[mrarroyo]

How about some pictures! We like pictures!

 

[Ricey20]

yes, pictures please! Considering trying one of these.

 

[warrior05]

Caliente has been unboxed and hooked up. Nice straight forward looking amp. I may use it as a desk amp if I don't feel like powering up my reference setup. Or perhaps on my workbench while I'm doing my mods and recables.

I won't provide any listening impressions since I literally just plugged it in and listened to 3 songs. All's I will say is that it sounds very promising.

On to the pics:

Box opened

And here it is

How I plan to use this little guy

From behind

I tried the amp with my DT990/600. Drove them fine. I was at around 10:00 for a comfortable level. 12:00 is about as high as I would go. Maybe 1:00 if I wanted to rock out for one song. Any higher and it would be too much. When I switched to a 32 ohm 'phone - I was around 8:00 for normal listening.

Oh, I cranked the volume full on without music playing - dead silent. Nice!

Time for some burnin'!

 

[Xan7hos]

Nice! that's a really cool dock!

the rear panel is clean and simple

 

[omendelovitz]

Quote:

Originally Posted by oinkbanana /img/forum/go_quote.gif headphones: HD650 -with ipod headphone out i'm still really wanting much much more volume (ipod set to max volume, headphone amp to the max as well obviously)... -with motu 896HD line out, it's louder but i'm still not worried about my ears in the least -I get similar results using the computers built in X-Fi soundcard what am I doing wrong? :/ i'm not handicapped.. i know how to set volume on stuff and i'm not deaf either. I know I do really enjoy my music loud, i'm gonna try it tomorrow with a Tascam CD-601 and a Bryston BP26 (not sure if the preamp is necessary in the chain). and pics tomorrow, the batteries are currently charging. promise.

I think I figured out your volume problem - this has happened to Peter and I as well, so you're in good company. Make sure that your headphone plug is plugged ALL the way into the jack. The jacks are tight as can be and until they've broken in a little they can, well, push back a bit. What you have then is a 99% connection, with a poorly connected L/R channel (generates volume problems, not SQ problems). To make sure you've got 100% connection - in the beginning (while the jack is working in, this doesn't have to be done forever), hold the back of the amp while inserting the jack, and push until you can't any longer.

 

[Greymoor]

This is just a quick note to let the group buyers know that my Red Caliente has arrived. Right out of the box it sounded very nice. The burn in has now commenced. I took a quick snapshot of it. pardon the lackluster quality.

 

[jsedgwick]

i will be getting mine tomorrow, so i'll report back.

 

[iGig]

I received my amp earlier today, it was well packed, in one piece and it works! There were no loose parts inside because I shook it and it didn't sound like a maraca.

My brief initial impression is that is not too bassy with HD650 (I was a little afraid of this) I hear a little more treble extension compared to my Perreaux SX-1 and if it becomes a little better with burn in I can say that I'll be happy for a long time.

I'll post more impressions after I spend more time with it and I'll post some pics after I clean my desk, which could be never.

Thanks Oriel, Peter and everyone who recommended this amp.

 

[Taikero]

I would like to commend Oriel and Peter for creating a product which thrills from the moment you pull it out of the box.

I received my K.I.C.A.S. just before lunch today and I must say I am nothing but thrilled with the combination of the K.I.C.A.S. and my D5000s. Fed through the E-MU 0404 USB and this cable which is silver-plated copper, I wanted to note a few major differences between the K.I.C.A.S. and my E-MU 0404 USB.

First noticeable difference: Much better depth of sound stage.
Second noticeable difference: Far better control of bass. The D5000 has very little bloat now!
Third noticeable difference: Better control of sibilance and piercing highs. An overall smoothing of the sound. My enjoyment of metal just shot through the roof.
Fourth noticeable difference: It took me a while to put my finger on this one, but it simply feels as if MORE of the headphone driver is being used at any one time as opposed to the E-MU 0404's built-in headphone amp.
Fifth noticeable difference: This is really difficult to explain, but with the smoothing of the sound the volume level of the overall sound coming from the headphone is more uniform, yet at the same time it feels as if almost every song has much more "room to breathe" or "depth".....can't think of the word at the moment. Unless I just wasn't listening to the track before, I think I heard a train/subway stopping outside the recording studio/area near the beginning of Porcupine Tree's "Deadwing". Simply incredible.
Sixth and most important noticeable difference: Every single reproduced sound has a much more REAL feeling to it. I am very close to using the word "texture" to describe what I'm hearing.



I'll likely have more thoughts tomorrow at work. Going to be a long day and I'll definitely need some music to get me through it.

 

[Xan7hos]

Just unboxed my Caliente!

Unfortunately I am not using my main desktop as a transport, so I'm a bit short of music.

Source is a Valab Non-OS DAC (2008 ver), -> Generic RCA -> Caliente -> AKG K501.

Bit tired to do any qualified listening of the amp. I'll post my thoughts tomorow. In the mean time..burn in!

Some Initial Impressions

1) The design is very simple, The Caliente has lived up to its name. Clean and Simple indeed.
2) Background/ambient noise is virtually non-existent. (I'm getting more noise from my desktop computer due to open cans)
3) I don't have any problems with the volume pot. The torque level of it feels right. Easy to listen to things @ 11, things get enjoyable around 12-1 o clock


EDIT: Listening to Grado SR-125s now, experimenting with liberators and tape/bass mod. Liberators do not synergize well with the SR-125s. So I'm back to stock SR-125.

As mentioned earlier, 32 ohm headphones seem to very much like the 8-10 o clock area. It's very smooth sounding

 

[powerslave]

Got my black caliente about an hour ago and set it up and its burning in now. I'm not terribly good at describing what i listen to so bear with me here.

Modded Samsung HD841 -> Anti Cable IC's -> Caliente -> Senn HD650

I had a quick listen after 30 minutes and can tell this baby can sing. I can turn it up a bit higher then i normally would and the sound gets deeper, more spacious not just louder. There's just more control of the sound and the bass is deep. I'll check them again periodically over the next few days and update. Thanks to Oriel and Peter for creating such a great affordable little amp!

 

[Xan7hos]

^ What RCA cables are those?

 

[powerslave]

Those are anti cable IC's. They run roughly $100. Sometimes you can find em for slighly cheaper used on Agon. I got mines used, figured i'd give them a try. Just for reference, I didn't like them all that much on my Stax setup, seemed a bit too lean but after listening to them a bit with the caliente and 650's, i think they go well together.
Check em out here:

Anti-Cables | Anti-IC's

 

[K3cT]

Very interesting folks, keep those impressions coming for peeps like us who are on the fence!

I'm seriously considering either this or the Head-Direct EF1 to mate with my modded Denon D2000 in the not-so-far future. I wonder when will the next group buy will be opened?

 

[tescosamoa]

Mine arrived. listening now

foobar > aiso > hotaudio dac destroyer > k.i.c.a.s > DT990 250ohm

Listening to it at the 10 PM mark on the volume dial. Initial impressions. Sounds nice.

I listened to some Richie hawtin DE9:Transitions , Porcupine Tree Deadwing and then some Amon Amarth With Oden on Our Side.

Now I am going to listen to The lord of the rings the complete recordings to break it in.