☯️ CAVALLI AUDIO ➜ Liquid Carbon Final Production Run!

[syn959]

You're probably right. Minor, at best. Thanks for checking on it!

Happy to be of service! Read your post at the right time. 

 

[iAudio365]

You're going to need to send it in for warranty repair and you should still be under warranty, as the v2 hasn't been out for a year. Cavalli will switch over the balance of the warranty from the original owner.

In other news, my amp developed channel imbalance this morning. Not even a week after completing burn-in! I switched inputs and immediately heard a pop on the left side of my cans. Fortunately, the headphones are fine, but the amp is going to need a repair...not terribly over the moon about it.

Anyone else who has been down this road: am I going to need to burn-in again after repair? Not sure if they will need to replace the board.

Also, what's the turnaround time?

Any update on your imbalance issue did you get it fixed? Was it a V1 or V2 final run cavalli LC you had?

 

[kellte2]

Any update on your imbalance issue did you get it fixed? Was it a V1 or V2 final run cavalli LC you had?

It was a v2, and thankfully, it was fixed. I was told by Terry that they replaced my input switch/chip. No more popping during input change and no more imbalance. Overall turn around time was about 10 days from shipping to receipt of the repaired unit.

Despite it being a bummer to need a repair after just receiving the unit (I bought this unused off a fellow Head-Fi'er), I am very pleased with the repair experience, and the unit sounds excellent.

 

[bronzboy]

It was a v2, and thankfully, it was fixed. I was told by Terry that they replaced my input switch/chip. No more popping during input change and no more imbalance. Overall turn around time was about 10 days from shipping to receipt of the repaired unit.

Despite it being a bummer to need a repair after just receiving the unit (I bought this unused off a fellow Head-Fi'er), I am very pleased with the repair experience, and the unit sounds excellent.

I had the same repair; replaced chip.  Sounds great now, but seems like there's a fair number of people encountering problems.  I don't know if this is normal for a new production run, or we're just more aware of problems because there was a large drop all at once, and we're all part of Head-Fi.

 

[bronzboy]

I agree.  My unit was repaired, but it's back home, and I'm very satisfied with the SQ.  The first run of LC was underpriced and Cavalli no doubt got hurt, but made good with the lifetime warranty and raised the price on LC 2.0; hopefully, to buy better parts.  A friend of mine bought a high-end Integra AVR and the company replaced the unit twice within three months, so for him third time was a charm. 

 

[Mediahound]

If an amp is not differential, it's not fully balanced and should not be marketed as such. Yet Cavalli states:

"It’s fully-balanced as well, on both its inputs and outputs.:

https://www.cavalliaudio.com/products/liquid-carbon-2-0-headphone-amplifier

 

[iAudio365]

I owned a LC for 20 minutes before returning it as the volume knob had not been attached properly and when turned it would be scraping something on the inside.

I really wanted to love it, perfect size, looks great but everything else aside it felt really cheaply put together there are a myriad of balanced issues amongst others reported, its one of the only amps I have ever heard of where people would just burn it in first thing soley for the purpose of making sure it didn't have the balanced problems. From everything I read and saw with the teardown on the other site I have to agree it's a ticking time bomb of wondering whether you would ever get an issue or not. Funny they gave life time warranty on the first batch, I would say doing that was more crowd control than "standing behind a product" , I feel sorry for the lc2.0 owners that are not so lucky and don't get the life time warranty.

Anyway I will never touch another one, this is not to say the rest of his product line is bad or the LC didn't sound great I'm sure it did, and if they decide to not cheap skate on the next one I will buy it, but the current lot going around I'd stay far away from.

 

[TSAVJason]

I owned a LC for 20 minutes before returning it as the volume knob had not been attached properly and when turned it would be scraping something on the inside.

I really wanted to love it, perfect size, looks great but everything else aside it felt really cheaply put together there are a myriad of balanced issues amongst others reported, its one of the only amps I have ever heard of where people would just burn it in first thing soley for the purpose of making sure it didn't have the balanced problems. From everything I read and saw with the teardown on the other site I have to agree it's a ticking time bomb of wondering whether you would ever get an issue or not. Funny they gave life time warranty on the first batch, I would say doing that was more crowd control than "standing behind a product" , I feel sorry for the lc2.0 owners that are not so lucky and don't get the life time warranty.

Anyway I will never touch another one, this is not to say the rest of his product line is bad or the LC didn't sound great I'm sure it did, and if they decide to not cheap skate on the next one I will buy it, but the current lot going around I'd stay far away from.

Yeah it was unfortunate that the first manufacturer of the 2nd generation wasn't really on it and caused a few to have issues like that. Fortunately it wasn't too many. I definitely understand your feelings about it though.

 

[iAudio365]

Yeah it was unfortunate that the first manufacturer of the 2nd generation wasn't really on it and caused a few to have issues like that. Fortunately it wasn't too many. I definitely understand your feelings about it though.

Well not sure who their using now to manufacture it but I got one last week and it went straight back. Was a high serial number as well so would have been made very late last year or early this year maybe.

I would love cavalli to do a third iteration and just do it right with quality components and make it actually fully balanced as the 2.0 is not and I can't understand why it's advertised as such, even if it costed $1200 I would get it.

But as it stands there is no way the current LC 2.0 is worth $800 not even close. Look at the Jotunheim for $2-300 less much better all round.

 

[TSAVJason]

Well not sure who their using now to manufacture it but I got one last week and it went straight back. Was a high serial number as well so would have been made very late last year or early this year maybe.

I would love cavalli to do a third iteration and just do it right with quality components and make it actually fully balanced as the 2.0 is not and I can't understand why it's advertised as such, even if it costed $1200 I would get it.

But as it stands there is no way the current LC 2.0 is worth $800 not even close. Look at the Jotunheim for $2-300 less much better all round.

There is no NOW. The run is over a while back. I understand being disappointed in your experience with it. It didn't stop Focal, they got in and dealt with the issues and got it right. Cavalli is on that same track.

 

[kellte2]

Well not sure who their using now to manufacture it but I got one last week and it went straight back. Was a high serial number as well so would have been made very late last year or early this year maybe.

I would love cavalli to do a third iteration and just do it right with quality components and make it actually fully balanced as the 2.0 is not and I can't understand why it's advertised as such, even if it costed $1200 I would get it.

But as it stands there is no way the current LC 2.0 is worth $800 not even close. Look at the Jotunheim for $2-300 less much better all round.

You had a bad experience and I'll give you that, but having not heard the sound of the LC, how can you weigh in on whether the Jotunheim is "much better all round"?

 

[LajostheHun]

These guys don't listen to the equipment, they look at it.

I did the opposite I've listened instead of looking the inside photos yet I came to the same conclusion as them, several of them did owned the V1.FYI

 

[LajostheHun]

You had a bad experience and I'll give you that, but having not heard the sound of the LC, how can you weigh in on whether the Jotunheim is "much better all round"?

Having owned the LC v1 I would recommend the Jotunheim as well. It certainly is a better deal no question.

 

[earnmyturns]

Having owned the LC v1 I would recommend the Jotunheim as well. It certainly is a better deal no question.

I own both a LC 2.0 and a Jot. Ordered the LC 2.0 as soon as it was announced, but while I was waiting for it the Jot was released, and I got one right away. I had to send back the LC when I got it because of a scratchy volume pot. After it got back and burned in, I did a lot of comparisons with the Jot that had arrived in the meanwhile. I preferred the Jot for modern jazz, the LC for strings and voices. Since I listen to lots of jazz, I listened to the Jot a lot more and the LC was sitting there cold. A couple of days ago I decided to return to it for a while to compare with my first impressions. I let it warm up for a day. However, even after that it sounded much less convincing than the Jot. I don't think the Jot got better, I can only assume that months on the shelf made the LC's components drift somehow. Hum...

 

[chowmein83]

Jotunheim is the better deal, for sure. As for whether it actually sounds better - that's up for debate.