[PinkFloyd]

God ... these JAN Philips 6922 Valves sound horrid. The longer they are left on the worse the sound becomes.

I've reached the conclusion there is a LOT more to the X-can V2 than meets the eye.

This unit is a primadonna and is very sensitive to it's partnering equipment, placement, cables, headphones... you name it.

One day it sounds great and the next day it sounds brittle and harsh.

Anybody know of an amplifier that is well designed and performs well day in day out?

The x-can is ok when it decides to sing but the other 60% of the time it sounds awful. I am looking for something that will give the same results day in day out.

One final attempt to see if this thing can sound good (in the form of JJ ECC88's) and, if no improvement, it gets returned to Musical Fidelity.

At the moment it sounds like the output from one of those horrible "sony" discman things

It's looking as if I'll have to buy a smaller turkey this year and go full out for the Sugden headmaster.

Then again....... the JJ VALVES may just make this baby sing.

On second thoughts it could be my source that's causing the crap sound, or even the headphones or I may simply have gone deaf?

Whatever the "cause" I don't class this as a truly "awesome" aural experience which it should be for the price.

Pinkie

 

[ServinginEcuador]

Pinkie,

check out these two MUST read pieces of info about the X-Cans, first link, and the best of the 6dj8 family:

Nick Dangerously's Link

Joe's Tube Lore

You might be surprised once you find out what Joe says about the "best" 6dj8 family of tubes!!!

 

[Nick Dangerous]

The JJ's will definitely improve your X-Cans.

The stock Philips tubes are ear-bleeders. Screechy bright.

 

[bootman]

Quote:

Originally posted by Nick Dangerous The JJ's will definitely improve your X-Cans. The stock Philips tubes are ear-bleeders. Screechy bright.

Agreed, when I had my X-Cans the JJ did sound much smoother than the stock Jans.

 

[PinkFloyd]

Cheers,

I've got a couple of JJ E88CC's on order from http://www.highendaudio.co.uk after searching around for a stockist who supplies them in the UK.

This guy "Sean" really knows his valves and has been more than helpful, even trying to get a diagram of the X-can V2 to see what valve would best suit the circuit.

I've got every confidence in this company and am certain that the valves they send out will be tested beyond what is normally expected. Hope they are a VAST improvement over the Philips valves.

A superb company who take the time to search the net for a circuit diagram to see what valves would suit your amp the best.... now that's what I call "superb" service!

These guys make some awesome looking valve amplifiers and Sean is showing some interest in the headphone amp side of things... he's indicated they may even design a head amp kit and / or supply parts / tweaks and advice for existing head amp owners.

I've got a feeling you'll be hearing a lot more about this company in the not too distant future.

I'll keep you all posted on the JJ valve addition into the x-can V2

All the best

Pinkie

 

[daycart1]

There was some headroom propaganda at the Tour suggesting that the x-can's valves might not be in the signal path at all... What's up with that?

 

[Nick Dangerous]

Hogwash!

 

[BenG]

The JJ valves were interesting sounding w/ big imaging and soundstage, but didn't sound right to me. The highs became soft, dark, distant, and flat from the X-Can. Very smooth, though.

I messed around with some other tubes in it, like the Siemens, which offered incredible midrange & detail, but I never got a consistant enough sound from top to bottom.

One thing about the X-Can w/ the Philips valves - it seems to be tuned with the HD 600s in mind. The otherwise recessed mids of the 600s become forward and flowing. The 600s dark spot in the upper mids - lower treble is filled in with a somewhat spikey harshness, but I wouldn't call the combo ear-bleeding. It's hard to make the 600s ear-bleeding!?

One thing I found consistant with all the tubes in the X-Can was a slight softening in the upper bass (cello zone) that counters the 600s over damped and hard sounding qualities in this region.

Overall, I don't regret tube rolling (my first venture in this realm) as it was a fun journey, but I'm a SS person for the near future. Happy-rollin'.

 

[PinkFloyd]

The valves arrived this morning in a really nifty little box with fancy foam in it. I took the x-can V2 to bits with my left hand as I sliced quite a big piece of my thumb off last night opening a corned beef tin

Rolled the new valves in (left handed again!) and left the x-can turned on with some music playing through them for 5 hours.

Have just listened for half an hour and first impressions can be described as:

"Rubbery, polypropelyne cone kinda sound.. as if all the instruments have been coated with neoprene rubber" very "bing boing" with any drumming like the drummers got a superball connected to his drumsticks.

Pretty recessed midrange and flat high frequency.... the bass has a very rubbery quality to it also although it sounds more euphonic than the philips valves.

Question: When will these valves start to kick into gear.. is 5 hours run in maybe too soon or is it adequate?

I'll listen again this evening and will report back then.

Pinkie the rubber x-can owner

 

[PinkFloyd]

BTW Daycart.... do you really look like that in real life?

Pinkie

 

[Hirsch]

Hi PinkFloyd,

I usually give new valve at least a day to stabilize. That actually can be too short, as it can take up to a month for them to fully burn-in. However, particularly over the first 24 hours, the sound changes can be rather dramatic.

My own rating has the JJ as a good, but not great, tube. My favorites in the X-Can have been RCA rebranded Siemens and Mullards, for overall frequency response and musicality. The Mullards are a bit warmer than the Siemens, and have a fuller midrange IMO.

I used to give the X-Can close to a day to reach full sound even after break-in, and with known tubes. The X-PSU shortens this time for me, and your enhanced power supply should do the same.

 

[daycart1]

I should think that if the amp is sounding THAT bad, the tubes do need more break in. Loose bass in the x-cans can be improved with better/more power: the x-psu or a wallwart with higher specs.

Yeah, too bad that Descartes was such an ugly dude. I look more like Pierce Brosnan except more athletic.

THere was once a "post what you look like" thread....

 

[PinkFloyd]

Hold on Harry!! that's been another couple of hours gone by and, yes, the sound "is" opening up a bit. Slightly more air around the instruments and, already, a MUCH wider soundstage. Not "out of the head" as yet but seems a lot wider than with the Philips.

The power supply has been completely revised and I've just got to solder in the new transformer later on and may power the x-Can with it. Then again, If I do and the sound improves I won't know if it's as a result of the valves or the PSU so I may wait a few days.

Listening while I type this and one things for certain. These valves make listening a lot less fatiguing than listening with the Philips in situ. I agree with Nick re: "ear bleeding" so harsh and forward was the sound I could only listen for 20 or so minutes at a time.

Anyways off out to solder the PSU and see what difference this Laminated "audio" transformer makes. The guy at Newmarket transformers made it up specially for me... it was so fresh that when it arrived the paint was still curing and I could smell it through its packaging. It's a wonder it wasn't opened by the post office as a "suspect" package. Dunno what the guy sprayed it with but it smelled like thinners.

All the best

Pinkie

 

[Duncan]

I really like my Edicron tubes, from Maplins... only £10 each, and I think that they are a MASSIVE improvement over the stock tubes...

The bass is ultimately a little soft still, compared to SS.. but the mids are very clean, and the treble is seriously extended, without sounding brittle...

Airyness by the bucketload too

 

[PinkFloyd]

Quote:

Originally posted by Duncan I really like my Edicron tubes, from Maplins... only £10 each, and I think that they are a MASSIVE improvement over the stock tubes... The bass is ultimately a little soft still, compared to SS.. but the mids are very clean, and the treble is seriously extended, without sounding brittle... Airyness by the bucketload too

I must order a pair of those from Maplins Duncan cause there is no doubt whatsoever that different makes of Valves all have their own unique sonic signatures.

As a matter of cost and good service these JJ E88cc's were only £19 (inc Vat & next day registered delivery) from http://www.highendaudio.co.uk in Southampton and Sean is probably one of the most helpful guys I have ever dealt with in an audio related transaction.

Not only did he match these valves up for gain, he also put them through their paces in an "audio analyser" no less

On top of that he also took a very keen interest in the X-Cans circuit board in an attempt to sort out the best valves for the job.

You wanna see the fancy box they came in too... foam padding and all

Anyone looking for valves in the UK will not go far wrong with this company.

Talking of valves, it is now 11.43pm, some 14 hours after I fitted them, they have been running all day long and I am now listening to Roger Waters "Amused to Death" and am absolutely amazed at how clear the talking in the background is. Parts of the album that were hard to make out are now crystal clear and the soundstage is now definitely extending "outside" the head as well as becomming both deeper and higher.

I'll leave the unit on overnight and have another listen tomorrow. I've finished power supply MK11 (EI transformer in place of the toroidal with resin encased cables and damped chassis

) so may even hook it up to see what part it will play in the sound. The toroidal, believe it or not, had a tendancy to "buzz" pretty audibly so I though I'd try the good old fashioned laminated transformer that audiophiles absolutely detest for some reason.

All the best

Pinkie