Headphone Amp? $250-$350~

Alex has hinted the Liquid Platinum may not come in at that price point. Seems like there is a worldwide shortage of electronic components. In fact, that’s the main reason he pushed the release date back from June. He had to change some parts around till he found components he found comparable.

https://epsnews.com/2018/05/23/electronic-component-shortages/

 

There are certainly delays and uncertainty in the market now for electronics. Whatever the price ends up at it will be within reach of many more audiophiles than the Liquid Crimson. It is certainly much easier to aspire to a $700-$800 amp than a $3000 amp.

 

I'm sure those interested have probably already seen, but some pictures of the upcoming Monoprice/Cavalli insides are out there now, apparently set for October release now ... some people are already shopping for a linear power supply to take the place of the supplied external switching power supply, saw some Cavalli comments advising them of the specs...

 

It was the winner in a group test of headphone amps in one of the UK mags I seem to remember.

 

Headphone meets are a good way to scratch that itch. Check the head-fi forum section that covers announcements for local meets. It doesn't look like Dallas is active in organizing local meets, but Houston seems to organize some. But have gone on hiatus after hurricane Harvey. Contact them on head-fi and see if anything is planned. The Dallas area may have some local mini-meets that don't get advertised. Contact active Dallas area head-fi members and see if they know.

A lot of what I've been able to hear is through headphone meets. Headphone meets are how I first heard the Cavalli Liquid Fire and other early Cavalli amps, along with being able to talk to Alex Cavalli at the meet and talk to other people familiar with the amps and sonic philosophy. I've also been able to hear some other very very nice amps at meets. Some very very nice tube amps that are quite expensive and sound really really neat that I also like a lot. I've also been able to hear many different much more affordable setups and amps and headphones at meets. Meets have a variety of gear. It all depends on what people in your local area have and like. Meets are a great way to scratch the itch for the desire to hear other gear without having to buy it.

 

I wouldn't have ever thought of this, great idea!

 

You’re preaching to the choir here. I’m going to get one whatever it finally costs.

 

Ok everyone, I know we talked a lot about the Massdrop Cavalli CTH, but now the Liquid Carbon X is back, and I honestly thing that seems more interesting. Does anyone have any strong opinions on this one vs some of the others we've discussed? The balanced design sounds very interesting, and like it would be able to hang through a few headphone changes.
Massdrop: Community-Driven Commerce

I've also been considering going to the used market, but the amount of options is becoming somewhat overwhelming. A few Burson audio models have come up and generally sounds like those are a good value because most people don't want to mess with shipping them. Any idea on how those might compare? They are in a totally different price class, and seem very well reviewed, but apparently don't always pair well with planars. I see the Rega Ear often on the used market, but those seem to have more mixed reviews.

Mostly looking for something that will pair well with my HE4XX now, but can grow with me if I move on to something else. The Focal models and LCD-2 have my eye for future potential if I decide to dive deeper into the headphone pool.

 

I don't like that these massdrop amps only have a year warranty. That monoprice amp better have 5 years for $700+

 

Yeah, I would absolutely consider the Monoprice Cavalli amp the upgrade path. But I'm not just ready to jump to that level yet. And 1 year is still longer than used stuff. But I think we know the MD ones are built with cost effective parts, not highest quality.

 

Valhalla 2 has 5 years and it's a $349 amp. I probably wouldn't bother with another amp for HD600/650 under $1000 ... From what everyone tells me anyway. Paired with mimby... It's best I've ever heard.

 

I am interested in a better headphone amp also -- but I read the specs and saw something concerning -- even though it is specified to work with low impedance headphones (and high impedance alike), the specs say that the output impedance is 100ohms. That is not a good thing, and I hope that the specification is in error. Driving just any 32ohm headphone (without a flat impedance profile) with a 100ohm source will cause frequency response problems. So -- I am assuming that they don't really mean that there is a 100ohm effective output impedance (essentially the same as a voltage source with a 100ohm resistor in series.)

Just FYI, and wondering what is going on there.

John

 

Check out the Darkvoice 336SE. It’s a great bargain.

 

The warranty length isn't a big factor for me. As long as the amp survives the infant mortality period I'm fine. 1 year, 5 years, doesn't really make a difference to me when considering an amp. My philosophy with any audio gear is that you need to be able to self-insure it against failure. If the gear fails catastrophically and you can't afford to pay for the repair or replacement then you couldn't afford the gear in the first place. If your reaction to any audio gear failing in front of you is anything other than "oh, that's a bummer" then you couldn't afford the gear in the first place. That philosophy is pretty much how I decide how much I can pay for audio gear and how much I can afford.

 

I've had the CTH for a couple of months and I like it. I did replace the tube with the better Electro Harmonix version. Certainly a different sound quality as opposed to using the headphone out of my Arcam integrated amplifier. The Monoprice Cavalli looks interesting but enough alright already. And for me at least the diminishing returns of spending a couple of hundred vs. a couple of thousand on an even better headphone amp are just too great.

 

This is excellent advice on budgeting, AND on attitude towards unfortunate events. I'll have to remember that one.

Also keeps your hobbies in check. Because I know I'd be a lot more upset about ripping an expensive coat vs an expensive piece of gear failing. Probably because I want the gear more and I know I'll get it fixed. The coat on the other hand, I was probably annoyed that I even paid that for a coat, and now I'm even more annoyed that I have to pay more or go out of my way to fix it.

 

Sorry ham I dont agree. A $1000 amp is affordable for me if I'm smart about it and save. Having the attitude of oh well if it breaks I'll buy a second one or 3rd because I can afford it makes no sense. Not everyone can and if you are paying that much there should be a decent warranty. Not everyone is loaded ya know... You think the only people that deserve a sweet amp are the people that can afford to throw them away ?

 

Oh, I definitely do. I like to laugh at the serfs and their silly concerns over warranties as I spread Grey Poupon on my fair-trade toast. Some of them even drive domestic cars!

 

I think Ham intended this with a different tone than some received it. I took it more as 1 year, 3 years, 5 years, whatever the warranty is, it likely won't last forever. Things happen. I took this more of the tone that just because you can afford the payments on a something like a luxury or super car doesn't mean you can afford to own that car. If making the payments breaks the bank to the point where you can't afford repairs, maybe it's not the right fit for you.
I don't think Ham's saying buy a high end amp and just toss it because the left channel went out of balance two months after the warranty ended. Just find someone that can fix it. Or maybe decide you got your money's worth depending on the cost. Either way, I didn't read that as a jab at anyone with a different financial picture. Just that maybe the warranty shouldn't be a key buying factor. Personally I'd put customer service over a successful warranty anyday. I had to send an amp in for warranty service once. It took a long time. If I could have paid a few more dollars to expedite it, or have it serviced locally I would have.

 

My comment was more about warranty length and the general risks of playing with audio gear. A 1 year vs 5 year warranty doesn't make much of a difference for me. Once electronics survive the infant mortality period the gear is most likely going to continue to survive longer term. My main concern is having some sort of repair support to cover early failures and damage or failures that may have been caused by shipping. Then after that I need to be able to deal with costs of ownership and maintenance. The reality is that gear doesn't fail often once it is out of the infant mortality period. I didn't intend my comment to be elitist in any way. I intended it as a reflection of how I view owning and using audio gear. If anything in my setup fried I'm ready to accept the repair cost or even writing it off as a total loss. You have to, otherwise you can't enjoy using the gear.

I also think that owning gear with tubes helps to prepare people for what cost of ownership means and the responsibilities that go with that. When a tube wearing out or failing means you may need to spend $100, $200, $300, $400, or more to retube and you've conditioned yourself to be prepared for that, then it's easier to justify the costs for repair and maintenance the same way. SS people get spoiled thinking they have no maintenance costs. The tube people just take maintenance and repair costs in stride.

 

I've tested that philosophy by having both an OOP headphone and OOP amp fail while listening. My reaction was just "Oh, that's a bummer". I'm happy I reacted that way both times. Until it happens in real life you can't really be sure how you'll react.

My comfort zone for how much $ I'm willing to self-insure with audio gear seems to be around the $1K-$2K region. Which is why I don't own a $3K or $4K headphone. Both the Focal Utopia and Audeze LCD-4 are awesome headphones. Especially the LCD-4 with my Cavalli amps (the LCD-4 and Cavalli is a really good combo). But the cost, even used, is out of my comfort zone. Both Focal and Audeze don't have a transferable warranty. So buying used means taking full risk if you experience a driver failure. And unfortunately, with high-end headphones like that the drivers get more fragile. So I haven't gone there. Not sure if I ever will. I'd like to, because the sound quality of those headphones is really an improvement. But the risk/cost if there is a driver failure makes me uncomfortable.