X-CAN V2 Power Supply PSU Maplins

[pcourtney1]

I needed a quick replacement for my stock X-CAN V2 PSU which died on me yesterday evening, dashed into Maplins to get some other things this morning, xmas lights and all that malarkey, mentioned to the guy if he had any AC to AC adapters, he says they have three different ones at £16.99 each

L53BR AC 9V 3.2A
L54BR AC 12V 3.0A
L55BR AC 24V 1.5A

www.maplin.co.uk/ac-ac-fixed-voltage-high-current-power-supplies-240

so I bought model L54BR AC 12V 3.0 amps ( 36 VA ) thinking that would be OK, it's certainly no match for Mike's Little Pinkie, but what a big improvement over the stock PSU, if you want a halfway house between the Little Pinkie and the stock psu, this baby weighing in at 1 kilo is well worth it IMHO happy xmas everyone !

[bbbiker800]

Thats an interesting finding ! so what change did it have ?

[pcourtney1]

good question, it sounded better in a difficult to describe way, just fuller and seemed like the sound was easier and bigger, my headphones are AKG K-340's and these are 400ohm jobbies so need driving with good voltage, I have another pair that have only been used for 200 hours ( they are mint and still in the box ) , and they sounded really nice this morning ( but I am keeping them as a spare ) , so I mentioned the new PSU to a good friend of mine who has the FA PSU for his V2 ( this was before the price increase, they are £220 quid ) , and he offered to come round to my house tonight and compare his PSU with my lowly Maplin one

www.fidelityaudio.co.uk/mf_xseries_psu.html

we could not tell the difference between them, seriously whenever we changed over PSU's we could never tell which one was which !

BUT, I should mention these two points first, we are both in our early fifties, but we did have my wife and two daughters listening in for about 20 minutes ( and the 13 year old daughter has great hearing IMHO )

and both the Maplins and FA psu's were plugged into my APC Smart-UPS RT1000 "Pure Sine Wave" UPS

but later on, we just tried from my mains wall socket ( not going via the APC ) and tried both PSU's again, it was really weird, he preferred the Maplin PSU more times than the FA, and I preferred his FA one more times - go figure - well we could not be arsed to debate it any longer and dinner was ready - but I am pretty happy, so that is all that matters.

Sorry I can't remember much more than that, but the upshot I believe is anything is better than the wimpy 500ma stock psu that comes with the V2 headphone amps, especially when Musical Fidelity want £25 quid for a new one, why would you !

[Deleted]

I no longer feel right with amps unless there's a substantial power supply attached. To me now, it's like 50% of the amp.

You do pay a premium for a good 'un normally but after my experiences with the V2, I'm never really happy until a Pinkie or something along the same lines is attached. Even then, I'd rather use a Pinkie because I know then that it's fine inside!!

I find that the sound becomes more 'spread' or perhaps easier to hear the spread. Lower noise floor (Like it's not on even) and a much greater dynamic increase on the heavy peaks.

My V2 is unbelievably good. No noise at all, powerful and musical sounding with a real kick in its sound that not many amps deliver. It's always remained one of my favourite amps.

[pcourtney1]

yes, I find the same thing, I tried to explain it as an "easier" sound, bigger and fuller, but I like your way of describing it as well Ian, quote

"the sound becomes more 'spread' or perhaps easier to hear the spread. Lower noise floor (Like it's not on even) and a much greater dynamic increase on the heavy peaks"

how on earth MF thought that a cheap 12V 500mA ( only 6VA ) would help the X-CAN amp is beyond belief, it just holds the sound back in more ways than one

this Maplins PSU is giving the X-CAN more than what it needs, a nice healthy 30VA supply

I was not too sure about the difference between watts and VA ( Volt Amps - apparent power ) , but I found this web page and understand better now the difference between the two

www.power-solutions.com/watts-va

[pcourtney1]

I remember Miguel mentioning about the Little Pinkie and the Jameco on Headfi about 18 months ago, and I quote

"the Little Pinkie provides the "cojones" that the stock wallwart at times cannot. The stock wallwart provides 500 mA of 12VAC while the LIttle Pinkie provides up to 2,500 mA of 12 VAC, furthermore the Little Pinkie is a linear and regulated PSU. I found the stock wallwart runs out of steam on certain passages of highly demanding music. You could start buy buying a 1,500 mA 12 VAC from Jameco that retails for under $15, not as good as the Little Pinkie but better than the stock wallwart"


www.jameco.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/ProductDisplay?langId=-1&storeId=10001&catalogId=10001&productId=167151

so Stateside the Jameco PSU is a nice alternative to the Maplin jobbie I have in the UK, the only difference being that I paid a few quid more but have 3,000 mA of 12 VAC which is a bit more than the Little Pinkie, but this apparent power ( or available power ) is more than the amp needs, I think the most watts that the X-CAN could pull is about 10 watts, so anything above 1,000 mA has to be better than the stock PSU which maxes out at 6 watts

[Deleted]

furthermore the Little Pinkie is a linear and regulated PSU

The X Can V 2 requires 12VAC . You can't use a Linear and regulated PSU with it.There are Little Pinkies available that have regulated DC outputs than be used with some other types of gear.
Alex

[pcourtney1]

Hi Alex, maybe Miguel was just getting confused with the Little Pinkie SE DC version which says

Power output: 12 Volts DC linear regulated 1 amp

www.rock-grotto.co.uk/musical-fidelity-vcan-vdac-vlps-power-supply.html

[Deleted]

I must admit, I've become kind of suspicious of power supplies since that's one area where the makers can skimp on cost without it looking any different.

Good supplies can be quite expensive and if buyers don't 'see' the benefits, they can think that an amp is expensive.

One of the first things I now look at is the supply!! If in doubt, I like to replace with a Pinkie - then you know what you're getting!!

Mike's supplies are made with care and attention to detail. They are quiet in operation and deliver a lot of power. (That's another thing - the noise some of these supplies make is unbelievable) I live in a very quiet place. I have no road beside my house so it's DEAD quiet. Noises from supplies become a real annoyance to me but if you live by a road or in a noisy house, I guess you wouldn't notice.

I once lost a watch and found it by listening for the ticks!! That's how quiet my place is.

Music here invades the silence; it doesn't add to the ambient noise!!

I value the Pinkies enormously.

[mrarroyo]

I am not confused, I mean what I say/write. But not all I say/write means anything! Now go back and listen to some music.

[PinkFloyd]

There's somewhere on my website where I recommend those Maplin type power supplies as a good cheap upgrade over the stock wallwart (Rapid also used to sell them) Some of the wallwarts that come with Christmas trees can also be used, most of them are 1amp or better and come terminated with a 2.1mm plug.

Always double check the output voltage of these transformers as they can vary somewhat.... no load should measure anywhere between 14V and 15V.

Do these still have the red LED fitted?

[pcourtney1]

>Do these still have the red LED fitted?

no they have a bright blue LED on the Maplin PSU

and with no load it displays 14.2 A on my multimeter

[PinkFloyd]

Dec 25, 2012 17:35:38 GMT pcourtney1 said:

>Do these still have the red LED fitted?

no they have a bright blue LED on the Maplin PSU

and with no load it displays 14.2 A on my multimeter

Sounds pretty much spot on They used to come with red LED's.... there's plenty of room inside to fit a class X2 suppression cap and a 275V AC varistor if you want to.... it's not earthed so no need for a class Y2 between LE and NE.... purely optional but IMO a very cheap tweak which may, or may not, please your ears

[pcourtney1]

less than a $1 each for 20 - ebay item 300428507121 - gotta be worth it just to upgrade a cheapo PSU fcr the fun of it :-)

0.22UF or 2.2UF though ??

[PinkFloyd]

Dec 25, 2012 20:03:34 GMT pcourtney1 said:

less than a $1 each for 20 - ebay item 300428507121 - gotta be worth it just to upgrade a cheapo PSU fcr the fun of it :-)

0.22UF or 2.2UF though ??

erm.... free from me 470nF and 275VAC varistor...... Was out in the workshop today and guess what I found?

Yup! hope it's not too late for the project?

Mike.

[pcourtney1]

cheers Mike ;D

many thanks, you have pm

[noss]

Dec 25, 2012 17:52:02 GMT PinkFloyd said:

Dec 25, 2012 17:35:38 GMT pcourtney1 said:

>Do these still have the red LED fitted?

no they have a bright blue LED on the Maplin PSU

and with no load it displays 14.2 A on my multimeter

Hello all. I just got one of the Maplins adaptors because I have misplaced the one that came with my XCans V2. However, it makes a nasty buzzing noise that is quite audible. It this meant to happen?

Here is the link to it:
www.maplin.co.uk/ac-ac-fixed-voltage-high-current-power-supplies-240


Thanks for your help.

[Deleted]

If the X Can V2 is working normally with this PSU, but the buzzing is objectionable, then return it to Maplins.
Alex

[noss]

Do you know if all of these units tend to buzz or if the one I purchased is faulty? It buzzes whenever it is plugged into the mains, like a fluorescent light. Thanks again

[Deleted]

Apr 5, 2013 8:44:44 GMT noss said:

Do you know if all of these units tend to buzz or if the one I purchased is faulty? It buzzes whenever it is plugged into the mains, like a fluorescent light. Thanks again

No, I don't know if it is faulty as I haven't used this PSU. Nevertheless, the buzz from it should not be at an objectionable level.
It could be that all of these from this batch behave similarly.
Alex

[PinkFloyd]

Send it back and get a replacement.

Mike.

[noss]

Thanks for your help. They are sending me a replacement

[jimbob54]

I got the Maplin PSU suggested by OP. can anyone clarify, should the polarity be tip positive, sleeve negative? My supplied MF wall wart didn't state.

Thanks

[Deleted]

May 15, 2013 15:39:56 GMT jimbob54 said:

I got the Maplin PSU suggested by OP. can anyone clarify, should the polarity be tip positive, sleeve negative? My supplied MF wall wart didn't state.

Thanks

If you have obtained the correct power supply, the output is A.C. and not polarity conscious.
Regards
Alex

[pcourtney1]

Alex is correct

have noss and jimbo been able to power up their X-Cans with the Maplin AC psu ? can you let us have your thoughts if you have guys !