Consider this post a placeholder for the time being as I try this with more headphones and come to a real opinion on it. 

For the time being, though, I've tried it with the Hifiman HE-500's and the Sennheiser HS800's and would consider my experience with both a lot better than with the HA160D I had in this setup prior (for the HD800 especially).  I plan on trying the LCD-3's later tonight and maybe my TH900's tomorrow.

Listening with the HD800's now, I'm really surprised by how competent this pairing is since the HA160D made them sound like garbage.  The Conductor seems more faithful to the HD800's sound signature than the WA22 they were previously reserved for, which is to say it doesn't "fix" that bit of harshness present as the WA22's coloration sort of could, but doesn't succumb to that state of lifelessness you get when the HD800 is paired with a lot of other amps (including the older Burson).  I imagine this would be a lot better if my HD800's were modded.

The Conductor's DAC section uses the the same Sabre chip as the Wyred4Sound DAC2 in my beefier setup but with less stuff running to and from it.  It's been a few weeks since I've used the DAC2 (for various reasons unrelated to its functionality) so I'd feel disingenuous saying anything in regards to how the Burson performs relative to it, but I have noticed that the Conductor is less click-prone than the DAC2, having only done it once so far.  From what I understand it's something built into the chip itself to prevent damage from power surges it's really sensitive to... or something.  It never happened enough on the DAC2 to be a problem and, when it did, it was usually during inconsequential things like AIM sound effects, but I guess it's worth noting that the Conductor seems to mitigate whatever causes that to happen better.

I really like the finish of this thing: the brushed aluminum is rougher, producing more of a frosted look compared to the uneven reflectiveness of the 160, which I found kind of ghetto after awhile.  It kina-sorta matches the HD800's silver plastic.  All of the panels are more precisely fit together as well and the top screws are recessed, giving me more surface area for books or whatever.