[sennfan83261]

I owned a LP for a little while. The main problem I had with it (and the reason I ended up selling it) wasn't the amount of gain it had, but the way it's poorly implemented volume attenuator rapidly ramped up from a low to high volume level.

I really hope the volume pot on the Liquid Gold X has a much more gradual attenuation curve.

Yeah, that was the issue with my first LP. I sent it back and I'm happy to say that the replacement LP's pot has much better tracking and no channel imbalance at that 11 o'clock gain boundary(?). There's still that leveling up of the volume around 11 o'clock but not has massive as the first unit. I swear, it seems that it is the luck of the draw on which crappy pot is picked from the parts bin, some obviously crappier than the others.

 

[Zachik]

this review is by one of my favorite & most trusted reviewers & Head-Fi members.

@Hansotek Dave is a solid guy, and great reviewer!

Just put this amp on my "irrational purchases" radar. I needed a new amp compulsion, and this is it...

You have just summarized 90% of my purchases (and this hobby in general)...

 

[Slim1970]

I owned a LP for a little while. The main problem I had with it (and the reason I ended up selling it) wasn't the amount of gain it had, but the way it's poorly implemented volume attenuator rapidly ramped up from a low to high volume level.

I really hope the volume pot on the Liquid Gold X has a much more gradual attenuation curve.

It's still a problem, but you can get more flexibility out of the volume knob by using lowering the attenuation on your DAC. I use the Hugo 2 and I lower the output volume. So I'm able to get 2 o'clock on the dial without blowing up my headphones and ears.

 

[35FLE]

I think its exactly the same pot. It seems the difference is LP has fixed 5x gain only, while LGX offers a 4x and 6x setting. The reviewer who says 8'oclock on LP 5x = 9'oclock on LGX 4x seems to confirm this.

The original LAu had 4x and 8x gain settings.

 

[ruinedx]

The original LAu had 4x and 8x gain settings.

The LGX (4x/6x switchable) has less power than the original LAu, but more power than the LP (5x fixed)

 

[sahmen]

Speaking of LG X impressions, is it still true that people ordering from California tend to receive their orders first? I remember receiving my first LP on the East Coast (Mass) much later than did those who ordered from California although I also ordered on day 1 of the LP's release. Of course there were no Covid-19 related shipping issues at that time, so who knows how they're going to impact the process now?

 

[sennfan83261]

Speaking of LG X impressions, is it still true that people ordering from California tend to receive their orders first? I remember receiving my first LP on the East Coast (Mass) much later than did those who ordered from California although I also ordered on day 1 of the LP's release. Of course there were no Covid-19 related shipping issues at that time, so who knows how they're going to impact the process now?

All things being equal, and that there's no natural disasters along the shipping route, then it is just a matter of geography. With their warehouse located outside of Los Angeles (Rancho Cucamonga), and using their standard ground shipping, it makes sense that items shipped on the same day is received by a customer in San Diego a few days earlier than is received by a customer in Boston. For example, since I relocated to San Diego from LA while WFH, I receive packages from Monoprice within 48hrs after placing my order with them my purchase is placed on a delivery truck from their warehouse.

EDIT

 

[Odin412]

Well well, look at what the friendly delivery person just dropped off...

 

[sahmen]

Well well, look at what the friendly delivery person just dropped off...

Veeery Nice! Listening impressions? We're all ears, literally

 

[sennfan83261]

Veeery Nice! Listening impressions? We're all ears, literally

And impressions of its build, mostly whether Monoprice's inclusion of a gain switch makes any difference to the volume pot issues that plague the LP.

 

[35FLE]

Just arrived

 

[Allanmarcus]

This is a goona be a great amp buy once MP starts to discount it to $800 and it hits the used market for $600 I predictthe first one will sell used for $600 by 2021/11/01. Come back then and find out

 

[omegaorgun]

This is a goona be a great amp buy once MP starts to discount it to $800 and it hits the used market for $600 I predictthe first one will sell used for $600 by 2021/11/01. Come back then and find out

Ah a used market man like myself lol! Would also like to see how reliable it is as the Liquid Platinum seemed to have lots of issues.

 

[Odin412]

First Liquid Gold X Impressions

I admit it – I purchased my Liquid Gold X on the day it was released. Yes, I could have waited for a possible future discount, but I’ve used the delay since the product was first introduced to save up for the big day. Besides, I figure with all the teleworking and not much possibility of any travel in the near future it’s OK to treat myself to a little something.
The Liquid Gold X has the exact same dimensions as the Liquid Platinum. In fact, it looks like it uses the exact same cabinet and power supply too. It’s well made, the buttons feel good and the volume knob has a nice feel to it. Speaking of buttons, most of the buttons are just pushbuttons that tell the computer inside what to do – they don’t stay in the pushed-in position when pressed. That’s OK – there’s a relay that clicks when turning it on and changing inputs. The only ‘real’ button is the gain switch. Careful with that one – I changed gain in the middle of listening and was rewarded with an unpleasantly loud ‘click’ noise. Better to turn the volume down and disconnect the headphone before changing gain. It’s nice to have switchable gain – that’s a feature that I wish the Liquid Platinum had as well. The amp runs quite warm. It’s not quite painful to the touch, but it’s close.
Enough physical descriptions, how does it sound? The first thing that struck me was the bass. It’s deep and juicy. I used the Focal Elegia for my listening and some people claim that the Elegia is bass light. Listen to ‘No One’ by Alicia Keys through the Liquid Gold X and tell me if the Elegia is bass light. Didn’t think so. The midrange has the trademark Cavalli ‘liquid’ sound and is just beautiful. The treble is smooth and clean. I also noticed that the sound was very spacious. These are very initial impressions, but so far I really like what I’m hearing.
What about the built-in DAC? It connects to my Windows 10 laptop without any issues (Windows identifies it as a Cavalli DAC), and you don’t need to download any drivers. During brief casual listening it sounded rather similar to my Bifrost Multibit, but I need to spend more time with it to further opine on the sound.
I’ve only had the amp for a day so these are very initial impressions, but so far I’m very happy with the Liquid Gold X. When the original Liquid Gold was available it was a $4,000 amp so I feel fortunate to be able to get what’s essentially the same amp for ¼ of the cost.

 

[ruinedx]

Would love to see if this amp is HD800-friendly like LP just for firsthand recommendation purposes (basically nothing solid state under $1k is a good match with them) but have another amp on order...