[runeight]

@runeight : I have some 6N1P-EV tubes which supposedly are similar to 6N23P. Is it safe to put them in to try? I understand they might not be optimal but I would like to know if it safe for the amp. Would hate to fry the brand new toy...

I can't really recommend one way or another. My opinion is that 6n1p is not a sub for 6922. Others who have rolled them in other amps may disagree.

 

[dBel84]

For those who have not seen atomicbob's measurements, they near mimic those of the Crimson and this is what he had to say about the stock power brick.

"Residual noise is non-existent, with provided SMPS. All of the measurements represent engineering excellence.
Well done Dr. Cavalli!" .... [Atomicbob]


This amp is set to make a mark in the history of affordable high-end.. dB

 

[snip3r77]

For those who have not seen atomicbob's measurements, they near mimic those of the Crimson and this is what he had to say about the stock power brick.

"Residual noise is non-existent, with provided SMPS. All of the measurements represent engineering excellence.
Well done Dr. Cavalli!" .... [Atomicbob]


This amp is set to make a mark in the history of affordable high-end.. dB

I was just wondering if no noise is possible with tubes , to me it only exists in SS realm

 

[BearlyPizza]

For those worried about temps:
Initially, my LP was pretty hot in temps just about everywhere on the case. Fortunately, it simmered down on a scale of 1/10 (1 being not hot, 10 too hot to touch) where it initially felt like a near 8. But since receiving it on the 2nd, i've been running it nonstop and it lowered down to about a 5- 5.5 on the scale. Though room temps have been varying of course, so no precise measurements.



In the meantime, i'm struggling with the issue of the gain being too hot with my current headphones with the SE out (Impedance: 25 ohms Sensitivity: 99dBSPL / mW) so I have to lower my system and player volume to compensate (something i'd rather not do). I'm planning on getting a ZMF Aeolus soon (Impedance: 300 ohms Sensitivity 99dB/ mW) hopefully I can have manageable pot clearance with that but I feel like i'm treading on a fine line of channel imbalance and being too loud.



As for the amp itself, it sounds absolutely wonderful to my ears. I only have a Garage1217 Polaris for comparison and i'm rather bad at describing what i'm hearing into audiophile terms, but i'll give my impressions with my Audioquest Nighthawk Carbon (Stock carbon pads): *I should note that i'm rather sensitive to treble due to an injury to my ears, so I tend to veer towards less treble hot gear*

-Coming from the Polaris, I noticed an immediate difference in separation for instruments, as well as a larger soundstage. Though i'm not sure if I liked it better or not since the vocals seemed a little more distant. I liked the intimacy of the Polaris, but at the same time, it was a bit easier to isolate instruments with the LP.

-Instruments come off as more refined with the LP and feel more individual than slightly clashing with each other.

-The Polaris does come off as a little "creamier" than the LP in that there's this thin layer of umami smoothness covering the sound (Tubey?). Clarity takes a small hit for Polaris for that smoothness, but it's pleasing in its own way.

-Bass impact was actually slightly higher with the Polaris than the LP. (10-15% increase?) But at the same time, it's more defined with the LP.

-Details: Better on the LP. A good 20% i'd say.

-I should mention that there's a noticeable bite at the end of guitar strokes with the Polaris that is less noticeable on the LP. You could say the LP is more "delicate" with the strokes. It's beautiful in its own way though.

If I had to describe the two, the Polaris stands out more like a Takoyaki stall. Delicious, slightly punchy with umami, Crispy and warm comfort food. While the LP is more like a Sushi Restaurant where you see more refinement in the way the fish is cut, how the rice was cooked, the smoothness in the rolling, the delicate accents to the dish. Both comforting in their own ways, but also different in how they present themselves.

Oddly, i've been finding myself falling asleep more with the LP with how seductive it is. That's a good thing though haha.

 

[llcook51]

My ears agree: Well done Dr. Cavalli!"

 

[tommyk]

For those who have not seen atomicbob's measurements, they near mimic those of the Crimson and this is what he had to say about the stock power brick.

"Residual noise is non-existent, with provided SMPS. All of the measurements represent engineering excellence.
Well done Dr. Cavalli!" .... [Atomicbob]


This amp is set to make a mark in the history of affordable high-end.. dB

The measurements results further confirm what Mr. Cavalli said: hook up your headphones via a balanced cable but linear power supply upgrade will not bring much improvement.

 

[jsmiller58]

For those who have not seen atomicbob's measurements, they near mimic those of the Crimson and this is what he had to say about the stock power brick.

"Residual noise is non-existent, with provided SMPS. All of the measurements represent engineering excellence.
Well done Dr. Cavalli!" .... [Atomicbob]


This amp is set to make a mark in the history of affordable high-end.. dB

Where can we find Atomicbob's measurements?

 

[alphanumerix1]

TFW you have been told the amp would perform better with an LPS but actually isn't the case?

lol RIP

 

[alphanumerix1]

Highlights
First, well done Dr. Cavalli! This is an excellent addition to the family.
Square wave response is very near that of the Liquid Crimson, with only a very slight ring on rising and falling edges. Bandwidth is quite wide: DC to > 670 KHz

The Liquid Platinum provides excellent performance Single Ended in and TRS out, but is much improved SE in and 4-pin 4XF out. If contemplating this amplifier, balanced headphone cables will prove a wise choice. However, this amp is optimized for balanced use. Bal in and 4XF out yields the highest performence LP has to offer.

Liquid Crimson still has the edge in a few areas such as transient response, but is rare, pretty much unobtainium and Single Ended operation only. Liquid Platinum is mostly at parity with Liquid Crimson running SE, and has the advantage of availablity. Running balanced input and output is measures nearly a dual mono system. Crosstalk is exceptionally low. Residual noise is lowest with fully balanced operation.

The supplied SMPS works well having low noise in the audio band. Liquid Platinum audio measurements did not demonstrate significant difference between SMPS, SMPS+NoiseNuke and BK1623A LPS. Power supply spectrum measurements did show lower noise for SMPS+NoiseNuke and LPS over the SMPSprovided.

 

[Hansotek]

TFW you have been told the amp would perform better with an LPS but actually isn't the case?

lol RIP

In my defense, since I brought it up initially, I did say that I thought the amp sounded good on it’s own and you guys were blowing the LPS talk out of proportion.

I speculated that it may have some untapped potential in some areas that typically improve with a linear supply, ie bass impact, etc. It was worth consideration/discussion... if I thought it was going to dominate the discussion the way it did, I would have thought twice about saying it. Ultimately though, I still feel that it was a valid discussion point given the notable difference in power supplies between the Crimson and the Platinum.

 

[alphanumerix1]

In my defense, since I brought it up initially, I did say that I thought the amp sounded good on it’s own and you guys were blowing the LPS talk out of proportion.

I speculated that it may have some untapped potential in some areas that typically improve with a linear supply, ie bass impact, etc. It was worth consideration/discussion... if I thought it was going to dominate the discussion the way it did, I would have thought twice about saying it. Ultimately though, I still feel that it was a valid discussion point given the notable difference in power supplies between the Crimson and the Platinum.

Wasn't a dig at you mate and yes it was more the ensuing conversion about the whole LPS talk it did blow out abit. Its good to know if performs very well in stock form.

 

[Hansotek]

Wasn't a dig at you mate and yes it was more the ensuing conversion about the whole LPS talk it did blow out abit. Its good to know if performs very well in stock form.

Yeah, and major kudos to @atomicbob for taking the time and effort to do all those measurements.

 

[Allanmarcus]

Input doesn't matter. The amp should perform the same regardless of Bal or RCA ins. The RCA in has a built-in splitter so that the lower level SE signal is doubled to be more consistent with the Bal input. I have a DAC where the Bal out outputs twice the amplitude of SE. When using the Carbon (with a similar arrangement) I can live swap from one input to the other and I, honestly, can't even tell that the switch has occurred.

Bal in and 4XF out yields the highest performence LP has to offer

Balanced in doesn't matter. See above.

 

[runeight]

Balanced in doesn't matter. See above.

I should modify my reply above bc it wasn't detailed enough. In terms of output power and most other performance measures, if you are using bal out, the input choice won't matter that much. And you may not even hear differences if the sources are equal. There are slight differences that can be measured. My experience with the Carbons is that these slight differences are not possible to hear with any equipment that I have in hand.

 

[koven]

Sorry if I missed it but what's the consensus on LPS? Is stock sufficient or is there a good aftermarket one to get?