[selvakumar]

but dont know why burson reduced the warranty to 2 years for the conductor c3 series

 

[raoultrifan]

but dont know why burson reduced the warranty to 2 years for the conductor c3 series

From my understanding:

1. Local stores& dealers don't want to deal with such a long warranty.
2. Expensive inter-continental shipping charges and Customs as well. AFAIK, Customs taxes & VAT should also be paid for RMA parts as well, no matter if you already paid once for he initial product.

My guess would be that dealers don't like the idea to work with an overseas company selling products with such a long warranty.

 

[Red Dragon]

Shouldn't this Conductor 3X have a separate compartment for its power supply components, and use a standard power cord, like some of its competitor products in the same price range do?

Wouldn't the product be better if it did those things?

What's the reason why it doesn't?

 

[raoultrifan]

@Red Dragon, this has been discussed in PLAY, PLAYMATE, FUN, BANG and CV3-Ref forums: Burson is not using big transformers nor big reservoir caps anymore. instead they're using an external low noise 12V SMPS power brick followed by boost-converters and linear regulators to further reduce the AC noise & ripple. More here: https://www.bursonaudio.com/about-us/max-current-power-supply/.

 

[Strat1117]

@Red Dragon, this has been discussed in PLAY, PLAYMATE, FUN, BANG and CV3-Ref forums: Burson is not using big transformers nor big reservoir caps anymore. instead they're using an external low noise 12V SMPS power brick followed by boost-converters and linear regulators to further reduce the AC noise & ripple. More here: https://www.bursonaudio.com/about-us/max-current-power-supply/.

They also appear to be abandoning the fully discrete layout in favor of opamps.

 

[up late]

From my understanding:

1. Local stores& dealers don't want to deal with such a long warranty.
2. Expensive inter-continental shipping charges and Customs as well. AFAIK, Customs taxes & VAT should also be paid for RMA parts as well, no matter if you already paid once for he initial product.

My guess would be that dealers don't like the idea to work with an overseas company selling products with such a long warranty.

what is your understanding based on? focal extended its warranty for the utopia headphone from two to five years. harbeth offered an extended warranty for its loudspeakers from one to three years. both companies distribute their products internationally. there are companies (not necessarily audio manufacturers) that offer limited lifetime warranties for their products worldwide - just sayin'.

the conductor v2+'s five year warranty was a factor in my decision to choose it over other competing products. noting that burson audio's lower tier models all come with five year warranties, i'd be interested in hearing from them about why the warranty period for their two flagship models has been shortened by three years.

 

[raoultrifan]

They also appear to be abandoning the fully discrete layout in favor of opamps.

SS V6 are solid-state, there are no chips inside, just transistors and passive components.

 

[Marutks]

oh dear, I should have waited for this amp instead of buying C3 ref.

I prefer balanced out. What would I do with two Burson amps?

Does it sound good with ZMF Verite cans?

 

[raoultrifan]

The DAC and amplification parts inside the C3X should be identical with C3Ref, but the way the 4 amplifiers inside are connected is different. Basically, inside the C3Ref the inner amplifiers (each one created around 2 transistors working as output buffers) are bridged two-by-two, this is why can't work in balanced mode. In C3X these output buffers work only in balanced mode, hence the output power when using single-mode operation will be much lower.

I really think it all comes to the type of headphones everyone has at home, balanced or not-balanced. After all, the DNA inside and the schematic are about the same.

 

[AshUsername]

The DAC and amplification parts inside the C3X should be identical with C3Ref, but the way the 4 amplifiers inside are connected is different. Basically, inside the C3Ref the inner amplifiers (each one created around 2 transistors working as output buffers) are bridged two-by-two, this is why can't work in balanced mode. In C3X these output buffers work only in balanced mode, hence the output power when using single-mode operation will be much lower.

I really think it all comes to the type of headphones everyone has at home, balanced or not-balanced. After all, the DNA inside and the schematic are about the same.

for LCD-4, which would you go for?

 

[raoultrifan]

@AshUsername, if you have balanced cable for LCD-4 and more balanced headphones at home, the go for the C3X, otherwise go for the C3Ref. Inside both are sharing the same DNA and same components, just he way input signals are injected is different, same for the outputs as well. I personally ordered the C3X, given that I already have a CV2+ and another single-ended version might not help me much (most of my cans are balanced).

 

[AshUsername]

th

@AshUsername, if you have balanced cable for LCD-4 and more balanced headphones at home, the go for the C3X, otherwise go for the C3Ref. Inside both are sharing the same DNA and same components, just he way input signals are injected is different, same for the outputs as well. I personally ordered the C3X, given that I already have a CV2+ and another single-ended version might not help me much (most of my cans are balanced).

Thanks, I appreciate the response. I have a Conductor (original) and Timekeeper as my lounge setup but am looking for a bedroom headfi only setup here to compliment. Using LCD-2 (pre-fazer) and Monitor Audio PL range bookshelf speakers right now, but looking to replace the LCD-2 with either higher end/modern Audeze or something lighter like Ether 2 since comfort for audeze always a concern.

Of course, the future setup could be a Conductor V3 & some future new amp(s) in the lounge and the old conductor to the bedroom + timekeeper sold. Perhaps floor-standers could replace the bookshelfs to which could also benefit from balanced XLR vs existing setup.

Or if I go floostanders the cheaper option would be to source a second 2nd-hand timekeeper and go ridged with RCA and keep the C3 in the bedroom.

Sticking with SE will certainly be easier for moving between bedroom and lounge since I won't be messing with swamping cables. But for future proofing expanding lounge setup perhaps C3X makes sense.

Decisions decisions.

 

[raoultrifan]

Sticking with SE will certainly be easier for moving between bedroom and lounge since I won't be messing with swamping cables.

Maybe https://benchmarkmedia.com/products/benchmark-rca-to-xlrm-adapter-cable will help you in connecting SE devices and perhaps to make your decision easier.

 

[raoultrifan]

[...] the conductor v2+'s five year warranty was a factor in my decision to choose it over other competing products. noting that burson audio's lower tier models all come with five year warranties, i'd be interested in hearing from them about why the warranty period for their two flagship models has been shortened by three years.

I will copy-paste my answer from here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...hangeable-opamps.912911/page-18#post-15294753, because the same question appeared on both forums:

Anyone dealing with BURSON already knows that their custom obsession is way ahead other companies and that they go above and beyond their obligations, so I'm positive that they'll continue to do that for fellow audiophiles regardless of warranty terms. Feel free to contact BURSON if any technical issues will occur after warranty expiration and see how they'll help you. I'm sure we'll all be here after 2 years, so...let's see if and what kind of technical issues will occur and how BURSON will deal with its customers.

I am confident that they'll find a way to solve this issue with distributors, but if not, I won't make a huge case out of it; after all this is the only company that sent me a fully populated board without asking the broken one in exchange (and I've seen at least other 6 head-fiers where the warranty was done in the same manner). That was quite money saving here and customer satisfaction went to the max.

P.S.: I still have a lemon Chromecast Audio purchased at 30 USD from US. It got bricked on the first firmware update that was automatically done immediately after connecting it to the computer. Shipping the item in US costs more than the actual price of the device and Google is not willing to send me another Chromecast without getting the broken one in exchange, even if I've sent them not manipulated photos and videos with the bricked device and detailed logs as well. That is not customer obsession for sure!

 

[up late]

I will copy-paste my answer from here: https://www.head-fi.org/threads/new...hangeable-opamps.912911/page-18#post-15294753, because the same question appeared on both forums:

Anyone dealing with BURSON already knows that their custom obsession is way ahead other companies and that they go above and beyond their obligations, so I'm positive that they'll continue to do that for fellow audiophiles regardless of warranty terms. Feel free to contact BURSON if any technical issues will occur after warranty expiration and see how they'll help you. I'm sure we'll all be here after 2 years, so...let's see if and what kind of technical issues will occur and how BURSON will deal with its customers.

I am confident that they'll find a way to solve this issue with distributors, but if not, I won't make a huge case out of it; after all this is the only company that sent me a fully populated board without asking the broken one in exchange (and I've seen at least other 6 head-fiers where the warranty was done in the same manner). That was quite money saving here and customer satisfaction went to the max.

P.S.: I still have a lemon Chromecast Audio purchased at 30 USD from US. It got bricked on the first firmware update that was automatically done immediately after connecting it to the computer. Shipping the item in US costs more than the actual price of the device and Google is not willing to send me another Chromecast without getting the broken one in exchange, even if I've sent them not manipulated photos and videos with the bricked device and detailed logs as well. That is not customer obsession for sure!

the concern which has been raised doesn't relate to the quality of burson audio's customer service (which isn't in question), but its decision to provide a two year warranty for the two new conductor models when it used to offer a five year warranty for previous conductor models. what i find particularly odd is that burson audio is still providing a five year warranty for its current lower tier models. as i've said, i would be interested in knowing what burson audio's explanation is for this apparent discrepancy.