[warrenpchi]

Hey everyone, just performed a bit of thread maintenance to minimize confusion.  

 
All of the posts in this thread BEFORE this post were moved over from the "New Cavalli Audio Portable Amp officially in the works" thread.
 
All of the posts in this thread AFTER this post are native to this new thread that is dedicated to the Liquid Carbon.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

From the Cavalli Audio Facebook page:
 
"Cavalli Audio had a great time and a strong presence at CanJam SoCal 2015! We unveiled two new amps to the lineup, the no-compromise and highly anticipated portable, and the Liquid Carbon, a small desktop amp, perfect for stashing away for a commute to the office. The portable will have the naming contest, “Silicon” was simply for show use.
 
Both amps house the robust Cavalli sound, have fully discrete circuits, and very low noise floors - not to mention plenty of power on tap. Combine that with less than 1Ohm output impedance, and these amps are suitable for your most sensitive IEMs, all the way up to most of your full-size planars. Yes, the portable will indeed make sweet music with the LCD-X and others.
 
More details on preorders, timing, and the naming contest coming soon! Stay tuned in."
 
https://www.facebook.com/CavalliAudio?fref=ts

 
 
Thanks for starting this thread.  Can't wait for preorder details...

 

[AxelCloris]

After giving the Liquid Carbon a quick listen at SoCal CanJam I can say with certainty that I'll be getting in on the first production run. Man that was a killer sounding amp and an awesome deal for the price. I'd have to do some side by side comparison but initial impressions left me feeling that I could easily replace my Violectric V181 with the Liquid Carbon.

 

[vhsownsbeta]

After giving the Liquid Carbon a quick listen at SoCal CanJam I can say with certainty that I'll be getting in on the first production run. Man that was a killer sounding amp and an awesome deal for the price. I'd have to do some side by side comparison but initial impressions left me feeling that I could easily replace my Violectric V181 with the Liquid Carbon.

Some great first impressions from those that have been fortunate enough to audition the carbon. I will be putting down for one of these too. It ticks all the boxes for me.

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

  Just to confirm, what balanced outs will this amp offer? RSA and big XLR? 
 
Thanks!
 
Edit: Also, is the only balanced input the XLRs? It seems to be so. I'm interested in using this unit with my AK120II. I'm not sure, but I think that means there would be no feasible way of getting balanced signal out of my AK and into the Cavalli. 
 
I guess I could just go mini to mini (3.5 mm) single-ended. Would that have significantly worse sound than a balanced connection? 
 
Sorry for all the basic questions; I'm new at this and still trying to learn a lot. 

 
I believe you will need an adapter cable to use the A&K's 2.5mm balanced headphone out to the balanced input on the Liquid Carbon.  Until we see a firm layout of inputs and outputs, I wouldn't spend a dime on any interconnects...

 

[zachawry]

   
I believe you will need an adapter cable to use the A&K's 2.5mm balanced headphone out to the balanced input on the Liquid Carbon.  Until we see a firm layout of inputs and outputs, I wouldn't spend a dime on any interconnects...

Yeah, I imagine, but I haven't seen any 2.5 mm to double-XLR connections, and I've done some looking. 
 
Then again, even though the only balanced input for the prototype  was the balanced XLR, maybe there will be something like an RSA/ALO input in the final device. That would be really nice. 
 
I'm relatively new to all this, but I really wish there weren't so many standards for connections. 

 

[zachawry]

If the amp is so close to production, can we at least get a list of input/output ports? 
 
I'm putting together a system right now, and I want to make sure it's compatible with the new Liquid Carbon, since I intend to get it eventually. 
 
For example, on the video I think I see an RSA/ALO balanced output. Is that what it is? Can I be reasonably sure that output will be on the final model? 
 
If so, I might want to change a custom cable order I have already submitted to an RSA/ALO termination. 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

 
Yeah, I imagine, but I haven't seen any 2.5 mm to double-XLR connections, and I've done some looking. 
 
Then again, even though the only balanced input for the prototype  was the balanced XLR, maybe there will be something like an RSA/ALO input in the final device. That would be really nice. 
 
I'm relatively new to all this, but I really wish there weren't so many standards for connections. 

 
I know my buddy Brian at BTG Audio can make those, and many others custom cable makers can too.  I'm kinda in the same boat as I will want to use my Cypher Labs Algorythm Solo db as the DAC for the Liquid Carbon, which would mean I'd need an RSA to dual XLR, as I see it so far.  So, I'd be a fan of an RSA input to go along with the output I already see on there....

 

[Stillhart]

This amp was really impressive sounding.  The LC with the Chord Hugo was one of the best sounding setups I heard at the show (along with the Yggy/Rag, LAu/Vega, and ALO CDM).

 

[runeight]

The jacking has gone through several iterations and we are getting close to a final configuration. Please keep in mind that the amp is fairly small and it's not possible to accommodate every single useful jack. There will have be some tradeoffs which try to cover the maximum possible arrangements.
 
Input: Standard XLR input (L,R) balanced. 3.5mm and RCA SE. SE is converted to balanced inside the amp. I don't believe you will hear much difference although I always prefer to go balanced in if possible.
 
Output: 4 Pin XLR and RSA (Kobiconn connector) balanced. 1/4" TRS SE. And remember that when you are using the SE out you are only using half of each amplifier on each channel. This reduces the power output.
 
There is almost no room left on the front for another jack. There might be room to squeeze a 3.5mm TRRS jack on the back, but it will be just barely if I can.
 
I have made RSA to XLR adaptors for using my Solo. It's a bit of a pain, but I would guess that a custom cable manuf would have these or could make them fairly easily.

 

[zachawry]

  The jacking has gone through several iterations and we are getting close to a final configuration. Please keep in mind that the amp is fairly small and it's not possible to accommodate every single useful jack. There will have be some tradeoffs which try to cover the maximum possible arrangements.
 
Input: Standard XLR input (L,R) balanced. 3.5mm and RCA SE. SE is converted to balanced inside the amp. I don't believe you will hear much difference although I always prefer to go balanced in if possible.
 
Output: 4 Pin XLR and RSA (Kobiconn connector) balanced. 1/4" TRS SE. And remember that when you are using the SE out you are only using half of each amplifier on each channel. This reduces the power output.
 
There is almost no room left on the front for another jack. There might be room to squeeze a 3.5mm TRRS jack on the back, but it will be just barely if I can.
 
I have made RSA to XLR adaptors for using my Solo. It's a bit of a pain, but I would guess that a custom cable manuf would have these or could make them fairly easily.

 
Thanks for the reply! 
 
I would prefer a smaller option for balanced input like the RSA, but I'm grateful for your response. 
 
I'm unclear about one thing: Even if I use SE input like the 3.5 mm, I can still get balanced out? I thought that SE input always resulted in SE output. 
 
Thanks for any clarification. 

 

[runeight]

The RSA connector is convenient, but it is not as universal as standard XLR connectors. Using XLRs will most likely make connections easy for the largest number of people.
 
Yes, even if you use 3.5mm SE or RCA SE, the amp will convert the SE signal to a balanced signal before sending it on to the amp sections. Since each amp section is now being driven with a balanced signal, they will provide the full balanced out.

 

[Cryok95]

When is the expected production date/time frame? I know pre-orders will be in a few weeks.

Very excited for this amp.

 

[dusk]

will the liquid carbon have balanced in?
 
I'm thinking about grabbing a hugo TT as a preamp/dac and then running this out to the carbon.. or something similar.

 

[runeight]

Yes, it has balanced in through 2 XLR connectors.
 
CryoK95, we are not exactly sure of release day, but based on all previous runs of Cavalli amps, I would guess about end of Summer.