[hikaru12]

Finally able to make my impressions of the cap mod. Luckily I am in the same state as Keith so the turnaround was literally overnight.

I’ll have to say at first I didn’t really care for this mod. I felt like it took away too much of the magic of the original LP which was a nice seductive warmth and bass for more mid and overall clarity but I was wrong. This thing now reacts to tubes like a tube amp. It’s so easy to pick apart differences in tubes even in the same family. I was able to detect changes from a more V shaped gain 77 Vokshod Rockets to 75 Rockets which is a nice more seductive laid back sound which is my preferred sound preference. Detail takes a nice back seat.

Imaging seems to have improved and the bass is slightly more focused. The biggest change the cap mod does is basically clarity and reactiveness to tubes. Treble also is smoother without losing much bite which allows you to turn the volume up quite a bit more. I went from 11 to 1 o clock on balanced! I dare not leave it there too long though.

I wouldn’t say this mod hits it out of the park or is a must have or considerably noticeable but it adds a nice bit of “aliveness” that some posters have spoken about in earlier posts. I still think I prefer the non modded LP due to the more relaxed veiled nature which had that to die for Cavali warmth but if you find a nice pair of tubes I feel like this would be amazing. I’ll reserve further judgement until I get some 12AU7 adapters.

 

[ruinedx]

Does anyone else's unit have a really tight XLR jack on the front? I have to hold the unit and yank the cable to get the headphone cable out.

 

[Shane D]

Does anyone else's unit have a really tight XLR jack on the front? I have to hold the unit and yank the cable to get the headphone cable out.

Yep! When I first got my Violectric amp, I whined about the size and the weight. But now I love the fact that I can push and pull on headphone jacks without having to the hold the amp. Unlike EVERY other amp I have owned.

 

[sahmen]

So I know this is a bit touchy here, but how did the debate about the aftermarket LPS for the LP end, if it did at all? Has anyone ever this LPS 36 from China on ebay with the LP. and if you have, what are your impressions?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LPS-36-Low...-Liquid-Platinum-Cavalli-DC-36V-/132862087667

 

[sennfan83261]

It is strange to me there is not an imbalance really until that point and then there is a large jump in volume output and an imbalance until about 11 o'clock. The replacement will be here tomorrow. I am happy that I bought this through amazon though much easier to get it replaced. If I have the same issue I might need to just try and go with the pro Ican. I have heard many people that prefer the CLP over the ican though. I don't get my Onyx until monday and I will be out of town for the week. I can't wait to see how they do together.

Yeah, that's how my brand new LP is out of the box. With the Arya's plugged into the balanced output, there's a huge jump in volume between 10 and 11 o'clock and some channel imbalance heard between that range while testing with a mono track. I have a passive pre on the way that I purchased for some other reason before purchasing the LP. I'm going to let the amp burn in for a few more days. If there's no improvement, back to Monoprice it goes. Sad, because my first impressions of the amp are quite favorable outside of the crappy volume pot issue. Despite its issue of developing into a scratchy pot like the THX AAA 789 (mine hasn't yet), the volume pot of the CTH ($175 right now) is still far better in its usability and tracking than the LP's pot.

 

[LCMusicLover]

Yeah, that's how my brand new LP is out of the box. With the Arya's plugged into the balanced output, there's a huge jump in volume between 10 and 11 o'clock and some channel imbalance heard between that range while testing with a mono track. I have a passive pre on the way that I purchased for some other reason before purchasing the LP. I'm going to let the amp burn in for a few more days. If there's no improvement, back to Monoprice it goes. Sad, because my first impressions of the amp are quite favorable outside of the crappy volume pot issue. Despite its issue of developing into a scratchy pot like the THX AAA 789 (mine hasn't yet), the volume pot of the CTH ($175 right now) is still far better in its usability and tracking than the LP's pot.

This is absurd. If (any of my) my pots had been like this I would never recommend this amp. For me, the problem (with my first unit) was limited to very low volume, and tracking has been quite accurate otherwise (with all three of my units).

I have this vision of bins of parts from various vendors showing up at some assembly location, with folks slapping things together and shoving them in boxes saying 'Well, some of these should work' (although probably not speaking English).

 

[ruinedx]

This is absurd. If (any of my) my pots had been like this I would never recommend this amp. For me, the problem (with my first unit) was limited to very low volume, and tracking has been quite accurate otherwise (with all three of my units).

I have this vision of bins of parts from various vendors showing up at some assembly location, with folks slapping things together and shoving them in boxes saying 'Well, some of these should work' (although probably not speaking English).

My first unit had a perfect pot but balanced jack was proving so tight it was unusable and damaging my XLR cables. Hoping for the best with unit 2. If it has major pot issues it's going back also.

Despite QA issues it's the best I've heard under $1500 that has balanced in and small form factor

 

[DowdyPrime]

Might those of you with tracking issue post your serial numbers? Perhaps there's a problematic range? Or is this a fool's errand?
I received mine in mid-July. There is definitely a volume bump at 10-11. I think there is a small imbalance below that, but very slight, not something I can hear without mono test tracks. The serial ends with 900325.

 

[Voxata]

So I know this is a bit touchy here, but how did the debate about the aftermarket LPS for the LP end, if it did at all? Has anyone ever this LPS 36 from China on ebay with the LP. and if you have, what are your impressions?

https://www.ebay.com/itm/LPS-36-Low...-Liquid-Platinum-Cavalli-DC-36V-/132862087667

It was confirmed LPS can damage the unit, I'd avoid it.

 

[Zachik]

I can tell you from experience that it is not easy... more to share in the near future!

Well....... ???
Any update or info on the volume pot upgrade? That is holding up my cap upgrade!

 

[sahmen]

It was confirmed LPS can damage the unit, I'd avoid it.

Yes that is what I thought, until I saw the LPS-36 as an LPS especially made for the LP. It seemed to me like quite a bold step given everything that has been discussed on these boards about aftermarket power supplies, and also given the repeated warnings from @runeight about that particular subject. I am obviously not jumping on it, but I am curious about the impressions of anyone who has.

 

[ruinedx]

Yes that is what I thought, until I saw the LPS-36 as an LPS especially made for the LP. It seemed to me like quite a bold step given everything that has been discussed on these boards about aftermarket power supplies, and also given the repeated warnings from @runeight about that particular subject. I am obviously not jumping on it, but I am curious about the impressions of anyone who has.

When it destroys your LP you can send them an angry letter that's about all you will be able to do when it happens

Not sure why you would trust some random shady company over the amp's designer?

 

[sennfan83261]

Might those of you with tracking issue post your serial numbers? Perhaps there's a problematic range? Or is this a fool's errand?
I received mine in mid-July. There is definitely a volume bump at 10-11. I think there is a small imbalance below that, but very slight, not something I can hear without mono test tracks. The serial ends with 900325.

Mine is 900396. Linear tracking on mine after a few hours out of the box is non-existent between 8-10 positions on the volume pot. I'm leaning towards filing an RMA exchange with Monoprice detailing the issue with my unit. I believe this is the worst volume pot that I've ever experienced among the amps listed in my sig.

 

[DowdyPrime]

Mine is 900396. Linear tracking on mine after a few hours out of the box is non-existent between 8-10 positions on the volume pot. I'm leaning towards filing an RMA exchange with Monoprice detailing the issue with my unit. I believe this is the worst volume pot that I've ever experienced among the amps listed in my sig.

Please post your findings!

 

[sennfan83261]

Please post your findings!

Of the headphones that I’ve tried so far (Arya, HE-500, HE-6 prototype, and the LCD-2 rev. 2 pre-fazor), the volume pot exhibited smooth, linear tracking with only the HE-500 and the HE-6 with no channel imbalance up and down the volume pot. With the Arya and the LCD-2, the tracking was not smooth with only a small window of volume adjustment between 10:45 and 11 o’clock (or 10-10:30, in other words: small) and a nice blast of volume at 11 o’clock. Channel imbalance reared its ugly head below 10:45 on the Arya and the LCD-2, as heard on a mono track where the center vocals started drifting to the left channel when the volume pot dipped below 10:45.

Weird. Maybe Dr. Cavalli was more of a Hifiman fan than I thought, at least when it came to the old skool HE-series

Man, the volume pot sucks and I really like the sound that I’m getting out of the LP so far.