[peter123]

Only 18 hours to go on the Indiegogo  for those still on the fence 

 
 
 
https://www.indiegogo.com/projects/air-pocket-sized-usb-soundcard-head-amp-preamp-headphones#/

 

[willowbrook]

So, how much power is sufficiently needed in order to give it full potential? I assume a normal phone charger these days are rated 5V/2A max. which provides 10W max. a 2.0 USB port can provide 5V/0.5A max, 2.5W max. I would assume a phone charger is plenty enough, but is a 2.0 USB port enough?
 
I'm using chord mojo as my source, but I never take it outside and just use it with my laptop at all times. I find it pretty much pointless to have the battery, making it heavier, hotter etc. Conductor air seems like the answer, but still undecided on the sound quality difference. I might as well buy the air and sell which one I prefer?

 

[willowbrook]

  My full review is finally up:
 
http://www.head-fi.org/products/burson-audio-conductor-air/reviews/16536
 

Thanks for the review&comparison. The output impedance of 3Ohms really put me off as user of solely IEMs. I would agree very much on your impression on the Mojo as having a smooth, relaxed and partially laid back sound while having a great sense of air. Definitely makes the sound more spacious. However, too relaxed with too much air can put off the balance between bass and the upper frequency which I am hearing more and more of that now. I've heard the Burson house sound with my previously owned H10+all V5 discrete op amps and I think I know what you mean by when you say "full", if it's any similar, it should sound very natural even with neutral/bright IEMs/headphones pairing.

 

[peter123]

Thanks for the review&comparison. The output impedance of 3Ohms really put me off as user of solely IEMs. I would agree very much on your impression on the Mojo as having a smooth, relaxed and partially laid back sound while having a great sense of air. Definitely makes the sound more spacious. However, too relaxed with too much air can put off the balance between bass and the upper frequency which I am hearing more and more of that now. I've heard the Burson house sound with my previously owned H10+all V5 discrete op amps and I think I know what you mean by when you say "full", if it's any similar, it should sound very natural even with neutral/bright IEMs/headphones pairing.

Hmm, now that you mention it the 6120A is rated at 2Ohm output and that's actually what I've written in my review before posting it but when I double checked the specs before submitting the review it said 3Ohm on the Burson web site so I changed it.

Don't know if 2 or 3Ohm makes any difference to you but it would still be nice if Burson Audio could chime in and give us the correct number.

 

[willowbrook]

Hmm, now that you mention it the 6120A is rated at 2Ohm output and that's actually what I've written in my review before posting it but when I double checked the specs before submitting the review it said 3Ohm on the Burson web site so I changed it.

Don't know if 2 or 3Ohm makes any difference to you but it would still be nice if @Burson Audio could chime in and give us the correct number.

Well, my current go to IEM is 11 ohms and there are plenty IEMs in this range for mobile friendly purpose. I would like to follow the 1:8 or more ratio as much as possible. It wouldn't really matter for high impedance IEMs/cans though. Mojo is rated at 0.075Ohms IIRC.

 

[peter123]

Well, my current go to IEM is 11 ohms and there are plenty IEMs in this range for mobile friendly purpose. I would like to follow the 1:8 or more ratio as much as possible. It wouldn't really matter for high impedance IEMs/cans though. Mojo is rated at 0.075Ohms IIRC.

Yeah, I understand. You're right about the 0.075 Ohm on the Mojo.

Fwiw I preferred my 11 Ohm ASG-1PLUS with the Air over the Mojo with quite some margin. Ymmw as always....

 

[Hifi59]

My full review is finally up:

[COLOR=22229C]http://www.head-fi.org/products/burson-audio-conductor-air/reviews/16536[/COLOR]


 

I just received mine today. I agree with it sounding much like the cv2+. This is a very powerful, engaging portable amp. It easily drives my LCD-3f with much room to spare. I can confirm that it works, without issue, using the Apple camera kit cable that I use with my iPad feeding the Air.

 

[High-End-Addict]

Thank you mister Postman ....

 

 

[peter123]

So after returning my pre-production Air I've had a production unit for a couple of weeks by now.

Everything on it (sound, build etc.) is identical to my first unit BUT I'm very happy to report that the second unit has much better compatibility with Android and works well with both third party apps like UAPP and streaming services like Spotify. With a couple of my Android devices it works without external power while it need this to work with some others.

This was expected since Burson Audio had informed me that the Xmos receiver in my review unit was outdated. Still very nice to test it myself and I hope this will also be good to know to people considering buying the Air so I thought I'd share it here as well.

I'd also like to add that even after reviewing a couple other great amp/dac's (and heard several more) since I had the first unit I'm still considering the Air to be among the top contenders in its segment.

 

[High-End-Addict]

With a couple of my Android devices it works without external power while it need this to work with some others.

 

 
It looks to me the Conductor Air always need external power ... ( otherwise what source of energy would light-up its splendid glowing less ?)
 
It also works very nicely with my Astell&Kern AK70 ... but i intend to use it mainly with my MacBook... (8 hours a day on average)
 
the only regret i have is about the line output cable : jack3.5mm to twin male RCA : i thing they also should provide a cheap jack/twin RCA female adaptor such as this one :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Twin-2X-Female-RCA-to-Male-Stereo-1-8-3-5mm-Jack-Adapter-Audio-Splitter-Gold-Pl-/250599756162?hash=item3a58e8d182:g08AAOxywXFScpiu

 

[peter123]

It looks to me the Conductor Air always need external power ... ( otherwise what source of energy would light-up its splendid glowing less ?)

It also works very nicely with my Astell&Kern AK70 ... but i intend to use it mainly with my MacBook... (8 hours a day on average)

the only regret i have is about the line output cable : jack3.5mm to twin male RCA : i thing they also should provide a cheap jack/twin RCA female adaptor such as this one :
http://www.ebay.com/itm/Twin-2X-Female-RCA-to-Male-Stereo-1-8-3-5mm-Jack-Adapter-Audio-Splitter-Gold-Pl-/250599756162?hash=item3a58e8d182:g08AAOxywXFScpiu

My LG G3 and Chuwi Vi8 can put out enough power for the Air to work properly, battery drain is severe though so it's not really a good way to use it imo. Works for shorter listening sessions though.......

 

[raoultrifan]

Hmm, now that you mention it the 6120A is rated at 2Ohm output and that's actually what I've written in my review before posting it but when I double checked the specs before submitting the review it said 3Ohm on the Burson web site so I changed it.

Don't know if 2 or 3Ohm makes any difference to you but it would still be nice if @Burson Audio could chime in and give us the correct number.

 
Hi Peter, I really love your review!
 
Anyway, "the series output resistor should be between 10Ω and 100Ω" and TI has a default value of 39.2Ω for the output resistor (taken from original datasheet http://www.ti.com/lit/ds/symlink/tpa6120a2.pdf). So what BURSON did with Air was a great job and most likely they achieved reducing the output impedance from 10 ohm to 3 ohms by using inductors in parallel with the output resistor and this way headphone's capacitance should not cause any oscillations.
 
Best, 
Raul.

 

[raoultrifan]

  So, how much power is sufficiently needed in order to give it full potential? I assume a normal phone charger these days are rated 5V/2A max. which provides 10W max. a 2.0 USB port can provide 5V/0.5A max, 2.5W max. I would assume a phone charger is plenty enough, but is a 2.0 USB port enough?

Many laptops have a dedicated USB charger port of 5V/1A, so perhaps you could check your laptop's datasheet. My T430 has such a USB charger port and it's yellow.

 

[captblaze]

Just purchased (and received) a Burson Conductor Air and am quite impressed initially with the purchase. I was bouncing back and forth between a Mojo and Hugo lately and decided that Hugo would stay as my "portable" setup along with an AK300 as the transport. Now I'm sure there are those that would say that isn't portable, but I'm an old man with big hands and no skinny jeans, so the size is just right for portable use. I have the Chord leather case so it all works for me.
 
Now back on topic...
 
The Air fits in 2 areas for me. It is a good size for the night stand paired with and NVidia Shield Tablet. The OTG cable I use allows for charging while use, so I don't have to worry about power issues. I will also travel with me and my Surface 3 LTE. That combo will allow me to travel and stream from home or Tidal wherever I go. Hence a win win in my book.
 
I have no experience with ESS Sabre DACs, so I am moving between my headphones and IEMs to dial in a specific sound profile that works best with my audio files. I will say this... This piece is no slouch and I would say it ranks in between Mojo and Hugo in overall sound reproduction with it being a little more treble heavy, the mids are clear also. if I had to knock anything it would be the sub bass is a bit thin, but overall bass seems fast and accurate.
 
In conclusion, I would say for anyone looking for a DAC/Amp combo that has the chops to fill your ears with accurate clean sound and has relatively small footprint and a simple but useful remote (volume up,down and mute) give the Burson Conductor Air a serious listen.
 
UPDATE - got a big bonus... I have a Lumia 950 XL and am enrolled in the Windows Insider Program, just for grins I tried connecting my phone to the Air and BAM it works. I am using Foobar 2000 as my mobile player. The build version is 14936.1000, so there is hope for the few of us who are using the windows platform for mobile

 

[cowby]

Mind to share some info with this new user ?
 
May I know what USB driver to install in your PC ?  My PC is running Windows 10.
 
Cheers!
 
Cowby