rotosoundz

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
4.50 of 5, 8.00 votes

Price Paid:  $180.00 from Ebay

Summary:
First off...alittle about myself.....so you can get an idea of my tastes and experienc in HiFi...

I am 53 and started my interest in HiFi at age 8 with an old motorola tube phono...that had a central woofer and detachable mid/tweeter speakers...I worked at a stereo store for 3 years and have owned numerous systems incorporating Marantz, Pioneer, Sony, Kenwood, Harman/Kardon, Denon and finally Yamaha...Speakers were normally Altec lansing, EPI, Ultralinear, Infinity.....Cd players have been Harman/kardon HD7725....Denon DCD1529...Denon DCD838 and the NAD C 541i...wont even go into the cassette and turntables...as there ere several of each.


I purchased my Musical FidelityX10-D tube buffer about a month or so ago...also installed the upgrade kit....the difference was night and day.

A previous reviewer said a downside to the buffer was no power switch...simple solution is to put the power cord into your SWITCHED OUTLET on the back of your reciever/integrated amp.Now that we cleared that up.....I'll get on with my review.

I am currently using a NAD C541i single play CD....Yamaha AX-700 integrated amp...and a pair of Infinity Crescendo CS-3006 speakers....I have everything wired using Monster Cables. I hooked the buffer inline between the CD player and amp.

The maker of the mod kit suggested waiting at least 100 hours of playing time before giving this buffer a fair listen. That enables the new circuits and caps to "burn in" to the buffer. I have done that. Normally, the NAD is pristine, and the bass is tight but lacks mass. The highs tended to be very piercing and brittle....with the modified buffer....the sound is so much warmer and the bass has a very nice natural sounding depth to it...the highs are smooth and warm....very in balance with the rest of the music....the mids have a sweet definition....the imaging is very defined and detailed...without going to the extreme of being crisp.....Now I removed the buffer...just out of curiosity....and the difference was amazing....I noticed the listener fatigue I was previously used to and accepted as the nature of the beast. With the buffer, listener fatigue is gone....I can listen to my system for hours on end and never grow weary. Naturally, your better recordings will sound fuller....as they would even without the buffer....Is th mod kit worth the $90???? Most definitely....the kit is to the buffer...what the buffer is to your system WITHOUT the buffer...it makes that big a difference....

My system is far from the super systems I have seen and read about in various reviews.....but it more than meets my needs and sounds excellent to my ears..My listening area isn't huge...so large speakers and a massive amp aren't a requirement.

In summary....I would say...if you have a CD player and you invested maybe $500.00 in it new....you could run out and spend $2000.00 for a new state of the art player....complete with tube output stages to warm up that digital output....but you can achieve the similar effect by snagging a tube buffer along with the mod kit for a fraction of the cost. Get your soldering gun and electrical skills warmed up and do the mod yourself....You'll be very pleased with the results.

Strengths:
You really need the mod kit to fully realize the potential this buffer can achieve......It works acceptably by itself....as I said earlier....the mod kit is a difference of night and day.

Weaknesses:
There really aren't any to my knowledge......the unit was very well designed and put together solidly. You need to let the buffer warm up for at least 5 minutes each time you turn your system on. So the tubes can heat up. That is very minor and barely worth the mention.

Similar Products Used:
BBE Sonic Maximizer .....nice...but not even close to what the tube buffer does....you cant substitute the sound of real vacuum tubes.

DavidKennaway

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
2.00 of 5, 1.00 votes

Price Paid:  $160.00 from Ebay

Summary:
I have been into Hi-Fi for years moving from great analogue systems to poor CD sounding systems with all ther clarity but metalic sound. My current system is a Musical Fidelity CD1 palyer, Musical Fidelity A100 class A amplifier, Musical Fidelity MC2 speakers (Bi wired) and a Sony 100 active sub. The overall sound was detailed but glassy and I was looking for that elusive analogue sound without the narrow range and detailed and without noise. So far an expensive 10 year experience. Looking in Hi-Fi mags I was interested in a valve option to change the sound. I brought a X10-D on Ebay with the hope it would turn my Hi-Fi into my dreams. When I connected it between the CD and amplifier I expected to hear a subtle difference. I was blown away, the change in sound was astonishing. The detail remained but the vocals were beautiful and the sound stage improved beyond dreams. Listening to Katie Melua, like I am at this moment the vocal is so sexy and the air around the stringed bass is fantastic. This is like being in a smoky night club and she is on stage in front of you. This is the sound I have been looking for, it is beautiful. It works the same for classical and rock. At this moment I am listening to 'Ten Million Bicycles' and it is so real she is in the room with me. I will never part with this device. Buy one and you will never know how you listened without it. Half way up the Hindu Kush is now on and it is the best HiFi I have listened to!

Strengths:
Changes the musical experience from digital to beautiful. The most simple but most musical upgrade you could ever buy.

Weaknesses:
No way of turning it off.

Similar Products Used:
einstein sound processor

Discriminator

Overall Rating
 2 of 5

Value Rating
 1 of 5

Used product for
1 to 3 months

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 7.00 votes

Price Paid:  $300.00 from Audiogon

Summary:
I bought this tweak in hopes of improving the sound of my system (obviously). I tried it in three applications: my primary CD player, and hHB CDR-800; between the passive preamp and amplifier sections of my Acurus DIA-100 Mark II, and on the output of a cheap 5-disk changer primarily used as a digital out to feed the hHB Pro recorder, a Sony SCD-CE595. I listened to several CDs in each application and repeated the test on three different days. When using the X10 v3 with my hHb, I noticed a significant degradation in sound quality. There was a certain artificial smoothness to the sound but the detail was obscured or missing. Music was not as compelling and it no longer sounded as if the artist might be in the room. It was not easy to tolerate for long. When inserted after my passive preamp section, the X10 v3 imparted a somewhat tube-like sound which some people might find pleasing. When listening to recordings of live acoustic performers whom I have seen and heard dozens of times, however, it was clear to me that the sound was distorted. It simply was not as accurate and true-to-life. It lacked in high end clarity and the bass was muddied. Attacks and decays were not natural. At best the X10 could be viewed as artificial sweetener. All in all the sound fidelity was not as good as it was without the X10. With the cheap Sony CD player, however, I did notice a significant improvement. The X10 is transformative in this application, but the sound is not in the same league as the hHB. To summarize, the X10 significantly degraded the sound of my high quality CD player, somewhat degraded the sound of my preamp/amp, and removed some of the harshness of a very cheap CD player. My recommendation would be to save your money towards a good CD player. Even a mid-level Denon would probably sound much better than a cheap CD player combined with the X10. It's also annoying to me that they didn't provide a decent power supply for it and they expect you to go out and buy that, too. I am not impressed with Musical Fidelity as a company based on this experience. Your mileage may vary!

Strengths:
It looks nice Can improve a cheap CD player

Weaknesses:
Primarily adds distortion Very little upside potential Cheap power supply

Similar Products Used:
N/A

afan

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Visitors rate this review
1.00 of 5, 3.00 votes

Price Paid:  $0.00 from 0

Summary:
I had a Denon 2910 and was tryig tell myself the Video part is good enough to keep the DVD player. My friend broght me this little tweak. To my amaze, It make the music live. The fidelity comes out. I then hook up a cheap JVC DVD player. It does the same magic. For those who wonders a expense DVD player can do, this is a very inexpensive way to improve most system around 2-3K. Even wonder why tube amplifier is still a main steam of audio world, this little guy is the prove. My wife ran into the family room. She heard the rain drops and thought it was raining.

Strengths:
I have no interested in strong bass. I want a nature sound and relax in the musical world. I have no interest in Whitney Houston screaming, but she was actually expressing a story.

Weaknesses:
It is an entrance point for HI_FI. Don't take it comparing to real high end yet.

Price Paid:  $100.00 from ebay.de

Summary:
Had severe problems running the X10-D in the beginning since I got a used one in mint condition device from the UK. Power supply and sockets are different in continental Europe so I had to organize an adapter to implement the X10-D into my system. It took quite a few days, but finally, I succeeded! I was overwhelmed by the performance of this little "can". The Muscial Fidelity X10-D is connected between my harman/kardon HD740 CD-Player and an integrated amp T40 from british Highend manufacturer Myryad. Interconnects to/from X10-D are silver-coated Oehlbach NF214. Speakers are Acoustic Research B15 on Apollo AZ6 stands with biwiring terminals connected to 2 pair of Kimber 4TC cables . Sounds impression is massive and I got seriously stunned when I first listened to Sara K. & Chris Jones LIVE Concert (stockfisch-records.de). The clarity and deepness of the sound stage is absolutely amazing. It seems as if the sound sources vanish into the room as if you're experiencing the concert real live. As reported here earlier, the highs don't sound this analytical and due to this "you begin to feel intensified!" I cannot understand why Musical Fidelity discontinueed production of these "really" improving sound devices. My recommendation is: "Grab one of those X10-D!" - it's a excellent upgrade of your sound system.

Strengths:
Clarity and deepness of sound stage!

Weaknesses:
None, detected so far!