Massdrop Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp

This is all your fault @Mshenay.

One of the things I've realized over time is that with great power comes great responsibility. There's responsibility that good people manufacturers who try hard, not get f**ked by something that I happen to say. I've heard A LOT of stuff that I don't like and by all measures is mediocre; but I won't bother saying anything unless something is particularly egregious or was a direct request from the members here (the Audio-GD Singularity 19 was both).

However, there is also the responsibility to be honest to the readership (who do know my preferences. or should know them by now). Your incessant defensive observations of the Starlight and Ember (throughout MANY threads, beyond time and space and many alternate universes, and now this one) which were diametrically opposite to my own experience, finally required me to respond.

Now if you would like to me, I can dig up notes from years ago of exactly why and how they were shit.

 

Introduction:

Some time ago- a PCB, a wall wart, and an army of tubes found their way to my doorstep. What showed up at my house that day would eventually become the Massdrop x Cavalli Tube Hybrid, an entry-level tube hybrid designed by Alex Cavalli for Massdrop.

Throughout the past several months, I’ve tried various versions of the amp and have had many full-sized headphones and amplifiers that I’ve tried alongside the production amp and preproduction prototypes earlier this year.

Timing for this review is a bit difficult for me since I’ve been downsizing in preparation for a move (plus traveling) but I still want to be a part of this launch after helping test the amp and provide feedback. It’s really nice to see a well-established, top-of-the-line amp designer focus on high value and high performing entry level product while today’s market sometimes seems to be moving in the direction of making ever more costly products. And, I like this amp. A lot.



What Does It Sound Like?

Describing the sound of the amp right now is a little challenging because I am about to be up in the mountains. I’ll describe some comparisons from memory while testing and comparing the amp plus impressions made with my current rig and the final version right before traveling. (Tried with HD800, HD650, T-X0, HE500.) I’ll also try to add some more at the end of the month (August 2017) when I am able to do some direct amp comparisons again with the final version based on what people are interested in.

Tonal Balance: The CTH is comparatively neutral with a slightly lean aspect to the bass compared to something like the Jotunheim (solid state amp with good bass slam). It makes up for any comparative leanness with solid transients and a slight euphonic decay in the bass. There’s nothing wonky going on with the frequency response that’s going to prevent you from using the CTH with an HD800. In fact, the CTH is a great pairing with the HD800, but for me…the real winner is pairing it with an HD650.

Headstage: If you spend a lot of time in “Schiitland” you get used to an up-front or “closed-in” headstage. The CTH really shines with a far more natural headstage than most of the Schiit I’ve played with. Even though it has a tube, you’re not going to get a massive headstage with the CTH like you may get with other tube amps. I use term natural here because it doesn’t jump out and grab your attention in one way or another, which I really prefer.

Macrodynamics: I usually fall short in being able to express impressions about macrodynamics, but I feel that this area might be the weaker link in the CTH. The CTH still outperforms most amps under $500. Jotunheim beats CTH in slam or “macrodynamics” but the Jotunheim is a freak of nature in this respect.

Microdynamics: Again, similar to the headstage. Nothing grabs my attention in one way or the other here, which is a plus. I’ll update with A/B microdynamics comparisons at the end of this month with other amps in-house.

Clarity: This is where the CTH really shines. Clarity is one of the most important aspects in any audio product for me and I used to complain about older HD650 headphones all the time because they seemed veiled. The clarity CTH brings out in HD650 is on par with the best amps I’ve heard under $1500. This I do want to grab me. There’s no haze, no veil, just awesomesauce.

Plankton: When you swap from the Laconic NBM to the CTH, you notice a significant improvement in “plankton” retrieval (low level detail, connectedness, etc). Swapping from the CTH to the Jotunheim, there is only a slight improvement in plankton. I remember the standout during amp testing for me was swapping from the Laconic Night Blues Mini to the CTH while listening to The Bill Evans Trio’s Waltz for Debby album. There was a lot going on in album that I didn’t hear with the Laconic NBM.

What Tube Should I Put in the CTH?

A new production EH 6922 comes with the amp, and I’d recommend sticking with it. Throughout my testing, I tried out probably every compatible new production tube that cost less than $50. The EH 6922 was by far my favorite of the any of the tubes. It offers the best clarity and resolution without doing odd things to the FR or transients. You’ll get a little more air with the tube than some of the other and maybe a little bit less warm. Even so, this tube was still my favorite with the HD800.

Okay… What Fancy Tube Should I Put in the CTH?

The only super expensive tube I stuck in the amp was an Amperex 7308, which sounds great with other amps, but I wasn’t too thrilled with it on the CTH. I don’t remember much more about it than that. I’m sure there’s something better out there than the EH 6922 that’s nice and old, but I’d put that money elsewhere. Personally, I wouldn’t exceed 20% the cost of an amp for a single tube.

Balanced at $250!?

The CTH has balanced output connector, but it is singled-ended, not balanced. I really enjoy this since most headphones that seem to find their way to me have balanced connectors only.

What Don’t I Like About It:

If you have a hot source and crank the volume, you’ll trigger the protection circuit. It drives my HE-500 nicely, but if I turn up the volume a bit louder than is comfortable to my ears, the protection circuit activates. There’s no way you’re going to hit this point with an HD650 or HD800.*

UPDATED IMPRESSION: Post 182

Also, I like to listen to music at lower volumes than most people I know. For me, about 90% of my listening is done between eight and nine o’clock on the pot. This isn’t really an issue for me, but it would be nice to have more range.

UPDATED IMPRESSION: Post 136

Summary:

The CTH is currently my favorite headphone amp for under $500. I can’t think of a better match for the HD650 at this price point and is a solid choice for the HD800. It can drive planars such as the T-X0 and the HE-500 with ease, provided you’re not trying to use them as small speakers.** With the CTH, you get the best of both worlds from what a tube hybrid is supposed to be: You get the resolution and clarity of a solid state amp. You also get nice transients up front, but get a slight bit euphoric decay that lets you know there is a tube is somewhere inside.

Reviewer’s Note: I am camping/ backpacking through Mammoth and Yosemite starting on 8/12 and will probably be unable to post any replies to this thread until about 8/22. I wrote this on this on 8/6 and am posting it right before I leave for the mountains!

*This only happens when you feed it with a source that outputs >= 2v RMS and hit a peak while having the volume pot past 4 o'clock. This is far past comfortable listing volume on my HE-500.

**When I moved from Nevada to Georgia in 2014, my Lyr and HE-500 were the last things I packed. I used them as a small speaker as I finished packing. Probably not the best idea. This was long before I owned a Bluetooth speaker. I'm surprised I haven't killed those headphones yet.

 

@Marvey Would it be too much to ask for a link to the previous post on the first page?

 

Did it before I even saw this post. BTW great "review". I wholeheartly concur with your observations.

 

Updated my post on the first page with a full review.

Hey now, I also gave a lot of feedback to @CEE TEE during the development process, including thoughts on tubes, sound of amp, functionality stuff...you name it. And seeing as I was crowned the King of Warmth, or some nonsense like that, you may want to tone down or amplify your expectations.

The Valhalla 2 is fairly neutral sounding, spacious, airy, detailed, nuanced, and surprisingly fast. However, it has some major downfalls. It lacks slam and body, and perhaps worst of all, is rather grainy and fatiguing sounding.

The MCTH is more forward and less spacious sounding but similarly nuanced and detailed. It has a meatier, harder hitting sound and is not too dry nor too wet sounding. It makes the HD650 more engaging and lively to listen to without being fatiguing, like the Valhalla 2.

Note that those are just my thoughts, as I had particular beef with the Valhalla 2 after owning it for a while. Others may disagree. The MCTH is a joy to listen to in comparison for my needs and tastes. (Also it works better with more headphones than the Valhalla 2.)

 

To piggy back off of @Hands, I had the CTH and a Valhalla 2 at the same time. I always felt as if the Valhalla 2 had this resolution and clarity haze that I could never overcome. The amp was very engaging with certain headphones to the point where I would occasionally forget this, but the instant I switched to the CTH it was like putting a pair glasses on.

 

Reading Jude's "impressions". Did he actually listen to the amp, or did he just measure it?

 

You're off by a bunch there. This amp is $250.

 

Oh f*** me. For some reason I thought this was $400 or something.

 

No. I actually thought it was $400. I'm often juggling a million things around and I skim e-mails or forget things. And @CEE TEE forgot to e-mail me all the specs and info for the amp. Not a big deal. I don't care about that stuff anyway.

 

I would easily pay $500 for this if it meant a nice LPSU and upgraded internal components, without going too crazy into megabuck magic parts.

 

Funny. Just texted @CEE TEE that next one should be EHHA with an LPS. EHHA is one of my all time favorites.