The Conductor vs. Leben CS300XS
SRH1840 The noisy, indie rock track from “Fire!”, is sounding great with the Conductor . But the Leben is more vivid, spacious and up front, though, and in comparison the Conductor offers a somewhat flatter soundstage and feels slightly less dynamic. With Portishead, the Leben still is more vivid, but on this song I might like the Conductor better. Maybe it smoothes things out a bit – in a good way. The Conductor also makes a good show with Mahler, but compared to the Leben it just doesn’t feel that alive. The Conductor plays well, but there is just more symphonic drama with the Leben. Even though I am generally preferring the Leben, I really think the Conductor does a great job with the SRH1840.
Leben > Conductor
LCD-3 With Mahler’s symphony, the Leben is a bit more vivid and spacious, as well as more upfront. The Conductor is feeling more neutral but less alive. Less bass punch, but slightly better control in some ultra-complex passages. Playing Thomas Dybdahl’s pleasing vocals, the Conductor again is leaning more towards a “neutral” sound, whilst the Leben has more of that energetic vividness, and a slightly clearer sounding presentation.
The Conductor is really good with the saxophones of BMX, but the Leben just makes the drums feel more like a drum skin vibrating, the cymbals shimmer in a more cymbal-like manner, the wooden blocks feel more like real wood. The music is just more up front, more real sounding when amped by the tubes of the Leben, and this happens without sacrificing detail and imaging. All in all, the Conductor is really great with the LCD-3, and the Leben is even better.
Leben > Conductor
AKG Q701 The Conductor plays the BMX’s jazz album beautifully with the AKG Q701. Wide open, spacious and musical. So does the Leben, but the differences are actually not very big with the Q701. They are different flavors, the Conductor feeling again more neutral and less vivid. Thomas Dybdahl is a very pleasant listen on the Conductor. It feels smoother than the Leben, a smoothness that suits this track well. But the Leben has a liquid touch to it, in a very clear way. Playing the strings of the Alban Berg Quartett, I find the Conductor to be a bit more polite in its presentation, but it sounds great, with superb imaging . So does the Leben, again in a bit more upfront way. Some might call it more engaging, some might prefer the Conductor calling it more neutral. On the AKG, I found it hard to find a clear winner, they both do a terrific job.
Conductor >< Leben
Conclusion: The Leben and the Conductor are quite different amplifiers. I feel the more expensive Leben certainly defends its quite significantly higher price, but the Conductor has a smoother, more neutral sounding tone to it – without getting clinical. The Leben might be called more natural, in the way that it makes the instruments come alive in a way only a very few amplifiers can. In my experience, it is hard to beat a nice tube amplifier in that midrange liveliness, retaining superb imaging and detail. The only place the Conductor had a clear advantage were in bass control in very complex passages, but the Leben might change in that regard with other tubes.
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