[karmazynowy]

You can change gain in settings
LOW/HIGH

But be carefull, make the volume down first as the change is drastic.

 

[raoultrifan]

Hey, @karmazynowy, good news, you got your CV3 too. Looking forward for your opinion.

 

[nzvlam]

Just got mine today

 

[atmfrank]

And another one has landed. The older brother is a bit worried about the new arrival. Started the burn-in, but my first and very pre-mature impressions: just a tad better right from the get-go! More immediate presence, mode detail, more depth.

A little disappointed about the change from USB 2.0 type B, which most other gear has. And the power supply is a beefy switching brick made in China? What happened to the philosophy of designing the power feeds with first-grade high-density dual transformers as we have in the V2+? In time I like to get to the bottom of this. But for now, I am just enjoying the moment letting the music ooze out of my trusted 800s.

Cheers,

 

[raoultrifan]

You lucky bastards!

BTW, anyone care for some audio thoughts and perhaps an A/B test between CV2 and C3-Ref?

@atmfrank this has been discussed since over an year, it's about https://www.bursonaudio.com/about-us/max-current-power-supply/ and the replacement of the transformer and the big reservoir caps with instant current delivery boost-converters. This will reduce the final size of the audio equipment and eliminate mains hum (even if transformer is shielded) and lower the probability to get the big caps defective (there are no big caps anymore, because there're no needed).

 

[atmfrank]

Yes, I realize that I have been asleep at the wheel. I read the Burson MCPS article a while ago, but somehow in my excitement forgot all about it. And actually, when I think about why I trusted them and bought the V3 unreviewed, the main reason is the Burson guys keep innovating and challenging the status quo. Thanks for the reminder. I enjoy the music even more now

I am testing the various input options, while burning it in. All I can say is: better all around. I am using an RPI3/Kali/Piano2.1 combo on analog 1 and even that sounds better than on the V2+. But it's really too early to tell what "better"' specifically means to my ears. I now moved to COAX input using an Allo DigiOne as the source with LMS/Squeeze upsampled to 192k (-vLX of course). Music source is a 320K MP3 classic stream (yea I know...). Chamber music. That also sounds pretty amazing. I feel like sitting right in the first row. Very open soundstage, excellent detail.

 

[andrewjamesdean]

Burson has confirmed that all units have been undergone 100 hours of burn-in prior to shipping

 

[atmfrank]

Burn-in as in what exactly? The box of my unit says "288", assuming I received unit #288 from Hongkong. I doubt that any serious burn-in can take place for all those units in the shipping dock, with the pressure of getting them out to eagerly waiting customers. Perhaps the power was turned up, but it needs high-db levels white/pink noise on all inputs and serious load on the output.

While I am writing this...I am now having another great experience (Pat Metheney - The Road To You), using Bluetooth in APTX mode (LG V35/USB Audio Player Pro). I chose this because there are many silent passages, which allow some true testing on the quietness, details at the lowest levels while the recording has a good dynamic range. The results are just amazing!

To those who are still waiting for delivery, I dearly apologize for the bragging. But this thing is a little gem.

What I come away with so far, it's less the upgraded 9038 DAC, but the sum of all the engineering that went into the V3. The MCPS supply method must be the main contributor.

 

[atmfrank]

Last post for tonight. Back to the USB input, which directly tests the ES9038. Source: Mac/Audirvana/IfiSilencer/Burson supplied USB-C cable (baahhh!), my standard V2+ settings: upsample/convert to DSD128/B7. Music: Ahmed Jamal - Marseille in 24/192 FLAC. A fine piano jazz recording. The music has a *very* noticeable increase in presence, an airy/open soundstage and a huge dynamic range. I feel like being right there in the studio....or being at an audio show auditioning $40k worth of equipment...which I definitely don't have.

 

[Anvahi]

Burson has confirmed that all units have been undergone 100 hours of burn-in prior to shipping

This is what Dennis (Burson) told me about the burn in process:
"Please remember to allow for at least 100 hours of burn-in. Because the QC burn-in process is different from the actual playback burn-in. So, you will notice the sound getting more mature and open after the burn-in time. "

 

[atmfrank]

Before I reach out to Burson support on this...is anyone here familiar with Squeezeplayer configurations? The V3 SPDIF/Coax input appears to be limited to 96000 max sampling rate. I am unable to push anything higher, neither with upsample settings or high sample-rate source material. 24/192 tracks play only with re-sample settings turned on. Current flags are: -u vLX -r 96000 -D.

I also tried Volumio (latest release) which has the same issue.

Strangely, DSD 64 and 128 source material plays fine, but the input display indicator on the Burson V3 remains at PCM 96k. On the older V2+ I was able to push to 176000 re-sample settings for PCM.

Curious to hear if anyone else has similar issues using a digital transport. Mine is an Allo DigiOne.

 

[selvakumar]

Welcome to Head-Fi and glad to see the first headfier owner of a C3-Ref. combo.

I know about the existence of http://www.hifi-forum.de/, but of course I don't know what they're talking about there.

At your workplace you say? What do you mean? You should not sleep tonight and test this baby with all the headphones you have; entire Head-Fi community is waiting for your first thoughts.

However, take your time and a big breath and let us know how it sound.

Thank you,
Raul.

Hello,
I've been reading here in the forum for a while now and have registered, because there is not so much to read about the Conductor 3 Ref in German forums yet, respectively it's not discussed.
I got my C3 today and am happy to show you the first custom pictures, unfortunately only at my workplace.

tell your first impression we all are waiting for your response

 

[Anvahi]

tell your first impression we all are waiting for your response

Hello,
i´ve allready wrote down my firt impressions in Post 157.

 

[vault108]

Some pictures of my Burson Conductor 3.
Back

Front

Extra sets of opamps

Accessories (power adapter/cable, USB-C to USB-A cable, opamps, extra fuse, remote, and hex key)

Inner (unscrew the 4 hex screws on the underside and lift top open)

 

[atmfrank]

Six days into it, I clocked about 50 hrs. of active burn-in and listening sessions on USB, Coax/SPDIF, RCA line-in, Bluetooth. The latter only for a quick session. The overall experience is a major and very noticeable improvement in every category over the V2+. Primarily it is the level of detail, intimacy, separation of the instruments and spatial imaging. I can't get myself weaned off the V3 because of the addictive quality. Again, it is difficult to quantify the "how much better" question and whether it's worth the expense. All I can say, I have made up my mind without hesitation.

Source material:
USB: FLAC 16/44.1-24/192, DSD64/128, upsampled FLAC to DSD256, haven't tried DSD512 yet. Either local music files or streaming FLAC upsampled to DSD64 in Foobar2000.
SPDIF: FLAC 16/44.1-24/96 and DSD64/128

On the coax/SPDIF input, for some reason, I cannot push the PCM sample rate higher than 96kHz. Setup: Allo DigiOne/Logitech LMS/Squeezeplayer/Sox/foo_dsd etc.

DPLL(DSD): mid (loses lock when set to low)
DPLL(PCM): low

The RCA inputs also provide an upgraded experience. Both units have the same V6 opamps, but for whatever reason my outboard Allo Piano2.1 (w/ Kali) DAC sounds now a tad sweeter and full-bodied.
Overall, the Burson website description of the sound characteristics is spot-on and accurate. Nothing more to add other than "YES" to "reference-class".

A little oddity with the LED display: when the RCA input is selected, I see "PCM 192k" on the display.

Listening is done with HD800s.