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I'm starting a new impressions thread for the Liquid Crimson!
Anyone who was with me at CanJam @RMAF 2014 probably knows that one of my favorite listening experiences was at the Cavalli booth rocking out with the Liquid Gold/Abyss rig. So I was pretty excited when Alex got in touch a few weeks ago to see if I wanted to spend some time with the Liquid Crimson as well. “Uh, hell yeah!” was my immediate response, and about a week later I was signing for a package at the door. So after a couple of weeks of listening and jotting down impressions I feel fortunate enough to have spent some quality time with the good doctor’s newest creation.
Upon first inspection, the amp is on the lighter side of things at 10 pounds and is a smaller sized unit which works really well in desktop situations. The cooling vents on the sides give the amp a very sleek, streamlined, and serious look. Overall, I really like the aesthetic but I have to admit my first reaction was, can this guy perform and does it have enough juice for the “hungrier” headphones I have on my desk at the moment including the Abyss and HE-6?
The Liquid Crimson is an embedded hybrid amplifier, with tube and solid state elements that are blended together in the circuit to create a solid state sound with great balance and tonality along with inner tube warmth that adds real finesse. The amp ships with a single 6922 tube that is embedded into the chassis; the tube can be swapped by simply unscrewing the smaller top panel above the tube chamber.
As many know, the HD800 is a fairly easy headphone to drive, but an exceedingly difficult headphone to optimally match. It’s a fussy headphone that can sound shrill, bright, and downright grating with many solid state amps. Which is why many HD800 users mod their headphones, swap out cables, and also gravitate towards tube amps. I can say that I was really impressed with the Crimson/HD800 pairing. Although it lacked some of the ultimate resolution of some of the bigger tube amps, it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable listens and took a lot of the edge off while at the same time providing a clear and resolving window into the music. Moving on to the “hungrier” Abyss and HE-6, the Crimson impressed with its ability to be aggressive and powerful when called for but still retain finesse with it’s somewhat softer treble. A good example of this is listening to Mazzy Star’s excellent Seasons of Your Day. Listening to Hope Sandoval’s dreamy vocals on the track California was just a truly emotional experience.
Overall, this “little” amp has some “big” balls and made me forget about trying to listen to all of the technicalities and just allowed me to become completely engaged with the music. The Liquid Crimson hits hard but with enough finesse to smooth over the imperfections of some of my “lesser” recordings. Or put another way, the amp's passive/aggressive nature is akin to getting hit with a velvet covered fist when called for but at the same time soft and emotive. The Cavalli Liquid Crimson is a highly seductive and musical amp that is enjoyable across multiple genres and was a great match with all headphones used such as HD800, LCD3, Abyss, HE-6, and HE-560.
Anyone who was with me at CanJam @RMAF 2014 probably knows that one of my favorite listening experiences was at the Cavalli booth rocking out with the Liquid Gold/Abyss rig. So I was pretty excited when Alex got in touch a few weeks ago to see if I wanted to spend some time with the Liquid Crimson as well. “Uh, hell yeah!” was my immediate response, and about a week later I was signing for a package at the door. So after a couple of weeks of listening and jotting down impressions I feel fortunate enough to have spent some quality time with the good doctor’s newest creation.
Upon first inspection, the amp is on the lighter side of things at 10 pounds and is a smaller sized unit which works really well in desktop situations. The cooling vents on the sides give the amp a very sleek, streamlined, and serious look. Overall, I really like the aesthetic but I have to admit my first reaction was, can this guy perform and does it have enough juice for the “hungrier” headphones I have on my desk at the moment including the Abyss and HE-6?
The Liquid Crimson is an embedded hybrid amplifier, with tube and solid state elements that are blended together in the circuit to create a solid state sound with great balance and tonality along with inner tube warmth that adds real finesse. The amp ships with a single 6922 tube that is embedded into the chassis; the tube can be swapped by simply unscrewing the smaller top panel above the tube chamber.
As many know, the HD800 is a fairly easy headphone to drive, but an exceedingly difficult headphone to optimally match. It’s a fussy headphone that can sound shrill, bright, and downright grating with many solid state amps. Which is why many HD800 users mod their headphones, swap out cables, and also gravitate towards tube amps. I can say that I was really impressed with the Crimson/HD800 pairing. Although it lacked some of the ultimate resolution of some of the bigger tube amps, it was one of the most relaxing and enjoyable listens and took a lot of the edge off while at the same time providing a clear and resolving window into the music. Moving on to the “hungrier” Abyss and HE-6, the Crimson impressed with its ability to be aggressive and powerful when called for but still retain finesse with it’s somewhat softer treble. A good example of this is listening to Mazzy Star’s excellent Seasons of Your Day. Listening to Hope Sandoval’s dreamy vocals on the track California was just a truly emotional experience.
Overall, this “little” amp has some “big” balls and made me forget about trying to listen to all of the technicalities and just allowed me to become completely engaged with the music. The Liquid Crimson hits hard but with enough finesse to smooth over the imperfections of some of my “lesser” recordings. Or put another way, the amp's passive/aggressive nature is akin to getting hit with a velvet covered fist when called for but at the same time soft and emotive. The Cavalli Liquid Crimson is a highly seductive and musical amp that is enjoyable across multiple genres and was a great match with all headphones used such as HD800, LCD3, Abyss, HE-6, and HE-560.
