Cavalli Audio Liquid Fire Headphone Amp (Playback 45)

State of the Art

June 10th, 2011 -- by Tom Martin
Source: Playback

Brandi Carlile’s "Looking Out" [The Story, Columbia] has an opening acoustic guitar that sounded very well balanced. This track exhibits a tearing sound in the high frequencies that the Cavalli rendered clearly and cleanly, and without becoming upset. Again, instrumental separation was excellent.

VALUE

As always, I start with the standard caveat that value is a function of your budget and your needs. Speaking outside that context, we can use the “show me better for less” test. On that basis, I think the Cavalli Liquid Fire fares quite well. You will have a hard time finding an amp that offers a more balanced set of sonic characteristics for less, and I would go so far as to say that you will likely have a hard time matching the Liquid Fire, even if you’re willing to spend more.

You can, of course, find an amp that costs less. At that point, determining whether the Liquid Fire is "worth it" is a matter of weighing the value of the sonic subtleties that are the hallmark of this design.

CONCLUSION

Consider this headphone amp if: you want an amp that avoids distortions and artifacts across the entire frequency spectrum, sounding natural with a wide variety of headphones.

Look elsewhere if: you’re looking for an amp to correct a particular deficiency of your headphones, or one which has a sonic character that pleases you, albeit without being particularly accurate. The Cavalli is committed to sonic neutrality on a 24/7 basis.

Ratings (compared to similarly-priced headphone amps)

Tonal Balance: 9.5
Clarity: 9.5
Dynamics: 9.0
Output Flexibility: 9.5
Value: 9.0

BOTTOM LINE:

The Cavalli Liquid Fire offers state-of-the-art performance as judged against the key parameters we find most important for headphone amps. It hews toward naturalness rather than offering (or imposing) dramatically shaded colorations.

SPECS & PRICING

Cavalli Liquid Fire Hybrid Headphone Amplifier
Circuit Concept: 6922tube voltage gain, Transistor/MOSFET power output
Input: unbalanced RCA connectors
Headphone outputs: 2 X 1/4" unbalanced (second output offers choice of impedance)
Dimensions (H x W x D): 14” x 10" x 3.5"
Power Output: 4W into 32 Ohms/650 mW into 300 Ohms
Weight: 8 lbs.
Power: 120V/240V, 60Hz/50Hz
Warranty: Two years, parts and labor; 90 days on tubes
Price: $2750 as tested (introductory price for initial production run, which has recently sold out), $3250 for subsequent production runs.

CAVALLI AUDIO
www.cavalliaudio.com

Comments

Alexei -- Sat, 06/11/2011 - 09:46

Great review Tom! But how does this amp compared to the Apex Peak & Volcano performance-wise? The Peak's cheaper price seems intriguing. Thanks.

USAudio -- Sat, 06/11/2011 - 16:50

Is tube-rolling encouraged for the Liquid Fire?
Or does the designer feel the provided JJ Tesla 6922 tubes provide the ideal listening experience?
Based on the chassis design, with the tubes inside the enclosure, I'm assuming the latter?
Thanks!

runeight -- Sun, 06/12/2011 - 11:51

USAudio, good question. The LF design is not meant to prevent tube rolling. It is, however, clearly not an amp that has a classic tubes-on-the-top design where you can just power off, replace tubes and go. So, while the amp doesn't try to discourage tube rolling, it is not as easy to roll with the LF as it might be with other amps. This is definitely part of the design with tubes enclosed inside.

I don't necessarily think that the stock JJs are the only possible listening experience. :) I'm pretty sure that some of the first round buyers already have some other tubes in mind. :) But, the stock JJs do seem to do very well after the break-in period.

So, while tube rolling won't be a quick power off, replace, power on, it is fairly easy to pull the top cover and replace the tubes. If your tube rolling interest is in listening for a while with different tubes, then I think it will be reasonably convenient to swap tubes in and out.