[KevDo]

Hi,

New to the forum and new to the headphone side of audiophilia (i may have made that word up).

I bought myself a set of Grado GS1000's and i bought a Musical Fidelity X-CANv3 amp in the meantime (was saving for the Zena Deux? or similar) as it sounded like a good compromise between solid-state and valves as i love the natural sound from valves but the sonic ability and detail from solid-state..

I mean, although i'm using little Chord Crimson interconnects with it just now which are also new and were free the sound reproduction was astonishing at first listen, at first i thought something was wrong because there was a low level buzzing but it turned out to be the recording. Anyway after a little Roger Waters - Amused to Death and similar CD's they really impressed me..

My only wonder is, should i have bought the X-canv3? i tried the output from the Arcam A85 (using my best interconnects from the CD player here) and to be honest there didn't seem to be much of a noticeable difference, it may even have opened up the soundstage a little bit more, too.

As i know the Arcam phones-out is constantly on, not like my linn kolektor where it turns off if phone's aren't plugged in so this would have had years of run-in by now. I presume the x-can needs a good run-in as well as my interconnects but i was just wondering if valve amps really come into their own after a good run-in period even more than solid-state? only other valve amp i had was a stereo-integrated amp which was already secondhand.

 

[Mindless]

The X-Can v3 isn't a bad amplifier in any way. Quite the opposite. I'd consider it the best (or one of) bang for the buck amplifier around.

It's just that amplifiers around here (for some reason) have gotten so much overexposure. They are important, no doubt about it, however, the differences pointed out when using one amplifier vs. another amplifier are greatly exaggerated in my opinion. The difference is there, however it's in many cases so minute that some people start questioning the value of their newly purchased amplifier.

There are often small elements in the music that change in the music.; call it desireable coloration. That's what you pay for.

If you feel unsatisfied with your X-Can v3, it's just a matter of looking at a different amplifier.

Out of curiosity, what source are you using?

 

[KevDo]

yeah i also thought that the differences would be small ones, unlike speakers where sometimes the difference is very obvious. That test was during the day so probably not the best time to listen for minute differences.

An Arcam CD73 and a Reson RS-1 Turntable (few mods) with a Goldring 1042 cartridge.

The headphone output from the Linn is surprisingly not that good, voices seem to lack power and sort of fade too much behind the music.

 

[mrarroyo]

The V3 benefits from a beefier PSU, for example the Little Pinkie. Also a pair of Russian 6H23-EB tubes would help.

 

[blessingx]

The GS1Ks are an insanely picky amp. Not just to sound their best, but to sound good period. I've heard a lot of amps with the Grados (including the Grado RA1) that showed the GS1K weird response curve more than work with it. It's possible the lack of difference in your two situations may be due more to the phones pairing than the quality of the amps themselves. While the X-Can is well-respected, it may not be best for this Grado - I don't know I've never heard them together.

 

[mrarroyo]

I have heard them together, did not like it. But the problem to me was the GS1000 which regardless of the amp I used (tube, hybrid, or ss) it sounds horrible. The GS1000 has lots of bass and treble w/ no mids. I let them burn in well over 300 hours and they did not improve. Sorry.