Thatās the case with most cavalli products if they have both balanced and unbalanced
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yeah seems thatās a trend with Cavalli designs that feature both SE and BAL outputsā¦ my LCX also had a terrible SE implementation. I think SE is probably just included at this points as a convenience thing and is mostly a afterthought when designing these amps.
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They are differential amps, so you either have to have a summing circuit to produce SE output or just use half the output signal.
I suspect the Cavali designs do the latter, the issue with that is you lose all the noise rejection inherent in the designs.
Schiit differential products also have reduced quality on SE output (Jotenheim, Gungnir, Yggdrasssil), they do have summing circuits and the difference isnāt as drastic.
If your paying $600 for an amp using a balanced DAC and output doesnāt seem like a huge stretch.
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Well, I bought one used last night. I should have it here by the end of the coming week.
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Do you prefer your Tuba or the LP with your Elexās?
With my Elex the LP. I havenāt heard a pure tube amp Iād recommend for the Elex, the Tuba isnāt bad, but it still messes with the Bass in a way I donāt like.
With ZMFās it depends a lot on what Iām listening to or what mood Iām in, but I donāt have both amps in the same location anymore and itās Gungnir Multibit -> LP all balanced vs Bifrost2 -> Tuba SE.
The LP is still in my office which is my primary listening area, which probably say something.
When I am done in a couple of weeks, my listening station will be DAP to SMSL SU-8 feeding:
- MAD Ear+ HDII (tube amp)
or - SMSL SP200 (THX amp)
or - Liquid Platinum (hybrid amp)
I figure that should be a pretty wide variety of sounds.
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Anybody want to list any tubes they have tried and loved with their Platinum? I am going to order a pair tonight. They will probably be here before my amp. 
I got an offer of:
"highly recommending strong pairs of tested 1960ās Amperex ECC88 tubes branded for hp (Hewlett-Packard) from the Heerlen Holland factory
Made in Holland
Stamping condition: 80 - 90%
$70.00/matched pair"
That is, of course, in Canuck bucks. 
Anyone tube rolled theirs yet? Trying to find some to try out when it gets here.
Also to use the balanced out on this do I need a balanced dac or can I run the rca input and still benefit from the better sound of the balanced output? If so guess I need a new dac by Thursday.
I would really suggest a balanced dac with this unit, what price range are you thinking?
Better question. What price bracket will it take to make this shine? I wouldnāt be opposed to spending around 1000 Canadian I guess but if itās going to be negligible difference compared to something around the 500 mark I would do that. Or what pairs best with this thing?
I think personally something like a bifrost 2 pairs very well, I think that would be a noticeable step up
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Iāve seen it drop down to 850 on occasion on Amazon.ca
Well after consulting with my wallet heās telling me I should wait a pay cheque or two. These reduced hours from covid cutting into my gear budget. I have the zen dac. Would it be worth getting 4.4mm to xlr adapters and running the zen dac I have balanced on it VS running my D50s to get me by for a month?
I think you would be just fine using the d50s for a month, but it isnāt ideal because cavalli gear isnāt favorable with unbalanced if it has balanced available. I would say perhaps pick up that adapter for the zen dac but make sure it isnāt too expensive
It is or was on sale for $600.00, so that is about $810.00, Canadian. And about $50.00 in shipping.
Yeah, but the problem is nobody is sure how consistent or reliable cross border shipping is right now.
Well, Iām hoping it is fine as I ordered one. They warned that it might be slow. It was picked up last Tuesday.
I chose the cheapest rate, so, of course, it will be the slowest. You can pay more to get it faster, if you like.
Yeah, Iāve been considering ordering a Schiit Product myself.