Well alright alright alright!!! nice to see this thread come alive again!
@aamefford
Nice post and good call, though the last few days have had me quiet due to illness (food poisoning) I spend the first 3 days after getting home from Thanksgiving just stupefied over how good this amp is. I intend to do some pics and write-ups here over time, but I am waiting to settle down as I have so much expectation bias swirling around I just don't trust myself right now even though I would swear on every generation of my family that this amp sounds freaking fantastic.
I like the company, the people involved, the history and the presence here on head-fi (though I have never gotten an answer from anyone as to ideal input voltage on any amp). I love love love the industrial design and aesthetics of the Liquid Crimson, as well as the foot print and general size, kind of like a small full size amp? And of course I fully committed to the house of Cavalli after being floored by the Liquid Carbon. I was kind of hoping to hear them both side by side but I was fortunate to sell and ship the carbon with 24 hours of getting the crimson.
On top of that, there was a healthy dash of "head of household guilt" by spending so much on a headphone amp while my son is looking at colleges and my wife wonders if this upgrade neurosis will ever end
I drew a line in the sand and declared that if she would support this purchase I would hold firm for at least 5 years, and I intend to honor my promise, especially since part of that deal is up to 2k on a DAC and up to 2k on a top tier headphone at some point in 2017. I never thought I would succumb to this level of the hobby but here I am, making sacrifices in other areas of my habits and hobbies in order to make it happen.
Of my modest headphone collection, the BeyerDynamic DT1990 Pro stood up and took notice of the Crimson the most, raising the bar for how it presented itself and perhaps earning some more staying power in my little home studio. The Nighthawk and ATH-R70x also took big steps forward, but not quite as noticeable in terms of presenting even greater strengths and far less weaknesses than the 1990 did. The PM-3 was just happy and crazy good at it's price point.
After the DAC, it will come down to Elear, HD800S or Ether Flow unless there are some new and noteworthy model introductions over the next 6 months. One of these will replace the Nighthawk as I have vowed to only keep 3 headphones on my desk, one in my backpack (PM-3) and one in my office and ready for travel (Sony MDR-1a soon to be replaced with a Sony MDR-1000x).
I don't know why I keep repeating my grand plans so much, I guess it just feels so good to have an ideal anything so close and within reach. Most of my grand goals and ideas have eluded me throughout my life and this feels like a welcome, albeit somewhat materialistic respite from it all. I am looking forward on getting more into the music and less into the equipment, but the latter is just so much fun to talk about.
