[jonathan c]

It does sound great (especially with: cap mods, LPS, and Philips BEL 6922s). If only the gain were not so high…. I did not want to replace my DAC (Mojo Audio Mystique) by one with a volume control….thus exit LP+…

 

[dstarr3]

I think I read this somewhere, maybe someone here can confirm one way or the other. But I feel like I once read that good NOS tubes should be good for about 10,000 hours? Which, if that's the case, leaving a tube amp on 24/7 would mean the best tubes would only be good for about a little over a year. Whereas if you only turn the amp on during actual use, tubes could last 5-10 years easy.

 

[Stylish]

I think I read this somewhere, maybe someone here can confirm one way or the other. But I feel like I once read that good NOS tubes should be good for about 10,000 hours? Which, if that's the case, leaving a tube amp on 24/7 would mean the best tubes would only be good for about a little over a year. Whereas if you only turn the amp on during actual use, tubes could last 5-10 years easy.

I ended up wasting a bunch of hours on my NOS Telefunken for my Liquid Crimson, ended up putting it away even if the time was 10k hours I wouldn't find it worth it. It just burns something that's getting rather rare / scarce. Save those tubes for full listening sessions imo.

 

[music_man]

I am not using the LPS. It does sound better. Staff here unplug/plug stuff every morning. Nothing I can do. I am very pleased with the sound of my system regardless.

I have an IFI Pro Ican here I am going to return. I think the LP is way better. I keep forgetting that the LP is a $3,000 amp. Usually, things are priced accordingly. That is why every man and his dog wants this one. I was wondering what anyone else thinks about the LP Vs. the Ican? the Ican is $2,250 and I think the LP wipes the floor with it. For one thing I think the design is much nicer to begin with.

 

[music_man]

My headphones are very sensitive. Is it better to set the DAC's XLR output less hot so that the volume on the LP is around 12 O'clock? Or with the standard 4 volts on the XLR the volume is at about 9 O'clock. The volume does not start until 7:30 or so. I am guessing that for one thing there could be channel imbalance that low. It should just work better in the middle of the dial? Although I am afraid that can cause premature wear and tear? If no
t on the tubes, the solid state circuitry as well.
==============================================================================
Edit: I went ahead and set it so the volume on the LP is at 12 O'clock. This sounds much better than 9 O'clock as I figured. I keep thinking that the Ican has to be better. Forgetting that the LP is grossly underpriced. I like this better than the Benchmark HPA4 as well. what amp is clearly better than this. Beyond subjectivity? I was well aware that this was punching well beyond it's weight. I did not realize in the ball park of 3 grand. This is actually the case? The only reason I have my eyes open is due to my using it so much and being unable to make use of the LPS. The sound from it is more than satisfactory.

 

[Stylish]

My headphones are very sensitive. Is it better to set the DAC's XLR output less hot so that the volume on the LP is around 12 O'clock? Or with the standard 4 volts on the XLR the volume is at about 9 O'clock. The volume does not start until 7:30 or so. I am guessing that for one thing there could be channel imbalance that low. It should just work better in the middle of the dial? Although I am afraid that can cause premature wear and tear? If no
t on the tubes, the solid state circuitry as well.
==============================================================================
Edit: I went ahead and set it so the volume on the LP is at 12 O'clock. This sounds much better than 9 O'clock as I figured. I keep thinking that the Ican has to be better. Forgetting that the LP is grossly underpriced. I like this better than the Benchmark HPA4 as well. what amp is clearly better than this. Beyond subjectivity? I was well aware that this was punching well beyond it's weight. I did not realize in the ball park of 3 grand. This is actually the case? The only reason I have my eyes open is due to my using it so much and being unable to make use of the LPS. The sound from it is more than satisfactory.

Doesnt sound similar to the Liquid Crimson, only sounds similar in regards to mid presentation, crimson has much better technical capabilities when I had both side by side, notably Low end is far better as well as stage, speed, imaging. Platinum punches above its weight class but its not quite not the same as what its based on its more its own thing, notably the Platinum responds much better to tube rolling especially when modded.

 

[music_man]

I kind of figured that. I am not sure about the quote of it is simply a balanced Liquid Crimson. On the other hand the Ican may be overpriced or I just don't like it. It uses a tube "effect" AFAIK. I am not sure why some people feel that the Liquid Platinum is such a great amplifier. I am sure I will not have to look far to find something solid state that I like better. Or maybe I will. The Liquid Platinum is rather impressive to me. I am not sure compared to the Liquid Crimson other than the very first statement the advertising makes. I am not sure why they would stick their neck out like that if everyone already knew quite differently. I am not entirely sure if your opinion is subjective or factual. I suppose more people would have to speak on the subject. Still, I am trying to figure out where the bar might be set. What amps do people compare it to. Although, that is probably subjective as well. It could be allover the place. I really like the sound even compared to some amps 5X it's cost. Of course that is subjective on my part as well. As far as it being directly comparable to the sound of the Liquid Crimson I can only go by the original advertising statements. To that effect, at the time many people agreed and were super hyped about this. Just look at the first 5 posts in this thread. It had been confirmed as true and people were tripping on themselves to get the Liquid Platinum. After your comments I am not sure what to believe. I do like to play the devils advocate. This just sounds too good however. this thing is trying too hard to prove itself to me. It really does not want me to send it back . I have been ready to pack it up and have refrained about Ten times already. This thing really wants to stay put. I do think it sounds that good. I have owned and currently have on hand stuff in every price range. The WA33 is way better but I must give this poor thing a break somewhere.

 

[Stylish]

I kind of figured that. I am not sure about the quote of it is simply a balanced Liquid Crimson. On the other hand the Ican may be overpriced or I just don't like it. It uses a tube "effect" AFAIK. I am not sure why some people feel that the Liquid Platinum is such a great amplifier. I am sure I will not have to look far to find something solid state that I like better. Or maybe I will. The Liquid Platinum is rather impressive to me. I am not sure compared to the Liquid Crimson other than the very first statement the advertising makes. I am not sure why they would stick their neck out like that if everyone already knew quite differently. I am not entirely sure if your opinion is subjective or factual. I suppose more people would have to speak on the subject. Still, I am trying to figure out where the bar might be set. What amps do people compare it to. Although, that is probably subjective as well. It could be allover the place. I really like the sound even compared to some amps 5X it's cost. Of course that is subjective on my part as well. As far as it being directly comparable to the sound of the Liquid Crimson I can only go by the original advertising statements. To that effect, at the time many people agreed and were super hyped about this. Just look at the first 5 posts in this thread. It had been confirmed as true and people were tripping on themselves to get the Liquid Platinum. After your comments I am not sure what to believe. I do like to play the devils advocate. This just sounds too good however. this thing is trying too hard to prove itself to me. It really does not want me to send it back . I have been ready to pack it up and have refrained about Ten times already. This thing really wants to stay put. I do think it sounds that good. I have owned and currently have on hand stuff in every price range. The WA33 is way better but I must give this poor thing a break somewhere.

Oh it’s a fantastic amp, as I stated it replicates the Crimson’s midrange performance rather well and generally does a lot better than amps at it’s price range especially used prices, add in cap modding, tube rolling etc it’s a very good package at 350-450$. Hype around this product existed because of its marketing yeah and the fact that only 30 Liquid Crimsons actually exist, so anything close to that sound signature at the price I’ve stated is actually really good despite it not being truly the same sound signature. I always recommend the Liquid Platinum to people wanting a nice amplifier without shelling out serious cash, I just have had both for a long period of time and their definitely different.

 

[music_man]

Yeah. I am not that happy with the deal I got. I paid $800 and it is currently $639 on amazon. That is still a lot. Add, rolling tubes can run $650 a shot.....
I ordered the Burson Soloist Grand tourer today. I sure hope I like that one already. I mean to some extent stuff is subjective but I was positive that the original marketing on this was a bit outlandish. I get it now. People are biting on it for $350 used. For the $800 I am letting them have it back too. Especially since those tubes last less than 5000 hours and me using it so much.

 

[music_man]

The amp in the RME ADI-2 is much more competent and neutral. The LP is more fun but it is not as good of an amp. The RME's amp is surprisingly good but I have a feeling that the Soloist GT will simply destroy the LP. I will find out by Friday. Putting a $2500 amp on the K872 may be a waste to most people but not to me. I do not wish to go any higher though. I simply sunk way too much into the LP. It may be a good deal used if it comes with some tubes.

 

[Ham Sandwich]

Head-fi is a strange place. A place where people will look for the best deal on the hardware. Brag about saving $200 on a sub-$1000 amp because they got it on sale. And then turn around and brag about rolling thousands of dollars worth of tubes in the same amp.

It's unfortunate that Monoprice regularly puts the LP and LG on sale. Because that gives the impression that the amps are only worth buying when they are on sale. The truth is they are worth buying at full price. I bought both the LP and LG at full price right after each was introduced. I consider both of them well worth what I paid. And would re-buy both of them at full MSRP if I had to.

The LP is a very good amp and captures a lot of the sound qualities of the much more expensive Cavalli Audio amps. The LP very much captures the house sound of the Liquid Fire and Liquid Crimson. The LP gets close to the sound quality. So very close. But not quite there. The LP gets you about 90% there. But in audiophile terms that last 10% is a doozy and a sonic difference that gets audiophiles willing to pay an additional $2K or more to get there. That last 10% is a doozy and worth it for audiophiles, even it it costs a lot to get there.

I own a Liquid Fire. I first heard the Liquid Fire at a meet before its actual release. And got to talk to Alex Cavalli at that meet. And I heard other Liquid Fire amps at other meets. I always heard what the Liquid Fire was doing that was special. Even compared to other $3K+ amps that were at the meets. I kept looking for lower cost amps that also gave me that similar sound quality experience. Never found one. So I bought the Liquid Fire. It was the first time I had spent more than $1000 on a piece of audio gear. I don't regret that at all. It was the best purchase in audio I've done.

The combination of the Liquid Fire and the early LCD-2 and LCD-3 were, and are, a magical combination. Synergy. Worth every penny. A combination where the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.

I've also heard the Liquid Crimson side by side with my Liquid Fire. Both amps using new production Genalex Gold Lion tubes. So a very fair and even comparison of the two amps. The two amps were more similar than different. Difference that you can get critical about as an audiophile. But not critical in terms of listening enjoyment. Both are great amps. The Crimson is better in some technical ways and is better at driving higher impedance headphones. If you've got a 200 ohm LCD-4 I'd pick the Crimson over the Liquid Fire. But with a LCD-2 or LCD-3 of the era at around 70 ohms the two amps are more similar. The Liquid Fire has a bit more of the embedded tube sound going on than the Liquid Crimson. Both very good sounding amps that will get you entry into the summit fi forum.

To claim that the older Cavalli Audio amps were just marketing hype is to admit you've never actually listened to one and have no actual experience to back up what you're talking about. The older Cavalli Audio amps will get you into the Summit-fi forum. The Liquid Platinum will not. The difference isn't about cost. It's about sound quality tiers. The sound quality of the Fire and Crimson and Glass and Gold and Lightning will get you into Summit-fi. The Liquid Platinum will not. That last 10% in sound quality is quite a jump from the not quite there tier to the you are there tier. That last 10% is a doozy.

To put another way. I'd rather listen to my Liquid Fire with new production Genalex Gold Lion tubes (for while you can still find them) than listen to the Liquid Platinum with whatever NOS or magic tubes you can find. The Liquid Fire will still have more transparency and sonic goodness. It's not the tubes. It's the amp.

I've always considered the Cavalli blended hybrid amps (Fire, Crimson, Platinum) to have a sense of rose colored transparency. The blended hybrid tubes add that subtle bit of rose coloration. But at the same time that rose coloration doesn't affect the actual transparency. You can still hear through it clearly. Transparency in the ability to hear through the amp and into the source gear and into the recording. As an example, I find the Liquid Fire to make it easier for me to hear differences between DACs than the Liquid Platinum, and especially also against other amps. The Fire is more transparent than the Platinum. That slight lacking of transparency is the Achilles heel of the Liquid Platinum. There are other similarly priced amps that have similar or better transparency. But you're not likely to find similar amps that have more of that style of transparency than the Fire or Crimson. Again, that last 10% difference is a doozy.

 

[Stylish]

I've always considered the Cavalli blended hybrid amps (Fire, Crimson, Platinum) to have a sense of rose colored transparency. The blended hybrid tubes add that subtle bit of rose coloration. But at the same time that rose coloration doesn't affect the actual transparency. You can still hear through it clearly. Transparency in the ability to hear through the amp and into the source gear and into the recording. As an example, I find the Liquid Fire to make it easier for me to hear differences between DACs than the Liquid Platinum, and especially also against other amps. The Fire is more transparent than the Platinum. That slight lacking of transparency is the Achilles heel of the Liquid Platinum. There are other similarly priced amps that have similar or better transparency. But you're not likely to find similar amps that have more of that style of transparency than the Fire or Crimson. Again, that last 10% difference is a doozy.

I love the description and things said here thats a good way to describe the sound signature. The Liquid Crimson blew my mind when I got it from a collector even after using the Liquid Platinum, so much so that I ended up getting a Bricasti M1 just to do the pairing, its been such a joy of a rig the older Cavalli amps are definitely special.

 

[Odin412]

Head-fi is a strange place. A place where people will look for the best deal on the hardware. Brag about saving $200 on a sub-$1000 amp because they got it on sale. And then turn around and brag about rolling thousands of dollars worth of tubes in the same amp.

It's unfortunate that Monoprice regularly puts the LP and LG on sale. Because that gives the impression that the amps are only worth buying when they are on sale. The truth is they are worth buying at full price. I bought both the LP and LG at full price right after each was introduced. I consider both of them well worth what I paid. And would re-buy both of them at full MSRP if I had to.

The LP is a very good amp and captures a lot of the sound qualities of the much more expensive Cavalli Audio amps. The LP very much captures the house sound of the Liquid Fire and Liquid Crimson. The LP gets close to the sound quality. So very close. But not quite there. The LP gets you about 90% there. But in audiophile terms that last 10% is a doozy and a sonic difference that gets audiophiles willing to pay an additional $2K or more to get there. That last 10% is a doozy and worth it for audiophiles, even it it costs a lot to get there.

I own a Liquid Fire. I first heard the Liquid Fire at a meet before its actual release. And got to talk to Alex Cavalli at that meet. And I heard other Liquid Fire amps at other meets. I always heard what the Liquid Fire was doing that was special. Even compared to other $3K+ amps that were at the meets. I kept looking for lower cost amps that also gave me that similar sound quality experience. Never found one. So I bought the Liquid Fire. It was the first time I had spent more than $1000 on a piece of audio gear. I don't regret that at all. It was the best purchase in audio I've done.

The combination of the Liquid Fire and the early LCD-2 and LCD-3 were, and are, a magical combination. Synergy. Worth every penny. A combination where the whole is worth more than the sum of the parts.

I've also heard the Liquid Crimson side by side with my Liquid Fire. Both amps using new production Genalex Gold Lion tubes. So a very fair and even comparison of the two amps. The two amps were more similar than different. Difference that you can get critical about as an audiophile. But not critical in terms of listening enjoyment. Both are great amps. The Crimson is better in some technical ways and is better at driving higher impedance headphones. If you've got a 200 ohm LCD-4 I'd pick the Crimson over the Liquid Fire. But with a LCD-2 or LCD-3 of the era at around 70 ohms the two amps are more similar. The Liquid Fire has a bit more of the embedded tube sound going on than the Liquid Crimson. Both very good sounding amps that will get you entry into the summit fi forum.

To claim that the older Cavalli Audio amps were just marketing hype is to admit you've never actually listened to one and have no actual experience to back up what you're talking about. The older Cavalli Audio amps will get you into the Summit-fi forum. The Liquid Platinum will not. The difference isn't about cost. It's about sound quality tiers. The sound quality of the Fire and Crimson and Glass and Gold and Lightning will get you into Summit-fi. The Liquid Platinum will not. That last 10% in sound quality is quite a jump from the not quite there tier to the you are there tier. That last 10% is a doozy.

To put another way. I'd rather listen to my Liquid Fire with new production Genalex Gold Lion tubes (for while you can still find them) than listen to the Liquid Platinum with whatever NOS or magic tubes you can find. The Liquid Fire will still have more transparency and sonic goodness. It's not the tubes. It's the amp.

I've always considered the Cavalli blended hybrid amps (Fire, Crimson, Platinum) to have a sense of rose colored transparency. The blended hybrid tubes add that subtle bit of rose coloration. But at the same time that rose coloration doesn't affect the actual transparency. You can still hear through it clearly. Transparency in the ability to hear through the amp and into the source gear and into the recording. As an example, I find the Liquid Fire to make it easier for me to hear differences between DACs than the Liquid Platinum, and especially also against other amps. The Fire is more transparent than the Platinum. That slight lacking of transparency is the Achilles heel of the Liquid Platinum. There are other similarly priced amps that have similar or better transparency. But you're not likely to find similar amps that have more of that style of transparency than the Fire or Crimson. Again, that last 10% difference is a doozy.

Well said! I used to listen to various Cavalli amps at CanJams over the years and I always loved the Cavalli sound. I always dreamed of owning one, but it wasn't until the Liquid Carbon was released that I was able to fulfill my dream. Although the Cavalli amps of old are not made anymore, the spirit and magic of the Cavalli sound lives on in the Liquid Carbon X from Drop and the Liquid Platinum and Liquid Gold X from Monoprice. All are wonderful amps to my ears.

 

[music_man]

I honestly found little fault with it. I have either owned or heard most of the 10%. Due to some other considerations, I can no longer partake in that party. Still, I was really happy with the LP. I am disappointed. to be divorcing it so soon. Notwithstanding the Liquid Crimson, or fire it is a quite competent in its own right. my consideration was not the sound, nor the cost of the unit itself. It was indeed the ongoing cost of NOS 6922's Vs. the high commodity that they now command. I feel that you explained this very well. If this is to leave one only wanting for 10%, it is quite frankly easily an $800 amp IMO. We at least need to put that much in perspective. You did that as well. without so much as mentioning a price tag. At the current $639 or even low of $500 it is simply a steal. things go on sale. just chalk it up to that. Just wait until this too is no longer manufactured and those tubes become really scarce.... Regardless, throw those darn expensive tubes in it, the cap mod and the LPS it is already getting way up there. Not only in cost but in sound quality as well. If I must say so myself .

 

[Jimmyblues1959]

Yeah. I am not that happy with the deal I got. I paid $800 and it is currently $639 on amazon. That is still a lot. Add, rolling tubes can run $650 a shot.....
I ordered the Burson Soloist Grand tourer today. I sure hope I like that one already. I mean to some extent stuff is subjective but I was positive that the original marketing on this was a bit outlandish. I get it now. People are biting on it for $350 used. For the $800 I am letting them have it back too. Especially since those tubes last less than 5000 hours and me using it so much.

When the Liquid Platinum came out a few years back Monoprice was selling them like hotcakes. There were even people in Europe paying upwards of $1200 for LPs when adding VAT and other charges... Good luck with the Burson. They make nice headphone amp's too.