Musical Fidelity X-Can v2

http://cgi.ebay.co.uk/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=3061724224

 

thought you liked that one Paul?

 

Paul, the music loving box shifter

Only joking dude If I had some spare dosh (bloody christmas bah humbug) I'd invest - I want at least 1 item with valves in that isn't 40 years+ old (got two valve radios in the loft at my folks' ).

 

I do like it.

However, I think after listening for a few weeks, I dont think its really better than my Rotel. It does have a nice sound though, and its a very tweakable amp.

Recently an X-Can v1 went for £160 on ebay. Can anyone blame me for wanting to cash in (potentially)?

 

Yeah,
they ain't that fantastic stock (I have a V2 which is slightly better), but put in a couple of matched Mullards and a load of decent caps for thiry or fourty quid, and they turn into a pretty fantastic headphone amp... Especially if you happen to own a pair of Sennheisers which they seem to match well to...


The Moog

 

You're not wrong there moog, but truthfully I think I am just going to go after the Perreaux SXH-1 which seems to be the optimal amp to use with the CD3000, and also a very good amp to go with just about any other headphone by all accounts.

I was thinking about capacitor, PSU and OP-amp upgrade, and tube rolling, but in the end I can probably flog it, get the Perreaux and still have change out of what I would have spent on the X-Can, and truthfully I reckon I just like being lazy.

 

Yeah,
I did the whole shebang... nice NOS matched valves, some Black Gate capacitors, silver solder throughout, and built my own power supply using a very overspecced toroidal and shielded cabling throughout... It makes the already OK X-Can V2 sound absolutely fantastic... but then again, I quite enjoy taking stuff apart and fiddling about with electronics...


The Moog

 

Fancy putting togeather a step bt step guide in the DIY forum for us other xcans owners? Go on! You know you want to!

 

Yeah - go on, please - that way I can take apart another bit of my kit!

 

There's no need. It's all here http://www.rock-grotto.co.uk/xcanpropage.htm

 

Heh heh,
cheers Lilo! Yeah, that's where I got all my info from... Pinky does a comparison of different valves (easiest mod to make, just needs a screwdriver and a set of hex keys), does a step by step of making a PSU (next easiest to do) and then has a list of all the values of capacitors you need to order to replace the ones in there. There are two missing from his list (6.3V 220uF if I remember correctly) and I used better ones than the Panasonic FC's that he suggests. This is the best mod of all, but is also the most scary! You have to desolder all of the caps and then solder in the new ones... and I used silver solder to do this...

Go there and enjoy... you know it makes sense!!!


The Moog

 

The two caps not mentioned

The two 6.3V 220uf caps need to be non polar. Allthe others are polar. I used Black Gates for these. They were also the most pricey ($6.50 US). Sounds great. I also popped for replacement cable for my Senheiser HD600's (Stephon AudioArt Equinox). These are really sweet, and made a big difference. Tight and extended bass and extended hi's.