I don't know if anyone here has an answer to why the LCX has a ship date of 2-28-18, does Massdrop even have someone in place to build these amps, It just seems a little weird to have that long of a ship date. Ordered mine but concerned & also how much input does Cavalli audio really have in this amp they seem to be a little silent here, just questions I guess if it's junk it's only 3 bills worth of junk at least..enjoy
I don't know if anyone here has an answer to why the LCX has a ship date of 2-28-18, does Massdrop even have someone in place to build these amps, It just seems a little weird to have that long of a ship date. Ordered mine but concerned & also how much input does Cavalli audio really have in this amp they seem to be a little silent here, just questions I guess if it's junk it's only 3 bills worth of junk at least..enjoy
Hi abvolt, some answers to your questions below:
1. Massdrop usually operates like this with newly introduced gear that THEY manufacture. They will typically create prototypes for review, take bulk orders and then manufacture the items which sometimes takes upwards of 6 months (I believe some of the Hifiman HPs and the Noble X had similar wait times).
2. Massdrop wouldn’t be manufacturing and using the Cavelli name if they didn’t license the technology. Alex Cavelli had a post on this forum several weeks ago about the Amp and how it differs from the original iterations but I don’t think he disputed that the LCX shares the same topology like the Massdrop guys said.
3. While I can’t speak for others, I’ve purchased quite a few items from Massdrop (including some originals) and they definitely weren’t junk. I’ve never had a bad experience service or sound wise but others may differ.
In addition, the link below explains all of the Massdrop Amps in their current manufacturing pipeline and ther timeline to get their orders to their factories. This might give you a bit more color on the long wait time.
And don't forget. This way of doing things allows Massdrop to have buyers finance things like final development, parts procurement and still pay for the initial batch from the collected funds. In many ways this is like crowd funding.
A bit less risky because we are dealing with a company that has been around for a while and has a decent track record of actually producing purchased items, but nonetheless awfully close to the crowd funding model.
At the price of $299 for the massdrop , is this a significant upgrade or sidegrade from the geek amp? Running balanced . Looking for an amp to provide some warmth and betters the whole spectrum too . Thanks.
At the price of $299 for the massdrop , is this a significant upgrade or sidegrade from the geek amp? Running balanced . Looking for an amp to provide some warmth and betters the whole spectrum too . Thanks.
Based on everything I read, your Audeze LCD-X is a big-time, endgame planar design. People describe it as having a lot of bass & sub-bass and musical, non-fatiguing treble, compared to other Audeze upscale designs.
I have the Liquid Carbon, purchased direct from Cavalli ~6 months ago (it's v2.0, the same design as the new Massdrop re-license of the LC). I love the sound of this amp: it's clearly voiced on the warm side of neutral, but also has really excellent bass (quality, depth, control, "slam") and way above average soundstaging. They say it's "tube-like," but what it really is, is a SS design voiced for an organic, flowing, musical sound, with all the foundation/lower range weight and non-fatiguing treble transients you hear in live music...a very ear-friendly, humane SS sound IMO.
I've been repeatedly surprised at how my LC will "lock in" with headphones that are also warm, bassy, with good soundstaging. You'd think the synergy between similar-sounding amp & headphones would be too much--too warm, too bassy, and so on. But that's not what happens at all. I got the best sound ever out of my Fidelio X2s on the LC; and very fine sound out of the E-Mu Teaks on it recently.
It's true that your Geek Pulse has twice the power of the LC, but that may or may not really matter. The LC handles my power-hungry planar (ZMF Ori) with ease--more than enough juice, plus the sound is really excellent.
Hard to predict these things, but I'm betting that for just $300, you might hit it right out of the park by putting the Massdrop LC together with the Audeze LCD-X.
I could have bought into the MassDrop LC-X, but at that price, I'm betting it will not be the equal of a real Cavalli LC or LC 2.0. Has anyone seen a comparison review??? I guess not yet. I am very happy with the original product. So happy, that I am looking for a used Liquid Gold or Glass.
Well, it appears as though my LC 2.0 is going to need to visit the repair shop for the second time. Thankfully, I'm still within the warranty period.
Recently, powering on the amp in high gain has caused a relatively noisy "pop" in the headphones. Additionally, adjusting the pot now produces static/noise in the left channel. I assume the pot has gone bad, but I'm not sure about the popping noise. Also, the sound is weak and there is a channel imbalance (this is basically what happened to the amp back in March/April at around 3 weeks of ownership).
Second time in the shop during the warranty. Hope these massdrop units have a better build quality. "High end" gear should not fail twice in a year. Terribly disappointed.
Repair was completed and item is en route to me. Same issue as I had in March; the single-ended input chip failed. Given that the same part shot out twice in a year, I am somewhat concerned about the longevity of my amp, but I guess I have no recourse other than to keep my finger crossed. (it is a v2.0 with an expiring warranty as of November 2017)
Repair was completed and item is en route to me. Same issue as I had in March; the single-ended input chip failed. Given that the same part shot out twice in a year, I am somewhat concerned about the longevity of my amp, but I guess I have no recourse other than to keep my finger crossed. (it is a v2.0 with an expiring warranty as of November 2017)
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