[tbuddha]

I've just put together a new office rig. I got Senn HD-650s, then an X-Can v3 amp. The source I’m using is an old Sony DVP-7700, which was a reference player (albeit a dvd player) a few years ago. I have gotten mixed opinions here about the quality of the red book output I can expect from the Sony.

Well, I have been burning-in, and have been pretty pleased with the sound I've been hearing. Until yesterday. I played the title track from Lyle Lovett's "The Road to Ensenada". I have heard this cut many times on my home gear, and there is a persistent low bass line running throughout the song. I just wasn't hearing it on this office rig.

So I put the CD on my Panasonic PCDP, through a Total Airhead, and sure enough, it was there big as life.

Which brings me to the point, and the reason I'm posting this here. I'm hoping that the culprit is my interconnect cables. I'm using the ones that came with the Sony. Since this was a high-end product, the wires seem more substantial that the usual red/yellow/white ones that come with most consumer video gear. But who knows.

I'm painfully aware that Musical Fidelity only claims the X-Can frequency response down to 30Hz., so I really hope the amp is not the cause of this missing bass. I have a pair of DiMarzio M-Path interconnects coming from Headroom early next week. I have read here that these particular cables are generous with the bass response. I sure hope they do the trick!

 

[tortie]

Get some cheap RCA-mini adaptors and 1/4 tp 1/8 adaptors. Try the airhead on your office rig in exchange of your Xcans so that you can be sure if it is your amp that causes the loss in bass. Or it might be your Sony player also. I do hope the change in interconnects solves your problem, but I doubt that the ICs are the cause of your problem.

 

[gerG]

Most DVD players have settings for the speaker parameters. Make sure that the speaker settings for the outputs that you are using are for "large" speakers. If the unit supports surround channels, make sure that you are set to a stereo output as well. Unfortunately you need a TV or video monitor connected to change any of this stuff.

gerG

 

[tbuddha]

Today I had only about 45 minutes to play with this problem, but here is what I did so far.

I am expecting the DiMarzio interconnects next week, and I will see what difference, if any, they make. In the meantime, I got the loan of a pair of Tara Labs RSC Reference Gen II interconnects from my wonderful brick-and-mortar store, San Francisco Stereo. I also borrowed Tara Labs RCA (2) to Mini (1) cable.

First I hooked up the Tara ICs in place of the stock Sony wires. Was there a difference? Most definitely, in many of the aspects of the sound. However, to my ears there was only a slight improvement in the bass. So, is the problem with the X-Can v3 amp, or with the Sony DVD player?

Well, I ran the Sony DVD player through the Total Airhead, and I ran my Panasonic portable CDP through the X-Can v3. The bottom line was that today EVERYTHING sounded somewhat bass shy. If I had to blame one component, I'd say that perhaps the X-Cans was to blame. More experimenting, and certainly a much more extended listening session is needed before I can decide exactly what I think is going on.

(I'm going to further confuse the issue next week when I get my Ety ER-4S and throw them into the mix. )

 

[tortie]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tbuddha Well, I ran the Sony DVD player through the Total Airhead, and I ran my Panasonic portable CDP through the X-Can v3. The bottom line was that today EVERYTHING sounded somewhat bass shy.

If that's the case, then it looks like the X-Can and your Sony DVD are to blame.If only the X-can was causing the bass drop, then your Sony DVD & Total Airhead pairing should not have sounded bass shy.

 

[tbuddha]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tortie If that's the case, then it looks like the X-Can and your Sony DVD are to blame.If only the X-can was causing the bass drop, then your Sony DVD & Total Airhead pairing should not have sounded bass shy.

Tortie--You are exactly right, except that I really don't think I had enough time today to give it the listen that I should. What with all the cable changes and shuffling the equipment around, I felt pretty rushed. I was really listening to the same part of one song over and over, and trying to draw my conclusions from that. Next week I will listen to entire CDs in various equipment configurations.

All that said, I really think your analysis will still hold up. I expect that both components are contributing somewhat to the problem.