Liquid Lightning

[seacard]

I am trying to wrap my mind around what must go into a solid-state amp to explain a $4250 sticker price. I understand that chassis costs are often one of the largest expenses, but I look at that chassis and it seems many DIY amps on here are more impressive in that regard. It's certainly far short of the RSA A10, looks-wise. Unless there is a few ounces of platinum inside, this seems pretty outrageous. Or am I missing something?

[grawk]

who cares?

[DouglasQuaid]

YES! Let's have a costs vs prices on consumer electronics discussion for the 9004th time.

[wink]

who cares?

.

Alex Cavalli's finance manager

Edited December 8, 2011 by wink

[grawk]

seems pretty straight forward to me:

if it seems like a good price, and you are looking for that, then buy it

if it doesn't seem like a good price, and you're looking for that, buy something else

if it doesn't seem like a good price, and you're not looking for that, stfu

[wink]

If it seems a good price and you're not looking for it, then quit while you're ahead.

Or, buy it and go to the other forum, start a new thread, and complain about your empty wallet.

[johnwmclean]

A prototype review, very useful. What will they think of next?

[n3rdling]

I was kinda shocked by the price when I heard it but it'll be interesting to see some internal pics. I'm sure I'll get to listen to it eventually.

Edited December 8, 2011 by n3rdling

[Hopstretch]

I'm sure it will make all its lucky owners exstataic.

[spritzer]

The way I see it Alex Cavalli has a lot to prove after the Exstata fuckup. Now none of his amps are well designed so if he's smart then he took the fixed Exstata design KG sent him and used that. That amp would not be quite up to the standard of the KGSSHV but not a bad attempt. Largely stolen from the 90's Stax amps though but lets just leave that aside. Here is what my take on this amp looks like:

It was done from the KGSSHV boards so that's why they are so similar. Now for what's actually in the box, we'll have to wait and see but reports of it running cool and being very light (8lbs) aren't very promising. Certainly doesn't point to a high bias outputstage and the large heatsinks/transformer needed to sustain it.

One thing that we can be sure of is that NoNoNoNoNoNo has become the laughing stock of HF for his blatant shilling of this amp. Lots of discussion about this and the few people considering an amp have all backed off due to this.

[TMoney]

I'm sure it will make all its lucky owners exstataic.

Ba-dum-ching!

[cobra_kai]

Now for what's actually in the box, we'll have to wait and see but reports of it running cool and being very light (8lbs) aren't very promising. Certainly doesn't point to a high bias outputstage and the large heatsinks/transformer needed to sustain it.

That's the first thing I thought too. Hell, I think the transformer for the KGSSHV weighs about 8 lbs

[n3rdling]

The LL is using an R Core transformer if that matters concerning weight. Do they typically weigh less?

[kevin gilmore]

Actually for the same amount of flux i think the r-core is both bigger (longer path)

and therefore slightly heavier. But it is very close in any case. The primary to

secondary isolation probably makes no real difference in this case.

[ecclesand]

I'm sure it will make all its lucky owners exstataic.

I see what you did there!

[raffy]

seems pretty straight forward to me:

if it seems like a good price, and you are looking for that, then buy it

if it doesn't seem like a good price, and you're looking for that, buy something else

if it doesn't seem like a good price, and you're not looking for that, stfu

Best advice of the year there Dan!

[spritzer]

The LL is using an R Core transformer if that matters concerning weight. Do they typically weigh less?

No weight saving there. A r-core is essentially just a toroid designed to save space.

[Pars]

The review thread (prototype) on hf claims a weight of around 12 lbs... the 8 lb figure was for the LFire

[Knuckledragger]

So it's a can amp?

[swt61]

Even if he gets his shit together, he needs to consult someone else before naming his amps. I wouldn't want to buy an amp named Liquid Lightning, Liquid Fire or Exstata. Did he work for Hot Wheels previously, or what?

[kevin gilmore]

Worse, much worse.

Alex is a senior tenured theoretical physist.

You know... big bang, quantum mechanics, and string theory

[spritzer]

The review thread (prototype) on hf claims a weight of around 12 lbs... the 8 lb figure was for the LFire

Indeed, I didn't even read that "review" until now (somebody posted the weight in one of the meet impression threads). That piece is almost as bad as Skylabs A-10 review...

[monsieurguzel]

Indeed, I didn't even read that "review" until now (somebody posted the weight in one of the meet impression threads). That piece is almost as bad as Skylabs A-10 review...

I just love the long ass list of music that was listened to for this review. He might have well just put: "Every single artist out there in every single genre of music"

[HeadphoneAddict]

I didn't see a review thread about the LL over there. I'll have to go look for it, but it's not often that I add a new thread to follow, since I usually just read the olds threads that I subscribed to a while back.

I for one thought the LL sounded very good at RMAF with O2 Mk1, HE-60 and SR-009, and it sounded nothing like my SS eXStatA rev1. While I thought the BHSE was great with O2 mk1 but a little bright with 009, the WES had good tone with the 009 but it didn't pair as well with the O2 Mk1. Somehow they both sounded good with the LL.

I'm still straddling the fence about whether I still want to replace my WES with the LL or BHSE, or just do the WES Mk2 upgrade with Jack Wu and keep it. If all I want to listen to is the 009, then my WES and KGSS seem to perform similarly well. When it comes to driving the O2 the KGSS is, I admit, slightly better and certainly more powerful.

[TMoney]

Just buy the BHSE and be done with it. You won't have to worry about anyone but the T2 DIYers having better gear and you'll also be able to stop complaining.

To these ears the 009/BH combo is hard to beat.