Cavalli Audio is entering the final stages of production for their new battery-powered mobile amp called the Liquid Spark ($499). A working prototype eagerly awaited attendees ears at Rocky Mountain Audiofest, even if it wasn’t fully optimized for prime time just yet.
According to Cavalli’s Stan Ahn, the fully discrete, class A portable SE amplifier is a technological descendant of the company’s previous flagship, the full-featured Liquid Gold. The modern styling of the new amp is a slight departure from the rest of the products line aesthetics, but felt good in the hand and well built. The finish for the Spark at RMAF wasn’t quite the final presentation for the device, a more finger-print-resistant coating and final badging for the top panel is still on its way. The amp includes a gain switch for wider headphone application as well as a 3.5mm input jack on both the front and the back to accommodate output from your portable player, wherever that connection may appear.
This all comes hot on the heels of an revised version of the desktop (plug-in) transportable Liquid Carbon ($799). The new 2.0 recently hit the streets packing an updated power supply and follows up well on the Carbon tradition of offering fully balanced and SE headphone amplification in a small package.
Also on show in prototype form was the Liquid Tungsten (~$6k). The new flagship was sans cover, but still produced a solid sound from its balanced connection. The all-tube amp itself is a SE design, but Stan and co included the jack for use with fans who already have 4-pin XLR headphones and cables. The amp should be ready to ship by early 2017. More details in the video below.
More info: http://www.cavalliaudio.com/