CTH Boards and Kits Now Available
Mar 17, 2009 at 2:37 AM Thread Starter Post #1 of 99

runeight

Member of the Trade: Cavalli Audio
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The boards and kits for the Cavalli Audio Compact Tube Hybrid are now available. For information about this amp read this thread:

Compact Tube Hybrid

This amp is a very small tube hybrid amplifier with the following features:

1. Tube stage with automatic servo that permits rolling many different kinds of common tubes not just a single rare tube type
2. A switchable heater supply that supplies either 6.3V or 12.6V
3. A discrete output stage with a discrete rail splitter
4. A HV multiplier that lets the tube run at 80V B+
5. An AMB e12 with indicator LEDs to tell you when the amp is ready
6. A compact board size of just 120mm x 75mm
7. All from a single 24VAC wall wart

This is a lot of circuitry packed onto a very small board.

Boards and kits are available from:

Spruce Canyon Labs

and more information is at:

Cavalli Audio Compact Tube Hybrid

This is a great amp and much more flexible than many of the current hybrids that are available.

I'll let the prototypers chime in on their results.
smily_headphones1.gif
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 2:56 AM Post #2 of 99
Honestly this amp sounds so good I have trouble getting to bed. Every night I'm home I explore my music collection and find new things I've never heard before. The transparency and speed of this amp is incredible.

Right now Im listening to Portishead - Dummy .flac's through an Aliendac into the CTH with Sonicap GenII .22ufs and an Amperex 8416 pumping some re-cabled Sextetts. Yum. Listening to this album I am hearing knew voices I never knew existed in the background. They must have been hidden behind other notes mushed together in my previous amps.

The bass hits super hard and fast without being dominate, thats what I like most about this amp. The highs sparkle and the mids smooth out the in-between.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 3:47 AM Post #5 of 99
Hmmmmm, very interesting. I was going to build me a Staving Student but this look promising too
smily_headphones1.gif
Seems to be about the same price (minus the casing). What about performance wise (or vs other hybrids)?
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 4:02 AM Post #6 of 99
Quote:

Originally Posted by v3nom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
Hmmmmm, very interesting. I was going to build me a Staving Student but this look promising too
smily_headphones1.gif
Seems to be about the same price (minus the casing). What about performance wise (or vs other hybrids)?



I have the SS and the CTH...the Starving student is not even in the same class as that of the CTH. The CTh is simply a much much superior amp..
Given the 19J6 tube non-availability, the E12 protection circuit on board this fella, the CTH is even more attractive...
The option of rolling so many tubes is what really takes the cake..its a tube rollers dream..effortlessly brings out the subtleties of each tube and is extremely resolving...
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 4:35 AM Post #8 of 99
So the "kit" is $140. Does it come with extras not listed? Because if you add up all the parts listed (with the case being $14) it comes short of $90.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 4:46 AM Post #9 of 99
Quote:

Originally Posted by v3nom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
So the "kit" is $140. Does it come with extras not listed? Because if you add up all the parts listed (with the case being $14) it comes short of $90.


I think the kit consists of everything you need for the amplifier except the power supply.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 5:09 AM Post #11 of 99
Quote:

Originally Posted by ShinyFalcon /img/forum/go_quote.gif
The Mouser BOM alone is around $80, not including tax and shipping. The $40 listing includes two parts (the Digikey parts) that I'm assuming are not found in Mouser.


yeah..those two parts are not available from mouser..only from digikey.

honestly the kit price is very attractive considering that I spent just a little over 140$ for mine..though mine is the larger case which is like 2$ more than the one being offered with the kit.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 5:32 AM Post #13 of 99
Quote:

Originally Posted by v3nom /img/forum/go_quote.gif
OOOOH... I see, the $140 kit includes both digikey AND mouser parts which includes EVERYTHING for the build, ok, ok. lol


Yes...everything..except the power supply which is additional as stated on the website.
 
Mar 17, 2009 at 6:55 AM Post #14 of 99
This is a very nice amp. It's small, and sounds great. The tube options are nice and gives good flexibility. You'll be very hard pressed to beat it. I haven't critically compared it to my SOHA 2, but with the same tubes it's a bit hard to discern the difference. There isn't anything not to like here. The price is great. This amp sounds big in a small package. It easily drives all my headphones.

I hope builders that are looking to move beyond a CMoy or something a little smaller will give this amp a try. It definitely surprised me.
 

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