Well crap. You guys. Aussies. A myriad of positive and reasoned reviews. Thanks! I'm now poorer by $1,344!
But thank you. I have been trying to find THE dac/amp for me. I knew I've wanted an all-in-one. But I was willing to look for separates. But for my setup at home, I needed a simpler solution; one I could just store, but pull out and plug into my laptop when I wanted to have a listening session. I once had a desk and an office, but then kid #2 came along...dumb kids.
I have slowly been educating myself and evolving my setup, to ultimately land here: the Burson Conductor 3XP with the Focal Clear OG. But I digress. My first foray into the would of audiophilosity...well I am certainly no audiophile. I think of music like art, I don't know much about it, but I know what I like. My first dac/amp was the Schiit Hel with the venerable Drop/Sennheiser 6XX. Interestingly enough, I owned a pair of Senn 650's from 2001. Loved them but never fully appreciated their awesomeness since I had them connected to bad sources and questionable audio files.
After that first setup, I knew I was addicted. I've always loved music...and video games. But with the arrival of kids, who has time for games? But music, oh music was still central to my life. My wife doesn't get it. Her typical characterization of my music: it's too loud and too awful.
Thank god she had better taste in men than in music. My next step up was the
Monolith by Monoprice Desktop Balanced Headphone Amplifier and DAC with THX AAA Technology (Dual AKM 4493 DACs & Dual AAA-788 Modules). Literally copied that from their site...no way I was going to type all that. The headphones were the Drop Focal Elex...these were the first headphones to help me understand how good music could really sound. It was an amazing moment to appreciate those headphones. But it made me want more; an affliction I think most of us share on a forum like this.
And speaking of affliction...my love of Focal and their sound made me a convert. I know there are many headphone makers out there, and I have tried many of them, but for me, the Focals are just fantastic. To argue one headphone maker is better is to say Cezanne, or Picasso, or Van Gogh were crap compared to Renoit. Different artists, different styles, all doing it their way and each speaking to their appreciator in a special way. This next level appreciation lead me to wanting to step up my game with headphones, but still within my upper modest budget...is it a white lie to tell my wife the cost of the headphones is 50% of what they really cost? Let's hope God is a music lover; cuz my wife isn't. I knew I wanted the Focal Clears...but at $1480, that was just more than I was prepared to spend. But what's this? Headphones.com with a special, albeit no returns, price for the Clear OG's final days?! $990? I couldn't hit that buy button fast enough!
The Clears were shipping...but surely, as this game goes, it was time for my next level dac/amp. Don't get me wrong, the Monolith was (*^&^$# amazing. Great value. Great features. Great sound. BUT. And it's that BUT that makes each of us here, poorer financially, bur richer aurally. But, is there a better dac/amp, reasonably priced that may be a worthy successor? That was when I stumbled upon and obsessed about the RME ADI-2-DAC FS. It was the Lightning McQueen of the mid-ranged dac/amps; Kachow! Received it. Used it. Programmed it. Didn't get it. This was very likely MY problem. I may not have had the ear or the experience/sophistication to appreciate it. Fine. Granted. But see comment on art appreciation above; I just didn't like it.
So back it went. And then I was a bit confounded. And so I pored through the forums and reviews looking for what was the best marriage of Focal Clears and a dac/amp. Since the Clear were supposed to be very resolving and analytical, a Type D amp, which was similar in dynamics to the Clear, would be too much analytical plus analytical...in a sense, the soul of the music would not be there. If your a Cheers fan, this is like Frasier and Lilith Crane; doomed from the very beginning. Tubes? Tube hybrids? Boy was I out of my element! And then, forums like this, and others, recommended the Burson line. Resolving, transparent, flexible, but with a musicality and warmth. Some swore by the amp paired with the Clears. But the cost. More than the RME I had just returned and that was already a divorce attorney inducing amount of money to spend. But, like many of us here, I was on the hunt for an end-game solution...whatever that means...since we are likely all fooling ourselves over ever truly having end game components in this sick, twisted game of audio perfection.
But...BUT! There's that BUT again. But, I was curious. Could the Burson be it? Wait...what's this? Aussies made it? They aren't German. They Aren't French. They aren't English...mostly. Well crap. They made a decent F1 driver (Hello, Daniel Ricciardo!) maybe they can make a decent headphone driver too. And you know what? They screwing did. They are currently driving the hell out of my Clears.
Normally, when I get new gear, I of course like to A/B the items for a comparison. But I didn't feel like messing with the connections and I was like, if I have to A/B and the difference isn't obvious, then what's the point of spending this much money? And I was right. For once. I know you are supposed to warm up the Burson...not burn in...yes/no? People are still deciding. Anyway, from just about track one...I was sold. Now I don't know all the terms, I'm not hip to the lingo, I am an appreciator not an audiophile...but holy crap. Stunned. Stunning. So without getting into the terms I know nothing about. here are my impressions:
Normally when I compare headphones, I spend about 30 seconds to one minute listening to well-known tracks on a set headphone testing playlist I created. That's usually enough time for me to compare and contrast. But with this Burson dac/amp, I did not want to stop listening. Without knowing it, I was listening to tracks for nearly three minutes. Tracks I knew backwards and forwards. And it was like I was listening to them as though my hearing had been heightened and improved. I was appreciating these test tracks I had heards dozens of times and loving them like the first time I heard them..but with newfound respect and adoration. Four hours later, I knew I had to stop. I was exhausted. Not from fatigue of listening, but fromt he fact I should have gone to bed hours prior.
And that is the point. the point of this long form review of sorts, and the point of why we spend the money and time we do on esoteric hi-fi gear that our friends and family don't understand; it's too loud!!!! The point is for the joy. The point is for the smile on our face when we listen to that track and feel like we are at that concert, at that studio, or in that coffee house, listening to a band or singer give it their all for the pleasure of those in attendance or that buy their music.
Anyway, if you read this far, thanks. I hope it was worth it for you to read a neophyte's ramblings. Thank you to this forum. Thank you to Burson for their passion and hard work. Thank you to Focal for the same. While the world seems more fractured and dysfunctional than ever, it is so nice to be able to escape to the refuge of music and the appreciation of the art.
Forgot to include my photo of the "end-game" setup. And my VERY eclectic playlist.
and were just to expensive for what they offer (in my opinion). At the end, I got an used Burson from a friend for 950€ (just few weeks old). I think I would not have paid the full retail price here in Germany (1500€ - 1600€), but 950€ is approx. the price of an ADI-2 DAC, which I had as well in the past. I have not compared the two 1:1, but the Burson sounds richer, is more musical and provides more warmth. And for me, the ADI-2 DAC is to complex, I like simpler units which offer the basics, but in a good and userfriendly way.