The Cavalli Liquid Carbon

What!!! Clem were is your he6?

 

Well, not at work...

 

It sleeps next to me always, don't worry
(it's not even using the better leashes you see in the back. Shame. Shame. It's amp is missing, anyway ^^)

 

ok the universe makes sense again.

Can you try carbon --> he6 for kicks.

 

Quick first impressions, out of the box: Smooth, tight, fast, neutral. Incredibly logical, simple and efficient layout - bravo. Listening on LCD-2.2 and my new (used) HD800 w/Anax mod. Holding Audeze's fat bottom tightly in check (hmmm, that's an image... must meditate on this...).



I'll let it cook a bit, more later...

....fat bottoms....

 

girls you make the rockin' world go 'round.



Sorry, couldn't resist the Queen pun.

 

Listened for about 45 minutes today; MacBook Air/Audirvana/Concero/Carbon/UERM (SE). Brandenburg Concerto No. 5 (Münchener Bach-Orchester, K. Richter cond., a 192/24 vinyl rip, followed by about half of Disc 2 of the new Brad Mehldau live solo set. Initial impressions are quite favorable. That little hint of metallic glint that the Concero sometimes provides to pianos? Nope, nuh-uh, nyet. Harpsichord in the second and (especially) third movements of the Bach seems less grainy than I'm used to. Instrumental timbres are generally dead on.

So far, so good. Need to take my little Schiit interconnects to the office with me tomorrow to reduce cable clutter, and maybe take my 800.

 

If someone can, can they compare the Liquid Carbon to the Valhalla 2?

 

Weird that they didn't include feet.

 

I don't know exactly what it is, but the Carbon just feels better than the Magni. Something about the sound is just easier across the whole range. Cymbals are, well.. more real? Bass is different, I'm not sure if it's tighter or what, but it just sounds more like bass than the Magni. Quieter sounds in recordings appear a bit more forward and easy to hear. I was under the impression that there would be a tiny difference that I might not hear, but it just sounds more enjoyable than the Magni in all aspects. When it fully breaks in I'll try and do some comparisons directly. Or maybe I'll wait 'till I get a Gungnir Multibit for that.

 

Also, you can look straight through the amp from the front to the back via the XLR output. I didn't regret my decision before, and now I'm REALLY happy I got it.

 

Very happy so far... been running constantly for about 48 hrs. Surprisingly, I can't honestly hear much change, except it "feels" like it's even more neutral.

 

burn in and enjoyment should come first, dissection and critique second.

 

Due to current computer issues again, I've been limited on listening to the chain listed below. Eventually, I'll get to where everyone else is with burning in and such.

 

Boy, I am definitely reserving judgement on this amp till the 200 hour mark (or was it 150 I forget). Because brand new, vocals on mine are super recessed. But I did hear improvement after a mere 2 hours....

 

So how would this compared to the Meier Corda Rock for a neutral but warmish solid state counterpart to the Magni?

 

Would somebody who has his/her Liquid Carbon already be so kind to post the dimensions of the unit without the protruding volume knob and cinch connectors. I want to assemble some kind of semi open casing around my Concero dac, so that the Liquid Carbon will nicely fit on top, and I can easily move that combo around.

 

16.5 cm D x 13 cm W x 4 cm H. It runs warm, so I would strongly recommend a couple of cm clearance on top and on both sides.

I have my Concero on top.

 

Thanks so much! Yes I will be careful to leave enough space and circulation possibilities for heat dissipation for both the Cavalli Liquid Carbon and the Concero HD.

 

That's interesting, mine is warm, but not all that warm. So I have about 150 hours on it now and it's sounding quite good. I don't know that I have anything to add to my initial impressions though, not much of a change that I've noticed.