[Womaz]

Ok I will give my quick first initial impressions of the C3XR

I am not good at describing what I hear and I leave that to others who can do it much better than me but I do want to share my thoughts for those that may be interested.

I am also comparing it to my Auralic Taurus so maybe not a fair comparison as the Taurus is just an amp, but I was looking for an upgrade to my current set up so the comparison is valid to me.

My Taurus was fed from my Devialet 200 which I assume did the digital conversion. And it sounded great to my ears. But yes this lockdown got me thinking …….can I improve this. In a word YES I can.

I normally wait at least a week before I stick my old product back in the chain as if I don’t I can struggle to hear much of a difference with doing direct A to B comparisons if that makes sense, but the difference was quite immediate to me this time so I put the Taurus back in after only two days.



First a couple of moans. The USB cable does not work , I had read about this but assumed they would have corrected this by now. Second I am in the UK and my unit come with a Europe power cable. Also no manual? I know it is 2020 but I still would of liked a manual. So I downloaded it off the Burson website, but to be honest it is not that good anyway .

The UI is a bit Meh if you ask me. For me this is not a big issue as I will solely be using it via USB to use as a Headphone amp so I will not be messing around with the interface .

It is a solid looking piece of kit, but I think the last series of Burson products look a lot better thatn this. Just my opinion.

So all that really matters is how it sounds anyway so none of the above are game changers to me.

And it sounds really good to me and quite a step up on my Taurus. I was pleasantly surprised at this as back in the day the Taurus got some great reviews and I was a little apprehensive about trying to improve on it.

OK its only two days but it is my initial impressions.

The bass is excellent and a big improvement on my Taurus , it has a lot more impact but does not overpower everything else. I love a good bass, but not to the extent that it overpowers everything else. This has a nice slam but a tight bass.

The main difference is the clarity and detail though. This was apparent straight away . It is so clean sounding. Paired with my HD800S then wow it is so so clean. I may have a slight issue that it can be a tad bright at the top end but we will see. I think over the last few years this clarity is what I am craving

The instruments stand out more and there is better separation for sure , this could be due to an improved soundstage as this does feel bigger again.

When I put the Taurus back in it sounded muffled in comparison and it was not a small difference.

So I will listen for a further week and then stick the Taurus back in and have another listen and see where I go from here, but yes so far this has probably exceeded my expectations.

Only problem is I am now thinking maybe I need a headphone upgrade in the future to get the very best out of the Conductor 3

 

[endre83]

I think the SS3602 op-amps are an improvement over the V6 Vivids based on what I’m hearing from the 3XR. To me, they are definitely worth it. Right now Sparkos Labs is running a 20% off sale. Just use the code LOCKDOWN20 if you’re interested is getting some for your 3XR.

Do I need an additional adapter for the Dual Discrete Op Amp SS3602?

 

[Slim1970]

Do I need an additional adapter for the Dual Discrete Op Amp SS3602?

No, pull out the V6 Vivids and just pop in the SS3602’s. Then you’re all set!

 

[ladavid]

I have a new Conductor 3R coming - Womaz I was hoping to use USB connection to my Lumin U1 mini. So if you are not connecting with usb what are you using. My current dac only has spdif connection - was hoping to move away from that with the Conductor so hope mine has no usb issues.

For what its worth I have a Fun headphone amp that I rolled the Sparkos op amps into and was blown away by how much clearer and more detailed the sound was to my ears. In fact it is so good using the Fun as a preamp with a high quality tube amp (Triode Lab EL84) - although only has one input which is a pain. So hoping i will get the same or even better out of the Conductor 3, plus bonus of a high quality headphone amp.

 

[Womaz]

I have a new Conductor 3R coming - Womaz I was hoping to use USB connection to my Lumin U1 mini. So if you are not connecting with usb what are you using. My current dac only has spdif connection - was hoping to move away from that with the Conductor so hope mine has no usb issues.

For what its worth I have a Fun headphone amp that I rolled the Sparkos op amps into and was blown away by how much clearer and more detailed the sound was to my ears. In fact it is so good using the Fun as a preamp with a high quality tube amp (Triode Lab EL84) - although only has one input which is a pain. So hoping i will get the same or even better out of the Conductor 3, plus bonus of a high quality headphone amp.

The problem is with the usb cable that they provide not the usb connection. I was lucky that I found an old cable that I used to have with my IBasso dx200 and this worked, I am using usb connection with no problems .

 

[Slim1970]

I have a new Conductor 3R coming - Womaz I was hoping to use USB connection to my Lumin U1 mini. So if you are not connecting with usb what are you using. My current dac only has spdif connection - was hoping to move away from that with the Conductor so hope mine has no usb issues.

For what its worth I have a Fun headphone amp that I rolled the Sparkos op amps into and was blown away by how much clearer and more detailed the sound was to my ears. In fact it is so good using the Fun as a preamp with a high quality tube amp (Triode Lab EL84) - although only has one input which is a pain. So hoping i will get the same or even better out of the Conductor 3, plus bonus of a high quality headphone amp.

I have the Fun with the Sparkos SS3601 op-amps in it as well. In fact, that's were I got the idea from. I'm saying to myself, if the Sparkos op-amps can make those kinds of improvements to the Fun imagine what it can bring to 3XR. Sure enough I was right. In the 3XR, the Sparkos op-amps just brings everything into focus with greater clarity, detail, attack and dynamics. The bass is tighter, even more defined, and it seems to hit harder with a little more sub bass energy. The midrange is clearer and more textured. Guitars have more bite and crunch to them. Vocals have a sweetness to them that wasn't there before. The treble is more defined and open sounding. Instrument placement and staging are all improved. All which are improvement over the V6 Vivids in my opinion. They make an already great amp even better.

 

[drc73rp]

I am also comparing it to my Auralic Taurus so maybe not a fair comparison as the Taurus is just an amp, but I was looking for an upgrade to my current set up so the comparison is valid to me.

My Taurus was fed from my Devialet 200 which I assume did the digital conversion. And it sounded great to my ears. But yes this lockdown got me thinking …….can I improve this. In a word YES I can.



The bass is excellent and a big improvement on my Taurus , it has a lot more impact but does not overpower everything else. I love a good bass, but not to the extent that it overpowers everything else. This has a nice slam but a tight bass.

The main difference is the clarity and detail though. This was apparent straight away . It is so clean sounding. Paired with my HD800S then wow it is so so clean. I may have a slight issue that it can be a tad bright at the top end but we will see. I think over the last few years this clarity is what I am craving

The instruments stand out more and there is better separation for sure , this could be due to an improved soundstage as this does feel bigger again.

When I put the Taurus back in it sounded muffled in comparison and it was not a small difference.

It would be nice if you can connect the Taurus to the fixed level XLR output of the 3XR so both amps will be using the same source in the comparison.

 

[endre83]

Can someone describe how the Sparkos opamp differs from the V6 vivid sonically?

 

[Womaz]

It would be nice if you can connect the Taurus to the fixed level XLR output of the 3XR so both amps will be using the same source in the comparison.

Yes it would be a fairer comparison I agree. Unfortunately I am unable to do this as I dont have the right cables. I guess in my case it does not matter anyway as its not how I would use it anyway.

 

[Slim1970]

Can someone describe how the Sparkos opamp differs from the V6 vivid sonically?

Try these links, he's goes into detail about what he's hearing with different songs:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/opamp-rolling-with-the-burson-fun.23632/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/opamp-rolling-with-the-gustard-h20.23639/

The Burson/Sparkos pairing is what should interest you. The Conductor 3XR is the luxury version of that amp but the Sparkos op-amps still brings its sonic benefits with it. I owed the Gustard H20, and it's a completely different topology than Burson gear. The Sonic Imagery Labs 994 Enh-Ticha op-amps worked better with that amp.

 

[endre83]

Try these links, he's goes into detail about what he's hearing with different songs:

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/opamp-rolling-with-the-burson-fun.23632/

https://www.head-fi.org/showcase/opamp-rolling-with-the-gustard-h20.23639/

The Burson/Sparkos pairing is what should interest you. The Conductor 3XR is the luxury version of that amp but the Sparkos op-amps still brings its sonic benefits with it. I owed the Gustard H20, and it's a completely did topology were the onic Imagery Labs 994 Enh-Ticha worked better.

Thanks!

 

[endre83]

Ok, either it is burn-in or my ears get used to the C3X - but I think we are improving which is nice

 

[Slim1970]

Ok, either it is burn-in or my ears get used to the C3X - but I think we are improving which is nice

Yes, mine is starting to sound really great as well.

 

[endre83]

What are the best cables if I want to connect a Hugo 2 to use as a DAC with my Burson Audio Conductor 3XR to use as an AMP with its opamps?

outs of Hugo 2: 1x stereo (L & R) RCA output
ins of Burson C3XR: 2 x XLR line-level input, Optical Toslink


do you have recommendations below 100/200 € or USD?

 

[endre83]

I have just received my new Hugo 2, as I am very curious to pair it with an M-Scaler. So I have to let this go now and sell the Burson Audio Conductor 3XR, almost as new, bought it in February/ March as new. PM me if you are interested. Will upload this to the sales section soon