New Cavalli Audio Liquid Glass Amplifier - Fall Release - Page 26

 

Seems like my LG is fixed ^^.  No more humming and clipping with my Power amp for speakers.  Alex did an extra mod for me for the preamp.  Been enjoying music on my speakers all day with the LG as my pre-amp.

 

As for the ESW11LTD,  I think it sounds good and much better then the ipad CCK > leckerton combo.  Only downside is it isnt completely quiet.  On quiet parts or with the knob all the way down.  There is a little bit of fuzzy noise.  Not too noticeable.  Might be just too much gain with my Dac+LG or the tubes.  Also very light fingers,  like 7 o'clock on the knob.  I love how it sounds so far.  I need to get more tubes to match my setup.  Think I'll try out the Psvane cv-181 with my LCD-3 like JazzerDave said.  

 

My friend tried his PRMs on the setup.  He said he enjoyed it, except he wasnt completely quiet also.  I havent yet to try that yet.  Maybe later.

 

Emm Labs Dac2 SE > LG

 

Edit: I tried the ESW-11LTD with the stock tubes.  Its a lot more quiet.  

Edited by Hiyono - 3/3/13 at 5:17am

 

What was the preamp mod?  I left mine with Alex at the Austin meet.  And if I didn't already mention it, the RCA coin base 6SN7's are great for the brighter cans.  

 

I should also mention that we had a really big Cavalli presence at the Austin head-fi meet.  We had two LG's, 1 LF, 1 LL v1, and 1 LL v2.  It seemed like lots of people got some good head time with the LG's.

Edited by jazzerdave - 3/3/13 at 9:34pm

Heard this in Dave's rig yesterday (and also with my DAC and headphones). I think it sounded on par with the BHA-1 in ability. The tubes in it gave it a smoother sound at expense of detail in comparison. Tubes that would appeal more to me would likely end up sounding similar to what I have. There is a chance it could sound better with just the right tubes, but I'm not really interested in spending the time (and additional money) to do so. Then there's the price to consider. I preferred the GS-X to both BHA-1 and LG so I am making moves in that direction.
Edited by Maxvla - 3/3/13 at 9:39pm

Hate to say it Max, but I'm kinda skeptical. Would you say the Balancing Act is on par with your BHA-1? Because I felt the LG was almost on par with the ECBA.

Edited by MuppetFace - 3/3/13 at 10:12pm

Only heard a BA in Denver with unfamiliar equipment. I first heard the LG with Dave's Denon as source and thought it had potential. Brought over my DAC and it improved, but not as much as I expected.

The LG can sound completely different depending on which tubes you use because the amp is designed to give you the exact sound of the tube. Tube rolling will have a much, much bigger effect on this amp than a lot of other tube amps.

Yes, I understand that, and even admitted so, but I'm not really interested in tube rolling, also as stated. Even when I had tube amps (LD MKIII, LD MKVI) I never tube rolled. Not interested.

Not to nit-pick, but you sort of implied that even in the best case ("tubes I like") it would only be about as good as what you have now ("end up sounding similar to what I have"). Which is an amp that still costs 1/3 the price. And I was saying that kind of assessment is hard to make on an amp like this when you try it with one pair of tubes.

 

I'm jus' sayin'.

 

Anyway, I'm done crapping in a sponsor thread. I swear.

Edited by MuppetFace - 3/3/13 at 10:44pm

Hm. Poor wording perhaps.

By that I meant better than the BHA-1, not just better than what I heard from the LG.

And I really don't pay attention to prices when I'm listening. Not sure why you bring up that the LG has to be better because it's three times the price.

I didn't intend to start an argument or misunderstanding, whatever this may be, I just said I listened with the tubes that were in it, didn't like it as much and said I'm not a tube roller, and moved on.
Edited by Maxvla - 3/3/13 at 10:52pm

 

Actually I can relate somewhat since I used to despise tube rolling myself. The LG changed that for me personally, but obviously if you still dislike tube rolling then that negates one of the LG's biggest selling points. If you get another chance to hear it with the "right" tubes however, I recommend doing so as I think you might be pleasantly surprised. Once I find a few pairs of tubes I really like I don't plan on rolling much more after that unless I get a new pair of 'phones with wildly different synergy.

 

I think you know that I know price doesn't equal performance necessarily. I brought it up because you brought it up in your initial post as a reason for writing off the amp. That's why I mentioned it in explaining why I misconstrued your comment.

For the record, I pretty much went into it expecting Chris to prefer the BHA-1 and GS-X.  We both have different tastes and priorities.  However, I think we both prefer the HD800 vs the HE-6 or LCD-3.  I think Chris heard my LG with GE 6GU7's (which aren't all that bad for the HD800) and Siemens E288CC's (which are definitely a bad match).  With the time spent with his X-SABRE DAC being through the Siemens tube IIRC. 

 

One thing is certain.  If you don't want to do any tube rolling, the LG may not be right for you (applies to anyone - not just Chris).  Even for someone who just wants to find the perfect tube for their favored headphone and just stick with one set of tubes, you'll have to do plenty of tube rolling in the beginning to get to that level of comfort.

Like MuppetFace (and others before her) had said, the LG is uncannily sounding like the tubes driving it. I've never had an amp as responsive to tube changes as the LG and the little time I had available to spend with it was most certainly fun-filled. One of these days it will be packed and on its way back to Alex for the hum fix, but I hardly hear it on my LCD-3 so there's a certain lack of motivation doing so. 

 

ps Chris - not a personal attack, just using an example to reiterate dave's comment and my own impressions. 

 

..dB

Some people just don't want to hassle with tubes. This amp isn't meant for them. The LF is, or LAu for that matter. 

 

I love it (it's my favorite HD800 amp), but after gaining a better understanding for the way Chris listens after this meet (mainly when he came over to listen to the Harbeths) I get why he doesn't like it. 

It's not that I despise it, really, I just choose not to go down the rabbit hole. I went into the meet knowing I was far more interested in the LAu than the LG, but wanted to give the LG a try, especially since the LAu is not ready. And I agree with Dave, even if you intend to get to where you are using one set of tubes for a long time, you still have to get there. I took your comment on price out of context, I think. The way I think when I'm evaluating gear is sound, then form and function, then lastly price. It's just the last hurdle it has to make it through to actually be purchased. When I find something sounds similar to what I have with the possibility of being somewhat better, then I look at the price to see if that potential is worth the increase. In the case of the LG it's another 1/3 over even the GS-X, and getting it better than the BHA-1 would require rolling.

Yes, I still stand by those impressions. Really liked what I heard there. I'm going to build one of the EC DS style kits when they are available as my first DIY build to see what it sounds like. Being at a trade show I couldn't really swap out the Boulder CDP to isolate the amp for impressions. I've still never heard as perfect a center image with planar headphones (of any kind) as I did on that Boulder/DS combo. Thinking back though, the center on the HE90, Jades, and HE-60 from the A-10 also sourced by the Boulder were fantastic as well. Perhaps most of the magic was the source?