[Frank I]

I have the new model in house. The Burson sounds excellent

 

[Gustavo]

Did you compare it with the previous version of Conductor? Is there any difference in sound? Thanks.

 

[Frank I]

Gustavo I dont have a previous version ere to do any comparison with.  I have not heard the previous one at shows but not enough to make a valid comparison.

 

[HiFiGuy528]

Just unboxed the new Burson.  Color me impressed by the build quality and design.  The volume display is intriguing.  I really like the out of box experience so far.  I had the first gen Conductor.  This one is much improved.  Will report back with listening impressions after cook time. 
 

 

[Frank I]

Nice Mike looking forward to your impressions.

 

[Gustavo]

I'm also expecting your listening impressions and objetive comparision with previous version of Conductor.

 

[Frank I]

Cant do it if I don have the prior Conductor. I can and will compare to similar priced amplifiers 

 

[Gustavo]

  Cant do it if I don have the prior Conductor. I can and will compare to similar priced amplifiers 

I know, I asked HiFiGuy528 for a comparision. He said he had the original Conductor.
 
I'm looking forward your impressions too. Comparisions with similar priced amplifiers are very interesting for me also. Thanks.

 

[Frank I]

Mike indeed does have both so he can do a side by side

 

[Chik0240]

this sounds interesting, especially considering the main difference on paper is the new relay based volume control, wondering beside the usability of 50 steps instead of 24 for the old attenuator. also curious why they decide to use a volume control which have a opamp output stage.

 

[Tokoyo]

Got mine 2 days ago, and it is fantastic! Using Audeze LCD-X with it, and couldn't be happier.
 
Well, not 100% true, I have a very very faint white/grey noise. I have checked everything, and it is the same on both USB(Cardas) and optical(Atlas Mavros Glass Optical). I did not have this on my old Burson Conductor, and nothing but the amp itself is changed. Any idea what this can be? Keep in mind I'm a rookie, so it can be a very simple explanation to this. The noise does not change with volume up or down.

 

[Frank I]

  this sounds interesting, especially considering the main difference on paper is the new relay based volume control, wondering beside the usability of 50 steps instead of 24 for the old attenuator. also curious why they decide to use a volume control which have a opamp output stage.

I will address the technical changes in my review and try to get answers to those questions for you.

 

[Burson Audio]

Hello everyone, Burson Audio are happy to respond to a few of the questions you've raised.
 
The new Conductor Virtuoso has 100-steps of volume control rather than the 24-steps of the previous ladder-resistor network so there's no noise when changing volume and you can find a level that's just right for you.
 
As for why the new 100-step volume control uses an op-amp output stage, the answer is... it doesn't. Burson is all class-A with not an op-amp in sight. We replace op-amps with our own fully-discrete circuitry, in this case dedicated to this one purpose. You can learn what we do and why we feel strongly that op-amps are so bad for audio on our website. 
 
The 8-pin chip visible on the PCB is a microcontroler chip used to program the TI PGA2310 volume control chip. Importantly, the microcontroller isn't in the audio signal path. Inside the PGA2310 there's a buffer stage but Burson has set it to eliminate its impact on sound. 
 
Regarding the noise that Tokoyo mentioned, the last model Conductor had three levels of selectable gain to overcome the limited steps of the original volume control. But it wasn't ideal because the idle-current of the amplifier could only be optimised for one of the three settings. In the previous Conductor the idle current was optimised for the mid-gain level and the noise floor of the previous Conductor reflected that.
 
The new conductor has only one fully-optimized setting across the entire volume control range. With more sensitive headphones you might hear a slight increase in noise level and our specifications reflect that change. The previous version of the Conductor had a 96dB signal-to-noise ratio while the new Conductor Virtuoso features 94dB, resulting in, we feel,  improved performance. 
 
We're happy to answer any further question you may have.
 
Thank you,
Burson Audio

 

[Gustavo]

I'm glad to have in the forum a Burson's representative user to respond our inquiries.
 
Quote:

In the previous Conductor the idle current was optimised for the mid-gain level and the noise floor of the previous Conductor reflected that.

Very interesting data...this is why I noted a cleaner sound in mid-gain than in high-gain level in the original Conductor.
 
Burson Audio: Why you are taking so long to achieve a DSD capable USB Card to upgrade our Conductor's?
 
Thanks.

 

[Tokoyo]

   
Regarding the noise that Tokoyo mentioned, the last model Conductor had three levels of selectable gain to overcome the limited steps of the original volume control. But it wasn't ideal because the idle-current of the amplifier could only be optimised for one of the three settings. In the previous Conductor the idle current was optimised for the mid-gain level and the noise floor of the previous Conductor reflected that.
 
Thank you,
Burson Audio

Thank you for answering! I use Audeze LCD-X, but after reading this I tested with my old AKG K-702, and they are dead silent. Quite the amount of noise in the LCD-X though, but everything else is great