[albon86]

For the forum member wondering if putting 24Volts into the X1HA-EPx will provide better performance. Here is your answer...

The internal switched power supply that provides split rail to the amp electronics can only handle maximum 12VDC input.

It will make absolutely no difference to the performance because the internal switching regulator will always regulate the dual rail feed to the amp electronics at +/-12VDC. (that is 24V BTW)

DO NOT IGNORE the warning about the battery. If the battery is installed and you use anything else to power the amp but the charger it will likely blow the internal protection fuse on the amp board and then your whole amp will be dead as no power will get to the power supply.

BTW there is a thread open in the manufacturers forum where you can ask all your technical questions about the X1HA-EPx amps.

Hope this helps.

Any more questions, just ask.

 

[NightBird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by albon86 /img/forum/go_quote.gif For the forum member wondering if putting 24Volts into the X1HA-EPx will provide better performance. Here is your answer... The internal switched power supply that provides split rail to the amp electronics can only handle maximum 12VDC input. It will make absolutely no difference to the performance because the internal switching regulator will always regulate the dual rail feed to the amp electronics at +/-12VDC. (that is 24V BTW) DO NOT IGNORE the warning about the battery. If the battery is installed and you use anything else to power the amp but the charger it will likely blow the internal protection fuse on the amp board and then your whole amp will be dead as no power will get to the power supply.

Ok, well, that puts to rest that one.........I won't be mucking about with the power supply(it was just a thought

).

 

[Canuck57]

The more I listen to the XENOS the more I love it. I highly recommend it!

 

[Morph201]

Nice! And it only needs minimal burn-in.. 24 hours at the most (?).

 

[MaN227]

one thing that strikes me as odd is that , SFS switch. Someone please point out whatever I may be missing about it. But, all I hear is the sound being pressed into the center of my head, the soundstage seems to just colapse, and everything from vocals in the mids to high cymbols seem recessed. as a matter of fact now that I think about it, it reminds me of some "boom box bass boost" where the bass is not boosted but everything else seems to be sorta muffled. .. All of this was much more noticable with the 701s then it was with the 650s. ... Now, ugly sh!t aside. The amp seems like there is alot of "headroom" to play with and has some very nice tight, quick bass. ... more to come.

Straight up, No fluff.

Peace,
MaN227

 

[dw6928]

I tend to agree. With 701s it took the edge off the instrument tracks and watered down the sparkle. I never use it.

 

[NightBird]

Quote:

Originally Posted by MaN227 /img/forum/go_quote.gif one thing that strikes me as odd is that , SFS switch.. ... more to come.

Yep, my issue exactly. Your not missing anything......I posted the same issue earlier in this thread, and a reply that I got when posing the same question directly to Xenos which you can read in post #154 (page #8) in this thread. It should explain everything.

 

[Canuck57]

I find that the crossfield switch is really only useful for older recordings, like the Beatles which have an exaggerated stereo effect i.e., drums recorded in one channel and guitar in the other. On more modern day recordings it seems to collapse the sound stage, however, to each his/her own.

 

[MaN227]

I read that post 154, interesting, seems to say the same thing as I did lol . only thing that explaination is from someone wanting others to buy it.

I'll stick to what I said about it. ,,, the "thats what speakers do" is well lets just say colored to seem better for the xenos. there is no muting of mids and or highs on ANY good speaker setup that I've ever heard. I also never once, while listening with my eyes closed, thought, felt or imagined I was sitting between two good speakers. Great Idea in theory though.

being as this is the first amp I've gotten with a gain, here is a silly question. is it easier on the battery to use the gain and play at 10 o'clock or to NOT use the gain and play at 2 o'clock? or is there any difference at all?

 

[Skylab]

I'm pretty sure the battery drain will be less in low gain mode regardless of volume control settings.

 

[dw6928]

I agree w/Skylab. My experience /gain settings and the Xenos
have been that I get about 20-25% longer battery life in the
low gain settings. I wonder what effect, if any, the SFS has
on battery life.

 

[NightBird]

Well, for my listening sensibilities, I just don't find any value in the SFS.....and I'd wager that most X1HA owners feel the same about it.
Listening with SFS switch on is, ostensibly, supposed to reduce fatigue when listening for extended periods, but I've experienced no fatigue at all listening for several hours at a stretch without it. Possibly, a primo amp plus primo 'phones equals no listening fatigue?

Quote:

is it easier on the battery to use the gain and play at 10 o'clock or to NOT use the gain and play at 2 o'clock?

I'd say that it really doesn't make all that much difference.......but, who knows? Anyway, that's not something that concerns me; the battery is covered by Xenos for a year, and a new Li-ion replacement isn't that costly. The useful life of the battery should be around 3-4 years, but if it's less....big deal

.

 

[meta03]

I had a chance to play with this amp for a week, and am seriously thinking about getting one. I don't really listen to music in a portable sense, and I have a great listening system at home, but I love the sound this amp has. Anyway, I wanted to give my opinion on the SFS. I was speaking to a friend of mine that's one of the two designers of Xenos equipment, and there is something of an idiosyncrasy to the SFS. Apparently there's a gain drop across the circuit when you turn it on, so it automatically won't sound as good, due to the whole initial "louder sounds better" effect. So I started swtiching the SFS in and out, and then adjusting the volume to compensate for the gain difference. When I did this, the SFS really started to shine, and I can definiately say it improves listening time without fatigue. Sounds awesome. Hope this helps any owners of this amp.

 

[dw6928]

I will give it a whirl tonight...thank you

 

[MaN227]

thanks for the replies about battery life folks.

@NightBird I was referring to hours on a charge not months or years life of the battery itself. I shall try to be more clear next time

maybe my view on this SFS has to do with my having expected it to do more? I don't know. I can see it being less fatigue using it as basically drops everything down. I guess if you don't have or want to use an EQ of any kind it could be helpful for recordings that are forward in the mid and high freqz. Or as stated earlier old stuff like the beatles where most sound seems placed at far right and left and not much centered in your head.

the low mid to the bottom is what I like best about this amp its very smooth, yet tight and quick, if those even go together to a headphile lol . but it just sounds correct and honest to me, I think moreso than any other amps I have tried. With the P1 being the most similar in that area.

on the gain, even with adjusting volume up for no gain, I perceive better bass with the gain ON, not in bigger bass just better. It seems like the bass is a tad recessed , while mids and highs seem a bit more forward in the No gain setting. and with gain ON bass feels equal to mid and high.

again I make NO claims of great ears, but these are my impressions as I hear them, your mileage may vary

mind you I may seem more critical of this amp , to me its with just reason, especailly now [EPC price increase] that its nearly 3 times the price of the others I have, to the door. I lucked out and got it ordered just before the increase.

Straight up, no fluff

Peace,
MaN227