Burson Audio is best known for their Soloist line of headphone amplifiers with low frills, high power designs, but some of the brand’s best products are the DAC/Amp Combos from the Conductor series. Burson has been slowly but surely improving its devices through incremental updates to the product line, and sometimes it’s tough to figure out exactly what’s new just from a quick glance at the specs. Conductor GT4 is the latest update to the line-up – and even increments the number up from 3 to 4, but will it offer the same sort of slow and steady improvements we’ve seen in the past, or is this a bigger jump?
Build and Design
Burson is nothing if not consistent with their designs, and while Conductor GT4 has some subtle updates to the design of the faceplate, it’s still 100% Burson through and through. You get a stainless steel “cool case” with a brushed metal faceplate that features a big smooth volume knob and a monochrome OLED screen. On the back, for digital inputs there’s USB-C, S/PDIF, and Optical digital, along with a Bluetooth antenna. You also have two sets of RCA and XLR for analog input.
Inside the case, you’ll find two small, practically silent fans that are vented out the sides, and a handful of user serviceable parts. The Deluxe version that we had for testing included six V7 Vivid opamps preinstalled, and those can be swapped out for any number of compatible dual opamps. GT4 also includes Silent Power modules, which were originally introduced in an update to “3 GT” series. Silent Power modules are specially designed voltage regulators that operate at a much lower noise level than typical voltage regulators. Our Deluxe version used in testing included the V2 modules, while the standard version comes with V1 modules. These can also be swapped out and upgraded.
Using Conductor GT4
All the functions of GT4 are managed with an array of buttons on the front and the volume knob. Generally, the screen will display the current volume, input source, output, and bitrate of the source for digital input. The buttons below the screen allow you to manage three different menus indicated by the icons: input, output, and settings. The fourth button on the front is to switch the screen between horizontal and vertical mode.
The settings section allows you to control Gain, DAC Filters, DPLL (digital noise filtering), Emphasis (a setting primarily designed for Analog Tape Inputs), Screen Brightness, and the Auto Off timer. The only real weak point here is that navigating these sorts of menus with just the volume knob can feel clunky, and the knob will register a tick in the wrong direction for every 10 or so ticks that register correctly. Despite the occasional rough edges, GT4 is an incredibly versatile device and the features are well designed and executed.
Sound and Performance
Burson amps have a reputation for having aggressive sound signatures that deliver power and dynamics coupled with detail and accuracy, and Conductor GT4 continues that legacy with possibly the most spacious and dynamic delivery of any Burson DAC/Amp yet. A big part of Burson’s focus in their last few releases has been reducing background noise and SNR to almost zero, and GT4 combines the improved heat management, Silent Power Modules, and updated V7 op-amps to deliver 10W of class-A power against a pitch black background.
Tonally, I often find Burson’s DACs to be brighter than my preference, and pairing Conductor GT4 with brighter headphones, like the HIFIMAN Arya Organic, often results in a slightly sharp presentation. My preferred pairings were warmer headphones, like the Final D7000 or Meze Empyrean. The D7000 in particular really shines when connected to a source like the GT4 that delivers both ample treble extension and a high level of power.
Conductor GT4 is also a great all-in-one solution for hard to drive high-end headphones like the HIFIMAN Susvara or Audeze LCD-4, and the improvements they’ve made to the DAC configuration move the level of detail and transparency closer to the high-end DACs like the Chord TT2. It can’t quite provide the same level of imaging quality and separation that higher end DACs offer, but even in casual listening you can hear the difference in detail between GT4 and previous generations. GT4 powers Susvara Unveiled effortlessly, offering deep slam, excellent dynamics, and a wide soundstage with HIFIMAN’s latest flagship.
Compared to previous Burson Conductor DAC/Amp Combos, there are some subtle differences in the tonal characteristics, with the older Reference series being noticeably warmer, as one example, but the biggest way GT4 stands out is with that ultra-low noise floor and black background. You can see the progression in listening to Burson’s lineup, with the Conductor 3 GT offering some improvements over the 3/3X Reference, and GT4 providing even further improvements. The reduced noise results in clearer imaging and detail, and a general sense of greater refinement in the sound, but Burson accomplishes this greater sense of refinement without losing the bold, brash sound that has characterized their amps in the past.
The Bottom Line
While initially, it can be hard to find the differences from generation to generation in some of Burson’s incremental upgrades to their products, Conductor GT4 is the culmination of several years of improvement in the Conductor series. The power always impresses, but what sets GT4 apart is the way that Burson’s effort to eliminate noise from the signal path have resulted in a new level of performance. The fact that we’ve moved from “3 GT” to “GT4” would also indicate that Burson recognizes that GT4 really is the next step in the brand’s evolution.
