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Post by koop on Dec 23, 2008 0:43:25 GMT
Hi everyone I have been using my Headsix portable amp for a long time now and having built the Millet SS and used it for a while I decided to go for a proper amplifier. And there it is, got it from a guy who rarely used it.. paid £100 and not feeling bad at all. Ok so Ive got some questions; The person I got it from said the amp has recently been checked and all the caps are changed but -being a hobby DIYer- I could see no sign of desoldering/resoldering or any heat damage on the powerboard. Caps are Jamicon 85c. Are jamicons the default caps in the amp? Also X-can is a huge step up for me after my Millet SS and headsix. I love the sound but looking for the Elna upgrade. Do you guys think Elna's or Panasonic ones are better for soundstage? Are they still available? About the power supply, I want to build my own using a toroidal. Should I go for something with a bit more than 500mA (630mA or around 1A maybe) will this cause any trouble rather than heat? And finally I want to drill the holes on top of the casing but it looks too odd to be drilled. I mean there is a rib right in the middle where you would like to put the pilot drill. How did you guys got around this? I thk Im in love with this baby! Thanks alot guys and MERRY X-mas to all
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XTRProf
Fully Modded
Pssst ! Got any spare capacitors ?
Posts: 5,689
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Post by XTRProf on Dec 23, 2008 2:26:37 GMT
Hi everyone I have been using my Headsix portable amp for a long time now and having built the Millet SS and used it for a while I decided to go for a proper amplifier. And there it is, got it from a guy who rarely used it.. paid £100 and not feeling bad at all. Ok so Ive got some questions; The person I got it from said the amp has recently been checked and all the caps are changed but -being a hobby DIYer- I could see no sign of desoldering/resoldering or any heat damage on the powerboard. Caps are Jamicon 85c. Are jamicons the default caps in the amp? Also X-can is a huge step up for me after my Millet SS and headsix. I love the sound but looking for the Elna upgrade. Do you guys think Elna's or Panasonic ones are better for soundstage? Are they still available? About the power supply, I want to build my own using a toroidal. Should I go for something with a bit more than 500mA (630mA or around 1A maybe) will this cause any trouble rather than heat? And finally I want to drill the holes on top of the casing but it looks too odd to be drilled. I mean there is a rib right in the middle where you would like to put the pilot drill. How did you guys got around this? I thk Im in love with this baby! Thanks alot guys and MERRY X-mas to all Pinky should be the right person to response to this. However, let me give you some thinkers in this. AFAIK, MF likes to use Jamicon caps from Taiwan as the MF OEM is a Taiwanese vendor. So those should be the defaults caps that came with the X-Can. Personally, I prefer the Elna Cerafine over the Panasonic FC as on comparison, although good, the Panasonic is not in the same league as the Elna Cerafine. The Cerafine is, I would say, equivalent to the BG. In fact, they are better then the BG as the BG tends to be on the lean side whereas the Cerafine is more right for about all Hifi terms we care to name. Transformer, yes, do get as big as possible that you can afford as the dynamics, soundstage and width expand over using the wall wart that came with many MF products when supplied. Alternatively, you can get the pinky tran from pinky (Mr "Pink Floyd" here) here as well if you don't want to get your hands "dirty".
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Post by koop on Dec 23, 2008 17:12:03 GMT
Thanks alot for the reply.
So I will order Elna caps from Pinkfloyd after Xmas and new years.
Another question is about the input caps. is it ok if i use 0.1uf poly caps cos I have a pair of Ansar audio polys.
Still couldnt figure how to drill the top holes and now thinking maybe I can use an angle grinder like cjarchez did to his sides of casing but on top..
Cheers.
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marcm09
100+
Audio Monster
Posts: 119
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Post by marcm09 on Jan 1, 2009 8:39:19 GMT
Don't hack holes in your enclosure unless you have too. Unless you live in a warm climate then you won't need the vent holes, however I have always drilled a few holes in the top PSU board above the transistors and fitted 4 small heatsinks to the transistors to keep it running cooler, my latest xcan runs hotter than the other wihout this mod, as soon as im back from holidays, i will fit them !!! Keep an eye out for the pics of my latest xcan v2 !!!
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 1, 2009 15:48:54 GMT
The person I got it from said the amp has recently been checked and all the caps are changed but -being a hobby DIYer- I could see no sign of desoldering/resoldering or any heat damage on the powerboard. Caps are Jamicon 85c. Are jamicons the default caps in the amp? Yes, the stock capacitors are 85C Jamicon types. I have also seen a few with Teapo caps fitted but the vast majority of v2's come with Jamicon general purpose 85C types. ELNA cerafine are very nice caps but the 1000uF ones are VERY big and you'll have a job squeezing ten of them into a v2! I much prefer the Panasonic FM for three reasons.... 1, they are 105c temperature rated, 2, they are low impedance, 3, they sound bloody great in the v2.... they are also a perfect fit in the v2 and 1200uF slot in very nicely (12.5mm x 35mm types) The ELNA RE2J are also nice caps (105c temp rating also) and impart that well known ELNA house signature. The higher the VA the higher the voltage under no load so don't go for something ridiculous like a 500VA transformer, it's not necessary..... 20VA - 30VA will be just fine. My Little Pinkie is 30VA and specially manufactured to drop to a perfect 12V under load... some of the transformers I tried had crazy no load voltages like 16V so be careful here! Not necessary. Either fit small heatsinks to the transistors or go with high temp rated capacitors. Yup, they're little beauties arent they? Happy New year to you too mate
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Post by koop on Jan 1, 2009 16:57:19 GMT
Ok did the diodes and capacitor upgrade using the elna re2js and I must say Im even more in love with my x-can now.. great improvement! soundstage is much wider and and clearer instruments. I wasnt expecting this much of an improvement. After considering the big holes on top of the x-can i decided to go with two small holes on the sides and two at the back just to improve (or add) airflow in the x-can and must say it helped alot. Also tried my ansar poly caps at the input stage (caps behind the pot) but apparently the 0.1uf capacitance is too high and I ended up with only 10% of the output sound level but I will definitely try with much lower capacitances. Now Im thinking about replacing the 470nf capacitor with something better. can I use the ones in maplin ( www.maplin.co.uk/Module.aspx?ModuleNo=393 ) or does it has to be something boxed? I can tombstone it so im sure the size doesnt matter as the polys at maplin is the size of elna caps. Hope you all had a great festive season. Cheers
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Post by PinkFloyd on Jan 1, 2009 20:54:02 GMT
Replace the 470nF with a class X2 cap... they are very effective in this position
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Deleted
Deleted Member
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Post by Deleted on Jan 1, 2009 20:58:08 GMT
Koop That doesn't make much sense. The reverse engineered schematic that I have shows an input capacitor of 10uF before the potentiometer,and .47uF 63V after the potentiometer.. This means you will need to increase the capacitance to at least .47uF (47nF) after the potentiometer,or the bottom end will be rolled off, and possibly thin sounding. SandyK
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