[Tiemen]

Is a PSU like Little Pinkie for the Musical Fidelity X-can V3, worth the money?
I have a hard time believing that power supply can have effect on the sound of a headphone amp.
I read some stuff about this on Head-Fi, but would love to read more opinions.
It may be discussed before, but I can't find a thread with pro's and con's.

 

[Know Talent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiemen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Is a PSU like Little Pinkie for the Musical Fidelity X-can V3, worth the money? I have a hard time believing that power supply can have effect on the sound of a headphone amp. I read some stuff about this on Head-Fi, but would love to read more opinions. It may be discussed before, but I can't find a thread with pro's and con's.

I had an X-Can with Mikes Little Pinkie V3i and the cap/fast diode upgrade. The power supply is very well made and the parts package is very reasonably priced.

As far as sonic differences...maybe a small increase in perceived "PRaT"(???), maybe... YMMV, but IMO, It's not something you're going to plug in and go "OMG!!!" this is amazing.

Is is worth the money? that all depends on your priorities.

The biggest thing I discovered is the crap soldering job inside the X-can (from the factory).
My bud says the wave solder bath must have had contaminated rosin or not enough as the majority of joints were dull and pitted. He said that fixing the poor solder joints would probably have a greater effect on sonics vs. the caps and expanding the power supply.

 

[Tiemen]

Thanks Know Talent, for your honest answer.
Saves me 125 Euro

 

[panda]

the x-can is not a very good amp to to begin with. but power supplies do make a pretty noticable improvement if the original is not all that good... for example headamp gilmore lite comes with a walwart. when you upgrade to the dedicated psu, the quality goes up a level.

 

[Know Talent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by panda /img/forum/go_quote.gif the x-can is not a very good amp to to begin with. but power supplies do make a pretty noticable improvement if the original is not all that good... for example headamp gilmore lite comes with a walwart. when you upgrade to the dedicated psu, the quality goes up a level.

IMO, if you need to upgrade the PS something is wrong with the design...

Not naiming names but what is said of a manufacturer who designs a circuit then purposely limits its power supply to meet a cheaper price point?

Whether a high pressure power washer is drawing water through a garden hose or a fire hose... it doesn't matter if the water reservoir is the size of Lake Superior or the Atlantic Ocean.

 

[TopPop]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Know Talent /img/forum/go_quote.gif Not naiming names but what is said of a manufacturer who designs a circuit then purposely limits its power supply to meet a cheaper price point?

Ha!

I thought it was a typo at first... subtle humor sometimes isn't picked up on my brain's slow-moving radar on first sweeps...

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Know Talent /img/forum/go_quote.gif IMO, if you need to upgrade the PS something is wrong with the design... Not naiming names but what is said of a manufacturer who designs a circuit then purposely limits its power supply to meet a cheaper price point? Whether a high pressure power washer is drawing water through a garden hose or a fire hose... it doesn't matter if the water reservoir is the size of Lake Superior or the Atlantic Ocean.

MF also sells (separately and at much higher cost) a larger PSU which can power a couple of components. That is why they sell the V2 and V3 amps with a marginal wall wart.

 

[mrarroyo]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tiemen /img/forum/go_quote.gif Thanks Know Talent, for your honest answer. Saves me 125 Euro

We all have different ears, I disagree w/ Talent's assessment of the Little Pinkie PSU. I have had several (V2 and V3 amps as well as for the X-10 V3 and the V3 Dac). IMO the Little Pinkie PSU made a noticeable improvement in the depth, separation, clarity, etc. Just a different perspective, perhaps you should listen to a burnt in one (at a meet) to make a fully informed decision.

 

[Tiemen]

Quote:

Originally Posted by mrarroyo /img/forum/go_quote.gif MF also sells (separately and at much higher cost) a larger PSU which can power a couple of components. That is why they sell the V2 and V3 amps with a marginal wall wart.

Good, that's why I'm selling the X-can right now.
If they don't bother to deliver a decent power supply for 375 Euro, than I don't want to listen to the amp anymore.
The headphone amp in my Denon PRA 1100 is just as good. Bass is even better.
Thank you very much.

 

[tubaman]

Quote:

Originally Posted by Know Talent /img/forum/go_quote.gif IMO, if you need to upgrade the PS something is wrong with the design... Not naiming names but what is said of a manufacturer who designs a circuit then purposely limits its power supply to meet a cheaper price point? Whether a high pressure power washer is drawing water through a garden hose or a fire hose... it doesn't matter if the water reservoir is the size of Lake Superior or the Atlantic Ocean.

It's like saying Honda should only make Accord with V6 engine because they perform better. What's wrong with a L4? For some people, the extra 60 (or so) hp doesn't make a difference (my mom, for example, would fit into that category).

 

[Know Talent]

Quote:

Originally Posted by tubaman /img/forum/go_quote.gif It's like saying Honda should only make Accord with V6 engine because they perform better. What's wrong with a L4? For some people, the extra 60 (or so) hp doesn't make a difference (my mom, for example, would fit into that category).

Yes, I agree but that's not what I was trying to say.
My understanding of out board power supplies is they primarily offer isolation from the main circuitry.
Simply going to a larger power supply does not guarentee better performance as the main circuitry is designed to draw only a certain amount of current AND I'm "assuming" a well designed package is going to offer an adequate power supply from the start???

It would be like buying the 4 cylinder you mentioned, slapping in a 4 bar FPR and 300# injectors and assuming the computer is going to be able to readjust the fuel:air and ignition to give you increased performance.
Especially if the heads, cams, exhaust are not designed to accomodate the extra flow...From my experience if the entire system is not reworked you're rarely going to see much, if any, true performance increase.