Upgrading X-Cans

[aurum]

Hi Guys,
I have been tweaking my X- Cans V3 for a while when I came across this forum. The tweaks so far are:

Change stock valves for Siemens gold pin 6922
Upgrade power supply caps & coupling caps with various Black gates
Painted the resistors, transistors etc with Musicoat & 2-4 micron diamonds (more of an esoteric tweak, but don't underestimate it)
Upgrade IN4007's to UF4007's- since seeing this forum I have added the 10n caps

The improvements have been substantial from the stock amp, with all the upgrades. The Siemens tubes are a very good all round tube, nice balance, extended highs with long life.
Black gates take a long time to run in, about 4-6 weeks but most gains are in about a fortnight. The benefits of a dead quiet, smooth, super long lasting cap are are all there if you care to wait.
In the X-Cans a whole floor of bass was opened up.
The Musicoat & diamonds adds a sweetness & enhances that liquid valve sound.
The upgrade to ultra fast 4007's & 10n caps really made a jump in clarity & punch.

I run the X-Cans V3 direct from a Wadia 861 through JPS Superconductor 2's.

Now what next? Bypass caps maybe? or what about those soft mushy sounding 1 watt resistors. One thing I have had trouble deciding is if the bands are: red, white, black, gold (29R) or is it orange, white, black, gold (39R), if it is a 29R is a 30R OK in this spot?

[bennyboy]

Red, White, Black and Gold.

[buelligan]

Dear Aurum,
Forgive me for asking , but which power supply are you using?
(i.e. stock wall-wart, XSPU or the Little Pinky)

I ask because I'm going to get the X-CAN v3(with K-701's), but I need to locate it about 5-7m away from my main rig. I'll let the warranty expire before modding. My options are:

1. Live with the wall-wart.
2. Use a long (and probably outrageously expensive) Revelation Passage power supply umbilical (which I strongly recommend at US$169/m). www.revelationaudiolabs.com
3. 120V version of the Little Pinky shipped from U.K.

Any advice from you or other members appreciated.

[aurum]

Hi Buelligan,

I am using the MF PSU power supply, which is a substantial improvement over the wall wart. I am aware of the Revelation Passage power supply umbilical, & its something I'll consider somewhere in the future. It is very good quality using silver ribbon from memory.
I am very much of the opinion that cables & wire are components, so I get the best I can afford. Be aware that unlike copper, silver is unforgiving, & if there is any weakness in the source component silver may make it sound worse. Typically silver is fast & very neutral sounding. But in some systems it will enhance treble & make the bass disappear.

I haven't opened the MF PSU yet, but I do have a spare bybee filter that I try in it. In my other mods the bybees have always made for a blacker background

[buelligan]

Thanks mrarroyo and Aurum for the feedback.

I failed to mention in my post that I'm already using the Revelation Audio umbilicals with the X-DAC, and X-10. I must confess that I never bothered hooking up the stock umbilicals because I bought the RAs at the same time as the X-ponents.

All I can tell you is that I was stunned (worked in a high end audio store for 10 years; not a noob) at the improvement the X-DAC and X-10 made to my older system.

The X-DAC replaced a Mod Squad Prism (ca 1987) and the X-10 now sits at the output of my Line Drive Deluxe (passive). They sound vastly better than the sonic image in my mind's ear based on reading the reviews. (If that makes a shred of sense.) Stunning transparency coupled with a smooth, detailed dynamic presentation. I also get surprising bass slam, warmth and articulation, so the silver isn't bleaching the sound in this application.

Brad Vojtech at Revelation gives a 30 day trial. He also burns the cables in on the audiodharma cable cooker, so you're not spending more than 5 or 6 days burning in. I don't want to sound like an RA shill but I'm very pleased with the cables and the company.

Anyway, since I already have the X-PSU, and a long run would cost in the same ballpark as the Little Pinkie with a 1m RA, I'm inclined to go with the long RA, and capitalize on my investment in the X-PSU.

I love hearing about mods and their sonic results, so if you guys do any more we'd all love to hear about it.

Happy listening.