Massdrop x Alex Cavalli Tube Hybrid Amp (CTH) - Dropping Monday
Sep 26, 2017 at 9:20 PM Post #301 of 1,441
So, if I usually just use cell phone and iems.... Is the cth + sdac a good all in one for getting into a desktop setup?

I find using desktop amps solely for IEM ridiculous and a waste of money, a decent DAP is good enough. Some smartphones have decent SQ as well.
But hey, this is headfi - a place where people chase after unicorns and fairies, so whatever rocks your boat :)
 
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Sep 26, 2017 at 10:00 PM Post #302 of 1,441
Now it may be overkill, but I certainly heard an improvement with my Campfire Vegas out of my Schiit Jotenheim (source into the amp was my LG V10). Overkill? Probably. Also sounds great out of an iDSD Black Label. But for power-hungry IEMs a desktop amp provide a nice improvement.
 
Sep 26, 2017 at 10:03 PM Post #303 of 1,441
I would be concerned about accidentally knocking the volume control!
 
Sep 27, 2017 at 2:41 AM Post #304 of 1,441
What sonic change are you looking to get via either the CTH or the LCX?

I owned every headphone you have listed, and the Carbon. I still own the m9xx. Personally, the only headphone I did not care for on the m9xx was the HE400i, and I thought it did well on the Carbon (LCX), to tame the highs I disliked - needs balanced cables, but those aren't hard to purchase or build for HiFiMan headphones. Very few have heard the CTH, but impressions I'm reading are not that of a warm tube amplifier. So I'm asking, what change are you trying to gain through either purchase of the CTH or LCX?

Thank you for your quick response.

I unfortunately don't have the vocabulary nor the experience with different sounds to answer your question. It is funny, because if I said I wanted a new car it would be easy for me to say I wanted more power, better handling, gas mileage, etc. But in this case I really can't say. If I could do an A - B test of different headphone/amp combos I could say I liked one better than the other, but I don't have that option.

I guess I have the desire to try another amp, and want to get something different and/or better than what I have now. I realize "better" is very subjective, which is why I was asking if others had a feeling which amp would be better/different than the Grace. At least it would give me an idea, even if my personal tastes were different.

From your note it implies that you had the Carbon, got rid of it, but still have a Grace. Is there a reason for that? In terms of an amp being "different" is it safe to say that the CTH would be more different from the Grace than would the LCX.
 
Sep 27, 2017 at 8:06 AM Post #305 of 1,441
From your note it implies that you had the Carbon, got rid of it, but still have a Grace. Is there a reason for that? In terms of an amp being "different" is it safe to say that the CTH would be more different from the Grace than would the LCX.

I love the Cavalli "house" sound. But when I was able to hear the delta between their entry level Carbon - against their higher end products (Crimson, Glass, Gold) the value for me was to save up and go to their higher end products. Gold actually had too much power for my use into the easy Utopia. So I'm trying the Glass (back from some touch-up this week). My preference above all things is clarity and staging, with a slight hint of warmth.

So, Grace has quite a lot of clarity, and stages pretty well for most headphones. Carbon to my ears just did not have the clarity of the higher end models from Cavalli. What I've read is the CTH has plenty of clarity - probably less inherent tube warmth than say a Schiit Vali 2. I still would guess it gives you a different flavor than just the Grace. And I think it has sufficient power, to give you access to a few more headphones. Changes to the LCX versus the Carbon, such as power, can also make it better - I had experienced a much improved sound from the Carbon by improving the way I fed power into the Carbon. But it costs more and seems to have fewer reviews.

TLDR - I would stick with the CTH for what you're after. It costs less, and will give you a different flavor - it has good reviews from people who have heard it. LCX may be different - but different in what way is harder to gauge, at the moment. I'm interested in it too, because I owned the Carbon. But for your entry point, CTH still makes more sense.
 
Sep 27, 2017 at 2:12 PM Post #306 of 1,441
I find using desktop amps solely for IEM ridiculous and a waste of money, a decent DAP is good enough. Some smartphones have decent SQ as well.
But hey, this is headfi - a place where people chase after unicorns and fairies, so whatever rocks your boat :)

Boom! Mic drop.
 
Sep 27, 2017 at 3:16 PM Post #307 of 1,441
I find using desktop amps solely for IEM ridiculous and a waste of money, a decent DAP is good enough. Some smartphones have decent SQ as well.
But hey, this is headfi - a place where people chase after unicorns and fairies, so whatever rocks your boat :)

C'mon, we can do without "Boom! Mic drop" statements here.

I guess that my main reaction here is that there is too much generalization going on.

Synergy is everything when putting together a headphone or 2-channel speaker system.

IEMs, like larger headphones, differ in their efficiency and how the quality of their sound responds to power. Much as it is important to match sound signatures of source, amp and headphone/speaker. This is why reviews that detail pairings can be so useful to potential buyers. Returning to the difficult to drive DD Campfire Vegas, the Headphonics review has a section entitled "Desktop Joy" and says the following it the conclusion of the review "some desktop setups will really unlock the potential of the Vega". Pretty ringing endorsement of that pairing. On the other hand, Campfire's BA Andromeda are so sensitive that I have a hard time imagining a desktop pairing that would work well.
 
Sep 30, 2017 at 1:24 PM Post #309 of 1,441
I ended up jumping on one of these bad boys in hopes it'll pair well with my HD6XX that'll come in December. I like the notion of some tube sound without getting overly tubey. We'll see!
 
Oct 31, 2017 at 1:58 AM Post #310 of 1,441
I'm curious if any of the reviewers had the opportunity to hear both the x CTH and the Carbon X? Any thoughts about the sonic differences?

I'd been planning on waiting for the next set of amps, but since that appears to be indefinite, seems like getting one of these two would be a fun way to get to listen to the Cavalli sound.

I'd be listening with either the LCD-2, LCD-XC, Ether C or the HD6xx. If there were any of these that paired particularly well with either of the amps, it might help sway me one way or the other.
 
Oct 31, 2017 at 3:23 AM Post #311 of 1,441
I'm curious if any of the reviewers had the opportunity to hear both the x CTH and the Carbon X? Any thoughts about the sonic differences?

I'd been planning on waiting for the next set of amps, but since that appears to be indefinite, seems like getting one of these two would be a fun way to get to listen to the Cavalli sound.

I'd be listening with either the LCD-2, LCD-XC, Ether C or the HD6xx. If there were any of these that paired particularly well with either of the amps, it might help sway me one way or the other.
All are waiting for the deliveries as Massdrop will only start shipping end Feb 2018. So reviews are awaited.
 
Oct 31, 2017 at 9:50 AM Post #312 of 1,441
I'm curious if any of the reviewers had the opportunity to hear both the x CTH and the Carbon X? Any thoughts about the sonic differences?

All are waiting for the deliveries as Massdrop will only start shipping end Feb 2018. So reviews are awaited.

The CTH has made couple surprise appearances in the last couple months, actually!
I have auditioned it in Aug. (2 months ago) at the SF meet. It was dropped (pun intended) by @CEE TEE at the ZMF table. It showed up again at RMAF... At Zach's table, again...
So, some people have auditioned it!

Personally, I have only auditioned it with ZMF Atticus and Auteur. GREAT match with both, so if you like the ZMF sound signature - you're golden.
I have not seen in real life the LCX, not have I read of any impressions from any meet that mentioned it.
 
Oct 31, 2017 at 11:01 AM Post #313 of 1,441
The CTH has made couple surprise appearances in the last couple months, actually!
I have auditioned it in Aug. (2 months ago) at the SF meet. It was dropped (pun intended) by @CEE TEE at the ZMF table. It showed up again at RMAF... At Zach's table, again...
So, some people have auditioned it!

Personally, I have only auditioned it with ZMF Atticus and Auteur. GREAT match with both, so if you like the ZMF sound signature - you're golden.
I have not seen in real life the LCX, not have I read of any impressions from any meet that mentioned it.

I bought one hoping for a nice synergy with the HD 6XX I am also awaiting...fingers crossed!
 
Oct 31, 2017 at 11:27 AM Post #314 of 1,441
I'm curious if any of the reviewers had the opportunity to hear both the x CTH and the Carbon X? Any thoughts about the sonic differences?

I'd been planning on waiting for the next set of amps, but since that appears to be indefinite, seems like getting one of these two would be a fun way to get to listen to the Cavalli sound.

I'd be listening with either the LCD-2, LCD-XC, Ether C or the HD6xx. If there were any of these that paired particularly well with either of the amps, it might help sway me one way or the other.

There is a great review of the CTH tube amp on Innerfidelity.com by John Grandenberg that was a great review. It was helpful in my decision to join the drop.
 

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