[obzilla]

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Oh don't get me wrong the LF would stay in the main stack, but the WA22 would make a nice...Chair by the window amp...
 

 
Or even better yet, a nice black WA5 

. Talk about beauty in an amp, it's a museum piece. Talk about build quality, it will outlive us all. Talk about weight, it's 70lbs!
 
As Alex has already heard from me, I agree with most of the crits on the casework. It's the one area where the LF comes up short. 
Now, it's for listening, not a coffee table center piece, but we all kind of treat our racks like altars. 
My main naggle is the finish, and weight. Lower shipping costs are nice, but you pay for that and wait for that once. You live with the amp day in and day out. I would happily pay more shipping for a heftier more substantial case.
 
As far as rattle, and playing the holes... something is wrong with Solude's unit. While light, and slight in terms of heft... there should be no case rattle.
 
As for lights, some of us are just way too sensitive. What's the problem? It has a nice moody glow, if that's not for you, don't look it in the eyes.

 
As for sonics, it has a pitch black background and it's resolving power is beyond expectation. I've never had the privilege of hearing a WA22, but I have spoken with the others in this thread who have owned both, and made my buying decision in no small part based on their recommendations. This again makes me feel like something is amiss in Solude's LF.
I did have a Woo GES for a while, and while it was not the amp I wanted/needed for the cans I had at the time, the build speaks volumes about the 'Woo Clan'. 20lbs or so of custom milled, thick metal instills a certain confidence in the amps longevity that just isn't felt when moving the LF.
I do also have a WA5 being delivered shortly, and I look forward to comparing the 2. Macedonian hero and I have talked about a mini meet up as we aren't far from each other, so we should be able to post independent impressions using various cans for those interested. My expectation is that they will both be straight A students, with different majors.

 
 
 

LF Rev 2.0. 

 
June 1 and the sponsor pages will be active.

 
 
Alex, if you do a mark2, rev2, 2.0 whateverthething I certainly hope existing customers can 'upgrade' instead of being left to flip old, presumably depreciated amps, and buying new ones. I would certainly pay to upgrade my LF to 'tank like build' status, transferring the guts into a more appropriate case. I would also happily pay a handsome sum if you make a custom preamp for MorbidToaster so he will finally shut up about it.

 
Anyways. I am a very happy LF owner, and I enjoy it on a daily basis, so I don't mean to add to any negativity here, or fuel any fires. But as an owner of a luxury item, I think it's fair and honest that we contribute our honest evaluations of the product. After all, we want to see Cavalli Audio succeed and expand, this would be hard without hearing feedback, both negative and positive.
 
Cheers.

 

[MorbidToaster]

I like the sound of that...custom pre amp...

 

[runeight]

Gents, I have thoughts to offer on the weight (LF is intentionally light weight) and look (what I had in mind when I developed the particular look). But, to go farther into this would probably violate MOT rules and I'll just wait until the sponsor pages light up (hopefully with some red/yellow LEDs).
 
Oh, one thing. The red LEDs on the inside of the box are part of the circuit. They are there to bias the tubes and are generally a better way to do this than a resistor/cap combination. It is common, but not widespread to use LEDs in this way.

 

[Icenine2]

My big rig Proceed Amp (Mark Levinson's Budget line years back) has internal LED's.  Cool by me.
 
Lightweight:  Love it!

 

[Solude]

Key being internal.  Even if you use a window to show the tubes... place the LEDs behind them so they don't take away from the point of the window.  That and light doesn't mean poor.  You can make solid cases that are light.  But at $3250, light shouldn't be a design goal since its not in line with expectation.  In DIY you are building for yourself, have it at.  In commercial space, the point is to target as many people as possible in order to increase your chances at putting a dent in the market.  Where Woo, HeadAmp, Schiit, Burson and Ray Samuels gets this, I find Cavalli, Eddie Current and Decware don't.  IMO.
 
I'll be giving the WA22 and LF another go tonight, this time matched and taking notes throughout.  I got confirmation that all of the tubes in each have 150+ hours and will have been on for 24 hours so safe to say 'warmed'.  My wife is rooting for the LF for what its worth

 

[Radio_head]

Alex has said a couple times now that he will explain exactly what his design goals were and are once he has the MOT.  Maybe you could correspond with him off-forum and he could enlighten you of your bias.  
Also, boutique operations don't usually target as many people as possible.  They set their priorities at small quantities that they can feel proud building for a small group of fellow elitists enthusiasts.  Some builders are in this hobby for smaller markups and more altruistic reasons than you may think.

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

  That and light doesn't mean poor.  You can make solid cases that are light.  

 
This is what I am getting at. An iPhone 4 weighs roughly the same as any run of the mill Android phone, but the iPhone has real glass and metal, it's built solid, you can feel that when you hold it.  Heavier or not, it has a tangible solidity that the Samsungs and so forth do not.
 
Though one does have to brace the LF when connecting/removing cables. So in this case a little more weight, just for the sake of weight would be welcomed.
My main point though is about the solidity and durability, not actual measured weight per se.

 

[MorbidToaster]

Finally getting some time with the new tubes and here's the conclusion I've come to (the Tungsrams have fairly low hours on them so these may become more pronounced differences).
 
First of all, I feel like there's a slight clarity improvement across the spectrum. The biggest thing I noticed was treble improvement. In one particular song I actually noticed something I'd never heard before. It was a very small and quiet cymbal splash in the background of Toto's 'Africa' towards the end of the song. Cymbals in general felt more...real. I played drums for a few years and hats are one thing I know pretty well. Felt like the bass tightened up a bit for the better. 
 
That's about it. I don't think the LCD 2 is the best can to test soundstage on, but I heard no difference there. 
 
These are all small, subtle differences. No 'night and day' kind of thing. I had no doubt tubes would change the sound, but I don't think I'll be investing in anything at $400+ anytime soon. I've got other things to worry about...like a turntable.

 

[Solude]

Yay, my Trafomatic HeadOne has landed as well.  Let the true games begin  Balanced B22 in two weeks.  If you find me in a ditch, my wife did it

 

[Solude]

Yay, my Trafomatic HeadOne has landed as well.  Let the true games begin  Balanced B22 in two weeks.  If you find me in a ditch, my wife did it

 

[sachu]

Quote:

Finally getting some time with the new tubes and here's the conclusion I've come to (the Tungsrams have fairly low hours on them so these may become more pronounced differences).
 
First of all, I feel like there's a slight clarity improvement across the spectrum. The biggest thing I noticed was treble improvement. In one particular song I actually noticed something I'd never heard before. It was a very small and quiet cymbal splash in the background of Toto's 'Africa' towards the end of the song. Cymbals in general felt more...real. I played drums for a few years and hats are one thing I know pretty well. Felt like the bass tightened up a bit for the better. 
 
That's about it. I don't think the LCD 2 is the best can to test soundstage on, but I heard no difference there. 
 
These are all small, subtle differences. No 'night and day' kind of thing. I had no doubt tubes would change the sound, but I don't think I'll be investing in anything at $400+ anytime soon. I've got other things to worry about...like a turntable.

Oh...i do like the tungsram Red prints a lot myself. THey are a marked improvement for the price. Definitely more warmer than the siemens. The siemens are lets say more natural/neutral. 
 
I'd like to try the GOld Lions and the 6N23P next when i get the chance.
 
And FWIW, I prefer the EHHA over the B22 and the WA22. The B22 over the WA22. Finally the LF and BA over them all by a fair margin when you talk about sonics... 
 
As for the Gilmore Lite, GS-1 and GS-X...yaaawn...soo boring. Granted, they do have very good resolution.

 

[MacedonianHero]

So after a few nights listening to the Liquid Fire here are some more thoughts:
 
The WA22 is S-O-L-I-D and just is a beauty to look at. Even compared to the LF (which I do like as well, just doesn't have the same aesthetic...visually speaking, but that's just me). Again though, I really like the LF's looks. It does looks substantial IMO and my wife actually prefers it to the WA22. The sound is where the LF excels. I would classify the WA22 as a euphonic/musical amp. Over time (and next to my GS-1 amp) it sounded less focused. Not that it's not focused in absolute terms (its very good in this regard), just in comparison to one of the most clean sounding and transparent amps I've heard in the GS-1. The LF manages to be as clean, transparent, with laser focus and still retain musicality (though not as euphonic/musical as the WA22). Something very few (if any) amps manage to do this well.
 
The WA22 was fantastic, but it sacrificed some transparency/clarity for musicality. The GS-1 was the opposite. The LF straddles the line so very well between both that its a real keeper (especially with these Genalex Gold Lions)!

 

[MorbidToaster]

Glad to hear you like it, MH. Does make me want to try the WA22 though. Tube glow is starting to nag at me because the LF doesn't have any huge glory tubes...and I want some.

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

Tube glow is starting to nag at me because the LF doesn't have any huge glory tubes...and I want some.

 
Oh the endless stream of innuendos that that provokes!

 

[MorbidToaster]

 
Quote:

 
Oh the endless stream of innuendos that that provokes!