[mail4u]

I had experienced distorted sound with my X-Can V2 so I replaced the stock Philips tubes with a pair of Russian 6H23s following Nick's instructions. Very easy to do - thanks Nick. But the distortion remained so it wasn't a tube problem. The bass seems to be there but the midrange is very faint and distant. The highs are stronger than the midrange. Any suggestions what the problem could be? If it's a really technical fix I'll just have to scrap the amp.

Very grateful for any assistance.

Mail4u

 

[Pat]

I owned the X-Can v2 once. Common problems seem to be the headphone jack and volume pot. Cleaning might be in order. I didn't get a chance to read your post earlier - maybe these items have already been discussed.

For what it's worth, I never had any problem with this great amp.

 

[Hirsch]

I'm not familiar with the 6H23. However, the X-Can was designed for the 6922. If the 6H23 is not an exact, and I do mean exact, substitute for the 6H23, you could get the symptoms mentioned. JAN Sylvania 6922's are very nice tubes, and there's an Ebay seller who has posted them at $6.49 ea from time to time. If he's still got them, it's a good way to get some nice tubes that will work in the amp. If that doesn't work, you may want to have a technician take a look and see what's going on.

BTW, cleaning the pot and headphone jack are good ideas. Caig Deoxit would be a good cleaner for the jack. CaiLube MCL would be a good treatment for the potentiometer.

 

[mail4u]

I cleaned the headphone jack but it made no difference. How does one clean the volume pot? It seems to be a sealed unit soldered to the circuit board.

 

[mail4u]

I finally took the amp to a local electronics tech and found the solder joints were disconnected to the RCA inputs. So he resoldered all the joints on the board. It fixed the problem.

I found that the Russian tube replacements have made a dramatic improvement in sound. The amp is more open, the bass is deep and tight. I've never heard other headphone amps but I'm very very happy with the V2 sound now. The Sennheiser HD580s have blossomed to what I've heard others rave about. The smoothness is intoxicating!

I would think one of the greatest advantages of a tube amp is that you can tweak the sound by tube rolling. You don't like the sound just change tubes!

I tried to get the Mullard tubes but they're nowhere to be found. The supply of the 1970s gems has evidently dried up.

If your V2 still has the stock Philips tubes, replace them! You won't regret it.

Now that I've pinned down my bedside amp I'm looking for a portable amp. When I get back to the States I thinking of either a Meta or Supermini. Any suggestions?

Ah, life is good!

 

[Dusty Chalk]

Quote:

Originally posted by mail4u I found that the Russian tube replacements have made a dramatic improvement in sound.

Ah, sweet, I've been dying of curiosity about those...

 

[zool]

I had a listen to the x-can v2 with the stock JAN-Philips tubes at a local audio store today.. The source was Arcam cd72t and headphones was hd600 and dt880. It was hard to decide if I liked the cd72 or not since I had to focus and try to remember how the x-can/hd600 combo sounded with my old crappy source at home.. Before I switched the tubes to Mullard's.

I listened to my own x-can when I came home and even though my source is much worse then the cd72, my setup actually sounded much better.. Reminding me of how much the x-can changed after I switched the tubes. Also I have replaced the stock hd600 cable w/ cardas, making a pretty huge difference as well of course.

mail4U: I highly recommend replacing the stock HD600 cable.. If you haven't done it already.. The difference is really almost as striking as when you switch the tubes.

 

[mail4u]

I'm thinking of doing that next, Zool. What does that cable cost? Is it compatible with the HD580?

 

[zool]

Quote:

Originally posted by mail4u I'm thinking of doing that next, Zool. What does that cable cost? Is it compatible with the HD580?

I got mine from HeadRoom. It Costs $150 plus shipping and seems to be available now too.

It should work just as good with hd580 as hd600. These two headphones are basically the same except hd600 is more of a luxury model of hd580.. Made out of some more expensive material, but the drivers should be the same.

 

[mail4u]

Just one more thing Zool: what cable are you using from your CD player to the X-can? You'd need the same quality as the Cardas right? Right now I'm using some Radio Shack gold interconnects. No complaints but then again I have no reference point to compare.

 

[zool]

Quote:

Originally posted by mail4u Just one more thing Zool: what cable are you using from your CD player to the X-can? You'd need the same quality as the Cardas right? Right now I'm using some Radio Shack gold interconnects. No complaints but then again I have no reference point to compare.

You'll still hear improvements in quality no matter what signal cables your using. I'm not so sure how good these radioshack cables are though. You should probably ask around in the forum and get some advice on good signal cables that are worth their price.

As you can see in my profile, I am using a cable called SilK. It is made in europe and has got excellent reviews from various hi-fi magazines. It's suppose to outperform cables that cost many times it's price, but I wouldn't really know, I'm no expert when it comes to cables.. I just get what's recommended

. The pair cost about $260, but I got a pair of used ones for $170... Now this is normally more then I would spend but it was a good deal so I took it.