mrarroyo
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Post by mrarroyo on Oct 17, 2010 14:49:24 GMT
Just like women ... redheads, blonds, tall, short, thin, fat, ... they all have a purpose.  |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 17, 2010 15:24:53 GMT
I seriously doubt that Mike is going back to valve amps any time soon, now that he has his Panda . That's not the case Alex, there is a different amp for every occasion and I absolutely love listening to the likes of Pink Floyd "live" through a valve amp.... the guitar solos sound more lifelike and organic.... did you know that James Guthrie recorded the live Pink Floyd "Pulse" album using valve gear? He recorded it in "Q" sound too.... have a few beers, shove that CD on, plug your headphones into a valve amp, crank the volume up to REALISTIC concert level and you think you're in the audience..... Do the same with a solid state amp and it all becomes a tad more clinical. An amp for every occasion mate, they all have a use  That's exactly what I have meant. It's not all about specs. I do like solid-states like the Neco Mosfet V2 very much, but there are a few things that a tube amp like that modded V3 does better. Last night, I've completely lost the sense of wearing headphones at all. The very big soundstage of the K702 and the lifelike organic sound of the modded V3 make you feel like you are in a room listening to music (wihthout headphones). I've never heard my K702 this way. I had only a short listening with the SR850 otherwise and the rest of my 'phones will be tested soon with the V3. The K702 sounds awesome with the modded V3 + Pinkie SE, that's for sure! I hear a lot more details than with the Neco Mosfet V2. The wallwart of the Mosfet isn't that bad (regulated), but it's really no comparison to the Pinkie SE. In comparison the Mosfet is a bit too clinical, the modded V3 is more organic. I had very satisfying listening session with the Mosfet+K702 yesterday, but in comparison to the modded V3 + Pinkie SE the same K702 sounded just too flat with the Mosfet. Both are very good amps (I won't sell my Mosfet's ), but the V3 has more musicality. I know that everything needs a couple of hundred hours more to show best possible results. It's already so good that I don't take other amps for listening at the moment. I can't say how much the Philips E88CC SQ tubes add up to the very positive first impression. I like them more than the JAN 6922 though, at least in this amp. I've got really good bass with them. Just spot on and very good for an open headphone like the K702. I don't feel a need for tube rolling at the moment. It's exactly sounding like I think it should be. There are certainly some areas where the Mosfet is superior though, but overall the modded V3 does it better. I'm almost sure a better power supply would help to make the Mosfet even better. |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 17, 2010 15:40:10 GMT
Looks like I have to rehear my whole music library. It's like hearing the tracks the first time.  |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 17, 2010 16:29:15 GMT
BTW: The Pinkie SE doesn't get warm all while the X-Can V3 heats up slightly on the outside (not more than body temperature though).
The pot of the V3 gives me very good control. Have you adjusted the behaviour of the pot, Mike? I remember that it was more sensitive with the unmodded V3 which was not a good thing. Now the volume tracking is very good.
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 17, 2010 20:14:37 GMT
BTW: The Pinkie SE doesn't get warm all while the X-Can V3 heats up slightly on the outside (not more than body temperature though). It doesn't heat up because it has more than enough juice on tap and isn't struggling like the little wallwart was.... so instead of the wallwart getting HOT and the amp running cold the amp now runs warm and the Pinkie cold as the amp is getting fed everything it wants Nope, as it was Christian, but you will find that once the amp is getting fed the juice it requires and you replace the stock components with specially selected ones that the amp actually starts doing what it is supposed to do, and that is making sweet music. If I were MF I would be ashamed to put my name on something that I knew could be a LOT better with a little more time and money spent on selecting the best parts for the job.... same goes with their Kilo buck amplifiers, cheap as chips parts / flashy enclosures.... why don't they REALLY go to town and fit the best parts for the job instead of continuously polishing a turd? The actual designs are very good but the parts cost is cut to the BONE to maximize profit. |
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Post by krisno on Oct 17, 2010 20:30:55 GMT
Yes the V3 with AKG + the right source is pretty magnificent even stock... K
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 17, 2010 21:05:27 GMT
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 17, 2010 21:25:11 GMT
Has the V2 landed yet Christian?
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 17, 2010 21:52:39 GMT
Yes, the V2 is also here. I've put the PCB back into its case last night and mounted JAN 6922 valves. Thing is, I don't have enough time to test it also this weekend. You can expect to see some postings about it in the next few days. I think it's save to use the V2 with the stock wallwart (as long as I don't have a Pinkie for it) or do you see some problems here? Maybe the wallwart gets a bit warmer than usual, but we have cold weather at the moment. I'm using the JAN 6922 with the V2. I had good results with them. This are the stock tubes from this V2 and they are still in good condition. |
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 17, 2010 22:12:06 GMT
Yes, the V2 is also here. I've put the PCB back into its case last night and mounted JAN 6922 valves. Thing is, I don't have enough time to test it also this weekend. You can expect to see some postings about it in the next few days. I think it's save to use the V2 with the stock wallwart (as long as I don't have a Pinkie for it) or do you see some problems here? Maybe the wallwart gets a bit warmer than usual, but we have cold weather at the moment. I'm using the JAN 6922 with the V2. I had good results with them. This are the stock tubes from this V2 and they are still in good condition. Christian, The modded V2 will be perfectly good with the stock 500mA wallwart, you should hear quite an improvement.... loop them together (V2 / V3) and you can do a quick "hot plug" comparison Mike. |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 19, 2010 22:02:28 GMT
I've had closer look on the HD650 with the modded V3 + Pinkie SE today. It's also an excellent combo, but overall the K702 has impressed my a little bit more. The HD650 is better suited for ultra-long listening. It's absolutely non-fatiguing.
The HD650 doesn't need as much power as the K702 for optimal operation. The next 'phones that I'll be using with the V3 are the K501, K401 and SR850.
The V2 works also good, but I had not enough time to test it thoroughly. I have no Pinkie for the V2 at the moment, but the sound of the modded V2 is clearly better than before.
I've experienced the same behaviour of the pot – exactly as I had it with the V3. Even though there's no difference (of the pot) to the stock configuration, I feel that volume tracking got better and the usable pot range got also bigger. The pots make a lot more fun know...
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Post by PinkFloyd on Oct 19, 2010 22:07:00 GMT
Christian, The V2 has had the 47K gain mods so, yes, you will experience an improvement to the tracking I only put about 10 minutes on the V2 as I didn't have time to give it the full 48 hours.... I wanted to get it over to you pronto..... so give it it a good couple of days powered up and you may notice things improve quite a lot. Mike. |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 20, 2010 1:21:49 GMT
The V2 and V3 have been running continously since they are in Basel.
I will keep it that way in the next few days. It's already rather cold here in Switzerland and both amps are already heated up when I return from work in the evening.
The next thing I'll buy after I have moved will be most likely a Pinkie for the V2.
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Post by krisno on Oct 20, 2010 16:50:19 GMT
Interesting... i very much like to hear what you think of the V2 vs V3 ? Is there any big difference at all? I want to get another V3 and mod it to the extreme with Mikes latest pinkie, but I cant find a V3 worth buying....
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 20, 2010 21:08:41 GMT
Interesting... i very much like to hear what you think of the V2 vs V3 ? Is there any big difference at all? I want to get another V3 and mod it to the extreme with Mikes latest pinkie, but I cant find a V3 worth buying.... I hope you are patient, Kris. I'll try to get a Pinkie for the V2 ASAP, but that will be after I've moved. I'll will start a new employment at the beginning of December 2010. I need to stop buying new stuff until everything is done. I will compare the V2 and V3, even if the V2 is without a Pinkie, but to be really fair both amps would need a comparable Pinkie (both with SE Pinkies for instance). My current plan is to get a Pinkie for the V2, but I have not decided which type. Maybe I'll go for the "normal" Pinkie (not SE), since I think that would be also a very fine PSU (and it would allow me to compare SE and standard Pinkie at least partially). The Pinkie SE of my V3 (modded by Mike) is absolutely great though. I had a lot of fun with the V3 in the last few days. The downside is that I didn't get enough sleep in the last few days.  I've bought my (slightly) used V3 from a Swiss online auction. It's was the only V3 that I've seen in a Swiss auction ever. It was not cheap, I've paid around 300CHF then. At least it was in mint condition, just as was my V2 which had seen only about 50 hours of use before I received it. The V3 was also almost like new (the seller sold it because he was almost only listening with his Quad and Plinius hifi systems). I've seen more V1/V2 in auctions than V3, but maybe that's also because V1/V2 are older and a lot of people probably would have problems with bloated Jamicon caps or old tubes. A lot of X-Can users don't know much about the inside of their amps and they maybe think it's broken if it doesn't sound good anymore. |
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Post by krisno on Oct 21, 2010 16:42:15 GMT
well let them warm up and give them a listen for about 1 hour...... but the comparison is useless unless the same tubes are used...
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2010 16:49:34 GMT
I was quite fond of the Jan tubes too. Nice rounded sound. Also on K701.  |
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Post by krisno on Oct 21, 2010 17:45:35 GMT
Have you heard the V3 rabbit? how does it stack up til your nice rack of MF amps  |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 21, 2010 18:22:37 GMT
Have you heard the V3 rabbit? how does it stack up til your nice rack of MF amps No, I've never heard a V3 Kris. 1,2 and 8. I'd like to. For me, it's difficult to choose between 1 and 2. I like the Jan Phillips tubes in them for some reason. I'm not quite sure exactly why but I prefer the Russian tubes that Mike sells in the V8. They seem to give it more 'kick' in the lower region so I'm happier with the V8 now. Funny that at first, I really liked version 8 until I heard 2. However, it could be down to the mods that Mike carried out because it is a lovely little amp with so little noise (Which I know he worked hard to get down because he knows my annoying listening habits!) I've never heard a stock V1 or V2 so maybe they're not as good either as supplied. I suspect that is probably the case. Kris - try the Panda kit. Superb is all I feel about it. Beautiful with a K701. It's totally changed my feelings about the headphones actually. They're not as bass shy as I first thought. |
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 21, 2010 20:18:53 GMT
well let them warm up and give them a listen for about 1 hour...... but the comparison is useless unless the same tubes are used... Yes. Both amps should be also using the same type of Pinkie – at least if the comparison should be really fair. I already know that the JAN 6922 sound very good with the V2. My V2 was rather impressive – even in umodded state – as long as I was using the HD580 or HD650 with it. K702 was not a really good match IMO (with the unmodded V2). The unmodded V3 had also JAN 6922 in it. The V3 itself was almost new and the tubes have worked at least for some time, but then I've lost one channel and replacing the tubes solved the problem instantly. I did not test the (probably) failing tubes (stock JAN 6922) since the replacement was so good (Philips E88CC SQ). I guess the Philips E88CC SQ are a better match with the V3 (especially with AKG K702 and K501). They gave me a much better bass with the unmodded V3 and now with the modded V3, the bass is also very good. The HD650 sounds also good with the modded V3 and Philips E88CC SQ tubes, but it has not the exact same musicality that the modded V3 gives to the AKG's. My clear favourite with the modded V3 is the K702 (so far). I prefer the K702 over the K501 with this amp, but I need certainly more time to compare all my 'phones thoroughly. My preferred combo at the moment is K702+modded V3. Regarding the sound signature/quality of the modded V3, I have no need to replace the Philips E88CC SQ tubes. I like that sound very much (it's very close to perfect for me). I don't have much spare tubes around, but I guess that I will get a few during the next few months. Tube rolling would make more sense then. It's IMO not a really good idea to change the tubes as long as the burn-in of the components isn't nearly completed. It wouldn't be a fair comparison. |
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Post by krisno on Oct 22, 2010 7:44:26 GMT
The JANS have some musicality, but it lacks details. Even more so compared to the russians. So the JANS in my modded V2 sounded lack of details and small soundstage, atleast compared to the V3. But the STOCK V3 I remember as a bit shy on the bass versus the V2?
I think the stock V3 made me the most happy - but I am not sure. Its a long time... so I really want a V3 vs V2 roundup. Is the difference really big at all? or just small?
K
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 22, 2010 18:49:39 GMT
The JANS have some musicality, but it lacks details. Even more so compared to the russians. So the JANS in my modded V2 sounded lack of details and small soundstage, atleast compared to the V3. But the STOCK V3 I remember as a bit shy on the bass versus the V2? I think the stock V3 made me the most happy - but I am not sure. Its a long time... so I really want a V3 vs V2 roundup. Is the difference really big at all? or just small? K Kris, I had not enough time to compare the amps thoroughly and (as mentioned in my last post), the comparison would not be optimal at the moment (no Pinkie for V2 etc.). I did not try the Philips E88CC SQ with the V2 (I'm fine with the JAN 6922 there), but their use with the V3 was IMO a full success. I've found the stock V3 with JAN 6922 too flat at all, while the stock V2 had a nice warm sound with a very good midrange. The Philips E88CC SQ tubes have improved the bass of the V3 massively and gave also a big boost to musicality. But with the stock V3 they've sounded never as good as they do now with my Mike-modded V3. Everything I did not like with the stock V3 + K702 is now perfectly well. I like the treble much more now, everything is warm and smooth there. |
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Post by krisno on Oct 22, 2010 19:49:02 GMT
the pinkie on the v2 doesnt really make that much of a difference...... you should quickly compare .... but without the same tubes, it really is not a proper comparison. hehe...
The V3 was a very good amp....... you should never sell it. Though what oyu could try is to swap all the resistors with some HQ ones... that would be the icing on the cake.
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elysion
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Post by elysion on Oct 22, 2010 20:51:24 GMT
Mike did all mods on the V3 for me. I'm sure he did a very good job with the modding (I hear that it is good ). Give me some time for a good comparison, I don't have much time left at the moment and my personal situation (regarding free time) will get even worser in the next few weeks until I've moved completely. If you have a chance to get Philips E88CC SQ tubes, get them. I'm very curious what you would think about them. Maybe the same tubes aren't that important for comparison as long as you take tubes that are a good match with the used amp/headphones. IMO it's almost impossible to be fully objective as the tubes are only one of several factors that have an impact on the sound signature. I think, it's safe to say that the modded V3 with Pinkie SE and Philips E88CC SQ tubes is a very good match with the K702. I'm listening mostly to that combo at the moment. The K702 sounds even better than with the Neco Mosfet V2 and Neco Portable V2 which are also a very good match with the AKG's. |
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Post by Deleted on Oct 22, 2010 21:47:27 GMT
More dynamic attack on transients but the tone remains pretty much similar. Slightly more weight. Less noise from the amp. Less electrical interference. Plus the bonus of being able to switch off.
One day, I'll even update to the new Pinkie. I can hear differences and you can also use tubes that require more current which go into distortion on the standard power supply.
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