[BobG55]

THANK YOU ALL VERY MUCH FOR YOUR HELP/REPLIES TO MY QUESTION ON THIS THREAD.  EVERYONE WHO CONTRIBUTED HAS HELPED ME TREMENDOUSLY.  FROM INFORMATION RECEIVED VIA PMs AND MORE RESEARCH, I'VE DECIDED TO STICK WITH THE AURALIC TAURUS MKII AND PURCHASE A BETTER DAC.  AGAIN THANK YOU TO ALL MEMBERS WHO TOOK TIME TO HELP ME OUT.  VERY MUCH APPRECIATED.
 

 

[XVampireX]

Liquid Gold seems to be getting excellent reviews as an end game amp, though you might consider for end game setup some other amps that might be cheaper (Like Audio-gd Master 9 or even HE-9) and spend the difference that you'd spend on Liquid Gold to get yourself a better proper DAC?
 
 
Regarding Taurus mk2, it's generally considered an end-game amp for a lot though some claimed that Vega is a better end-game DAC which scales with amps really well and Taurus mk2 wasn't as good as SimAudio Moon 430HA (so said TonyNewman)
 
Regarding personal experience, I have no experience with either amps you mentioned but an amplifiers job is to amplify a signal that the DAC gives it.

 

[griff609]

I have the MHA100 but I'm also a huge Cavalli fan. I have a liquid fire which is a really cool amp.

I can't tell you much about the liquid gold, there are enough reviews out there to help make up your mind. I can say that Cavilli probably builds one of the highest quality boutique amps out there.

The MHA100 is an all in one end game amp. Its sounds fantastic with HD800's from my own personal experience but its also the consensus in the MHA thread. It's beautiful and it will probably last forever. Lots of connection options, remote control which is nice. The speaker amp is a bonus if you ever decide you do want to use it.

Your choice between the two really comes down to, do you want an all in one? or a stack of components?

 

[BobG55]

Thank you both XVampireX & griff609.  I appreciate your feedback.  I still have time & am still reading reviews, threads, etc. about both. 

 

[amalgamist]

From the reviews I've come across regarding the Cavalli, it seems to be the jack of all trades and sounds amazing with all types of headphones. In fact, I have yet to read a single review where someone mentioned that X headphone didn't sound good on it.
 
These two reviews are a good start http://www.head-fi.org/products/cavalli-audio-liquid-gold, particularly the second one. He has a 10k Viva Egoista amp as his reference and still has plenty of good to say about the Cavalli, he also uses the hd800 and t1 in his review.

 

[fradoca]

I've tried the mcintosh for 3 weeks in my studio.A good amp but not an end game amp.The cavalli liquid gold could be a really good choice but my end game amp in balanced mode with hd600 hd650 and Lcd-x is the Audio gd master 9.Don't be fooled by the price or by the fact that is made in china.This amp is the best ss balanced amp i've tried in many years of professional audio with headphones.Really really really worth it!

 

[XVampireX]

  I've tried the mcintosh for 3 weeks in my studio.A good amp but not an end game amp.The cavalli liquid gold could be a really good choice but my end game amp in balanced mode with hd600 hd650 and Lcd-x is the Audio gd master 9.Don't be fooled by the price or by the fact that is made in china.This amp is the best ss balanced amp i've tried in many years of professional audio with headphones.Really really really worth it!

 
Are you writing a review on your website?

 

[nepherte]

   
 
Regarding Taurus mk2, it's generally considered an end-game amp for a lot though some claimed that Vega is a better end-game DAC which scales with amps really well and Taurus mk2 wasn't as good as SimAudio Moon 430HA (so said TonyNewman)
 
Regarding personal experience, I have no experience with either amps you mentioned but an amplifiers job is to amplify a signal that the DAC gives it.

I once did an A/B comparison between the Lau and the Taurus with both the HD800 as the LCD3. Overall I prefered the sound signature of the Lau, but both are very capable amps (the latter being almost half the price). I now own the Lau and HD800, so if you have a specific question, feel free to ask.

 

[BobG55]

Thank you nepherte, much appreciated.

 

[BobG55]

  I've tried the mcintosh for 3 weeks in my studio.A good amp but not an end game amp.The cavalli liquid gold could be a really good choice but my end game amp in balanced mode with hd600 hd650 and Lcd-x is the Audio gd master 9.Don't be fooled by the price or by the fact that is made in china.This amp is the best ss balanced amp i've tried in many years of professional audio with headphones.Really really really worth it!

Thanks fradoca, very useful opinion.  I think I'll still stick w/the MHA100 / LG as my two choices.

 

[BobG55]

  From the reviews I've come across regarding the Cavalli, it seems to be the jack of all trades and sounds amazing with all types of headphones. In fact, I have yet to read a single review where someone mentioned that X headphone didn't sound good on it.
 
These two reviews are a good start http://www.head-fi.org/products/cavalli-audio-liquid-gold, particularly the second one. He has a 10k Viva Egoista amp as his reference and still has plenty of good to say about the Cavalli, he also uses the hd800 and t1 in his review.

Thanks amalgamist, I read MikeMercers' review online already.  He also reviewed the MHA100.  I sent him a PM asking him which of the two he likes better since he doesn't compare them in either review but he hasn't answered me.  I realize he's busy.  That's when I decided to create this thread to get opinions/comparisons to help me decide.  Like I've indicated earlier in this thread, I still have time to reflect on this expensive decision. Appreciate the help.

 

[HizerKite]

Hi, am just reading a few posts on here and came across yours.  I have an MHA100 arriving this week (hopefully) and will be using it with a pair of HD800s so it's good to hear the combination works
 
Regards
Richard