NOW IN STOCK: Burson Audio CONDUCTOR VIRTUOSO (ESS9018 Version) Headphone Amp/DAC/Preamp - Free “Overnight” Shipping; $200 Power Cord Included - NEW !

The Conductor Virtuoso ESS9018 Edition

The Conductor Virtuoso is a USB DAC, Headphone Amp and Preamplifier. Most enthusiasts use its DAC and amplifier to drive their prized headphones with one beautifully-built, modestly-priced component. With over 4 watts of power on tap the Conductor Virtuoso will drive any headphone with ease. The Conductor Virtuoso’s headphone amp section is essentially the Soloist which reviewers have raved about. Or use the Conductor Virtuoso’s preamp functions to make it the center of a headphone and speaker-based desktop system with headphone option.

How Virtuoso is it?

Burson has significantly upgraded and refined previous generations of the Conductor. There are now a stunning
100-steps of volume control with a new, easy-to-read display. When the Conductor Virtuoso is on the volume indicators appear on the face of the thick, antiresonant aluminium front plate.

You can choose from two interchangeable DAC boards with different sonic characteristics and the modular design makes for no-fuss upgrades. As always, Burson eschews densely-packed opamps and designs all discrete circuitry for superior tonality, clarity and a lower noise floor.

DAC Option: ESS9018 DAC

The remote control is worthy of the Burson badge, carved from solid aluminium with no visible screws. The touch and feel of Burson products matches their irresistible sound that pulls you into the music in a visceral, exciting way.

Cleaner Power Means Higher Resolution

Ever notice how your system sounds better in the evening or weekends?


Sometimes called the Vault by our customers, the 6mm Resonance Free Aluminum (RFA) enclosures are constructed from precision-machined panels.

ESS SABRE32

One of the Conductor Virtuoso’s two optional boards had to be the best DAC chip on the market regardless of cost. Right now the best is the ESS SABRE32 DAC with 32-bit Hyper-stream architecture and Time Domain Jitter Elimination technology. Custom Burson circuitry pushes the SABRE32 to ts limits and raises the bar for transparent and refined sound. A new FET (Field Effect Transistor) output stage delivers the full potential the SABRE32 is capable of. The 9018 DAC’s output stage is vibrant, dynamic and open with only 20 carefully-selected and matched components n the signal path.

We consider the 9018 as the ultimate DAC board for the Conductor Virtuoso, and it makes a well-defined and logical upgrade for any Conductor equipped with the excellent Burr Brown PCM1793 DAC. Sonic characteristics include greater resolution, better top-end extension and openness, greater bottom-end weight and control, and explosive dynamics with a clarity and transparency that will weld your bottom end to the listening chair.

Specifications:

Measurement

Input impedance: 36.5 KOhms

Frequency response: ± 1 dB 0 – 50Khz

Signal to noise ratio: >96dB

THD: <0.03% at 30ohm with 1W ouput

Channel separation: >73dB

Output power: 4W at 16 Ohms

Input impedance: >8K Ohm @ 1W

Output impedance (Headphone Amp): 3 Ohm

Output impedance (Line Level): 30 Ohm

Power dissipation: 35W internal, regulated power supply

DAC Specification

Channel Separation: 140 dB @ 1KHz, 130 dB @ 20KHz

THD+N: 0.0005% @ 1KHz, 0dBFS

COAX & Toslink / SPDIF : 24 bits / 44.1K, 48K, 88.2K, 96K, 176.4K, 192KHz

USB Specification

OS Requirement: Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 7, Windows 8, Mac OS X

USB : 24 bits / 44.1K, 48K, 88.2K, 96K, 176.4K, 192KHz

Support up to 24bit @ 192Khz with 10ppm low jitter clock

Asynchronous Transfer Mode

Inputs

1 x USB Connection

1 x Coaxial RCA (Support up to 24bit @ 192Khz)

1 x Toslink / SPDIF (Support up to 24bit @ 192Khz)

2 x RCA line level input

Outputs

1 x headphone jacks 6.35mm

1 x RCA Pre out

1 x RCA DAC out

General

Weight: app. 6 kg

Colour: silver anodized aluminium

Dimensions: 265 x 255 x 80 mm

Package includes

1 x Conductor Virtuoso

1 x Power cable

1 x RCA pair input cables

1 x USB cable

1 x Remote control

User Manual Downloadable (including 5-year warranty and registration information.)