Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp (CTH) - Dropping Monday
Jun 30, 2019 at 10:00 AM Post #1,127 of 1,441
Hey alterndog,
Did anything in your chain change? Especially the DAC in the chain?
The CTH shares the ground with the source. If anything changes there, could change the ground and if you touch the pot that could make a noise.
(If you don't have any source plugged into the CTH, that could definitely cause it.)

Hello CEE TEE,

Sorry for the late reply. For some reason I wasn't notified that you had replied until I went on vacation and could not test the equipment. I have not changed my chain at all. It is my computer>DFB>CTH.

I had read moving the pot around (with amp off) may help as it might dislodge dust. After doing that the static isn't as bad as it was last time. I now only hear the static when I move the volume pot with no music playing. When I am playing music I cannot hear the static. Any help would appreciated. Personally I can deal with the static if it's only audible when no music is playing. I just want to be sure that it isn't a symptom of a bigger issue or will cause more damage to the amp.
 
Last edited:
Jul 1, 2019 at 2:50 AM Post #1,128 of 1,441
Hello CEE TEE,

Sorry for the late reply. For some reason I wasn't notified that you had replied until I went on vacation and could not test the equipment. I have not changed my chain at all. It is my computer>DFB>CTH.

I had read moving the pot around (with amp off) may help as it might dislodge dust. After doing that the static isn't as bad as it was last time. I now only hear the static when I move the volume pot with no music playing. When I am playing music I cannot hear the static. Any help would appreciated. Personally I can deal with the static if it's only audible when no music is playing. I just want to be sure that it isn't a symptom of a bigger issue or will cause more damage to the amp.

Oh! No worries at all...just super-happy things seem to be working again!

Not exactly related, but these are things we test: I just moved an amp off my desk into another room today to see if some interference was causing the noise. Sure enough, either my RCA cables aren’t shielded enough or the amp is susceptible...so it is now my bedside amp and I am enjoying it again right now. :)
 
Jul 2, 2019 at 2:00 PM Post #1,129 of 1,441
Got my 6c8G adapter today and immediately plugged in my new NOS Ken Rad tube. Unfortunately there's a lot of static noise in my right channel which I can't get rid of. It's always there even with no volume turned up. Right now this project feels like $50 in the ocean. With my e88cc tubes the amp is dead quiet. To make it even worse I also dropped my best sounding Philips e88cc in the floor and it stopped working. Bad day in head-fi.

[Update]
Solved it! The noise was coming from my Ifi Ipurifier connected to my dac. Unplugged it and voila, again dead quiet! Never heard the noise with my e88cc tubes but with this new 6c8G it was very much there. Feels much better now!
 
Last edited:
Jul 2, 2019 at 2:08 PM Post #1,130 of 1,441
If your kenrad is nos. Give it maybe 5 to 6 hours of burn in and see if the noise subsides. My Tungsol was a little noisy for the first few hours and went completely silent. Over the years I've had many nos tubes show some noise initially then silent after running a while.
I feel your pain dropping tubes. Few years ago I just opened a pair of western electric 396a, and dropped one and it shattered. $60 down the drain.
Don't throw the towel in on the 6c8g yet. Let me know if the noise goes away.
Got my 6c8G adapter today and immediately plugged in my new NOS Ken Rad tube. Unfortunately there's a lot of static noise in my right channel which I can't get rid of. It's always there even with no volume turned up. Right now this project feels like $50 in the ocean. With my e88cc tubes the amp is dead quiet. To make it even worse I also dropped my best sounding Philips e88cc in the floor and it stopped working. Bad day in head-fi.
 
Jul 2, 2019 at 2:17 PM Post #1,131 of 1,441
If your kenrad is nos. Give it maybe 5 to 6 hours of burn in and see if the noise subsides. My Tungsol was a little noisy for the first few hours and went completely silent. Over the years I've had many nos tubes show some noise initially then silent after running a while.
I feel your pain dropping tubes. Few years ago I just opened a pair of western electric 396a, and dropped one and it shattered. $60 down the drain.
Don't throw the towel in on the 6c8g yet. Let me know if the noise goes away.

I updated my post! It's all working now! Faulty power supply for my Ipurifier, I connected it a few weeks ago and apparently I connected the power supply that isn't really working, I've had similar problems before and never got rid of the faulty one. Switched to the other one and now it's all good!
 
Jul 31, 2019 at 11:24 PM Post #1,132 of 1,441
Hey guys,

I just acquired a 2nd hand massdrop CTH amp an am experiencing an issue where when playing music, I will suddenly hear a loud pop from the left channel. The light turns red and the music gets muted. Music resumes after a while, but this happens every 2-3mins. The problem occurs with and without headphones plugged in, with and without input plugged in, with different tubes and with different volume positions. Has anybody experienced this before? What could the problem be?

Really appreciate your help!

Thanks,
Kev
 
Aug 6, 2019 at 10:52 AM Post #1,133 of 1,441
Mine just arrived... was listening to it for most of the afternoon. Sounds good so far, however, I had it effectively power cycle itself twice. Heard two loud pops, power light went red, then music came back. Happened twice. Don't know what would have caused that, created a ticket with MD.

I have this issue as well. I just ordered a new Gold Lion tube to see if maybe that fixes the issue, but has anyone else here found a fix to the pop-shut off problem?
 
Aug 7, 2019 at 12:49 AM Post #1,134 of 1,441
That little volume ident is perfect for filling with white paint!
IMG_20190806_191028.jpg
 
Sep 15, 2019 at 7:38 PM Post #1,135 of 1,441
Curious if anyone still owns this amp besides me. Lol.
This is the longest tenured amp I've ever owned. 1 year , and 4 months. I truly believe that so many threw the towel in way too early on this amp.
I'll be heading to Florida to visit family next week. I'll be meeting a friend who has a Lyr3 , with the multibit module. I'm taking my cans and laptop to have a listen. Will be interesting to see if I'm missing anything when I get back home to my rig.
 
Sep 15, 2019 at 7:57 PM Post #1,136 of 1,441
Curious if anyone still owns this amp besides me. Lol.
This is the longest tenured amp I've ever owned. 1 year , and 4 months. I truly believe that so many threw the towel in way too early on this amp.
I'll be heading to Florida to visit family next week. I'll be meeting a friend who has a Lyr3 , with the multibit module. I'm taking my cans and laptop to have a listen. Will be interesting to see if I'm missing anything when I get back home to my rig.

I'm waiting on the funds to get the airist dac. After owning the modi multibit I can tell you it's not worth the price Schiit asks for it. I'm sure the lyr 3 will be great, but if you can bring a dac you own you will get a much better idea of what the lyr3 sounds like.
 
Sep 15, 2019 at 8:00 PM Post #1,137 of 1,441
Curious if anyone still owns this amp besides me. Lol.
This is the longest tenured amp I've ever owned. 1 year , and 4 months. I truly believe that so many threw the towel in way too early on this amp.
I'll be heading to Florida to visit family next week. I'll be meeting a friend who has a Lyr3 , with the multibit module. I'm taking my cans and laptop to have a listen. Will be interesting to see if I'm missing anything when I get back home to my rig.

The MCTH is actually the last amp I've added to my collection. I instantly fell in love with its sound, even more so after adding the LPS. I may be a fan of the Cavalli sound, as I was hoping I would be as I originally was going after the LP.
Added in a Airist R2R dac and the MCTH isn't going anywhere any time soon.
 
Sep 16, 2019 at 12:20 AM Post #1,138 of 1,441
Curious if anyone still owns this amp besides me. Lol.
This is the longest tenured amp I've ever owned. 1 year , and 4 months. I truly believe that so many threw the towel in way too early on this amp.
I'll be heading to Florida to visit family next week. I'll be meeting a friend who has a Lyr3 , with the multibit module. I'm taking my cans and laptop to have a listen. Will be interesting to see if I'm missing anything when I get back home to my rig.
I still got it too buddy :) I was on 1st drop, so own it for quite a while!!
In fact, I was A/B-ing couple headphones over the last 2 days, and for reasons I won't go into right now - I have decided to use the Airist R2R and CTH to feed said headphones :wink:
 
Sep 16, 2019 at 7:17 AM Post #1,140 of 1,441
I will do that. Mimby is easily transportable. My last move will be an airist dac as well.
I'm waiting on the funds to get the airist dac. After owning the modi multibit I can tell you it's not worth the price Schiit asks for it. I'm sure the lyr 3 will be great, but if you can bring a dac you own you will get a much better idea of what the lyr3 sounds like.
 

Users who are viewing this thread

Back
Top