Cavalli Audio Liquid Fire

[MorbidToaster]

How are you new Liquid Fire guys enjoying the amp?

It was a big hit at the Texas meet Saturday. I love it and when my new rack gets here this week it'll get the place it deserves. Still baffles me how much synergy it has with the LCD 2.

 

[obzilla]

Mine is about 50 hours in, plus the 40 that came with it.
 
The LF is my first truly high end amp, so I don't have any real frame of reference. But here goes,
 
The sound stage is really unraveling as I go.
It certainly has a wider sound stage than my previous amps, and that was noticeable from the start, but what I mean is that as I go, the separation of layers becomes clearer and clearer, like the unraveling of an onion, for lack of a better metaphor. Each layer spreading wider from the others becoming more and more identifiable.
A very 'holographic' 3D feeling in complex songs, which is the adjective people use to describe the LCD3. It makes me very curious to try them with the LF.
 
The treble is sweet and detailed, but so far no harshness.
 
The bass is getting better and better as well.
 
Really I am thrilled with it, on a sonics level.
 
I highly recommend that any with one listen to this album a few times, leaves me with that satisfied grin every time.
Acoustic guitar duet Rodrigo Y Gabriela with a 12 piece Cuban band, and a number of guest appearances. Incredible work.
 

 
Available on CD or FLAC/MP3 downloads.
http://www.rodgab.com/store.html
 
 
 
 

 

[LionelH2]

Just got to the 200 hour mark, soundstage is amzing.  The smoothness of the presentation is quite impressive.  I came from a Lyr, which sounds very ragged in comparison.
 
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How are you new Liquid Fire guys enjoying the amp?

 

 

[Icenine2]

Good to hear everyone!

 

[Equus]

Nice!  Awesome that others are enjoying their amps as well.  Gives me hope that I'm not completely clueless or crazy.
 
Note that I say "completely".
 
Quote:

Just got to the 200 hour mark, soundstage is amzing.  The smoothness of the presentation is quite impressive.  I came from a Lyr, which sounds very ragged in comparison.
 

Sounds similar to my limited experience with the Lyr.  Nice amp for the price point, but I always came away with the impression it didn't have the same control across the frequency range and especially in the bass.  Also felt that the soundstage on the Lyr was a little collapsed or congested.  Are you using the stock tubes?
 

 

[LionelH2]

Agreed that, for the price point, the Lyr is excellent.  I upgraded to the Liquid Fire because it seemed the Lyr was not detailed enough and seemed to have trouble with material that was really dense.  I also found it to have great bass quantity, but not very well controlled.  I was using the Siemans Cca tubes, which is what I am now running in the Liquid Fire.  With the Cca tubes, the soundstage was fine, not anywhere close to the LF, though.

 
Quote:

Nice!  Awesome that others are enjoying their amps as well.  Gives me hope that I'm not completely clueless or crazy.
 
Note that I say "completely".
 

Sounds similar to my limited experience with the Lyr.  Nice amp for the price point, but I always came away with the impression it didn't have the same control across the frequency range and especially in the bass.  Also felt that the soundstage on the Lyr was a little collapsed or congested.  Are you using the stock tubes?
 

 

 

[mwilson]

1st batch LF running on all 4 cylinders here. Very happy with the sound, though I've only managed to put about 2 hours on it over the last 3 weeks. Most of my listening nowadays is on speakers.

 

[MorbidToaster]

1st batch LF running on all 4 cylinders here. Very happy with the sound, though I've only managed to put about 2 hours on it over the last 3 weeks. Most of my listening nowadays is on speakers.

My MMGs come in tomorrow and while I fear this a bit my Maggies won't measure up to my LCD 2 for bass until I throw a nice sub into the mix.

 

[sridhar3]

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I love it and when my new rack gets here this week it'll get the place it deserves.

Which rack did you get?  I'm in the market for a decent one with 4-5 shelves that won't break the bank.

 

[sachu]

The Lovan sovereign series are decent. 
 
Quadraspire is also worth a look.

 

[sridhar3]

Quote:

The Lovan sovereign series are decent. 
 
Quadraspire is also worth a look.

Thanks for the suggestions.  The Quadraspires look great, but I can't find pricing information online.  Guess I'd have to call a retailer.  The Lovan Sovereign seems to be $900 for three shelves.

 

[Radio_head]

I used the Liquid Fire with a  Finite Elemente Pagode and it fit well.  It's super overpriced but you can find deals occasionally on Audiogon or Ebay.  Alternatively, this one seems pretty decent (but a little large on footprint) for the price.

 

[mwilson]

I use a VTI cheapo rack:
 
http://www.cymax.com/VTI-BL304-4-Shelf-Audio-Rack.htm
 
Pretty good bang for the buck. I looked at Finite Elemente but couldn't justify paying that much for a rack.

 

[obzilla]

Quote:

Quote:

Which rack did you get?  I'm in the market for a decent one with 4-5 shelves that won't break the bank.

Check out Boltz. I have two 4 shelf with locking casters, solid metal (one in the bedroom, one in the living room) 
 
http://www.boltz.com/audio-video-component-stand-cs4.html
 
About $600, they look great in person too.

 

[Radio_head]

 
I looked at Finite Elemente but couldn't justify paying that much for a rack.

Got mine at a very good (relatively) price making an offer on an Audiogon listing.  With racks the shipping can end up being a large percentage of the sale.  I have great rates on my UPS account so it was a good deal for me.  You can also find Billy Baggs racks heavily discounted there occasionally.  
VTI's seem like good alternatives from the reports I've read. (I'm not a "racks make difference in sound" proponent anyways [disclaimer: haven't had a TT in my rig] so it just comes to pragmatic things like stability, ease-of-assembly, footprint, mobility, and looks.)