[davidsh]

Would wish the v8p was more versatile. Simply too noisy to use with efficient/low impedance 'phones. Else, it is actually quite decent with pretty much anything else I have tried, including my HE-500.

 

[Bosstooned]

   
Did you swap the pads?

Tried with the old, flattened pads and with brand new ones I got from Sennheiser. Also have both the thin 600 cable and the 650 cable. And it always sounds much more detailed and airy than my memory of the 600 and 650 seems to be, yet the biggest difference seems to be the pace and energy it conveyes.

 

[ProtegeManiac]

  Tried with the old, flattened pads and with brand new ones I got from Sennheiser. Also have both the thin 600 cable and the 650 cable. And it always sounds much more detailed and airy than my memory of the 600 and 650 seems to be, yet the biggest difference seems to be the pace and energy it conveyes.

 
It'scould also be due to "shorter" decay on the HD580. The HD580 and the HD600 drivers aren't too different, but the improvement supposedly is better dampening that helps the bass extension. Kind of like when you just mount car speakers in older cars that still have problematic metal mounts, or the ones in the mid-2000s that have them on a plastic panel. Sometimes the perception of "faster" sound is determined by that bass extension - either it's really slow to decay or one that has less extension tends to seem faster than one that goes deeper. Kind of like an SR325 vs the LCD-2 (provided that both are on amps that drive them properly).

 

[davidsh]

Can you just swap the tubes? No bias adjustments or anything? Got my hands on some matched NOS russian 6dj8 type tubes from the early 80's. Or so i was told..
Actually they are labelled 6Н3П-E. Thinking about it, I am confused with the labelling, as they appear to be 6n3pe tubes. Can I actually use them in my x-can?
 
Please, help me here!

 

[Chikolad]

I wonder if any of the v8 owners here could chime in on a problem I have, which I suspect maybe has to do with the amp.
 
I've had the v8 for a few years now paired with some Grado GS1000s (the source being a uDac-2, and also using the Little Pinkie PSU). Over time though I became gradually displeased with the sound... The infamous GS1K's recessed mids and mid-bass hump made for fatiguing long-term listens.
I became even more displeased about a year ago when I bought VSonic GR07 mkII IEMs for my portable player - A totally different animal. These had a lot of detail, to my ears more than the GS1Ks, a very well-balanced FR, and the most noticeable feature for me - the way they handled bass. They extend really low, have no humps, just a very "right", detailed bass with addictive bass drum kicks. They do nothing "wrong", unlike the Grados. And all that even simply connected right to my Samsung galaxy s3 smartphone.
 
Recently I got a Schiit Modi DAC to replace the uDac-2 (I wanted to use the uDac at work with the VSonics) so I stared listening to my home rig again. Despite the very noticeable improvement of the Modi over the uDac, still the same problems.
I was curious how the VSonics would sound with the new DAC, so I hooked them up to the v8.
I was very disappointed with the result. First there was terrible hiss even with the volume all the way down and even with the DAC disconnected. But even more the GR07 lost their magic. Now they appeared to have a mid-bass hump, and also the sub-bass felt a bit recessed. 
 
So my question is, could it be that these artifacts are also the fault of the v8? Or is it just the bad match with IEMs that caused this?
I wanna know before I go looking for a new amp

 

[Bosstooned]

  Can you just swap the tubes? No bias adjustments or anything? Got my hands on some matched NOS russian 6dj8 type tubes from the early 80's. Or so i was told..
Actually they are labelled 6Н3П-E. Thinking about it, I am confused with the labelling, as they appear to be 6n3pe tubes. Can I actually use them in my x-can?
 
Please, help me here!

 
Well the russian alphabet is littered with characters that closely resemble our own, but can mean something different. So chances are that these are the right ones and if the person that told you these are the right ones is trustworthy, then I'd assume they are good.
 

  I wonder if any of the v8 owners here could chime in on a problem I have, which I suspect maybe has to do with the amp.
 
I've had the v8 for a few years now paired with some Grado GS1000s (the source being a uDac-2, and also using the Little Pinkie PSU). Over time though I became gradually displeased with the sound... The infamous GS1K's recessed mids and mid-bass hump made for fatiguing long-term listens.
I became even more displeased about a year ago when I bought VSonic GR07 mkII IEMs for my portable player - A totally different animal. These had a lot of detail, to my ears more than the GS1Ks, a very well-balanced FR, and the most noticeable feature for me - the way they handled bass. They extend really low, have no humps, just a very "right", detailed bass with addictive bass drum kicks. They do nothing "wrong", unlike the Grados. And all that even simply connected right to my Samsung galaxy s3 smartphone.
 
Recently I got a Schiit Modi DAC to replace the uDac-2 (I wanted to use the uDac at work with the VSonics) so I stared listening to my home rig again. Despite the very noticeable improvement of the Modi over the uDac, still the same problems.
I was curious how the VSonics would sound with the new DAC, so I hooked them up to the v8.
I was very disappointed with the result. First there was terrible hiss even with the volume all the way down and even with the DAC disconnected. But even more the GR07 lost their magic. Now they appeared to have a mid-bass hump, and also the sub-bass felt a bit recessed. 
 
So my question is, could it be that these artifacts are also the fault of the v8? Or is it just the bad match with IEMs that caused this?
I wanna know before I go looking for a new amp

Hah, didn't know Grado made headphones with recessed mids . The hissing you describe reminds me of the times when my hi-fi amp needed an exchange of tubes. My V8P is silent as the grave and does a really good job of enriching the recessed mids of my DT990. But that phone is 250Ω and your IEM's might be too sensitive? I do, however, get fatigue when I listen at higher volume; so my amp rarely goes beyond half past eight when driven by my MicroStreamer. If I may give a suggestion, take a look at the HRT MicroStreamer, it really did miracles for my Beyer's recessed mids. 

 

[Chikolad]

Thanks Bosstooned. 
I'm aware that the output of the v8 doesn't fit IEMs. But I'm wondering if the mid-bass hump and lack of sub-bass could also be characteristics of the v8?

 

[davidsh]

Can tell you that the bass is overpowering with the dt770 32 IMO

 

[Chikolad]

Can tell you that the bass is overpowering with the dt770 32 IMO

 
By overpowering do you mean in a good way or in a bad way?

 

[davidsh]

In such a way that the e17 sounded better in the end

 

[Bosstooned]

Agree that it's not underpowered sub-bass wise, but it certainly doesn't overpower either in my opinion. It's got some tight rains on my bass-heavy DT990's and defines it very clearly. I'd have the X-can's tubes tested if I were you. Btw, I had the E17 for over a year and it never really had any depth in the bass for me. Goes to show how much importance good synergy can have I guess, haha.

 

[Chikolad]

Thank you davidsh and bosstooned. My conclusion is that I shouldn't get a new headphone without first trying it with the v8 compared to with a different amp that it's usually paired with. It is really all about synergy.

 

[davidsh]

  Agree that it's not underpowered sub-bass wise, but it certainly doesn't overpower either in my opinion. It's got some tight rains on my bass-heavy DT990's and defines it very clearly. I'd have the X-can's tubes tested if I were you. Btw, I had the E17 for over a year and it never really had any depth in the bass for me. Goes to show how much importance good synergy can have I guess, haha.

Yeah, I'm going all stock, though and using it with the HE-500. Not optimal I'd say, the combination seems a little dull at times. Way better than the e17, though. It's in another league, and the HE-500 seems well powered, which it doesn't really out of the e17..
 
IMO the x-can did a great job getting the best out of the dt770 as everything sounded technically good and it was well powered. The synergy just wasn't there, and what I remember the best was the overpowering bass.
 
Found out that those tubes cannot be used with the x-can btw. Just for future reference.The pin-out doesn't match.
 
How do you folks around here find the pre-amp section?
 
Personally, I find it the headphones amp to be noisy for pretty much anything portable/easily driven. My tubes are also slightly microphonic.

 

[kxanthop]

Could I re-introduce the X-Can V8/Sennheiser HD650 pairing? I have just bought a pair of HD650s and was offered a really low priced (200 euro) X-Can V8+X PSU combo. From what I have been reading maybe the setup may not be be ideal since the sonic character of the two is too similar. Would tube-rolling tailor the sound? Many thanks!

 

[davidsh]

For 200 euro it's a no brainer. I paid at least 250 euro for the amp with stock psu