The Cavalli Liquid Carbon

@Clemmaster can we get some impressions of the LC compared to the Asgard 2 (with or without Gungnir Multibit)?

 

Mine isn't running too warm either. But I'm just using the single end for now with the HD650. There was a change in sound from trebly to less trebly at around 20 hours. Not much to report after that.

 

Do you think the LC is worth getting even if you will just use the SE output. Among other cans, I would be using it for the HD 600.

 

Based on what I know, probably not. I'm getting a balanced cable for the HD650 to take advantage of the power of the balanced output of the amp. That's the strength of the amp to be honest. My HE560 is balanced and even though it maybe a bit bright for some folk, it does well from the balanced output of the Carbon, IMO.

 

any comparisons to the mojo2 ?

 

@insidious meme which balanced cable you going with? And general impression with HD650 single ended so far with the Carbon?

 

+1 on both questions! I'm debating between just replacing the stock tip with a 4-pin XLR or get an aftermarket cable. My wallet's been stretched thin with the damned Carbon, accessories, and TH-X00 lol.

 

So it compared favorably to the $99 Magni?

 

The differences were more in the feeling of realism and easiness rather than an actual easy to define change or set of changes. I wasn't A/Bing them, just listening to the Carbon after having the Magni for a little over a year. Fed with the Modi, I'm probably keeping the Carbon on a bit of a leash, but I'll have a Gungnir Multibit to use soon.

 

So, yes, Carbon is definitely better than Magni in terms of sound quality.

 

Just got mine today...

First impressions are quite good. Feeding it balanced through the Gungnir Multibit. Needs some break in time but quite good right out of the box. I'm happy.

 

Anyone using it with iems? I know it's an overkill (seems that way) but all I currently have are iems but I'm somehow piqued by this!

 

Do any of you guys know if the production model sounds different from the pre-production model? I tried searching the HF thread without success. Thanks.

 

I would imagine it may, as they didn't bias it as precisely as the demo one. Also the pot is different I think.

 

IMO it certainly sounds different. They are close though in terms performance but I'd still put the pre-production about by, 10-15%. It resolved a little better, was a bit more dynamic sounding.

 

Probably not a good match for most IEMs. My UERM has a noticeable hum, even with the buffer jack that lowers noise floor. This is for the 1/4 jack, don't know about the balanced output.

 

There was a semi-recent post by Cavalli over on HF where he suggested to someone else using IEMs that try the balanced output, which has a lower noise floor than the SE.

See: http://www.head-fi.org/t/787608/cavalli-audios-liquid-carbon-owners-impressions/180#post_12103355

 

Really not cool.

 

The three pre-production models I heard had shelved treble = not neutral (reminiscent of PM1). Quite nice in other respects though: expansive bass presence, black background, liquid but a little thick.

 

FWIW, my Liquid Carbon sounds pretty well identical to the pre-production one that I heard. (Same approximate level of microdetail, same bad ass macrodynamics, same near-tube coloration on the treble, etc.)

I suspect there might be some level of variation in the final product with these though, given the reports I've heard.