|
Post by marcmitchell on Feb 21, 2019 11:22:53 GMT
What do you guys think of this combo ?
I have a Xcans V3 that I did the pinky mods on about 6-8 years ago , Pana FC's , Russian Valves, all of the mods that are were available incl bypass caps , new volume know, custom built power supply etc, been using it on a daily basis with my HD595's- just purchased some HD600's and also added a Merdian DAc explorer mini usb dac running straight from my iMac , not sounding too shabby ,m whats your thoughts ? I do like listing to everything but favour mainly dance music at the mo.'
Whats you thoughts of this combo ? Also dont understand what changing the sampling rates on the Meridian Explorer dac does ? Should it make much difference in this setup ? it has 44-192 3 settings ?
Seems to sound pretty nice ? Have I got my combo right, the skys the limit , seem very natural sounding, bass is good but not over extended, the 595's of course had a little more for dance and bass music , bu thes still have quite alot of bottom end , plus imagine they excell with more musiucal music and vocals ?
Also running a very nice Wireworld Croma 7 USB to dac cable , havent thought about upgrading my headpone cables just yet but thats another thought too if require and you guys recommend a brand / build etc
Thoughts on all of the above appreciated .., God its been 5-6 years since i have been on here, By the way Hello From New Zealand !
|
|
nando
Been here a while!
The Frying Dutchman
Always look on the bright side of life
Posts: 393
|
Post by nando on Feb 21, 2019 11:59:44 GMT
Welcome back!
The MF x-can had a nice upgrade, that should be a good listen! Maybe the valves are a bit worn? They have had a lot of hours.
I think it's kinda hard to say something about sound quality when listening to dance music. I too listen to dance, especially when I'm concentrated at work. But I, to a centain level, how a violin sounds of a trumpet or guitar but how is a dancegroove supposed to sound? Personally I think that with dance music it is imporant that the amp is powerfull enough to have a firm grip on the speakers so there is no distortion introdused there. And second it is very important for me that and speaker is not harsh. If it is I get listening fatique and turn down the volume or start thinking about changing the system soon. Therefor I have speakers and headphones that are maybe a bit mellow of laid back but don't irritate me. So to me I would like the system to be as natural as possible and/or good to my taste.
I think everyone of us would have a hard time telling the different (44-192 kHz) dac setting apart from another. But there are experiments to be done there.
I don't believe different cables for digital will make any difference in sound. To me that goes for analogue cables as well. Elektrons don't behave different in a cable made of copper or any other metal. As long as the connector makes good contact and the cable doesn't add more resistence to the system any cable would be good. Current is nothing more han elektrons jumping to the next atom.
|
|
|
Post by PinkFloyd on Feb 21, 2019 20:45:54 GMT
What do you guys think of this combo ? I have a Xcans V3 that I did the pinky mods on about 6-8 years ago , Pana FC's , Russian Valves, all of the mods that are were available incl bypass caps , new volume know, custom built power supply etc, been using it on a daily basis with my HD595's- just purchased some HD600's and also added a Merdian DAc explorer mini usb dac running straight from my iMac , not sounding too shabby ,m whats your thoughts ? I do like listing to everything but favour mainly dance music at the mo.' Whats you thoughts of this combo ? Also dont understand what changing the sampling rates on the Meridian Explorer dac does ? Should it make much difference in this setup ? it has 44-192 3 settings ? Seems to sound pretty nice ? Have I got my combo right, the skys the limit , seem very natural sounding, bass is good but not over extended, the 595's of course had a little more for dance and bass music , bu thes still have quite alot of bottom end , plus imagine they excell with more musiucal music and vocals ? Also running a very nice Wireworld Croma 7 USB to dac cable , havent thought about upgrading my headpone cables just yet but thats another thought too if require and you guys recommend a brand / build etc Thoughts on all of the above appreciated .., God its been 5-6 years since i have been on here, By the way Hello From New Zealand ! Hi Marc, Welcome back I checked my e-mails and the last communication we had was in 2008 (11 years ago) and that was regarding your X-CAN V2. Is it an X-CAN V3 you're asking about or your original X-CAN V2? It's just where you mention the "new volume knob", that kind of suggests it's a V2 you have? Anyhoo, regardless of whether it's a V2 or a V3, Nando is spot on with regard to the valves / tubes....... if you've been using the amp on a daily basis for years then the valves will definitely be well below par. The amp will still make music BUT not to its full potential..... it's always refreshing to hear from people when they fit a new pair of valves, it's usually along the lines of "wow! these valves are SO much better than the stock valves" erm, no........ the stock valves are good but if they are out of spec (with regards to transconductance etc.) they will not do the amp any favours in sonic terms. As a rule of thumb I recommend replacing the valves every couple of years if you are listening to the amp on a daily basis. Just because they are still glowing doesn't mean they are going...... they're not light bulbs and drift way out of spec over time...... some people think a valve is good as long as it "glows", that's not the case. I don't know what type of music you dance to (I'll dance to anything from church organ to acid house rave if I'm pissed enough) and bass music? What is that? a bassist doing an apeshit solo like this? : Or more a drum and bass thang like this? Hopefully it's more of a Entwhistle type low down bass groove thang I'm not a DAC Man so won't even attempt to answer your question regarding 44-192 etc. I'm an old school wired to the phone socket, whirring CD player type of guy and the only thing I stream in my house is a sure fire aim into the toilet bowl. I also agree with Nando regarding the cables...... copper is copper. Anyhoo..... X-CAN V2 or V3? let me know and possibly even upload some photos of the internals? All the best Marc. Mike.
|
|
nando
Been here a while!
The Frying Dutchman
Always look on the bright side of life
Posts: 393
|
Post by nando on Feb 21, 2019 23:43:50 GMT
Yes, pictures of the guts, please.
|
|
|
Post by marcmitchell on Feb 23, 2019 10:39:11 GMT
Oh yes sorry meant V2 HA Ha - I havent got any photos it was so long ago and cant be bothered pulling it apart , did the usual all you guys do ! and Yes Pinky 11 years would be about right !!!! Well .... been using on daily basis for 1-2 hours per night onbly in last 2-3 years before that very casual listening ! Do love it thought and enjoying my newe HD600's with it !!!!
|
|