[humblesquad]

Will Liquid Platinum be sold on Amazon.com? International shipping fee is significantly cheaper on there than Monoprice.com.

 

[snip3r77]

ETA: 10/5/2018

Almost 1 month to go~~

 

[Hansotek]

Some might need a review before it’s released

Workin' on that for ya.

 

[humblesquad]

Workin' on that for ya.

Can't wait your review (especially vs Liquid Crimson, and Liquid Carbon in your memory)

 

[Hansotek]

Can't wait your review (especially vs Liquid Crimson, and Liquid Carbon in your memory)

It definitely shares a lot of sonic elements I loved about the Liquid Crimson. There are a couple of special things in the midrange that really brought me back.

 

[sahmen]

Workin' on that for ya.

Can't wait for this review... Any possible teasers, spoilers, just to give us a little taste of what is to come?

PS. I posted the above before seeing your last post, which describes exactly what I meant by "teaser"...

One thing I would like to know is to what extent the balanced topology of this iteration enhances or changes its sound vis-à-vis that of the Crimson, which wasn't a genuinely balanced amp. If you can comment on that, the gesture will be really appreciated.

 

[sahmen]

Not sure about this, but the Liquid Platinum certainly looks like a unit that would benefit from the use of an external power supply unit... Does anyone know of a good power supply of 36 volts, 1.5A specs that might match and optimize the sq of the platinum?

 

[Hansotek]

Can't wait for this review... Any possible teasers, spoilers, just to give us a little taste of what is to come?

PS. I posted the above before seeing your last post, which describes exactly what I meant by "teaser"...

One thing I would like to know is to what extent the balanced topology of this iteration enhances or changes its sound vis-à-vis that of the Crimson, which wasn't a genuinely balanced amp. If you can comment on that, the gesture will be really appreciated.

I don't know if being balanced changes it that much, per se. There are other factors in the design that will play a larger role in any sonic changes, depending on the headphone. That being said, they sound pretty similar.

 

[Hansotek]

Not sure about this, but the Liquid Platinum certainly looks like a unit that would benefit from the use of an external power supply unit... Does anyone know of a good power supply of 36 volts, 1.5A specs that might match and optimize the sq of the platinum?

I suspect you are right about this. Make no mistake, it definitely sounds really good with the SMPS, but I have a feeling it could scale to an even higher level with a linear PSU.

 

[sahmen]

I don't know if being balanced changes it that much, per se. There are other factors in the design that will play a larger role in any sonic changes, depending on the headphone. That being said, they sound pretty similar.

I agree that whether balanced make any sonic difference might depend on different factors, particularly the headphone. At any rate, in asking about the difference which "balanced" might make,. I did not mean to disparage the sound of the original Crimson, which had an almost legendary reputation among some headfiers for its sound quality. If the Platinum winds up sounding as good as the Crimson, I will not complain at all, especially given that the Platinum's price will be about a fourth of that of the Crimson.

 

[Hansotek]

I agree that whether balanced make any sonic difference might depend on different factors, particularly the headphone. At any rate, in asking about the difference which "balanced" might make,. I did not mean to disparage the sound of the original Crimson, which had an almost legendary reputation among some headfiers for its sound quality. If the Platinum winds up sounding as good as the Crimson, I will not complain at all, especially given that the Platinum's price will be about a fourth of that of the Crimson.

I meant other factors such as the power supply, the physical size of the amplifier and the amount of class-A bias will probably have a greater effect on the sound, versus the balanced or unbalanced configuration. And how much effect any one of those has will depend on the headphone.

For example, a Fostex TH900’s sound is greatly impacted by an amplifier’s power supply. Will the Platinum be able to give you the same level of otherworldly impact as the Crimson?

A low efficiency headphone like an Abyss or HE-6 will be greatly impacted by the class-A/class-A/B bias and the amplifier’s ability to dissipate heat. What, if any, changes can we expect?

These are the bigger factors I’m trying to suss out. Balanced vs. unbalanced is a highly speculative question, since the Crimson didn’t have balanced mode.

What I can tell you so far is that running a mid-efficiency headphone like the HE500 at medium volume in balanced mode sounds super similar to the Crimson. Not sure if I could tell the difference blind, based on my memory. I can also tell you this is the best pairing I’ve heard so far for the Campfire Cascade - like next level synergy there.

That’s about all I have so far, I still have to really put it through the rigors to see how it performs with different headphones.

 

[greenkiwi]

I suspect you are right about this. Make no mistake, it definitely sounds really good with the SMPS, but I have a feeling it could scale to an even higher level with a linear PSU.

I'm kinda hoping that we could put a group buy into iFi for one of their iPower SMPSs. Active filtering might be a nice cost effective performance improvement that matches the pricing & size of this amp.

 

[LCMusicLover]

I'm kinda hoping that we could put a group buy into iFi for one of their iPower SMPSs. Active filtering might be a nice cost effective performance improvement that matches the pricing & size of this amp.

I don't think that would work. The iPower only goes to 15V, but the LP needs 36V.

Unless I'm mis-reading the specs of one or the other?

 

[runeight]

I don't think that would work. The iPower only goes to 15V, but the LP needs 36V.

Unless I'm mis-reading the specs of one or the other?

You are correct about the Platinum PS.

 

[snip3r77]

Workin' on that for ya.

1. May I know the output impedance for both SE and Balanced ?
Plan to at least use sensitive IEM for the SE part ( at least )

2. What is the amp signature?
Neutral/Warm
Thick Mids which I love

3. Does it have good heft with regards to the bass dept. ?

Thanks