[Tokoyo]

No thanks, I'n not going back to the Tenor and his upper harshness. Altough, I'm thinking of getting a quality optical cable but I'm still a bit unsure about the sound quality improvement. OPTICAL 4 LIFE, YO!!

 
Hello,
 
I am so interested in your opinion, or anyone with knowledge, about this. I have the Tenor-module, and it causes me nothing but issues. I then decided, after some information from others, to go buy a Atlas Glass Optical cable, and now using that between the PC(motherboard) and the conductor. I works perfectly, but still it makes me wonder. Does USB provide better or worse audio? It's driving me crazy!

 

[germay0653]

No thanks, I'n not going back to the Tenor and his upper harshness. Altough, I'm thinking of getting a quality optical cable but I'm still a bit unsure about the sound quality improvement. OPTICAL 4 LIFE, YO!!

Optical means no DSD and some Toslink implementations are limited to 96kHz also.  The Totaldac D1 has been reported to be smoother than the Lightspeed but I honestly don't find the Lightspeed harsh but we all hear differently and, after all, it's what sounds good to you that matters! Good luck in your journey!

 

[vegan]

Good to hear about people having success with the Lightspeed usb cable.
Has anyone compared the cheapie (2G version) to anything well reviewed?

 

[germay0653]

Good to hear about people having success with the Lightspeed usb cable.
Has anyone compared the cheapie (2G version) to anything well reviewed?

Not yet but about to do so in the next couple of weeks as I have both the 2G and 10G!

 

[King of Pangaea]

I alternate between CD players.  The PCM 1796 in my Denon DVD3930 is weightier and more robust than the Sabre 32 chip in my Oppo 95, but the Sabre chip is a bit more detailed.  They both have their advantages, depending on the music you are listening to at the moment.  Stravinsky will sound better on the Oppo with the Sabre chip whereas Bruckner, Mahler or rock and roll sound better on the Denon with the Burr Brown PCM 1796.  Each DAC chip has its own sonic signature and if one has more that one way to convert, choose from the best for the music you intend to listen to. 
 
I use HD800 and HD600 cans driven by Sennheiser HDVD 800, analog in.  The 1792 chip in the HDVD 800 isn't as good as the ones in my players.  Using balanced XLR out from Oppo and unbalanced rca out from Denon.  Balanced XLR4 from HDVD 800 to HD800.  I tried a  Burson  before but the synergy just wasn't there with my Senns. 

 

[jimbones]

OK my DAC seems to be working with the coax input. I have left the unit powered on for the past few days and it seems ok. Hopefully it has stabilized.

 

[svo360]

 
I alternate between CD players.  The PCM 1796 in my Denon DVD3930 is weightier and more robust than the Sabre 32 chip in my Oppo 95, but the Sabre chip is a bit more detailed.  They both have their advantages, depending on the music you are listening to at the moment.  Stravinsky will sound better on the Oppo with the Sabre chip whereas Bruckner, Mahler or rock and roll sound better on the Denon with the Burr Brown PCM 1796.  Each DAC chip has its own sonic signature and if one has more that one way to convert, choose from the best for the music you intend to listen to. 
 
I use HD800 and HD600 cans driven by Sennheiser HDVD 800, analog in.  The 1792 chip in the HDVD 800 isn't as good as the ones in my players.  Using balanced XLR out from Oppo and unbalanced rca out from Denon.  Balanced XLR4 from HDVD 800 to HD800.  I tried a  Burson  before but the synergy just wasn't there with my Senns. 

may I can ask what you didn't like about the burson with the senn? im running conductor 1796 with my new hd700's cant say im being blown away either probably my choice of music, still great but still missing that separation or clarity when its gets busy like my q701's so im wondering if im missing something, hoping more burn in will help.

 

[vegan]

Glad to hear that Jim!
Some found power surges from a dodgy fridge messed with their DAC connection... But that doesn't seem to be the issue for you.

Thanks Germany - I'd be curious how the Lightspeed 2G goes.

ESS Vs BB
Interesting to read about the Burr Brown comparisons.
I've been revelling in Zinman's Mahler recordings in DSD. So wonder how much better the BB board might be... OR, a DSD DAC! Can't say I'm thinking of changing much, though. Always curious, but I'm a very happy camper. Converting DSD through Audirvana 2.06 is magic.

 

[King of Pangaea]

  may I can ask what you didn't like about the burson with the senn? im running conductor 1796 with my new hd700's cant say im being blown away either probably my choice of music, still great but still missing that separation or clarity when its gets busy like my q701's so im wondering if im missing something, hoping more burn in will help.

I was referring to the Burson HA160D, the predecessor to the Conductor.  I was able to audition the Conductor locally and was able to distinguish a definite improvement over the HA160D, but decided to go with the HDVD800  instead because of balanced and multi-output and the fact that Sennheiser designed the amp for the HD800, so  best to keep it all in the same design house.  In addition most people reported good results with HD800 with either amp.  My little Creek amp had better synergy with the Senns than with the HA160D.  The result was just unimpressive with the HA160D, worse than with my Creek, not bad really but far less than I had expected.   
 
 
I think you mean Conductor SL 1793 don't you?  I can find no reference to a 1796.  The original HA160D used a Burr Brown chip but the Conductor uses a Sabre 32 chip, as I understand it.   I think the 1793 Conductor has a different amp than the regular Conductor, 2watts output instead of the 4 watts of the bigger Burson. 

 

[germay0653]

  I was referring to the Burson HA160D, the predecessor to the Conductor.  I was able to audition the Conductor locally and was able to distinguish a definite improvement over the HA160D, but decided to go with the HDVD800  instead because of balanced and multi-output and the fact that Sennheiser designed the amp for the HD800, so  best to keep it all in the same design house.  In addition most people reported good results with HD800 with either amp.  My little Creek amp had better synergy with the Senns than with the HA160D.  The result was just unimpressive with the HA160D, worse than with my Creek, not bad really but far less than I had expected.   
 
 
I think you mean Conductor SL 1793 don't you?  I can find no reference to a 1796.  The original HA160D used a Burr Brown chip but the Conductor uses a Sabre 32 chip, as I understand it.   I think the 1793 Conductor has a different amp than the regular Conductor, 2watts output instead of the 4 watts of the bigger Burson. 

The original Conductor had a few options for USB and DAC configurations.  Regarding USB it originally came with the Tenor chip and later Burson offered a CMedia chip.  On the DAC side it originally came with the Sabre 32 but later they offered the Burr-Brown 1793.  They were simple swaps of USB and DAC daughter boards inside the unit.  You could also order directly with the USB/DAC combination of your choice and are priced accordingly.
 
There is the original version had a full 4W Soloist amp built in and they also offered less powerful "SL", 2W, version of the built in Soloist amp.
 
You have variability of USB/DAC/Amp to suit your specific needs.

 

[Currawong]

Apologies, but due to a likely serious breach of our rules (astroturfing) that came to light, which can be clearly seen in this thread, I'm suspending discussion of Burson products on Head-Fi.

 

[connect2812]

Question to the owners of Burson Conductor (1 rev.):
Do you play 24bit / 192KHz files when connected via a coaxial cable?

 

[connect2812]

del

 

[selvakumar]

Guys my HA-160D 24-steps volume attenuator is causing click noise any idea

 

[vegan]

You might try some lubricant on the resistera of the volume control .. i think i used some WD-40 on my 160D and it helped a bit.. but imagine there are better solutions!
good luck with it!