Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp

@Bill-P mentioned he can touch his toob while it's on. But then, maybe he has fingertips made of asbestos.

 

I can confirm- the tube is only mildly warm to the touch when turned on, it feels about the same temperature as the chassis immediately around the tube.

Popping the tube out right after turning it off, it's a fair bit warmer towards the pins, borderline 'hot'.

 

[Biting tongue in not responding to the phrase "touch his toob"]

 

Now that I've properly burned in the amp and tube, I wanted to leave a few more impressions particularly for use with other headphones.

My earlier comments on the performance of the CTH with the 650 still hold true and my opinion has not changed. The pairing with CTH/650 is exceptional. The strengths of the 650 are well catered to by this amp. The tone of the 650's midrange is brought out beautifully by the CTH. There is a "layering" from vocals that I typically don't hear with the 650 until I get into $1k+ range of headamps. But honestly, this was my expectation based on what I'd already read about the CTH from Tyll and members here that I trust.

What I wasn't expecting was how good the CTH sounds with the hd800. I've only had the hd800 back in house for a few days, but my initial reaction to this pairing is that it's equally as good as the 650 pairing if not a little better. There is a wetness with the CTH that seems to satisfy the hd800 and bring out the good stuff that is always there...lurking...waiting for the right amp to make it happy. Yes, I've heard the hd800 sounds better on big boy amps, but the performance from this combo is befuddling given the price of admission.

I enjoyed the Vali 2 with both of these headphones as well. But the CTH does more for these headphones that the Vali 2, even with a very nice NOS tube.

Next, I moved on to ETHER Flow and Aeon Flow open. The CTH is "almost" as good with these two efficient planars as it is with the high impedance Senns, but not quite. The overall dynamics with planars and bass response is slightly subdued compared to much more expensive amps. I'm splitting hairs a little here. I would have no real issue calling the CTH my regular headamp for the ETHER Flow. With the Aeon being just a little harder to drive, I'd be more on the fence with the pairing. Possibly a careful tube swap to one with higher gain could eliminate this issue. I know that tube depot offers this particular EH tube, so I ordered one. Just got it about an hour ago, so I'll burn it in and see how it fairs.

The bottom line for me with the CTH is that it offers impressive performance for the price. Tonally the signature is accurate and engaging. CTH does sound staging better than most anything I've heard or owned below $500, which I also appreciate and enjoy when using it.

I'm having a hard time finding any serious faults with the CTH. Certainly for the cash outlay, it's very very good. The 1/4 jack is still rough when plugging in headphones and I wonder if others feel the same way. Maybe I have a defective jack...not sure. I've decided that it bothers me enough to reterminate my headphones to 4 pin balanced to circumvent my issue with the SE jack. I plug and unplug headphones a lot so I suppose that it's worth the hassle to me.

It would be nice to have a pre-amp feature or even true balanced offering, but again...I'm not complaining at this price.

 

So, with the AFO do you still prefer the CTH to the Vali 2 even if it's still not your ideal?

I'm still looking for the AFO's soulmate at the sub-$400 price point.

 

I'll check this out again tonight to be sure. I would put CTH ahead with everything that I have here, but it might be about a tie with the AFO. Let me double check this though....

 

I got in on the Sennheiser HD6XX drop and liked the phones. I already had 2 Audio Technica open backs (700 and 900) and a modded Fostex RP50. Saw the Cavelli drop, read all I could about the man and his products, and got in on the drop. In the meantime I bought a Schiit Magni 3 and it was much better driving the Senns than my LH Labs Pulse Infinity, that works sometimes, and the phones sounded great.

So, the CTH came in, nicely packed, and, once it warmed to room temp, I plugged it in. No smoke, fire, or jello, so I put a cd in my old Toshiba DVD and turned on my Ack! dac v.2. Sennheisers plugged in and "Damn, this thing sounds great!" With the Sennheisers, I can hear micro detail from discs that I have owned for years. There is depth and air to the sound field. Just a great combination. Even the Fostex sound better on this amp.

I have about 25 hours on it now, and it sounds "smoother". Bass seems to be tighter. The amp has lots of punch. When I get it fully broken in, I'll try a couple of NOS 6922 tubes. One appears to be a Siemens, the other a Mulllard. Both labeled RCA. I also have a Tesla 7DJ8, but I'll be wary of that one. Tube vendors swear it a sub for the 6DJ8 / 6922 but they also add the caveat "in most circuits" or some other weasel words. If anybody has experience with these in the Cavelli, please post.

Good to be here.

 

@dirt Congrats on the CTH. FYI I've rolled many NOS tubes on this amp and keep coming back to the stock tube.

 

The CTH is now available on Massdrop

https://www.massdrop.com/buy/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-cth-tube-hybrid-amp

 

And f**k it I want this. 2-3 day shipping is awesome.

Probably refurbished units but oh well.

 

Probably units that were left over when they let a bunch of people switch to the MCTH+SDAC combo that came out after the MCTH was released. Just guessing.

 

How does the MCTH do with IEMs? I pair Andros with Jot when I want really good isolation, but I'd like better soundstage. Too much to expect out of a tube hybrid?

 

Didn't know it was 2-3 day shipping! I'm less outraged by the $25 for shipping then.

Hopped on as soon as I saw it, worst case I want whatevers coming out in march more and can sell this pretty easily.

 

You guys in CONUS are lucky. Mine shipped 3 weeks ago and has been taking the scenic route across Siberia the last 2 and a half without checking in. If you just ordered, you might get yours before I do

 

I am just a noob here, but this is a fantastic value for $250 without the 6 month wait I went through. I have bought and sold a number of amps over the last 12 months: Lyr 2, Burson Conductor, Simaudio 230HAD, Teac HA-501, idsd black and I would say the CTH was easily the most enjoyable of all these. It may not be the most resolving, but it just draws you into the music. Currently working on setting up an Acopian power supply I got off ebay, so maybe it will get even better. I never used the stock tube, but the Vokshod 70s tube and Siemens 6922 grey shield both sound great in it.

 

MCTH with EH 6922 temp at tube glass exterior reaches 115 °F / 46 °C
EH 6922 plate measures 145 °F / 63 °C on internal plates with IR sensor.

That stinks. You are in for a treat when it does arrive.

 

Not refurbished- I guarantee this.

 

@CEE TEE I am very happy to hear that. Thanks for reaching out!

 

Ordering one