X-Can V3 v Marantz CD-63 KI with full Trichord Mod

[rangemaster]

After reading all about Headphone amps on here, I wondered if the sound of my existing kit would be improved by the addition of a separate amp.
Bought a MF X-Can-V3 on ebay with upgraded valves 6h23.

I use HD650 headphones into a full Trichord modified (Clock4,Never connected power supply,op amps,capacitors etc) Marantz CD-63 Ki player headphone socket.

Comparing the two the V3 sounds slow and less defined and without the depth of bass that the CD player gives!

Will an upgrade to the V3 or a Graham Slee Solo improve on the sound from the CD player or would I be better off sticking with what I have and maybe upgrading the cable on the HD650`s to a Cardas?

[dejanm]

I believe you should switch to Yamamoto HA-02 headphone amp. It is much better than MF ... I do not know how moded Marantz performs but Yamamoto is really a killer amp. Read the test on 6Moons .... By the way - you can buy Yamamoto in Germany: www.jacmusic.com. It costs about 800 EUR with shipping in Europe.

[XTRProf]

On ther other, moding the V3 X-Can can be a killer mode for the money!


BTW, how much you paid for the Trichord Super Clock 4?

[sometrolls2]

The headphone amp out of the 63 is just a single opamp, which puts it at best at the level of a CMOY, so a good headphone amp should outperform it. The quality of your headphone out will depend on the specific mods, if it has received a lot of attention it maybe pretty good already.

If the ki still has the output caps C655-8 left in, that will 'dullify' the phono output?
If you must have DC blocking caps there are much better options than ramming the signal through a pair of polar electrolytics. A second thing to look at is different headphones, if just for a test as your results are unusual.

In principle a better amp should trump a cable by miles.