[Levanter]

Would be interesting to see comparisons with Feliks Espressivo at this price point. Considering Marvey mentioned with LPS this could compete within the $800 range, perhaps comparison with Elise and Mjolnir 2 would be interesting.

 

[Marlowe]

But seriously, I have been thinking of venturing into the world of tubes, and was seriously considering the Little Dot Mk3...
I might choose this instead (practically, the same price).
The LD Mk3 is OTL (with 4 tubes) and this is a hybrid (single tube).
Any comparison (or guess) on difference between them?

I'd be very interested in this as well. I'm currently using a Little Dot MK III (Electro Harmonix 6H30PI power tubes and Mullard M8100 driver tubes, the RTC branded French military version) primarily with the Sennheiser HD 700 and am awaiting the Christmas delivery of the HD 6XX. I doubt it would be a night and day difference, but the Cavalli just looks so nice that I don't think I can resist. (Provided the drop stays open until Wednesday morning when my SS check is deposited; I may be old, but I have my priorities!)

 

[Shawnb]

Just got my refund for the Liquid Spark, time to spend it on this

 

[Sharkhunter]

I have paired my HD800S with Liquid Carbon and like how it sounds. I did try a WA6 with HD800S and couldn't differentiate the tubey sound when compared with LC. Curse my ears.

Should I list the LC for sale and jump onto CTH.?

 

[gearofwar]

Please be aware that this is not made by Cavalli. It's made by Massdrop by a China manufacturer with the Cavalli name being licensed, etc.

check out Audio-GD , it's chinese manufacturer but the performance,quality and price beat the heck out of Cavalli. Bottom line: I don't give a crap where it's made as long as it maintains quality and performance.

 

[Aradea]

Exciting news! It's unfortunate that it's made in China rather than in Austin, Texas, but I guess that's the price to pay to get the Cavalli magic for $250. Kudos for including an XLR socket even though the amp is single ended - a nice touch that I've seen on all upcoming Cavalli amp models. Need? No. Want? Yes. Order? Probably.

Hi.. Sorry for this newbie question.

If the amp is said to be single ended and only has a balanced/XLR input, so can I assume that there will be no difference if we plug our headphones into the SE input?

 

[L0rdGwyn]

Can any of the early reviewers comment on how an amp like the MCTH compares to a hybrid like the Lyr 2? I have a tube hybrid purchase in my near future, but wasn't ready to make a decision so soon! I understand the Lyr has the option to be used as a preamp, which is a nice feature, and there is also the price differential (x2 for the Lyr, also requires two tubes), but in terms of pure sonic performance, is the MCTH comparable to the Lyr 2?

Thanks!

 

[runeight]

see below

 

[runeight]

Hi.. Sorry for this newbie question.

If the amp is said to be single ended and only has a balanced/XLR input, so can I assume that there will be no difference if we plug our headphones into the SE input?

The amp is definitely SE. It has RCA inputs only. But, it has both XLR and TRS output jacks to accommodate almost all the over ear headphones and cables available. Many higher end headphones these days come with either an XLR cable or an inline adaptor cable that will change from XLR to TRS or two sets of cables.

I strongly prefer the XLR jack for a number of reasons, even if it's only delivering SE. And it's also a nice convenience for the folks who are geared up mostly with XLR headphone connectors.

The outputs are electrically identical.

 

[Aradea]

The amp is definitely SE. It has RCA inputs only. But, it has both XLR and TRS output jacks to accommodate almost all the over ear headphones and cables available. Many higher end headphones these days come with either an XLR cable or an inline adaptor cable that will change from XLR to TRS or two sets of cables.

I strongly prefer the XLR jack for a number of reasons, even if it's only delivering SE. And it's also a nice convenience for the folks who are geared up mostly with XLR headphone connectors.

The outputs are electrically identical.

Thanks a lot for the quick reply! Crystal clear for me.

 

[Shawnb]

This will be shipping international?

 

[CEE TEE]

This will be shipping international?

Yes...US shipping is free, international shipping is discounted.

 

[chaturanga]

I am in HD6XX drop and also in Objective 2 AMP. This coming Cavalli offer confused my mind and now thinking to cancel O2.

For the DAC section, I will use my Meridian Explorer 2 DAC for some time.

So how will I connect ME2 (Has a 3.5mm line out) to Cavalli or without a desktop DAC will that setup be meaningless?

 

[Sanlitun]

Not one of you guys cracked the case and took some internal pics?

 

[ahmadfaizadnan]

So how will I connect ME2 (Has a 3.5mm line out) to Cavalli or without a desktop DAC will that setup be meaningless?

you could use the 3.5mm to rca adapter cable like the one below (it's the exact one I used for my mojo)

https://www.monoprice.com/Product?p...E4d8UobbCmuU-qLto1MHLOhQInnxYGpRoCgcAQAvD_BwE

without dac, it's not meaningless but if you use digital source, DAC will give you better sound.