mrarroyo
Headphoneus Supremus
- Joined
- Jul 27, 2005
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Note I had this in another forum here but I figure it would be of more use here in the DIY section.
It has been a while since a pictorial of modding a Musical Fidelity X-10 V3 has appeared on this forum. Yes I know that the vast majority of you here are more than capable and can follow the instructions provided w/ the PinkFloyd package. However newbie’s like my self can have a hard time following even the best diagrams, so I thought a bunch of pictures would help.
I received the PinkFloyd X-10 V3 a few days ago but I waited until today to make sure I could devote a couple of hours w/o interruptions. The kit includes all the components needed and the instructions provided are very good. My X-10 V3 will receive two more modifications, a set of four (4) heat sinks to be installed on the four (4) output transistors, and a set of two (2) of Herbies Halos.
The first thing I though might be of help is to show the components that were to be installed. I thought it would be helpful to show most of the tools to be used. Bellow are the first two pictures showing both of these to categories.
Note: To view a full size picture of any of the thumbnails in this post you must click on the thumbnails below. Then you will be re-directed to the full size picture.
As in any modification the first step is to make sure you have a well-lit, stable place. The work area should be one where people or animals will not be going by so as to minimize accidents (tripping over a cable). Good ventilation is vital since soldering will be involved. On the subject of soldering I would recommend that you practice on an old board before you attempt this work. Also make sure you wash your hands and wipe down the work area when you are finished.
Ok, lets get started. As a precaution I unplugged my X-10 V3 last night, somewhere I read something about capacitors retaining a charge so I left it unplugged for about 24 hours before I started working on the unit (overkill, maybe but it is my life). First I undid the front four silver screws of the front panel and carefully laid the panel down. The blue light in the front panel has a pigtail going to the board as shown on the picture below. Be careful when undoing the connection at the board. I used a long needle nose pliers to grab the top of the white connector and using a rocking motion it came out.
I then proceeded to the rear panel and removed the four screws at the corners using the same allen wrench I had used to remove the four front screws. You will notice on the second picture following this paragraph there is a ground connected to the bottom left screw inside the unit, make sure it is reconnected when closing the amp.
You can slide the board out still attached to the rear panel. Notice that the board slides in the groove where the bottom screws go. Here are three pictures showing the stock board from three directions. I find these pictures of a lot of help to make sure I put everything back in the same order. Like I said this post is for newbies.
I then spent about 30 minutes un-soldering each of the components. You should have a container where to put each of the items being removed. I used a soldering iron which has a suction ball attached to it, it was purchased at Radio Shack and can be seen on a picture above. I should point out that some of the capacitors have glue on them to help them stay on the board so when you remove the solder you still have to wiggle them out. I personally do not believe you have to use glue on the units your will add. Once the items are de-soldered I used an old toothbrush and alcohol to clean the board. Here is a picture of the cleaned board.
Next step is to start populating the board. Two important notes: First make sure you follow the polarity of the caps. The negative side has a band on the side of the capacitor, and the ultra fast diodes have a band at the end, which is also drawn on the X-10 V3 board. The warning w/ following the polarity does not apply to the 470uF or the 0.47uF Non Polar capacitors, which can be installed any way around. After populating the board I proceeded to clean it w/ alcohol and an old toothbrush (careful where you put the junk since it could contain lead from the solder). Here are three pictures of the completed job (as stated above the heat sinks and tube dampers will come later).
Do a double check of what the unit looks like after the modifications with what it looked before the modifications; this is where a set of pictures becomes invaluable. Next comes putting the board back in reverse of what is stated above, paying attention to the ground and installation of the pilot light.
The X-10 V3 (as well as the other V3’s) benefits from a beefier power supply. The unit supplied by Musical Fidelity provides 0.500 amps; this causes the various V3’s to run out of steam specially during loud listening (X-Can V3) or during complex passages (all V3). To that effect a better PSU is needed, here you have three options: 1) Build your own (not everyone can do so), 2) Buy the unit sold by Musical Fidelity (expensive and it is not that good), or 3) Get a Little Pinkie V3i (provides 2.5 amps) which would energize and bring to life any of the V3 units.
I would suggest you allow the unit to burn in from 200 to 250 hours before doing any critical listening. Hope this motivates you to go out and start improving the sound of an already great tube buffer. Good luck.
10/20/07 Update: Today I installed 4 heat sinks, and Herbies Halos on the 6112 tubes.
FYI, the parts ordered were:
- Allied Stk 619-0115 Mountin kit for the heat sinks
- Allied Stk 619-0127 Heat sink, TO-220
- Herbies Halos Ultrasonic Mini Damping
The pictures above were updated as well.
It has been a while since a pictorial of modding a Musical Fidelity X-10 V3 has appeared on this forum. Yes I know that the vast majority of you here are more than capable and can follow the instructions provided w/ the PinkFloyd package. However newbie’s like my self can have a hard time following even the best diagrams, so I thought a bunch of pictures would help.
I received the PinkFloyd X-10 V3 a few days ago but I waited until today to make sure I could devote a couple of hours w/o interruptions. The kit includes all the components needed and the instructions provided are very good. My X-10 V3 will receive two more modifications, a set of four (4) heat sinks to be installed on the four (4) output transistors, and a set of two (2) of Herbies Halos.
The first thing I though might be of help is to show the components that were to be installed. I thought it would be helpful to show most of the tools to be used. Bellow are the first two pictures showing both of these to categories.
Note: To view a full size picture of any of the thumbnails in this post you must click on the thumbnails below. Then you will be re-directed to the full size picture.
As in any modification the first step is to make sure you have a well-lit, stable place. The work area should be one where people or animals will not be going by so as to minimize accidents (tripping over a cable). Good ventilation is vital since soldering will be involved. On the subject of soldering I would recommend that you practice on an old board before you attempt this work. Also make sure you wash your hands and wipe down the work area when you are finished.
Ok, lets get started. As a precaution I unplugged my X-10 V3 last night, somewhere I read something about capacitors retaining a charge so I left it unplugged for about 24 hours before I started working on the unit (overkill, maybe but it is my life). First I undid the front four silver screws of the front panel and carefully laid the panel down. The blue light in the front panel has a pigtail going to the board as shown on the picture below. Be careful when undoing the connection at the board. I used a long needle nose pliers to grab the top of the white connector and using a rocking motion it came out.
I then proceeded to the rear panel and removed the four screws at the corners using the same allen wrench I had used to remove the four front screws. You will notice on the second picture following this paragraph there is a ground connected to the bottom left screw inside the unit, make sure it is reconnected when closing the amp.
You can slide the board out still attached to the rear panel. Notice that the board slides in the groove where the bottom screws go. Here are three pictures showing the stock board from three directions. I find these pictures of a lot of help to make sure I put everything back in the same order. Like I said this post is for newbies.
I then spent about 30 minutes un-soldering each of the components. You should have a container where to put each of the items being removed. I used a soldering iron which has a suction ball attached to it, it was purchased at Radio Shack and can be seen on a picture above. I should point out that some of the capacitors have glue on them to help them stay on the board so when you remove the solder you still have to wiggle them out. I personally do not believe you have to use glue on the units your will add. Once the items are de-soldered I used an old toothbrush and alcohol to clean the board. Here is a picture of the cleaned board.
Next step is to start populating the board. Two important notes: First make sure you follow the polarity of the caps. The negative side has a band on the side of the capacitor, and the ultra fast diodes have a band at the end, which is also drawn on the X-10 V3 board. The warning w/ following the polarity does not apply to the 470uF or the 0.47uF Non Polar capacitors, which can be installed any way around. After populating the board I proceeded to clean it w/ alcohol and an old toothbrush (careful where you put the junk since it could contain lead from the solder). Here are three pictures of the completed job (as stated above the heat sinks and tube dampers will come later).
Do a double check of what the unit looks like after the modifications with what it looked before the modifications; this is where a set of pictures becomes invaluable. Next comes putting the board back in reverse of what is stated above, paying attention to the ground and installation of the pilot light.
The X-10 V3 (as well as the other V3’s) benefits from a beefier power supply. The unit supplied by Musical Fidelity provides 0.500 amps; this causes the various V3’s to run out of steam specially during loud listening (X-Can V3) or during complex passages (all V3). To that effect a better PSU is needed, here you have three options: 1) Build your own (not everyone can do so), 2) Buy the unit sold by Musical Fidelity (expensive and it is not that good), or 3) Get a Little Pinkie V3i (provides 2.5 amps) which would energize and bring to life any of the V3 units.
I would suggest you allow the unit to burn in from 200 to 250 hours before doing any critical listening. Hope this motivates you to go out and start improving the sound of an already great tube buffer. Good luck.
10/20/07 Update: Today I installed 4 heat sinks, and Herbies Halos on the 6112 tubes.
FYI, the parts ordered were:
- Allied Stk 619-0115 Mountin kit for the heat sinks
- Allied Stk 619-0127 Heat sink, TO-220
- Herbies Halos Ultrasonic Mini Damping
The pictures above were updated as well.
