[AlanU]

Very dangerous game you are playing!

Covering the sound of the hyper sabre dac with warm tube influence!

No different for any person seeking synergy amongst the components on hand.
 
Rolling tubes is one thing I find incredibly pleasing when I meet my objective of making my ears happy
 
There's different ways to approach in building a system. I prefer manipulating the source and leave the amplification to do its task of multipling the source. This allows some margin of the amplifier to have it's finesse and hopefully neutral or even a tad warm. My approach never concerns me of lacking current/power to drive my 2 channel system and as a newbie in Headphones I also take that same approach and manipulate the source. 
 
I no longer own a 9018 dac chipset for my dacs I own.
 
I currently take my Virtuoso's dac output and send it to my Grant fidelity B283mk2 tube processor and then send that output to my analog "I" of my Virtuoso input. To my ears its definitely a significant realism to female vocals, piano note decay, string instruments, trumpet etc. Doing this combo completely improves the SQ to my ears. 
 
Before I purchased the Virtuoso the Objective 02 amp was used in this same manner using my burson DAC. The Virtuoso has more finesse but the 02 amp  with my tube processor the combination was incredibly engaging and not far off from my Virtuoso. If I didn't purchase the burson amp I was on the verge of purchasing a Bryston headphone amp and would have liked that combo too.
 
The Violectric V200 sound to be a quite popular for being warm and laidback. My approach is to create the signal I want from a tube dac or in my headphone rig using a tube processor/buffer. I think as long as I want a laid back sound I can do that with the source and amplifiy it with a neutral amplifier.
 
On the same note I'd tweak cabling if you find an amplifier too laid back. From using silver coated copper or silver interconnects and for power cords adding rhodium plated AC ends leans out the heft of some tube configuration amplifiers. There's a risk of making the sound too lean with that sort of cabling.
 
Nothing "dangerous"....this is what this hobby is all about  
 
This is no different why there are so many Head fi people out there owning several different pairs of headphones. Different "speakers" have different character.  
 
If i jumped for the liquid carbon I think I'd love it.......after I do my source manipulation by adding pleasant distortion/harmonics. This is no different if you compare Cavalli's hybrid liquid glass products. Throwing the signal in the analog tube does wonderful things

 

[aarontyson]

Just got back from Axpona / Ear Gear Expo. Mr. Speakers had both the Liquid Carbon and the Liquid Crimson on display with their Ethers and Alpha Primes. I also brought my HE-400i's with me to the show and thankfully Dan let me use the Carbon for an A/B test. First thing you can't forget is the HE-400i's is not in the same league as the Ethers. Secondly my HE400i's are SE and the Ethers are Bal connections. With that said here are my impression with about of use 1/2hr.
You really need a balanced connection if you want to get the full impact of the Carbon. With the gain set to either 1 or 3x it made no difference too me and the noise floor. It is dead quiet! With the 400i's I really had to turn the vol up all the way to match the output level of the bal ethers. The balanced output plays much louder. The amp to me sounds neutral  to a bit warm and really reveals the source material you are playing. Thankfully the dac in use was a AURALiC VEGA, because it played flawlessly on every sample I played. The build quality is top notch, the design is very appealing, very Cavalli feel to it. The only difference between the Carbon and the Crimson I felt was the power and volume levels between the two. I am very satisfied with what I will be getting waiting till August. In the mean time I also purchased an Emotiva DC-1 at the show too so I could get a fully balanced DAC for only $450 with the show discount. I am currently using a Schiit Bifrost Uber no USB at the moment with the Magni 2 Uber. I also have Audioengine D1 and the Dragonfly v1.2 at my disposal. Then if LH Labs ever releases the Geek Out v2, I will have lots of listening and testing to do too keep me busy! Next I need to buy those Ethers!

Now If I only had enough permissions I could post pics! Maybe later.




 

 

[AlanU]

Aaron,
 
It would be very interesting to hear you comments on using the bitfrost with the liquid carbon amp. Using the identical setup would be interesting since both amps will be capable of running your HP.
 
DACs are such an interesting beast. The most dramatic changes in audio for me has been swapping DAC's and speakers. The subtle change is amplifiers as long as there's no issue of driving the speakers you own. But of course everything in the chain matters.
 
My 02 amp with tube buffer sounds noticeably better than my Burson Virtuoso fed directly with the internal dac. Many would never say such a thing because human nature people love to justify their spending....more "expensive" is better isn't always true.....
 
For the price the Gungnir is extremely affordable and decent dac. Most $1000 and below dac's seem so similar in that price range. There are some performers that are not lateral upgrades. I've been considering on purchasing an MHDT Havana dac which is apparently an extremely musical DAC or even using a simaudio Moon 300d v.1 with Stello U3 usb/spdif converter. Changing the source will give you more depth and musical merit.
 
Really eager to hear your findings simply by swapping amps. I'd be certain  the carbon will have more finesse...

 

[chowmein83]

  Just got back from Axpona / Ear Gear Expo. Mr. Speakers had both the Liquid Carbon and the Liquid Crimson on display with their Ethers and Alpha Primes. I also brought my HE-400i's with me to the show and thankfully Dan let me use the Carbon for an A/B test. First thing you can't forget is the HE-400i's is not in the same league as the Ethers. Secondly my HE400i's are SE and the Ethers are Bal connections. With that said here are my impression with about of use 1/2hr.
You really need a balanced connection if you want to get the full impact of the Carbon. With the gain set to either 1 or 3x it made no difference too me and the noise floor. It is dead quiet! With the 400i's I really had to turn the vol up all the way to match the output level of the bal ethers. The balanced output plays much louder. The amp to me sounds neutral  to a bit warm and really reveals the source material you are playing. Thankfully the dac in use was a AURALiC VEGA, because it played flawlessly on every sample I played. The build quality is top notch, the design is very appealing, very Cavalli feel to it. The only difference between the Carbon and the Crimson I felt was the power and volume levels between the two. I am very satisfied with what I will be getting waiting till August. In the mean time I also purchased an Emotiva DC-1 at the show too so I could get a fully balanced DAC for only $450 with the show discount. I am currently using a Schiit Bifrost Uber no USB at the moment with the Magni 2 Uber. I also have Audioengine D1 and the Dragonfly v1.2 at my disposal. Then if LH Labs ever releases the Geek Out v2, I will have lots of listening and testing to do too keep me busy! Next I need to buy those Ethers!

Now If I only had enough permissions I could post pics! Maybe later.

 
Nice, glad to hear that you enjoyed the Liquid Carbon too!
 
It probably wasn't possible, but it would've been awesome if you heard the 400i with a balanced cable hooked up to the Carbon. I was able to borrow such a cable for my 400i when I heard it at CanJam, and wow what a difference! Yeah, it didn't transform the 400i to an Ether-beating headphone, but it seriously stepped up the performance of the 400i and definitely got it closer to the Ether.
 
(Not saying that the Ether is a bad-sounding headphone from this - I still like it a lot.)

 

[YtseJamer]

  Well darko, when you're right you're right, the LCD-3F is sonically a nice update from the LCD-3C. Very nice bass and the mids are nicely open and detailed. Right now I'm ranking the headphones on the Ether as follows
Ether/LCD-3F (in a dog fight)

 
Do you think that the Liquid Carbon has adequate power to drive the LCD-3F to their full potential ?
 
What are the main differences between the LCD-3F and the Ether with the Liquid Carbon ?
 
Thanks!

 

[thomascrown]

Do you think that the Liquid Carbon has adequate power to drive the LCD-3F to their full potential ?

What are the main differences between the LCD-3F and the Ether with the Liquid Carbon ?

Thanks!

Same question: I've just ordered both (lc and lcd3) and I'm really interested in hearing some opinions about the pairing

 

[mikoss]

Same question: I've just ordered both (lc and lcd3) and I'm really interested in hearing some opinions about the pairing

I also asked this question here and amongst the pirates... hoping it brings out their full potential!

 

[thomascrown]

DigitalFreak should be our source of answers and wisdom

 

[Pirakaphile]

DigitalFreak should be our source of answers and wisdom

The only person to obtain wisdom is onesself.

 

[thomascrown]

The only person to obtain wisdom is onesself.

Let's hope onesself reads this thread then! I'm bloody curious

 

[DigitalFreak]

   
1)Do you think that the Liquid Carbon has adequate power to drive the LCD-3F to their full potential ?
 
2)What are the main differences between the LCD-3F and the Ether with the Liquid Carbon ?
 
Thanks!

 
1)The Liquid Carbon is easily driving the 3F with some room to spare on the volume knob. I got my hands on a SE cable for the 3F and even on SE the Carbon drives it with more finesse them my other amps. For Example, on SE with my Project Ember with a Russian EH 6922 tube the 3F sounds rather raw and overly edgey. With a balanced cable on the Carbon I'm finding the 3F bass line is cleaner and quicker and has more authority. When I compare the SE vs balanced on the Carbon the Balanced still sounds better. The highs are also smoother and more natural. Overall its a better sonic presentation across the board. It's just a more refined sounding headphone on balanced. 
 
2)The 3F is the warmer can with more mid bass while the Ether isn't as warm and has less mid bass. Because of that mid bass there's more slam and punch behind the 3F bass line. The highs are more energetic then the Ether but not harsh. Brass instruments sound more front and center because of it too. In comparison the Ether is more linear and neutral. Its closer to a monitor then the 3F. Its strength is detail, speed and tonality. Both headphones are very potent sounding but I'd have to say the Ether is the more accurate while the 3F is slightly more fun sounding. Before anyone asks, no the Ether isn't dry sounding like say some AKGs can be. Just because something is voiced to be linear and more neutral doesn't necessarily mean its dry sounding.

The only person to obtain wisdom is onesself.

Here, here, in the end its the ears of the owner who decides what sounds good for him/her. This is just my personal musings guys. Hopefully what I write makes its easier for people to decide if the Carbon is the answer they're looking for

 

[warrenpchi]

The keenest eye is that which looks inward, but there are none so blind as those who will not see, so listen.  Word.

 

[warrenpchi]

 

  In the final and simplest analysis, I go by what my friend @obobskivich once told me:  "if it sounds good, it is good."

 
THIS!! It doesn't how many headphones I've heard and compared or how many reviews I've written or how many measurements that I've taken. My perfect is likely different from your perfect. My ears, age, hearing abilities are likely different than the next guys.

 
Right, exactly.  I think there are a lot of guys that get into this hobby trying to find the answer... as if there were some arbitrary piece of gear that can be called perfect.  There isn't.  The fact is, there is no right or wrong, or best or worse, or even good or bad when we get right down to it - because our very appreciation or lack thereof for any given signal chain is firmly subjective and deeply personal (much more so than we would like to admit sometimes).  But to put it simply, there's what we like, and what we don't like, to varying degrees, and that's it.  I can't speak for anyone else, but for me, that's more than enough.  

 

Originally Posted by MattTCG /img/forum/go_quote.gif
 
If an o2 sounds are good as a Liquid Fire...you're a lucky guy, enjoy. 

 
Sadly, I have not found this to be the case... for me at least.  

 

 

[ButtUglyJeff]

The only person to obtain wisdom is onesself.

 
Yes, but that wisdom is not until August at best....

 

[YtseJamer]

   
1)The Liquid Carbon is easily driving the 3F with some room to spare on the volume knob. I got my hands on a SE cable for the 3F and even on SE the Carbon drives it with more finesse them my other amps. For Example, on SE with my Project Ember with a Russian EH 6922 tube the 3F sounds rather raw and overly edgey. With a balanced cable on the Carbon I'm finding the 3F bass line is cleaner and quicker and has more authority. When I compare the SE vs balanced on the Carbon the Balanced still sounds better. The highs are also smoother and more natural. Overall its a better sonic presentation across the board. It's just a more refined sounding headphone on balanced. 
 
2)The 3F is the warmer can with more mid bass while the Ether isn't as warm and has less mid bass. Because of that mid bass there's more slam and punch behind the 3F bass line. The highs are more energetic then the Ether but not harsh. Brass instruments sound more front and center because of it too. In comparison the Ether is more linear and neutral. Its closer to a monitor then the 3F. Its strength is detail, speed and tonality. Both headphones are very potent sounding but I'd have to say the Ether is the more accurate while the 3F is slightly more fun sounding. Before anyone asks, no the Ether isn't dry sounding like say some AKGs can be. Just because something is voiced to be linear and more neutral doesn't necessarily mean its dry sounding.
Here, here, in the end its the ears of the owner who decides what sounds good for him/her. This is just my personal musings guys. Hopefully what I write makes its easier for people to decide if the Carbon is the answer they're looking for

 
Thanks a lot for your feedback, much appreciated!