Stereophile's review of Musical Fidelity X-CAN V8

[Asr]

Written in Sam Tellig's column in September 2008 issue of Stereophile. (The October issue just hit my mailbox so I'd say this is open to post now.)

Musical Fidelity X-CAN V8 tube headphone amplifier...and line stage?

If a local dealer has Musical Fidelity's new X-CAN V8 headphone amplifier ($550), by all means audition it. This is easy to do. All you need are your ears, the space between them (plenty in my case, according to David Janszen), and your headphones.

There was never an X-CAN V4, V5, V6, or V7. The previous model was the V3. The implied improvement is as if the X-CAN has leapt five generations, from V3 to V8. It's easily the best X-CAN yet from Musical Fidelity, and one of the best headphone amps at any price.

The X-CAN V8 measures 7" W by 3.5" H (including feet) by 9.5" D. The matching, optional X-PSU V8 power supply ($500) is the same size. Fit and finish are to a higher standard than previous X-CAN models.

Like the V3, the X-CAN V8 has one pair each of RCA line-level inputs and outputs that simply receive the incoming signal and send it back out, replacing "lost" tape-monitor outs. It would have been better for many users had these line-outs gone through the V8's circuits and volume control. The X-CAN V8 adds a USB input on the rear panel, and a source toggle switch (USB/Line) on the front. And instead of just one, there are now two 1/4" headphone jacks.

The Burr-Brown PCM2706 USB interface and DAC engage only when you use the USB input, which is said to work with Windows 98 or later, and Mac OS 9.1 and beyond. I had no problems with OSX 10.3.9.

Features are lacking: No remote control. Just one pair of line-level inputs. The headphone jacks lack individual volume controls. When you use the standard wall-wart power supply, there's no on/off switch. (The optional X-PSU V8 power supply has a proper on/off switch.) But, as Musical Fidelity's Antony Michaelson points out, the whole idea behind the X-CAN V8 was to avoid "feature bloat," and keep the sound quality high and the price as low as possible.

Like earlier X-CANs, the X-CAN V8 has a double-triode input stage: one ECC88 (aka 6922 or 6DJ8) tube per channel. However, this is followed by something new: a solid-state, class-A output buffer stage that "uses the same output transistors as our A-1 integrated" amplifier, according to Antony. "It won't produce dozens of watts, but the actual circuit topology is that of a power amp, and it has an output impedance of less than 1 ohm. Every headphone amp I've measured has an output impedance of well over 50 Ohms, while most headphones have an input impedance of well below 30 ohms. The result is, the heapdhone amp will not drive the headphone. The headphone cones don't flop around when you use the X-CAN V8; the cones do what the amplifier tells them."

As Mr. Bagnet said in Charles Dicken's Bleak House, "Discipline must be maintained." The benefits of such discipline include a better ability to drive long lengths of cable, and according to Antony, flatter frequency response regardless of a headphone's impedance. He claims the X-CAN V8 can drive any dynamic headphone, including AKG's discontinued K1000 - but excluding Stax's electrostatic models.

You could buy an X-CAN V8 and PSU V8 and put them in your office or bedroom. Plug in your laptop and play CDs on its disc drive, or rip them, lossless, to the hard drive. If you have WiFi, you can access Internet radio, too.

I have neither laptop nor WiFi, but I do have a Mac mini in my office. I used the X-CAN V8 via a USB port on the Mac. Some CDs I simply played, others I ripped to my hard drive. I don't have much experience using a computer as a source, but I give the nod to a great CD player or external D/A converter. The sound via USB was quite acceptable, though, and I loved the X-CAN V8 with Internet radio.

Most of the time, however, I listened in our living room, feeding a Cary CDP 1 CD player straight into the X-CAN V8's RCA line inputs. I used the AKG K701 headphones, which make it hard to listen to any others. (My budget faves, the Audio-Technica ATH AD700s, are pleasant and spacious, however. And so comfy. AKG's headband tends to chafe the top of my scull.) I tried other 'phones, which only confirmed that the AKG K701s are truly special. They set a reference standard for me, but they can't perform their best without a great headphone amp - which the X-CAN V8 is.

Right from the get-go, with the standard wall-wart power supply, it was obvious to me that the X-CAN V8 is a great advance over the V3. Resolution through the AKGs was extraordinary. I could hear every detail of a recording, whether I was meant to or not, including edits and urban traffic noise (there is no traffic noise at our home). The midrange and high frequencies were exquisite.

The AKG's midrange and treble were superb: smooth and sweet, and combined with utter clarity. Most other headphones sound dark and muffled by comparison. Driven b the Musical Fidelity, the AKG's bass had such depth, fullness, and authority that I could scarcely believe I was listening through headphones. My son, who also owns a pair of AKG K701s, at first was almost unnverved by the bass response through the X-CAN V8, wondering if it was for real or an exaggeration. It's no exaggeration, as it can be with certain bass-heavy headphones. It's for real.

You'd have to pay tens of thousands of dollars for comparable sound from loudspeakers. But with an X-CAN V8, a great CD player or external DAC, and a great pair of headphones, who needs speakers? Soon, you might not need the CD player or the external DAC, either.

Now, about the X-PSU V8 power supply: Earlier X-series supplies won't work with the V8 series, including the X-CAN V8. Is the X-PSU V8 worth the extra $500? Only you can say. On its own, with its supplied wall wart, the X-CAN V8 is a stellar performer. It's easily the finest headphone amplifier I have heard for under $1000 - and it goes for only $550. But maybe you should turn it into an $1050 headphone amp by adding the X-PSU V8 power supply.

With the X-PSU V8, the bass tightened up. Dynamics improved slightly. The music emerged from an even more silent background - you know all that business about preamps and power supplies. In addition, the X-PSU V8 gives you an on/off switch, which is handy if you believe, as I do, in turning off equipment - particularly to prolong tube life. Experience with previous versions of the X-CAN has shown me that the tubes will need to be replaced in two or three years if the amp is left powered up all the time. So I don't.

According to Antony, the X-CAN V8 is fussy about tubes, so you may want to buy your replacements from Musical Fidelity or its US distributor. Tube rolling is discouraged. That's tampering! The manual warns: "Remember, never open the case of the X-CAN V8, as this will invalidate the guarantee."

Open the case? Who, me?

I can confirm, from much past experience, that ECC88 tubes are inherently twitchy. The ones inside the X-CAN V8 have been selected and tested by MF. Don't replace them until you have to, which should be a long time if you don't leave the unit on all the time. I wish Antony had put an on/off switch on the X-CAN V8 itself. You can always buy a wall switch at an ironmonger's shop (Antony is British).

I decided not to tamper, but to have some fun and do something else I wasn't supposed to do.

Never mind that the X-CAN V8's line outputs simply pass through the input signal. There are two other line-outs: those two 1/4" headphone jacks. Using an adapter - 1/4" headphone jack to twin female RCA plugs - I connected the X-CAN to a Cary 120S tubed power amplifier, which turned the X-CAN V8 into a tubed line stage. Whereupon Antony performed some measurements to determine whether there was any reason I shouldn't do this.

As it turns out, there was none - other than a somewhat awkward connection from the front as opposed to the rear panel. CAUTION: Be sure your power amp is off before you make any connections or disconnections and before you turn the X-CAN V8 on and off. The X-CAN has no protection delay circuitry. Be sure its volume control is set to a minimum. This is common sense with any line-stage preamp.

I laugh my evil laugh. This headphone amp did a heckuva job, as President Bush said to disaster honcho Michael Brown. The sound was full, dynamic, and sweet and tubelike way, without cloying. I was enthralled - especially considering the price.

It became obvious that the X-PSU V8 power supply enhanced the X-CAN V8's performance as a line stage as well - dynamic range, bass control, overall clarity. I don't want to overstress this point and tell you that the optional power supply is a must - or "mandatory," as Kal Rubinson likes to say. But how cheap can you get? With the X-PSU V8, the price is $1050 for a cracker-jack headphone amp with its own onboard USB DAC and a spiffy line-stage preamp.

[Tachikoma]

Can't they find someone who actually listens to headphones to do the review?

[Asr]

The world would implode if anyone at Stereophile actually listened to headphones most of the time.

[guzziguy]

Yes, when it comes to headphones, I give markl a whole lot more credence than Sam or anybody else at Stereophile. That shows how little credence Stereophile gets.

[Torpedo]

Sam Tellig is an audio ignorant who happens to have a lot of power inside Stereophile. Have you noticed that NONE of the components Sam reviews are ever measured? His "reviews" are always rave but vague, uninformative and never straight to the point. I know from reliable sources which I can't disclose that he has economical interests with some manufacturers and that he has been responsible of dropping products from Class A to class B, which he not even listened to , just to make his "related products" to look better than they're.

He's the paradigm of what high-end audio, magazines and most manufacturers have become, yet another consumist area where quality and performance aren't important, just keeping the wheel fueled to get as many morons buying as possible

On the other hand John Marks at Stereophile is quite reliable, he has his taste and you may agree or not, but he doesn't invent things, nor raves about products he's not even listened to.

[deepak]

Yes, when it comes to headphones, I give markl a whole lot more credence than Sam or anybody else at Stereophile. That shows how little credence Stereophile gets.

What about M Fremer? He has a $120000 vinyl setup with K701s

[4N6]

Yeah, I love and hate Sam Tellig's "reviews." He is an entertaining yet uninformative read. I have been reading his columns since his "Audio Cheapskate" days, and during my high-end audio infancy I followed a lot of his advice (Spica TC-50 speakers powered by a B&K ST-140 amp...wish I still owned those pieces...). I no longer trust a thing he says, however, mainly for the reasons mentioned above.

[Sherwood]

I agree with the assessment about John Marks. He actually downplayed a class C component (though, mysteriously, it's still class c) in the last issue.

Marks is my favorite read in that rag.

[omendelovitz]

What about M Fremer? He has a $120000 vinyl setup with K701s

ROTFLOL;D