X10 V3 upgrade kit does not work for me

[Miracle]

One week ago I received Little Pinky V3i and an upgrade kit for the X10 V3. First I connected the Little P. and I let it run in for three Days. It appeared as a huge and very appreciated improvement in my system, thanks Mike. Tuesday I did the upgrade kit without any difficulties, but the sound was not good; not in the beginning nor after the burningin period. For a good understanding I play with a Sony DVP s-9000ES CD player, modified with a new clock; a JJ828 2 x 70watts Push Pull Ultraliniair Tubes Amplifier with 8 x SED KT88 en 4 x Siemens ATW12au tubes and Zingali Overture 1s loudspeakers (hornsystem). The sound before with the non-upgraded X10 V3 was smooth and liquid with a lot of Air and a huge Soundstage. The Zingali's caracter puts the Soundstage towards the listening position. The problem now is that the upgrade kit gives the set a much too big sound and too much upfront and the sound is not anymore refined. Which parts do I put back in the X10 V3 for solving my problem?

[PinkFloyd]

goldenboy said:

One week ago I received Little Pinky V3i and an upgrade kit for the X10 V3. First I connected the Little P. and I let it run in for three Days. It appeared as a huge and very appreciated improvement in my system, thanks Mike. Tuesday I did the upgrade kit without any difficulties, but the sound was not good; not in the beginning nor after the burningin period. For a good understanding I play with a Sony DVP s-9000ES CD player, modified with a new clock; a JJ828 2 x 70watts Push Pull Ultraliniair Tubes Amplifier with 8 x SED KT88 en 4 x Siemens ATW12au tubes and Zingali Overture 1s loudspeakers (hornsystem). The sound before with the non-upgraded X10 V3 was smooth and liquid with a lot of Air and a huge Soundstage. The Zingali's caracter puts the Soundstage towards the listening position. The problem now is that the upgrade kit gives the set a much too big sound and too much upfront and the sound is not anymore refined. Which parts do I put back in the X10 V3 for solving my problem?

Just saw this my apologies for not answering sooner. Firstly are you 100% sure you have made a good job of the soldering with no dry joints anywhere? Secondly how long have you been listening with the mods in situ? It takes a good few days for all to settle down and what you hear 15 minutes after doing the work is not what you're going to hear 50 hours later. Out of all the mods the X-10v3 mods always get tremendous feedback along the lines of "magical" and "breathtaking" I'm sorry to hear the sound is not refined but I need to know how long the new caps have been in circuit?

Mike.

[mrarroyo]

goldenboy, you are in good hands w/ Mike and he will do everything possible to improve the sound of your X-10 V3. I am posting because I recently did the mods to my X-10 V3 and as you said they were easy to do, I have a pictorial thread on what I did ( rockgrotto.proboards39.com/index.cgi?board=q&action=display&thread=1192307562 ).

Anyways I currently have my Green Solo headphone amp configure to receive the output of the X-Dac V3 on Input #1 and the output of the X-Dac V3 to the modded X-10 V3 to the Green Solo Input #2. So for me it is very easy to compare what the X-10 V3 adds to the sound. With my gear, music (Jazz currently listening to Stanley Clark), and ears the Modded X-10 V3 adds:

1) A sense of depth and complexity/thickness to the music.
2) A wider soundstage w/ less apparent compression of the music
3) A deeper and punchier bass

In my case (I am very anal compulsive) I let the X-10 V3 burn in for 200 hours before judging it critically. I will also add that the biggest difference can be hard in complex passages, in the sections where the very music is being played the improvements brought by the X-10 V3 are not as audible. Best of luck.

[Miracle]

I have to apologize. The sound is much better now. I left it on now for one week and I played music through it for about 35 hours. How does it burn in, by just letting it on or by using it, by playing music through it?
I made a major mistake by connecting it wrong to the amplifier, it was out of fase! So by now the sound is less upfront and the refinement is almost there again. Meanwhile I ordered a new power cord for the Great Little Pinkie V3i, the same powercord I am using for the amplifier and the CD player. I keep you informed after the powercord has burnt in.

[mrarroyo]

You should burn it in by playing music through it. It does not have to be at high volume. Good luck and I look forward to your next impression.

[Miracle]

After burning in the powercord I still was not happy with the sound. I asked some audiophile friends to come and help me out. One of them brought a Siltech SQ58 G3 in, for replacing the John van gent interlink. This did the trick. Now there is a Siltech before and after the X10V3. Now the sound is superb , unfortunately I have to order (secondhand) a Siltech interlink.

[mrarroyo]

That was easy, all you had to do was spend money!