[Icenine2]

I have the Cavalli Liquid Cobalt prototype at home for a listen.  I am one of the original Liquid Fire owners and this is the evolution of the amp.  The pictures I'm posting have the LF mkII on the face since this is the prototype.
 
Build reflects the new designs of Liquid Gold and Liquid Lightning.  This baby is built like a tank!
 
Early listening impressions: very fast, larger sound stage, better imaging and definition.  A beauty all around.  More to come!
 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Icenine2]

The production version will have a black face plate.

 

[zmatrix]

I kinda dig the red

 

[paradoxper]

Are you allowed to pop the lid?

 

[wink]

The front faceplate should be cobalt blue

 

[goldendarko]

Looks amazing! Any word on specs? I also like the red faceplate.

 

[Audio Jester]

Where abouts in the Cavalli lineup does this sit?

 

[goldendarko]

Any idea on price too?

 

[runeight]

It is the successor to the Liquid Fire and will be priced about the same.
 
Faceplate will be black like all other second generation CA units. I just happened to have this box conveniently available to test out the proto.

 

[Austin Morrow]

Maybe you'll one day consider a red faceplate option, because the red faceplate looks simply stunning, especially with the Q-Audio cable. 

 

[runeight]

OK. The red on that faceplate (and the picture shows it much more pink than it actually is) is very hard to do. In reality it is a darker maroon color which is not a standard anodize color. The plater ran some experiments for me because I wanted a dark red color. Icenine can probably describe it from his point of view. But the problem was they could not reproduce the color dependably in  production quantities. I had to abandon the idea.
 
Also, I can't seem to post to the Liquid Gold thread so I'll post here.
 
I have been asked for inside photos of the LAu. I'm beginning a page on the website showing the various stages of build for amps in the current run. You can go here:
 
http://cavalliaudio.com/index.php?p=morestuff&stuffId=12
 
Happy to answer questions. Let me know if there are any problems with the images.
 
And, yes, many of my customers do not even visit headfi. Some visit, but don't want to post much, if at all. But they do talk to me.

 

[goldendarko]

I am not familiar with the pricing on the Liquid Fire and do not see it on your website. Could you provide a ballpark estimate on price? I will be looking for an amp soon and this may be one of my options if it fits my budget.

 

[Radio_head]

The original Liquid Fire was $3250 production price.

 

[goldendarko]

ok thanks for the info. sounds comparable to the dark star by emmeline that i've been looking at.

 

[runeight]

The LF was priced at $3250. The LC will be in this vicinity, plus or minus.
 
The LC will have the viewing screen in the front that you can see in the photos, except that the diamond blank will be removed for better viewing of the tube. As per the way all CA amps are built these days the CA logo will be on a badge embedded into the tops of the amps.
 
The top panel will be in the new ventilation style with an opening to get to the tube. Although the amp is not really a tube rolling amp (that's what the Liquid Glass is for), some will inevitably want to change tubes. Unlike the LF, you won't have to remove the top to do this.
 
The LC has a gain switch to give you two gain settings and two selectable inputs. As you can see in the photos, it has one TRS and one 4 pin XLR. It is a pure SE amp, but the XLR connector is there for convenience. The PCB is blue.
 
The LC has only one  6922 so tube rolling NOS tubes won't be quite as expensive as it was in the four tube LF.
 
I should leave it to others to comment on the audio, but I have listened to it with Abyss and HD800s. Very soon I will listen with LDC3s. I like it.