The Cavalli Liquid Carbon

Discussion in 'Headphone Amplifiers and Combo (DAC/Amp) Units' started by maxedfx, Oct 17, 2015.

  1. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    I find myself not caring too much for the HD600/650 out of most SS amps. Some work really well, like the BW. Most just tend to make them sound flat, boring, unexciting, and sometimes even lean or overly sharp.

    Could also be something to do with most SS amps having very low output impedance, but that doesn't always correlate.
     
  2. 8man

    8man Acquaintance

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    @Hands do you think the liquid carbon is a bad match with the HD650s ?
     
  3. Hands

    Hands Overzealous Auto Flusher - Measurbator

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    Haven't the pairing myself. Just commenting on some more general SS thoughts seen in the last few posts.
     
  4. Koth Ganesh

    Koth Ganesh Friend

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    I thought I said Vali 1; don't own the 2
     
  5. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    My mistake.
    I personally never had a TOTL SS amp, but the Ragnarok, GS-X MK2, Bryston BHA-1 etc.. hall had reviews saying the transparency was tops, soundstaging amazing & bass well extended.
    How would any of that differ from a mid entry tube amp?
     
  6. Gravity

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  7. rott

    rott Secretly hates other millenials - Friend

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  8. JewBear

    JewBear Almost "Made"

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    That is really a stand up move on Dr. Cavalli's part. Really restores faith in his brand.
     
  9. Colgin

    Colgin Friend

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    I have to say that even before this, Alex has been a stand-up guy. My LC had a volume pot problem within 24 hours of receiving it and he fixed it right away.
     
  10. Thenewerguy009

    Thenewerguy009 Friend

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    Holy crap, that's owning up to your product.
     
  11. 8man

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    I'm hearing a slight hiss in my headphones when nothing's playing (on low gain it's less, above 10 o' clock), but I thought it might not be anything wrong with the amp. I know it might sound like blasphemy, I'm using a really cheap RCA cable (3.5 mm to red/white, also ordered a sturdier one from Monoprice, at least the cable looks much better) and no DAC, so I wouldn't be shocked if the LC is too much for X1s and onboard DAC. Do you think this would be the case ? Hopefully I can get a Schiit DAC soon and some new cans to benefit from the balanced input. I'm kinda screwed because my front port on the PC (which should be the analog jack for headphones) is completely kaputt so I switched to the line-out (speakers) on my motherboard. Is that a really idiotic thing to do ?

    And it might be offtopic, but has anyone dealt with fixing desktop case ports and could tell me how to troubleshoot them ?
     
  12. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    Easiest way to tell if it's the amp is to unplug the inputs.
     
  13. 8man

    8man Acquaintance

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    Didn't know that, I'll keep that in mind ! I've tried it, but I think my line-out port from the motherboard is loose or like broken. Whenever I rotate the cable it makes that typical hissing sound, and I'm assuming that shouldn't happen if you just rotate it. If it's not related to the amp, I think the better solution would be getting an USB DAC so that I can avoid the line-out, don't have any other idea =/.
     
  14. cskippy

    cskippy Creamy warmpoo

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    The X1's have a 37 Ohm impedance which is pretty low and if you are using them single ended ( trs NOT XLR) then there will most likely be hiss. Just the nature of sensitive headphones with the single ended portion of the Carbon. It's meant to be used balanced which will have a whole lot less noise.
     
  15. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    Rotating the cable in the socket means that there's crap between the connectors. Just rotate it a bunch until the sound goes away.

    Or not, because that's a dumb idea. However, going for a DAC is a good idea, I'm sure a good one for an even gooder price will be popping up soon. ;)
     
  16. 8man

    8man Acquaintance

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    @cskippy yeah it would make sense, a lot of people said they heard hiss with IEMS on SE as well, maybe the low impedance is the cause. Then again, until I get at least a monoprice cable, I'm using a 1$ RCA cable so that might be another reason.
    @BioniclePhile not sure if sarcastic, but thanks for the help :D ! But doesn't it mean there's a problem with the jack if moving the cable produces hiss ? I can't feel that typical "clicky" (clanky ? clunky ? idk) sound when you plug something in the jack, so it might be worn out.
    I'm definitely curious about what next product Schiit have in store, but I doubt it will be that soon. But will have to wait a bit with the cans and DAC.

    Also, this thing is surprisingly lightweight, and also smaller than I would have imagined, I couldn't believe it when I got the box, I thought it might be empty hehe .
     
    Last edited: Feb 3, 2016
  17. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    I just remember on my 90's Technics CD player there was grindy sound turning the volume knob. Spinning it back and forth a few times did the trick and it sounds totally clean now. Same goes for the aux cord in my car, sometimes it'll get crap on it and one channel will pop on and off intermitently. Just spin it around a couple of times and the problem goes away.
    Also, putting anything in the 1/4th jack is really smooth, there isn't a click for me.

    I thought the same thing when I picked mine up from the store! Teeny little bugger
     
  18. Gravity

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  19. BioniclePhile

    BioniclePhile The Terminal Man - Friend

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    I'm with Schiit on this one. No discounts, no loyalty programs, no sales. I'm sure they're great products at the discounted price, but it's screwing anyone who hasn't got the carbon.
     
  20. zerodeefex

    zerodeefex SBAF's Imelda Marcos

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    I have never understood this mindset; it is incredibly entitled. No one is screwing you. Loyal customers are getting a discount, no one is taking money out of your pocket. The reality is a repeat customer is worth more than a new customer. Keeping someone engaged and repeatedly purchasing your product is incredibly difficult and the program makes a lot of sense in encouraging that.
     

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