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Originally Posted by Sixer /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Got mine all up and running a couple of days ago - still not cased but humming along.
However it doesn't sound as good as I expected, from all reports, it should sound brilliant, but my one has a rather disappointing amount of detail and the highs aren't great either - neither are terrible, just no where near as good as I expected. Now i'm not comparing this to anything amazing - it even sounds on par or only a little better compared to the headphone out on my ipod with both my RS-2s and ER-6is. On the other hand, bass is pretty good and midrange punch is good too - just lacking detail and highs. It's kinda harsh at times too.
Everything should be biased ok, using 12AE6A tubes at 13.5-13.7v bias each, MOSFETs at 220mv. Power supply is 27v.
Have I made poor choices in terms of caps? Is this what tubes inherently sound like? Could I have actually done something wrong in my construction?
Caps are:
CA2: 1000uF 25v Blackgate NX
CA9: 0.22uF Sonicap genII
CA7: 680uF 35v Blackgate NX
CA8: Sonicap 0.82uF genII
Would be great if someone could shed some light on this
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A few things to try:
1. IMHO, and I've already had this conversation with someone, but the GEN II's are a poor choice for the BG's. They were only recommended for the ES's, which are an entirely different cap.
BG's should use an ultra boutique (translated means very expensive), the small NX Hi-Q's (0.47@50V) in a "Super E" configuration, or NO bypass caps at all. There are, in fact, many articles making reference to bypass caps actually ruining the response of BG's. Not saying that's what's happening, but again, the GEN II's were never mentioned as a good combo with the BG's.
Even after you do all of that, it may take quite awhile for the BG's to break in - they are notorious - like 200hrs worth.
2. Put some 12FK6's in there and see if that helps. The 12FK6's are generally speaking, the most detailed tubes. They are a little light on the bass, however, and may not have enough gain to adequately punch through a Sennheiser veil. Low gain and a Sennheiser veil are obviously not your issues with Grados and IEM's, however.
3. Take out the RB14L/R resistors, if you have any in there. These will reduce impact and soften detail to a certain extent. That's preferred in some situations, but not yours from what it sounds like.
4. Finally, the MAX is very sensitive to source. MP3's sound like crap, IMHO. An iPod or PDCP may sound just fine with revealing headphones or IEM's, but very disappointing on the MAX (as in "not much difference"). Try FLAC files from a DAC, an iPod, or direct CD from a decent CD player - hopefully one with a true line out and a discrete output stage.
"4." may be a difficult thing for you, but items 1 - 3 should have the most immediate effect and in that order.
Let us know how it turns out. We want everyone to be happy with their MAX. I'm pretty sure it's the GEN II's and maybe some deader-than-usual 12AE6A's.
P.S. To add another that was mentioned for bypassing BG's - Vitamin Q's. This is because as Dsavitsk as said, the VitQ's are actually on the neutral side with extended high ends. As stated, though, the default should be no bypasses or perhaps the little NX Hi-Q's popped in reverse polarity (all these caps are supposed to be non-polar, but what the hey - that's what BG says to do, and it's a proven method).
