http://1drv.ms/1kTHoM1 Picture of my Favorite Cavalli - his Tube amp =D
Tried them all, there's one in there for everyone. The one to the right of the Tube Amp was designed to be as close to reference as possible, and you can here this in the music. No lush output like the Tube amp, and you can hear most everything going on. The hybrid models to the left were fine amps, but not my favorite - something missing from them that only a tube can provide.
Depends on what your ears like - analytical, balanced, warmth, etc. - you'll pick a favorite Cavalli based on all this.
That said, I think I came back to the tube amp 5-6 times today +D (haaa, haaa, haaa, haa). It's one of those silly amps where you suddenly grin saying, oh, it's only ~$2900. And not counting the $6500+ amp & $1600+ headphones. ~$10k easy, but oddly, IT ALL makes total sense =O (Much like buying a $80k Lexus LS, then popping an extra $20k just for the speaker system and the rear fridge.)
Top that with excellent to outstanding reproduction of the slew of songs on his Mac, and superb binaural reproduction, OMG, can't stop salivating!! (Must save up $$, must save up $$, ... One could even say, too many freeloaders on government support? Have them hear a Cavalli Tube Amp once and oh, boy, they'll become very, very hard workers fast!!! lol)
Headphone do matter a lot at this price level. Only two I was very happy with are the Audeze LCDs and Hifiman HE-500 headphones. Didn't realize they were planar magnetic headphones until Cavalli explained, and boy, another technology I must add to my list of must haves in a top-notch headphone.
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Do note that swapping tubes SIGNIFICANTLY affects the Cavalli - from sheer 'crap' to 'heaven on earth'. Didn't recall which it came with, likely the 6N7/6SN7 Sylvanias if my vague memory holds up. These would be the 'reference' tubes to start with anyways due to their excellent performance.
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That said, I listen mostly to female ballads (Japanese), Jazz, New Age, female vocals. A lot of headphones/players/amps simply break down listening to what I enjoy: eg. Mika Nakashima - Letter. Misia - Toki o tomete (this recording alone is frustrating - no MP3/lossy conversion I've attemped thus far captures all the audio detail well. Surprisingly, one of the few that require a raw 1:1 copy to a media player to make me happy) Ayaka - Blue Days Izumi Sayako - Kyokaisen Usually, at higher volumes, the voices break down first. Lower volumes, they lose bass and volume. Otherwise, some older songs like Elvis, Beetles, and some newer ones like Norah Jones, Adele. Thus, my choice of a tube amp will differ vs. your own music preferences.
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Cavalli Tube amp? Very nice, even at low volumes, maintains a nice balance and fullness of bass to highs. Most simply lose the bass first, then become tinny. And works well with old analog music recordings 50+ years ago and new all digital recordings.
Thinking about it, perhaps the only negative about these is that the range (at the show Mac Volume settings) of volume from very low to very high isn't that broad. You can't crank it quite up to ear damaging, 747 jet engine volumes (probably the smart thing for everyone), nor pick from a zillion super low volume settings for nighttime/bedtime playback (think can't tell if the sound is there at all at night to the softest whisper at night volume levels).
The nice thing at even levels you know you shouldn't listen to for long, the entire output is well-balanced. Not bass heavy like many other combos, or gritty like some others. Your ears know it's LOUD, but they're not hurting like with lesser outputs. Quite impressed. ------------------------------------------------------------------------
Best of Show for me: Cavalli tube amp Audeze LCD-3 headphones Fiio MP3 players Fong 7.1 software virtualizer
and Explorations in Space & Time binaural recordings on the Cavalli + LCD (I'll say it again, MINDBLOWING binaural reproduction here!!!!!!)
