[grrorr76]

  It seems awfully early to give up on an amp.  So many reviewers praised this device as an amazing value.  And now production units are just starting to hit the customers...

no one can say why its amazing value thats why i gave up. So many times I have bought gear because of online opinions and a few times I have gotten a hit a few have been a miss.

 

[mscott58]

no one can say why its amazing value thats why i gave up. So many times I have bought gear because of online opinions and a few times I have gotten a hit a few have been a miss.

If you read the other LC threads (there's two of them for some reason) there's tons of info of the type I believe you are looking for, both from Alex himself and many of us who have had primary experience with it. Cheers

 

[Mr Rick]

 
no one can say why its amazing value thats why i gave up. So many times I have bought gear because of online opinions and a few times I have gotten a hit a few have been a miss.

Are you looking for another fully balanced HP amplifier?  I'm not sure you can find one for $600.00 or less. I am happy to be proven wrong. 
 
The other contender on my list was the Schiit Mjolnir at $849.00.

 

[singleended58]

It is an amazing amp. I have used a simple IEC power cord. iPhone 4S directly connected to RCA via ALO imod copper (no DAC in between). Listening with HE-400 and Skuld headphone cables of Norne Audio.
Sound is warm, musical, full mid-bass and deep bass.

 

[Stillhart]

 
no one can say why its amazing value thats why i gave up. So many times I have bought gear because of online opinions and a few times I have gotten a hit a few have been a miss.

 
Nobody has it yet except a few people.  But nearly everyone who has heard it since Canjam in March has praised it.  In fact, this thread is the very first time I've heard someone less than 100% enthusiastic about it.  I agree with Michael that you were just looking for an excuse to cancel.  
 
It's cool and all, I mean $600 is $600.  But to say that people haven't been wowed by it or praised it is kinda... incorrect.

 

[grrorr76]

   
Nobody has it yet except a few people.  But nearly everyone who has heard it since Canjam in March has praised it.  In fact, this thread is the very first time I've heard someone less than 100% enthusiastic about it.  I agree with Michael that you were just looking for an excuse to cancel.  
 
It's cool and all, I mean $600 is $600.  But to say that people haven't been wowed by it or praised it is kinda... incorrect.

I feel like I'm repeating myshelf a tad here. The reason I cancelled is not 1 person has said whats good about it. I really wanted to get this and build a balanced system around it. But when no one can express why its good. It has me scratching my head and thinking do I want to risk 600usd on this?  Its been really badly promoted and marketed were not all audio engineers who understand thd and impedance some of us want to know how the product will make us more engaged with our music and if so how. Im not a numbers man I have always been about feel. 
 
Hey if this changed and I got the info I was after and it did deliver better sound stage detail warmth and feel. Id reorder it in a second. Its just I remain to be convinced.

 

[bearFNF]

Well, I, for one, ordered it because of the sound, size, features and it did a very good job at driving all the headphones I heard it with. I liked it and I know it will be an outstanding addition to my collection. However, I am not going to try to convince anyone to buy it as it is up to you to decide. (before you ask, no I will not go into more detail than I have in the various threads on it, suffice it to say I liked it well enough to buy it...)
 
It's a shame you will not give it a try to find out or yourself. But, as has been said, it is your money...so your decision.

 

 

[Stillhart]

 
I feel like I'm repeating myshelf a tad here. The reason I cancelled is not 1 person has said whats good about it. I really wanted to get this and build a balanced system around it. But when no one can express why its good. It has me scratching my head and thinking do I want to risk 600usd on this?  Its been really badly promoted and marketed were not all audio engineers who understand thd and impedance some of us want to know how the product will make us more engaged with our music and if so how. Im not a numbers man I have always been about feel. 
 
Hey if this changed and I got the info I was after and it did deliver better sound stage detail warmth and feel. Id reorder it in a second. Its just I remain to be convinced.

 
Well I wrote a whole review on it (here on Head-fi), you can start there.  There's also a rather lengthy review on headphone.guru.  There are also three other LC threads (counting the DAC thread) where people who have heard it (like myself) have written about it many times and at length.  Then there are the impressions threads from RMAF, Canjam Socal and Canjam London.  I mean... all this info is out there.  To say that nobody has said what's good about it is ludicrous.
 
And to repeat myself a tad as well, I'm perfectly find if you want to cancel.  I'm just calling you out on a statement that's objectively false.

 

[grrorr76]

   
Well I wrote a whole review on it (here on Head-fi), you can start there.  There's also a rather lengthy review on headphone.guru.  There are also three other LC threads (counting the DAC thread) where people who have heard it (like myself) have written about it many times and at length.  Then there are the impressions threads from RMAF, Canjam Socal and Canjam London.  I mean... all this info is out there.  To say that nobody has said what's good about it is ludicrous.
 
And to repeat myself a tad as well, I'm perfectly find if you want to cancel.  I'm just calling you out on a statement that's objectively false.

Fact 1 before this I had never heard of the brand. We don't have cam jams in Australia , I had never seen it or heard it. 
        2 I googled the product and found one impression video which gave no info and that review was just hopeless
        3 I googled the product incessantly and found next to nothing baring the head-fi threads (hardly objective)
        4 The marketing of the product is lacking.  There are specs on the site etc but lets face it if any product in the real world went to the public with such lack of objective information it would be an abject failure .   
           We live in a big wide world now with a lot of choice you have to sell the experience to the customer . If one doesn't I go elsewhere and in the end thats why I cancelled. I will go with a more share thing even if I have to pay a bit more.

 

[aamefford]

 
I feel like I'm repeating myshelf a tad here. The reason I cancelled is not 1 person has said whats good about it. I really wanted to get this and build a balanced system around it. But when no one can express why its good. It has me scratching my head and thinking do I want to risk 600usd on this?  Its been really badly promoted and marketed were not all audio engineers who understand thd and impedance some of us want to know how the product will make us more engaged with our music and if so how. Im not a numbers man I have always been about feel. 
 
Hey if this changed and I got the info I was after and it did deliver better sound stage detail warmth and feel. Id reorder it in a second. Its just I remain to be convinced.

I've heard it.  It pairs nicely with the HE1000, Ether and Alpha Prime, Oppo PM-1's and Alex's Noble top of the line whatever they were items that I've heard it with.  What I like - It has an engaging quality that pulls me into the music more than many amps.  It is fun, engaging and not clinical.  I think what really sets it off, is to me, it has a very low noise floor that lets the notes rise out of a pretty black background.  Add to that the size and transportability, and It is a nice addition for me.  Hope this helps a bit.

 

[zachawry]

  f any product in the real world went to the public with such lack of objective information it would be an abject failure .   

 
Head-fi isn't the "real world"? 

 
Like I said before, if you gave us a description of your system maybe somebody could offer an opinion as to whether or not the LC would be a decent improvement. 
 
You didn't do that, you just keep waiting for us to convince you, even though you don't want to seem to be convinced. 
 
I guess everybody has their own ways of killing time. 

 

[warrenpchi]

Guys, it's cool.  If he wants to cancel, he totally can - and he'll never owe us (or anyone) a reason as to why.  

 
That said, I personally think it's a bit premature to make a decision on that now, either way.  To my knowledge, only a few people have received their production units thus far, which means that only a handful of people are even remotely qualified to say anything at all.
 
I have mine now (SN #00002 BITCHES!

), but I'm in the midst of listening and burning-in at the moment.  I'll be posting impressions of the Carbon with an LCD-X, both ETHERs, and an Abyss when I'm ready.  Then, I'll probably throw in some CIEM impressions into the mix after that.  But I'd rather gather detailed and accurate impressions than throw out some cursory thoughts.  I would imagine that many of you who have the production Carbon right now feel the same as I do?  Oh... and since I have a prototype Carbon here, I might as well cover some comparisons between the prototype version and the production version.  But none of this will happen overnight.
 
However, if anyone wants to know how I feel about the production Carbon after 2 hours, I would say that I think this amp is tragically mis-named.  It sounds far more like a Liquid Silver than it does a Liquid Carbon.  But then again, I don't think most people would get the reference had they not spent some time with a Liquid Gold.
 

---

 

  What I like - It has an engaging quality that pulls me into the music more than many amps.  It is fun, engaging and not clinical.  I think what really sets it off, is to me, it has a very low noise floor that lets the notes rise out of a pretty black background.  Add to that the size and transportability, and It is a nice addition for me.  Hope this helps a bit.

 
Aaron, the production is blacker than any of the protos that I've heard, noticeably so.  I think you'll be pleased!  

 

[AustinValentine]

My own production unit will be here sometime this week -- so I'm pretty pumped about it. Can't wait to get it in and paired with the Gumby. Just going to copy my impressions from August over to this thread for utility's sake: 
 

   
Yeah, I spent some time with it there too. It was paired up with a Questyle CMA800i DAC/Amp combo and a LH Pulse X Infinity. I used an Anax-modded HD800 off another enthusiasts table, a pair of Zach's ZMF Blackwoods, and my modded* HD650s (balanced)/LFF Paradox (SE)/Oppo PM-3 (SE). Music was fairly limited as most of Axel's music was still on his NAS but there was enough available to get a pretty good demo. Here's a shortish review based on the time I spent hogging it:
 
1. I preferred the LC on the Questyle. I never thought I'd ever say this about a Sabre implementation but the Infinity's treble was a bit too laid back when paired with the LC. The Questyle's Wolfson implementation hit it just right. I wish I'd have been able to pair it with my Gungnir and a decent R2R DAC (like the Yggy at the other end of the room that Steve brought on a UPS to keep warmed up), but meet conditions, time, etc. etc.
 
2. I was expecting the amp to be a bit warmish from the impressions I've seen so far, but to me it wasn't particularly tonally colored. That's not to say it didn't have a signature or character of its own that it imparts to a unit...it does. But I wouldn't be worried about the LC making a warm rig sound gooey, syrupy, or overly romantic. At the same time, I wouldn't use the LC to tame a bright DAC or headphone. It's just not going to do that. Stock HD800 owners that are hoping for some treble relief should probably take note. Anax-modded HD800 does fine.
 
3. Given meet conditions and lack of access to my own test tracks and gear, I wasn't able to ascertain much about micro-detail retrieval, resolution, plankton, etc. Suffice it to say though that I didn't hear any glaring omissions or red flags. This is even with the HD800 which is the closest thing to an audio microscope available. 
 
4. I noted above that from what I heard the LC does impart a character of its own. With each headphone I used and with both DACs, the common change from what I was used to was a dramatic improvement in macrodynamics vs what I was used to. The Paradox and HD650s are normally laid-back headphones, but the Liquid Carbon brought them both to life. The Oppo PM-3 too has a relaxed sound. A number of reviewers (including Tyll here) have even called them boring - which isn't inaccurate given their laid-back top octave and lowered 4-8k range. The LC gave the PM-3 some pep and energy. The Blackwood, which Zach tunes to be more punchy and energetic relative to LFF's laid-back sound, could be down right ******* startling out of the Liquid Carbon. In a "for those about to rock, we salute you" kind of way.
 
Wha huh? Rewinding a sec. Ok, breaking down what "improved macrodynamics" means in terms of the listening experience:
 
- Everything seemed more present and impactful;
- Large, sudden contrasts/changes in volume happen with more energy and snap;
- Instruments hit harder when needed. Instruments, for me, happens to include the human voice as well.
 
Lets take this from yet another angle, because I want people to get what I'm saying here: Generally, when people give their impressions of audio equipment they might talk about "bass slam." Bass slam is a type of macrodynamic expression, but only on a single tonal range/register (generally mid-bass centric). "Rumble" is another - its the feeling of macrodynamic presence coming from low-bass or sub-bass impact and presence. But nearly every tonal range and type of instrument can be thought of in this manner with various levels of descriptive success. Imagine the jolt of a harmonica in a Blues Traveller or Bob Dylan Track. Or the ring of crotales cymbals on the opening of Rush's "YYZ". Or the strike of crash cymbals in the introduction to The Who's "Baba O' Reilly". Or Steve Perry's voice when he digs deep and belt out notes in his highest range. Or the opening guitar riff on Derek & the Dominos "Layla". Or just about everything on Zeppelin's "Kashmir". 
 
I could keep going, but I'm hoping that this gets the point across.
 
The great thing about the LC from the time I spent with it is that it only brings the powerful, prominent macrodynamics when called for. Some audio gear** does it all the time which cab make music sound shouty or "arena rock"-like. Other gear can sound punchy and aggressive as its normal character (see: the Sennheiser Amperior, for example). Neither of these are the case with the Liquid Carbon. 
 
5. I've never heard an amplifier in this price range or size do #4 this well. This is one of those character properties that people shell out huge money to obtain. (I'd say that powerful macrodynamics, tonal & timbral correctness, and micro-detail extraction/plankton are the big three that make people open their wallets.) I generally associate powerful macrodynamic capability with power transformer size and quality. The Schiit Ragnarok does it. I've heard balanced Dynahis do it. IIRC, it's been a while, but I'm pretty sure I've heard Krell KSA-5 Clones with elaborate separate PSUs do it. I'm not sure what voodoo Alex did to fit this kind of sound into this kind of box but I'd check him for Pym Particles and an Ant-Man suit. 
 
TLDR: The Cavalli Liquid Carbon is one phenomenal amplifier. He could have charged twice the price and it still would have been a good value. Anyone who preordered this is in for a treat. I didn't hear a bad pairing with any of the five headphones that I used. Get the best DAC you can budget and grin like you robbed a bank.
 
P.S.: When I got home, I did the only sensible thing and immediately purchased an LFF/Enigmatic Audio Enigma off of the "For Sale" forums to go with my Paradox, PM-3, and HD650. The Enigma's biggest sin of omission is its laid-back nature (a 1-4k recess). I'm betting this pairing with the Schiit [Redacted] is going to be bad ass.
 
_____________________________________
 
[*New model with silver drivers and good condition pads. I've modded my HD650 by removing the back damping and quarter modding the front foam. The net result of these mods is that the HD650's bass hump is pushed lower and it no longer sounds overdamped. It's still a dark, slightly laid-back headphone but it sounds a bit livelier with the mods. As a result, YMMV with regards to my impressions with the HD650.]
 
[** For example, the Schiit Gungnir pre-USB 2.0 had that problem.] 
 

 

[aamefford]

   
-Snipped-
 
Aaron, the production is blacker than any of the protos that I've heard, noticeably so.  I think you'll be pleased!  

Now that is great to hear.  More (uh, less?) of what I like best about the amp.  I am really hoping at 699 I'm in group 2.  I am also ampless at the moment due to some liquidating.  I'm really trying not to buy another amp right now....

 

[aqsw]

   
Head-fi isn't the "real world"? 

 
Like I said before, if you gave us a description of your system maybe somebody could offer an opinion as to whether or not the LC would be a decent improvement. 
 
You didn't do that, you just keep waiting for us to convince you, even though you don't want to seem to be convinced. 
 
I guess everybody has their own ways of killing time. 

Yea, That's the one that has me puzzled too. If Head Fi isn't the real world when it comes to headphones and headphone amps. WHAT IS ?
 
I agree, looking for an excuse to get his $$ back. The thing is "you didn't need an excuse".