard the HA-160D on many occasions. What I can say, is that the difference between Soloist/Conductor and them is quite big.

That really makes me regret getting the HA-160 just a few months ago :\. My understanding was that the Soloist was more of an evolutionary rather than revolutionary update to the HA-160

"Why, what's wrong with him? What, in particular, did he write that you think is incorrect/invalid/crap?"
The HD 700 is equally adept playing movies and music, thanks to its unfatiguing sound. Resolution of fine detail is in the top tier of high-end headphones, and yet with good quality recordings, the sound is never harsh or unpleasant in any way.
He either can't hear treble very well or is one of those "everything's good" reviewers. I wouldn't solely go by his reviews.

I own a pair of HD 700 and must say their sibilance is definitely quite fatiguing. Maybe his testing tracks simply didn't exhibit any treble peaks/harshness, it's really not there all the time. But when it's there, your face goes sour, your eyes tear up and you want to change the track as quickly as possible. Apart from that and the bloated price tag, they really are great headphones.

Great Review !!
Oh man my wallet is running scared hahahha !

i ordered my first high end headphone T5p.
And the Fiio E12 and E10 for my mac..

i was considering a high end portable rig..
" Alo Rx Mk3-B " + " cypher labs algorhythm solo dB "
And cables like the " Copper 22 Balanced to Balanced " and LOD cable..

this would bring the total around €1200 ..
Ater talking to sum shop owners here in holland..
One sad to me..Why not go for home components ..??
Perhaps Burson..??

As a newbie , and a research nut..i had seen the name Burson.

But After reading about the Conductor..my fingers where itching..
And now after reading your review..

i think i want One !!!
Thank god it's not yet available in Holland !! hahhaha
The price is in the US is around $1850 that would be €1425.
But i heard it would probable be around €1700 to €1850 ..

That sucks..so i'l wait and use the fiio E10 while i wait..
No cense to send them back….

i would love to listen to it..With my new T5p..
And curios about electrostatic cans..Like hifi-man and LCD2 v2.
hifi-man is affordable…and LCD2 is doable ..but the LCD3 is to much for me now..

Heck all cans are to much now hahahha..My wallet still hurts from the previous explosion !
haahhaha.. And now after your review the Burson C, is screaming !!
man oh man..