Cavalli Liquid Crimson technical measurements

Liquid Crimson technical measurements

If you are unfamiliar with audio measurements please use a search engine with the query:
"audio measurements" or "audio measurement handbook"
Look for publications by Richard C. Cabot and also by Bob Metzler, both from Audio Precision. There are other useful publications as well. These will provide basic knowledge.
Interpretation of the following measurements is beyond the scope of this post.

The data presented were collected as follows:

1. PrismSound dScope III, picoscope 5243B
2. 300 ohm loads used for measurements to 4XF connector on Liquid Crimson
3. Unbalanced cables Worlds Best Cable Gotham GAC-2 RCA
4. Vaunix Lab Brick USB hub for measurement equipment
5. 0 dB gain @ 0.775 Vrms 0 dBu except as noted, typically -16 dBu (0.122 Vrms)
6. Liquid Crimson gain switch set to High
7. Liquid Crimson gain knob at approximately 12:00 to achieve 0 dB gain
8. Shielded power cords for all equipment

Reference:
0.775 Vrms @ 30 ohms is 20 mW producing approximately 101 dB SPL in HE-500 with sensitivity of 89 dB/mW
0.775 Vrms @ 300 ohms is 2 mW producing approximately 101 dB SPL in HD650 with sensitivity of 98 dB/mW
0.122 Vrms @ 300 ohms is 50 uW producing approximately 84 dB SPL in HD800 with sensitivity of 97 dB/mW

Highlights:
Extraordinarily clean; low residual noise, high bandwidth, fast transient response, low distortion.
This is one of the few amps that will never depart my acoustic lab inventory.

Picture of the Audio Lab setup for Liquid Crimson / Bottlehead Crack


300 ohm load part 1 of 3

Liquid Crimson square wave 20 Hz 2 Vpp 10 mS / div 300R load


Liquid Crimson square wave 20 Hz 2 Vpp 10 uS / div 300R load


Liquid Crimson square wave 20 Hz 2 Vpp 1 uS / div 300R load


Liquid Crimson amplitude - phase - gain (A01) 300R load


Liquid Crimson signal to noise (A07) 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N THD nth harmonic distortion (A04) 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N THD nth harmonic distortion (A04) with FFT 300R load


Liquid Crimson Crosstalk (A08 A09) 300R load

 

300 ohm load part 2 of 3

editorial - I believe there is a tendency to focus too much on numbers such as THD attempting to reduce a complex topic to a single number representing a sort of goodness rating. Graphs can present far more data conveying a better understanding of the measurement over a range of frequency, levels, etc.

Here are graphs for the various measurements

Liquid Crimson Frequency Response and Interchannel Phase pg 1/2 300R load


Liquid Crimson Frequency Response and Interchannel Phase pg 2/2 300R load


Liquid Crimson Gain vs Amplitude Left 300R load


Liquid Crimson Gain vs Amplitude Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N vs Frequency Left 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N vs Frequency Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N vs Amplitude Left 300R load


Liquid Crimson THD+N vs Amplitude Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson Crosstalk Left to Right vs Frequency 300R load


Liquid Crimson Crosstalk Right to Left vs Frequency 300R load

 

300 ohm load part 3 of 3

Liquid Crimson THD THD+N vs Frequency with 1 KHz spectrum Left and Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson 1 KHz spectrum Left and Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson 50 Hz + 7000 Hz spectrum Left and Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson 600 Hz + 1700 Hz spectrum Left and Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson IMD spectrum Left and Right 300R load


Liquid Crimson residual noise spectrum Left and Right 300R load

 

reserved 4/7.

30R measurements will go in posts 4 through 6 when I have time to measure again.

 

reserved 5/7.

 

reserved 6/7.

 

reserved 7/7.

 

What am I going to do with the pretty pretty graphs for things that I can't ever get?
Is there a word for audiophile blue balls?
It's probably German if there is one.

 

I am listening to those measurements right now. It really does wow with how clean it is.

 

You can compare them to the graphs for the MCTH when I obtain one and measure it.

 

audiophiler Kavaliersschmerzen

 

@atomicbob, thank you for doing this. The amp is out of production and heading toward unobtanium, but it is also kind of a cult thing, and there are a few owners around, and several that have heard it. It seems to be a solid reference.

Edit - stock Genalex?

 

Genalex is a safe bet since he never rolled that tube out. I switched back to it for now as well.

 

massdrop x liquid crimson seems to be the solution ><.

 

Yes, stock Genalex. Sounds pretty good to my ears.