[jrhill]

You can buy aftermarket power supplies anywhere but the best results come from linear supplies - the amp comes with a switch mode supply = 28volts, 1.5Amps with a 2.1mm plug and uses approx 360mA in use (0.36Amp).

There are any number of manufacturers of Linear Power Supplies and if you're able, kits also available - Google is your friend

 

[greenkiwi]

Is love to see if a noise nuke creates just add good a power supply. Seems like I cost effective option.

 

[mrjimmybob]

I have just got my Cavalli CTH headphone amp from Massdrop and I am having a very hard time telling it apart from my Little Dot mk II.

Both are fed by a Raspberry Pi with an Allo BOSS DAC, I am using in the testing the Sennheiser HD-6XX also from Massdrop.

For the test, I swap the amps with the same other setup.

I would have expected at least a little increase in sound quality, but cannot really see any improvement. I guess all ears are different but it is very frustrating throwing money away for nothing (welcome to the audiophile world).

If I could afford the Massdrop x AiristAudio R-2R DAC, that is a perfect match at least form factor wise with the CTH headphone amp I would consider keeping the Cavalli, but like this, I am not so sure.

Has anyone else been able to compare these amps?

What are your thoughts on this?

 

[joeike]

I have just got my Cavalli CTH headphone amp from Massdrop and I am having a very hard time telling it apart from my Little Dot mk II.

Both are fed by a Raspberry Pi with an Allo BOSS DAC, I am using in the testing the Sennheiser HD-6XX also from Massdrop.

For the test, I swap the amps with the same other setup.

I would have expected at least a little increase in sound quality, but cannot really see any improvement. I guess all ears are different but it is very frustrating throwing money away for nothing (welcome to the audiophile world).

If I could afford the Massdrop x AiristAudio R-2R DAC, that is a perfect match at least form factor wise with the CTH headphone amp I would consider keeping the Cavalli, but like this, I am not so sure.

Has anyone else been able to compare these amps?

What are your thoughts on this?

Try putting some burning time on that tube I think the sound changed for me after about 40 50 hours worth of burnin maybe try a different set of headphones just to be sure. I do not have another tube amp to compare it to but I'm very happy with it compared to other solid state amps I have.

 

[Raphael DeLaGhetto]

I have just got my Cavalli CTH headphone amp from Massdrop and I am having a very hard time telling it apart from my Little Dot mk II.

Both are fed by a Raspberry Pi with an Allo BOSS DAC, I am using in the testing the Sennheiser HD-6XX also from Massdrop.

For the test, I swap the amps with the same other setup.

I would have expected at least a little increase in sound quality, but cannot really see any improvement. I guess all ears are different but it is very frustrating throwing money away for nothing (welcome to the audiophile world).

If I could afford the Massdrop x AiristAudio R-2R DAC, that is a perfect match at least form factor wise with the CTH headphone amp I would consider keeping the Cavalli, but like this, I am not so sure.

Has anyone else been able to compare these amps?

What are your thoughts on this?

You shouldn't be looking for a "better" sound but a different one. The tube is still brand new, so it's likely to sound bassier & muddier as a result. That'll get better once you hit the 100 hour mark. 50 doesn't get you quite there yet. It also helps to know what to listen for. With the 6XX specifically you should hear a slightly wider sound stage & there should be more air in the treble too. It also gets warmer - much warmer at that with the new tube. That'll taper off as the hours go by but you should hear a bass boost.

I've had my CTH for a few months now & I hear differences almost immediately on another amp. You're still used to your old amp's sound. Listen to the CTH exclusively for a few days then test back & forth.

 

[mrjimmybob]

Thank you all for the comments.

I will continue comparing the Little Dot mk II with the Massdrop Cavalli CTH after giving the Cavalli some more burn-in (to that matter I think the Little Dot mk II needs burning in too!). I really do expect the Cavalli to outperform the Little Dot mk II, for nearly one hundred dollars more it should.

I will also try other headphone like the Audio Technica ATH-A900X, Sennheiser Momentums (over ear version 1), Denon AH-D1100, and in the future if they arrive, the Massdrop HiFiMAN HE-4XX.

I can only really keep one headphone amp (I think my wife is already planning to kill me). The Little Dot mk II does look nice with the 4 tubes, although the chassis does look pretty cheap and flimsy.

On the other hand, the construction of the Cavalli CTH does look more premium, although it only has one glowing tube on top.

I think I like looking at a headphone amp with many tubes glowing, more than I like listening to it! I know, roast me.

It always seem that the hype never lives up to the delivered product, I just hope the Bottlehead Crack I have on the way does. Boy this is turning in to a very expensive hobby.

 

[joeike]

Thank you all for the comments.

I will continue comparing the Little Dot mk II with the Massdrop Cavalli CTH after giving the Cavalli some more burn-in (to that matter I think the Little Dot mk II needs burning in too!). I really do expect the Cavalli to outperform the Little Dot mk II, for nearly one hundred dollars more it should.

I will also try other headphone like the Audio Technica ATH-A900X, Sennheiser Momentums (over ear version 1), Denon AH-D1100, and in the future if they arrive, the Massdrop HiFiMAN HE-4XX.

I can only really keep one headphone amp (I think my wife is already planning to kill me). The Little Dot mk II does look nice with the 4 tubes, although the chassis does look pretty cheap and flimsy.

On the other hand, the construction of the Cavalli CTH does look more premium, although it only has one glowing tube on top.

I think I like looking at a headphone amp with many tubes glowing, more than I like listening to it! I know, roast me.

It always seem that the hype never lives up to the delivered product, I just hope the Bottlehead Crack I have on the way does. Boy this is turning in to a very expensive hobby.

Happy wife happy life. Have a couple beers and you'll have no fears be easy on the ears

 

[ScottFW]

It always seem that the hype never lives up to the delivered product, I just hope the Bottlehead Crack I have on the way does. Boy this is turning in to a very expensive hobby.

I have a Crack with some mods as well as the CTH.
Built the Crack a few years ago and have really enjoyed it with HD650s. Then I got some orthos (T50RP) that I modded to the point that they are actually listenable, but the Crack isn't a great match for those because they're 50 ohms and take a bit of current, so the Crack would peter out in the bass once the volume got up around 11:00-12:00.
The whole reason I bought the CTH was to get something with a neutral-ish frequency response and the detailed transparency of tubes in the mids and treble, but with more balls in the bass for lower impedance less efficient headphones. It delivers that pretty well. Many less expensive tube amps sound too artificially warm or dark or have wooly ill-defined bass.

The CTH also sounds great with HD650s. To me the CTH sounds a touch more transparent (I don't want to say "thin" but perhaps it has a slight "leanness") in the midbass to mids region compared to some other tube amps in its general price range, where the HD650 seems to have a wee bit more density there than other headphones, so the pairing makes a nice synergy.
I flip back and forth between the Crack and CTH with HD650s. I may prefer the Crack slightly more, but the CTH puts in a good showing considering my Crack probably has $700-800 and a lot of my time into it (Speedballed with switchable resistor board for different input tube types, pricey caps, PS mods, the bunch of tubes I've bought specifically for it etc.).

Also FWIW if you're trying to keep this hobby inexpensive by most normal peoples' standards and want an amp that will sound darn good while driving most reasonable headphone loads, I've heard no better buy than the Magni 3 for $99, provided you can live without the visual appeal of tubes.

 

[joeike]

I have a Crack with some mods as well as the CTH.
Built the Crack a few years ago and have really enjoyed it with HD650s. Then I got some orthos (T50RP) that I modded to the point that they are actually listenable, but the Crack isn't a great match for those because they're 50 ohms and take a bit of current, so the Crack would peter out in the bass once the volume got up around 11:00-12:00.
The whole reason I bought the CTH was to get something with a neutral-ish frequency response and the detailed transparency of tubes in the mids and treble, but with more balls in the bass for lower impedance less efficient headphones. It delivers that pretty well. Many less expensive tube amps sound too artificially warm or dark or have wooly ill-defined bass.

The CTH also sounds great with HD650s. To me the CTH sounds a touch more transparent (I don't want to say "thin" but perhaps it has a slight "leanness") in the midbass to mids region compared to some other tube amps in its general price range, where the HD650 seems to have a wee bit more density there than other headphones, so the pairing makes a nice synergy.
I flip back and forth between the Crack and CTH with HD650s. I may prefer the Crack slightly more, but the CTH puts in a good showing considering my Crack probably has $700-800 and a lot of my time into it (Speedballed with switchable resistor board for different input tube types, pricey caps, PS mods, the bunch of tubes I've bought specifically for it etc.).

Also FWIW if you're trying to keep this hobby inexpensive by most normal peoples' standards and want an amp that will sound darn good while driving most reasonable headphone loads, I've heard no better buy than the Magni 3 for $99, provided you can live without the visual appeal of tubes.

What do you think of the t50rp with the CTH ? I have the massdropT-XO fostex and they sound really good with CTH.
IMO.

 

[ScottFW]

What do you think of the t50rp with the CTH ? I have the massdropT-XO fostex and they sound really good with CTH.
IMO.

The combo is pretty good. My T50RP are the MkII version, modified to make them listenable. I have modeling clay worked into the back of the baffles, earcups lined with acoustic foam and stuffed with drug store cotton sheet material which combined to effectively tame the ridiculous midrange echo chamber effect, most of the vents taped over to enhance the bass, and transpore tape on the backs of the drivers to tune the treble. I forget whose version of mods this most resembles but it's pretty standard fare for T50RPs. Also running the V-Moda cable.

The CTH has all the power they need for good bass (well defined with good extension) and the midrange is about right with the amp delivering on the resolution potential of those drivers (provided the deficiencies of the stock housings have been addressed). I haven't quite been 100% happy with the treble, but that's totally on the headphones and their state of modding, no fault of the CTH. I could probably play with the amount and placement of the transpore tape a little more. It's not particularly sibilant, just a touch uneven across the top end, but not quite objectionable enough to compel me to open them up again for more tweaking. If I'm not being deliberately nitpicky, the combo is very nice for extended listening sessions.

I haven't heard the T-X0 but from web pics it appears they addressed some of the shortcomings of the T50RP, which at least in MkII version was kind of a turd in stock form.

 

[joeike]

The combo is pretty good. My T50RP are the MkII version, modified to make them listenable. I have modeling clay worked into the back of the baffles, earcups lined with acoustic foam and stuffed with drug store cotton sheet material which combined to effectively tame the ridiculous midrange echo chamber effect, most of the vents taped over to enhance the bass, and transpore tape on the backs of the drivers to tune the treble. I forget whose version of mods this most resembles but it's pretty standard fare for T50RPs. Also running the V-Moda cable.

The CTH has all the power they need for good bass (well defined with good extension) and the midrange is about right with the amp delivering on the resolution potential of those drivers (provided the deficiencies of the stock housings have been addressed). I haven't quite been 100% happy with the treble, but that's totally on the headphones and their state of modding, no fault of the CTH. I could probably play with the amount and placement of the transpore tape a little more. It's not particularly sibilant, just a touch uneven across the top end, but not quite objectionable enough to compel me to open them up again for more tweaking. If I'm not being deliberately nitpicky, the combo is very nice for extended listening sessions.

I haven't heard the T-X0 but from web pics it appears they addressed some of the shortcomings of the T50RP, which at least in MkII version was kind of a turd in stock form.

The only thing I changed on the T-XO's where the Vmoda cable swap out and the brainwaves angled sheepskin pads which helped with the comfort and bass. I never heard a T50rp mk2 myself or what mods they added at massdrop to these but I'm very happy.

 

[Bruc3]

Im curious how does the cth compare to the valhalla 2?

Particularly looking at pairing it with sennheiser hd650 and beyer t90.

 

[elwappo99]

Is anyone else's MCTH volume knob scratchy when adjusting during an active signal? Mine is quite scratchy in the left channel when doing so.

Older post, but I also had this, but much worse. A can of deoxit resolved it.

 

[JerryLeeds]

Hey everyone ... Which closed headphones have paired well with this amp? Need something new for use in an office setup with the CTH

 

[someyoungguy]

I’m using B&W P7s. I was using HD6XXs, which is a good match but I decided after trying them maybe I’m really a closed headphone fan; I like some deep rumble in the low end and found the HD6XX/650s didn’t have enough for my tastes. The P7s are easy to drive and don’t need an amp, but do sound great out of the CTH