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CTH Boards and Kits Now Available

post #1 of 99
3/16/09 at 11:37pm
Thread Starter 
The boards and kits for the Cavalli Audio Compact Tube Hybrid are now available. For information about this amp read this thread:

Compact Tube Hybrid

This amp is a very small tube hybrid amplifier with the following features:

1. Tube stage with automatic servo that permits rolling many different kinds of common tubes not just a single rare tube type
2. A switchable heater supply that supplies either 6.3V or 12.6V
3. A discrete output stage with a discrete rail splitter
4. A HV multiplier that lets the tube run at 80V B+
5. An AMB e12 with indicator LEDs to tell you when the amp is ready
6. A compact board size of just 120mm x 75mm
7. All from a single 24VAC wall wart

This is a lot of circuitry packed onto a very small board.

Boards and kits are available from:

Spruce Canyon Labs

and more information is at:

Cavalli Audio Compact Tube Hybrid

This is a great amp and much more flexible than many of the current hybrids that are available.

I'll let the prototypers chime in on their results.
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post #2 of 99
3/16/09 at 11:56pm
Honestly this amp sounds so good I have trouble getting to bed. Every night I'm home I explore my music collection and find new things I've never heard before. The transparency and speed of this amp is incredible.

Right now Im listening to Portishead - Dummy .flac's through an Aliendac into the CTH with Sonicap GenII .22ufs and an Amperex 8416 pumping some re-cabled Sextetts. Yum. Listening to this album I am hearing knew voices I never knew existed in the background. They must have been hidden behind other notes mushed together in my previous amps.

The bass hits super hard and fast without being dominate, thats what I like most about this amp. The highs sparkle and the mids smooth out the in-between.
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post #3 of 99
3/17/09 at 12:09am
Im interested but cant seem to find a price anywhere on the site. It says to click on "options" but that page errors out.
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post #4 of 99
3/17/09 at 12:26am
Options works fine for me with Firefox.


YUMMMMMMY
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post #5 of 99
3/17/09 at 12:47am
Hmmmmm, very interesting. I was going to build me a Staving Student but this look promising too Seems to be about the same price (minus the casing). What about performance wise (or vs other hybrids)?
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post #6 of 99
3/17/09 at 1:02am
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3nom View Post
Hmmmmm, very interesting. I was going to build me a Staving Student but this look promising too Seems to be about the same price (minus the casing). What about performance wise (or vs other hybrids)?
I have the SS and the CTH...the Starving student is not even in the same class as that of the CTH. The CTh is simply a much much superior amp..
Given the 19J6 tube non-availability, the E12 protection circuit on board this fella, the CTH is even more attractive...
The option of rolling so many tubes is what really takes the cake..its a tube rollers dream..effortlessly brings out the subtleties of each tube and is extremely resolving...
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post #7 of 99
3/17/09 at 1:16am
Guess ima get rid of my 19J6's and build this amp then lol
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post #8 of 99
3/17/09 at 1:35am
So the "kit" is $140. Does it come with extras not listed? Because if you add up all the parts listed (with the case being $14) it comes short of $90.
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post #9 of 99
3/17/09 at 1:46am
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3nom View Post
So the "kit" is $140. Does it come with extras not listed? Because if you add up all the parts listed (with the case being $14) it comes short of $90.
I think the kit consists of everything you need for the amplifier except the power supply.
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post #10 of 99
3/17/09 at 1:58am
The Mouser BOM alone is around $80, not including tax and shipping. The $40 listing includes two parts (the Digikey parts) that I'm assuming are not found in Mouser.
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post #11 of 99
3/17/09 at 2:09am
Quote:
Originally Posted by ShinyFalcon View Post
The Mouser BOM alone is around $80, not including tax and shipping. The $40 listing includes two parts (the Digikey parts) that I'm assuming are not found in Mouser.
yeah..those two parts are not available from mouser..only from digikey.

honestly the kit price is very attractive considering that I spent just a little over 140$ for mine..though mine is the larger case which is like 2$ more than the one being offered with the kit.
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post #12 of 99
3/17/09 at 2:23am
OOOOH... I see, the $140 kit includes both digikey AND mouser parts which includes EVERYTHING for the build, ok, ok. lol
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post #13 of 99
3/17/09 at 2:32am
Quote:
Originally Posted by v3nom View Post
OOOOH... I see, the $140 kit includes both digikey AND mouser parts which includes EVERYTHING for the build, ok, ok. lol
Yes...everything..except the power supply which is additional as stated on the website.
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post #14 of 99
3/17/09 at 3:55am
This is a very nice amp. It's small, and sounds great. The tube options are nice and gives good flexibility. You'll be very hard pressed to beat it. I haven't critically compared it to my SOHA 2, but with the same tubes it's a bit hard to discern the difference. There isn't anything not to like here. The price is great. This amp sounds big in a small package. It easily drives all my headphones.

I hope builders that are looking to move beyond a CMoy or something a little smaller will give this amp a try. It definitely surprised me.
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post #15 of 99
3/17/09 at 3:57am
Does the full kit come with pre-drilled top panels?
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