The Cavalli Liquid Carbon

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by maxedfx, Oct 17, 2015.

  1. Kattefjaes

    Kattefjaes Mostly Harmless

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    Have they actually made any tweaks to that Carbon X? I wasn't a huge fan of the original, despite the early fervour.

    (I assume that someone has already heard it..)
     
  2. Mdkaler

    Mdkaler Friend

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    Very short answer, again quoting @CEE TEE on MD:

    "Sonically, this is the Liquid Carbon. With improved volume pot and power supply implementation."
     
  3. jexby

    jexby Posole Prince

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    @CEE TEE is killing it at MD!! congrats to you CT man!
     
  4. Luckbad

    Luckbad Traded in a unicorn for a Corolla

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    I get people being mad about the CTH and not knowing one with a DAC inside was on the way, but why are people who ordered the CTH mad about a Liquid Carbon? Completely different amps.

    If @CEE TEE Claus gets a Liquid Crimson X made I will lose my mind.

    I get people being upset about resale value going to hell, but come on. Massdrop is getting great gear into people's hands for less than ever before. Am I mad that the HD6XX costs less than half what I paid for my HD650s? Nope. I recommended them to several friends who've been on the fence for years.
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2017
  5. muse

    muse Facebook Friend

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    Massdrop products have been one of the best things to happen to this community in recent years. All offerings so far have been superb value, both in terms of SQ and build quality.

    So far I've recommended one HD6XX, one HE350 and one LSR30X to friends/acquaintances and they could not be happier with what they received.

    I once recommended the Pinnacle P1 (my own daily drivers) to a close friend of mine who was willing to fork out 'quite a bit' on a new pair of earphones, but $200+ was too much (which it is to most people). Then came along the Massdrop Pinnacle PX, and now he's in for one.

    I get that some people are upset about resale value, but Massdrop made audiophile stuff have really bridged the gap between the audiophile community and general consumers. Even for the former, good sound at unprecedentedly low price points forces other manufacturers to response likewise with their own gear. Hopefully the term 'bang-for-buck' doesn't get throw around so flippantly any longer. It's a great shakeup.
     
  6. AllanMarcus

    AllanMarcus Friend

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    already there is a LCv1 on HF for $400. The fall begins.

    There was a bit of "semi-portable" aspect to the LC that the MDCX doesn't have, but my guess is that most don't travel with the LC
     
    Last edited: Sep 11, 2017
  7. Armaegis

    Armaegis Friend

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    I just don't get the hype behind the LC. I've heard it a couple times now and... well, I don't dislike it, but it doesn't make me weak in the knees either. Does anyone remember what the issue was in the early runs that caused noise on the single-ended outputs?
     
  8. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    There were two issues, a pot imbalance and a power supply issue. I believe it was the power supply that needed to be replaced if you had too much noise. I don't think it was ever completely silent with the single ended output though, Jot was substantially quieter.
     
  9. JustAnotherRando

    JustAnotherRando My other bike is a Ferrari

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    If you read the comments in the drops, it's pretty clear that a lot of people don't have much of a clue what they're buying*- there's one question along the lines of 'if the Carbon X is stackable with the CTH + SDAC, can they be used together?'

    So it's really easy to confuse people. More choices can just mean more confusion for some people.


    * This also applies to me, but I can at least Google.
     
  10. Rikk009

    Rikk009 New

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    Apologies, I misread.
     
  11. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

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    So this or CTH for hd650?
     
  12. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    CTH or Jot.
     
  13. Jmunandar

    Jmunandar New

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    Interested in both of these questions.
     
  14. Grahad2

    Grahad2 Red eyes from too much anime

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    The latter is not a question.
     
  15. Jmunandar

    Jmunandar New

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    Ah got it. He was replying to the former.
     
  16. ButtUglyJeff

    ButtUglyJeff Stunningly beautiful IRL

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    I wouldn't buy anything labeled "Carbon" specifically for the HD650. I'm not trying to say its a bad amp, there just isn't great synergy between the two. Its too laid back a pairing...
     
  17. el1x

    el1x New

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    That question is being asked because of the SE Pass labelled on the back. There was mention of feeding both amps from the one DAC via the SE Passthrough.
    I believe that along with the image of them stacked is where some of the confusion is coming from.
     
  18. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    I wouldn't turn people off of LC and the 650, especially this price AND if they had a balanced cable. The signature when paired with 650 is coherent and punchy sounding. Not as good over single ended though. The LC comes up short with the 800 doing the treble spike no favors with it's own extended tendency in the same area in the upper register.

    The real issue with the LC (original) was the production issues with the pot. One of the dealers for the LC was a friend and I got to see just how many of the amps he sold came back for issues with the pot...it was not good.
     
  19. JoshMorr

    JoshMorr Friend

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    I would advise against hd650 / LC combo as well. One of the few times I really disliked the hd650. Way to grainy and warm for my tastes.

    I know people are excited to try out a balanced amp, but there are many other amps that would come to mind before this in the price range (valhalla2, vali2, maybe the garage1217 amps).
     
  20. Ice-man

    Ice-man Friend

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    Meh, I didn't get the whole "grainy" description tbh but to each their own. Your hearing may very well be better than mine. Aside from the grain, that I don't hear, the synergy between the LC and 650 remains quite good in my book and I would consider buying the amp at this price. Plus the synergy goes up a good bit with Ethers which I like.

    Valhalla 2 was too dry for me. Never tried the Vali 2 (wanting too though). Garage 1217 were just NO good for me.
     
    Last edited: Sep 12, 2017

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