The Cavalli Liquid Carbon

Both lower margin products (Schiit) and frequent discounts on higher margin products (Cavalli) seem like viable strategies to get repeat customers to me.

Jason explained his reasoning for not choosing the discount model pretty well in his book IIRC.

 

I think there are two sides to the coin. A lot of companies tend to take existing customers for granted. I can appreciate that Cavalli is doing something extra for their current customers. On the other hand, it seems like the lifetime warranty was enough of a gift for the Carbon owners. To offer a discount only to Carbon owners rubs salt in the wound of each and every person who wasn't able to get one. Maybe I would have ponied up for one of those other amps, but now I'm being told they want me to pay full price while someone else basically gets a free amp if they buy two ($599 being the price they paid for the Carbon). Leaves a bad taste in my mouth.

 

I was thinking more from the standpoint of someone who might've thought about getting the Carbon and didn't because they were looking to get a higher buck amp in the future. But then again, it'd be almost as if they got the Carbon for free. Guess I jumped the gun on this one, get the pitchforks and BBQ sauce!

Want me to buy one for you and sell it back for a hundred less than I got it for?

 

Taking into account that the Carbon was available for pre-order months before it finally sold out, I don't think Cavalli is shafting anyone who didn't get in on it. The discount is like a loyalty perk for those who shelled out Carbon money but had to wait months for their product to be delivered.

As was pointed out in the thread, one or more of those higher-end amps were offered at significantly more discount earlier at RMAF/CanJam, to sell off inventory of their prior production runs. There's a decent chance they may do the same for units left over from this last final production run of their current lineup.

For me, even the least expensive one at $2,400 after discount is way too much $$$ to even consider.

 

Like everyone, I like a good deal. But I agree that fixed prices that are reasonable is the least stressful. Trying to time purchases or needing to negotiate and feel foolish if you didn't do a good job is its own pain.

 

I replied to the HF thread stating my concerns. Warren very nicely replied and asked for some time to confer with Alex and formulate a response. I made it clear that I'm not trying to get something for nothing, I just wanted them to know how things looked to people who didn't get a chance to get a Carbon.

However, Warren also said that the discount would transfer to resold Carbons, even if that same Carbon had previously been used to get a discount by a previous owner, so I agree that Cavalli isn't shafting anyone.

 

Hopefully they can accommodate you in some way, however things work out.

 

Part of the calculus is that not very many people will take advantage of it in the first place. I would think that many of the folk who could afford the higher end amps would just get those amps instead of doing an intermediate step of getting a carbon. For many of us, me included will probably end up with or something similar in price tier of the carbon.

That said, it's a decent PR move from Cavalli.

 

I know this is an old post but I really meant the infinity. I however do not know what DAC chip I have. Can you provide the name of the newer DAC chip so I can check with LHLABS to see if my infinity has that chip? Sorry for the OT question.

 

The Infinities use the 9018A2QM chip, which is also used in the V2/2+ and Geek Soul. It's a more polite, far less sabre-y chip than other 9018 versions I've heard.

 

So chances are if I have an infinity that's the chip I have. Thanks! Fwiw I liked it w/the carbon. Didn't sound harsh to me.

 

If you have an infinity, it's definitely the chip you have. I actually found the Infinity + Carbon combo to be almost a little too laid back - which surprised the hell out of me given my prior experiences with Sabre-based DACs. Need more Sabre units like these.

 

I felt it was a little laid back as well but with good snap because of the carbon. I am reviewing the Nuprime and I think that the reason it sounds laid back could be my DAC.

 

Finally since two weeks I have the Liquid Carbon here with me in the Black Forest in Germany... The first one got stuck in customs due to some EU regulations issue. Alex took care and did send me a second one which passed. The whole customs procedure took a lot of time, though... I must be one of the last customers to get his amplifier...

I am happy! I mainly use a Concero HD dac with it which makes for a really sweet transportable setup. My main headphone is the Audio-Technica ATH-W3000ANV with balanced Forza audioworks cable. Some people warned me it would not scale much, but I do think it has benefitted greatly. The sum of the parts is great to my ears with good synergy and just so that for me some of the "magic" starts. Most of the time I add a tiny bit of EQ.
Some remarks:
- as for as SQ: Liquid Carbon definitely better than the V200 I had before. Less thick, better resolution and soundstage and no more rolled off highs...
- SE out does have some noise with sensitive headphones / in ears
- This amp is really meant to be used with balanced headphones / in ears
- A few steps up from the small Herus dac/amp
- much happier with this than with my Stax SR 307 which is sold now.

Anybody knows if the Concero HD would benefit from a good linear power supply?

 

I just made the horrible mistake of plugging in a SE plug into the SE jack when a headphone was already connected to the balanced jack.
This resulted in the amp instantly breaking. I'm getting terrible bass clipping in both channels.

Just sent a message to Alex. rip

 

Yikes.
This makes me afraid to ever use a SE headphone & balanced headphone during A/B test.

 

Sorry to hear about that, there was a warning about that over in one of the HF Carbon threads. Would think there would be some kind of detection mechanism to prevent the amp from actually getting damaged should both inputs be plugged in at the same time. I've almost done that a few times, luckily remembered at the last second that it's a huge no-no.

 

How awful! Hope they can fix that for you quickly.

 

damn, that's a easy mistake to make. I wonder if Alex can create a fix for it...