Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp

I use tdsl for tube data http://tdsl.duncanamps.com/tubesearch.php

You guys need the liquid glass , that amp was designed to roll all variants of tubes.

..dB

Not sure about the valhalla, I am referring to the CTH circuit in particular

 

Don't want to sidetrack this into a tube tutorial, but which value(s) in particular raise the alarm bells? I assume "Ih" is heater current, and "Va" is plate (anode) voltage. Totally understand if this is too complicated to answer. I guess the list of "close or identical" tubes is plenty.



I can't seem to be able to find specs for the 6B27 on either tdsl.duncanamps.com or frank.pocnet.net, nor by doing a Google search. Does it go by another name?

I guess it worked all right for the time @Hands had his test unit. @dBel84 are you saying that even if it works initially, it may result in premature aging (or death) of the amp over time?

 

Look at the pin assignments on the two diagrams.

I suppose you could run the electricity for the heater directly to the anode, but I don't think it would sound good.

Or I could be reading that wrong. *Shrug*

 

When he said you couldn't use a 5670 in place of a 6922, I don't think he noticed you said you would be using an adaptor on the 5670 that allows it to be used in place of a 6922. He's correct in saying you can't directly replace a 6922 with a 5670, but with the adaptor that converts the 5670 pinout to work in a 6922 socket, you should be fine. I am using a Western Electric 5670/396A and an RCA 5670 in a Garage1217 Ember with the adaptor and it sounds great. There has also been mention here on SBAF with people using the Western Electric 396A with the adaptor on the Schiit Vali2 which specifies a 6922 and saying it provided the best sound they had heard with that amp. I plan on using the 396A with adaptor on my CTH after I receive it.

 

I believe the CTH circuit is designed specifically for the 6922 family of tubes and that the leeway for tube rolling is very limited. I'm sure @dBel84 understands the need for the adapter with 5670 tubes. My understanding is that the 5670 with adapter is not electrically optimal for the CTH. Perhaps, it could even cause damage to the amp? I do not know.

I too have used 5670 family tubes with adapter in my Vali 2. The Garage1217 amps (particularly Sunrise and Horizon) are also very condusive to tube rolling. I don't think one can assume that every amp will be as flexible.

Addition: Check out posts #349, #350 at https://www.head-fi.org/threads/massdrop-x-alex-cavalli-tube-hybrid-amp-cth-dropping-monday.857673/page-24

 

No wonder you were banned (or not).

 

^Definitely needs a bourbon and a nap^

 

REPORTED.

 

I don't understand the need to tube roll on amps after just receiving them. Seems like it would be time well spent to listen and learn the sound nuances of a new amp and the tubes that came with it.

 

This is what I originally planned to do, but @shotgunshane's FS listing came up so I thought what the hell. I'll play around with them and then pass on the ones that don't work well with it. Could end up I just keep the stock EH.

 

March 2018 reporting in... as I just took delivery of my own MCTH.

And yeah, now I hear it this way, with the same headphones that I used last time, plus the addition of a modded HE-4XX and HD800.

Weird. Maybe someone at Massdrop took to heart what you said about tube burn-in and left this thing to burn for the last few months?

I took delivery of this amp on Thursday, and then on Friday, I brought it over to @brencho's place again so we could listen to it again, because seriously, it sounds very different from how I remember the last we heard it.

Yesterday, we had the MCTH on the bench against Zana Deux and Aficionado, and while it wouldn't win any clarity award, it was a very easy listen, even when paired with the Utopia on hand. That's high praise because I think Utopia is a pretty hard pairing. I thought only Zana Deux Super could pair well with Utopia, but I think this MCTH is another potentially good pairing. Everyone at the meet was quite surprised at the tonal balance and performance from the little thing, I think.

So at least I could confirm with the guys that it wasn't just me going crazy. The MCTH that I received was closer to what @Hands described, which is basically an amp that's warmer and noticeably less bright than Jot. Hell, it's so relaxing that I've been using it exclusively with my HD800, and I haven't felt the need to rip the headphone off my head yet no matter what sound/music I put through.

On that note, I can also now confirm one other thing: Modi Multibit mated with the MCTH is... brighter or harder/more glare-y sounding than GO2A Infinity with MCTH... for whatever reason. Maybe synergy? Now that I have the MCTH in the confines of my dungeon, I'd rate my budget setups as this in terms of decreasing brightness:

GO2A Infinity + Jotunheim (SE)
Modi Multibit + Jotunheim (SE)
GO2A Infinity + Jotunheim (balanced)
Modi Multibit + MCTH (SE)
GO2A Infinity + MCTH (SE) <- this is what I'm using with the HD800

I don't hear MCTH as having less bass extension or impact than my Jot at all... either out of SE or Balance. It sounds pretty bass-heavy, in fact. Jot does have cleaner bass, though.

So my impressions of the MCTH are now reversed: it's a warmish, darkish amp with very good bass impact to my ears. The cloudiness in the bass is a bit much for HD580 or HE-4XX, but it doesn't feel cloudy with HD800. In fact, with HD800, the overall effect is a nice bloom to a super tight impactful sound, which I was weirded out by at first, but over time, I've come to quite like it. It lends a nice "boost" to certain sounds while not diminishing the incisiveness of the HD800.

MCTH overall does sound a little more... smoky(?) (grainy?) than Jotunheim, I think. Jot has better transient and a faster overall sound, but sometimes it could sound unnatural versus the slightly blurry and imperfect MCTH that gives a bit of a "soul boost" per se to certain music. I probably wouldn't use MCTH for fast music, but for 99% of the stuffs that I listen to, I find the slight bloom it gives to be a welcome addition.

And that concludes my impressions of my own personal MCTH. Just two days and it's quite clear to me that it's going to replace Jot on my desk as the amp to drive HD800, which I'm starting to listen to more these days. It's not as fast, not as incisive, not as detail-oriented or robust, but I find its sound to be more agreeable to my ears, and I can listen to it for longer period of time, so that's a big plus.

In a nutshell: I've always wanted to mod one or two pieces of my gears... one way or another. Those who know me know that I do have this habit. This MCTH is at a point where I'm actually "scared" of making any changes to it, because I really love the way it sounds right now. Considering what I said about the amp the first time around, this is quite something.

One last side note: industrial design looks awesome. I'd recommend @CEE TEE continue to go with the same industrial designer for all future Massdrop collaborative projects.

 

Agreed with what @Bill-P said. It's uncanny. This mcth bill received sounds really nice, nicer than I remember the review unit we heard a few months ago. Very balanced and pretty clean sounding with some warmth. Was great with Utopia, and I'm sure Elex/Eclair as well...same goes for hd800 and hd600. For a budget setup id grab one for sure, or if I didn't want to go nuts and buy a ~1k+ amp (oh wait I've done that already). Would like to hear it again and spend more time, even compare to a few other amps that don't cost 5 to 15x it's price. Zana was more impactful and AF was cleaner and clearer but come on. Point is, it still sounded quite nice even coming from those two amps.

 

The tonality was surprising. I didn’t expect a Cavalli hybrid amp to sound as thick and rich as it does. I found myself really enjoying whatever I was listening to, and that’s all you can ask for. Especially at that price point it’s a steal.

 

I was pleasantly surprised that an amp at this price point could sound so good. I'll be picking one up when the drop is active again. Was tested alongside the Zana Deux and Aficionado with some female vocal jazz, and I might have been hard pressed to tell which was which in a blind test. The quality was that good across the board.

 

The tonality was similar to the Zana, but it didn’t really have the slam, the separation, and detail. The first thing that popped out at me was the smaller head stage, but it still has depth to it unlike the jotunheim. The bass was a bit muddy sounding but I could still hear texture and detail.

As Brencho said, it’s unfair to compare them, but that’s what we had there. I have a Jotunheim with me right now and I’d take the Cavalli over the jotunheim every single time. It’s just a more engaging amp.

Edit* I guess there could be a scenario where it’s too warm, but I haven’t listened enough to comment on it.

 

I've had my MCTH since Friday and have been running it exclusively with Gen 5 upgraded Bifrost MB and HD-650's. I loaned my Yggdrasil to my buddy while overseas for a couple of weeks and don't have it back yet. Previously I had been using a Magni 3 with the Sennheisers that I brought home from the office. While I love the Magni 3, there is an certain easiness to the sound of the MCTH that is missing with the Magni. I would agree with others comment about this being a slightly darker sounding amp, but I don't find it slow, boring, or artificially lush like I have sometimes associated with darker amps. The most immediate difference I heard with the MCTH over the Magni is the low level detail retrieval. It is really an engaging amp but that observation came with time. I sit down to listen to a couple of tunes and then find I'm playing the entire album. From Talking Heads to Joe Jackson to Kraftwerk to Rammstein... It all sounds great.

I don't think this amp needs much but I would still be curious as to what a DIY or aftermarket LPS could do.

This is the first Cavalli amp I have ever heard and I have no experience with EC or any of the end game level amps.