Analog vs Lampizator

bonzo75 · May 18, 2016

Thanks to Sujay for pointing this out. Despite being a Lampi fan I mildly disagree with the poster, though I can see his viewpoint true for many TTs, but then the turntable and set-up spectrum is so vast, not to mention the vinyl quality, that this cannot be taken as a sweeping post.

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/lampizator-big-7-r2r-review-with-thoughts-on-system-building

Zero000 · May 18, 2016

IMHO they are just different mediums and they both have flaws and positive aspects. On average, I find Lampi digital wins with more consistent sound quality over, say 100 albums, than vinyl.

Vinyl can be really seriously annoying. And that's understating it sometimes, especially when you trash your cartridge.

Mike Lavigne · May 18, 2016

User211 said:
IMHO they are just different mediums and they both have flaws and positive aspects. On average, I find Lampi digital wins with more consistent sound quality over, say 100 albums, than vinyl.

Vinyl can be really seriously annoying. And that's understating it sometimes, especially when you trash your cartridge.

totally disagree.

vinyl wins easily and is more consistent.

specifically with my SE GG compared to my vinyl the vinyl wins easily. and its not close.

the only exception is digital based vinyl where anything is possible. but this is a small fraction of vinyl. OTOH if you are only speaking about recently recorded vinyl then it's almost all digital based and wildly inconsistent. I don't have much of it as a result.

agree that neither medium is perfect.

I can find annoying vinyl....may a couple percentage points of my 8000 pressings.

FrantzM · May 18, 2016

Guys .. Chill out .. That is only his opinion... although ... he could be right

...

number95 · May 18, 2016

User211 said:
IMHO they are just different mediums and they both have flaws and positive aspects. On average, I find Lampi digital wins with more consistent sound quality over, say 100 albums, than vinyl.

Vinyl can be really seriously annoying. And that's understating it sometimes, especially when you trash your cartridge.

Agree vinyl can be annoying. Such that it makes one addicted to listen to only vinyl and don't bother with digital. And even seriously annoying such that even a 150k digital investment (including cables) still couldn't match an AAA vinyl recording on a good analog rig.

bonzo75 · May 18, 2016

number95 said:
Agree vinyl can be annoying. Such that it makes one addicted to listen to only vinyl and don't bother with digital. And even seriously annoying such that even a 150k digital investment (including cables) still couldn't match an AAA vinyl recording on a good analog rig.

But then the 150k digital wouldn't match Lampizator either. Seriously

. But yes variance in vinyl set-ups is very high, and good decks will be better.

jtinn · May 18, 2016

User211 said:
IMHO they are just different mediums and they both have flaws and positive aspects. On average, I find Lampi digital wins with more consistent sound quality over, say 100 albums, than vinyl.

Vinyl can be really seriously annoying. And that's understating it sometimes, especially when you trash your cartridge.

I am sorry you feel that way. It means you might not have heard a properly setup vinyl rig. It should be very clearly better in most cases.

bmoura · May 19, 2016

There are certainly different views and opinions on the question of which is bettre: Vinyl or Digital?

One example: the discussion between Michael Fremer and fellow Audio Magazine editors at The Show Newport last year.
We also heard the debate at another panel at that event where one speaker claimed LPs and Analog were by definition not high resolution audio.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FEr5UfBjDSc

For me, the best bet is to enjoy the music and leaving the debating to others....

bonzo75 · May 19, 2016

I don't want to start another vinyl vs digital thread. There are many such, and unfair on Lampi to be clubbed with 'digital' - I posted this to share that review of Lampi vs his specific TT set-up

Zero000 · May 19, 2016

jtinn said:
I am sorry you feel that way. It means you might not have heard a properly setup vinyl rig. It should be very clearly better in most cases.

Well I did feel that way when I trashed my Transfiguration Orpheus!

I've been using vinyl for 4 decades BTW and have heard some of the world's finest vinyl setups.

bonzo75 · May 19, 2016

User211 said:
I've been using vinyl for 4 decades

That's barely how old I am

Zero000 · May 19, 2016

TBH I started listening to it when I was 5 onwards... in my brother's room. Was playing them myself from the age of less than 10...

microstrip · May 19, 2016

bonzo75 said:
I don't want to start another vinyl vs digital thread. There are many such, and unfair on Lampi to be clubbed with 'digital' - I posted this to share that review of Lampi vs his specific TT set-up

Review? Although it is long and enjoyable post, I could not see any review of anything. Just opinions without any solid explanation. Fortunately the poster acknowledges that "except for the jazz each of these is a different mastering", no one can say he has not been warned. But I found interesting that he owns vintage Soundlab A2's - I also have an almost thirty year old pair in my garage waiting for refurbishment of one bass panel - the treble sections still measure as new! And we disagree on the Audio Research SP15 - I had really good sound with it using LPs.

BTW, the Pink Triangle anniversary sounded "fast", but "light", and at that time many people used the Linn tonearms with other brands of turntables, although the Linn retailers were not supposed to know about it!

spiritofmusic · May 19, 2016

Audiophile Bill is your man for analog v Lampi comparisons. He has a Fully Loaded GG and Gold Top Full Cream Kuzma setup, and listens to both on a daily basis. Maybe he'll pitch in w/his views.

Audiophile Bill · May 19, 2016

spiritofmusic said:
Audiophile Bill is your man for analog v Lampi comparisons. He has a Fully Loaded GG and Gold Top Full Cream Kuzma setup, and listens to both on a daily basis. Maybe he'll pitch in w/his views.

Here I am - just furiously burning in a new Analog Domain m75d amp.

Anyway. I am with Mike L on this matter no question. The Lampi GG is no doubt a sensational machine and does things you don't normally get from any digital source (crazy 3D imaging, sublime tone, and just plain and simple musical enthralment) - it is highly addictive and is IMHO the most enjoyable digital source out there that I have heard. It also represents 70% of my listening cos I am too lazy to change LPs all the time

So if I select the absolute best native dsd track from the likes of channel classics and put it up against the best vinyl I can find - something like one of my Decca SXLs, the Kuzma pulls away without too much sweat. I can't think of a better way to test because of different mastering between formats that precludes the evaluation of the same track easily.

Zero000 · May 19, 2016

Back onto analogue versus digital LOL...

I'm in the both can sound amazing camp.

But I don't think it is because vinyl is better than digital. I believe the inherent flaws in vinyl can actually make it sound better. The high levels of noise act as dither, tracking distortions can aid rock guitars etc etc. The LF performance of vinyl is a complete joke. I can visibly see it sinning just by watching the bass panels, or can do the same by watching woofer exceursions that have nothing to do with the source material.

Triode distortion is probably what makes a Lampi so appealing. Just swapping tubes changes the distortion profiles so markedly you can easily hear it. If you want technically good digital don't use a Lampi.

marslo · May 19, 2016

When I select best native dsd from Fone it wins hands down with my average vinyl. When I switch W20 to usb with power supply it decreases the SQ by a significant margin tough.
IMO to have the best native dsd with Lampi B7 and GG one have to install the best transport possible . Without it the comparison is not fair.
The best vinyl pressings are on par with my best native dsd but a bit different.
Talking prices my vinyl rig costed about 12 k GBP ( deck, tonearm, cart and phono stage ) without power cords. The digital one : W20 plus Lampi B7 with Duelunds caps was more expensive.
But if I add anitvibration platform , tweaks and cleaning machine to analog part , they are nearly even.
Like them both but the convenience of digital is a big advantage.

bonzo75 · May 19, 2016

spiritofmusic said:
Audiophile Bill is your man for analog v Lampi comparisons. He has a Fully Loaded GG and Gold Top Full Cream Kuzma setup, and listens to both on a daily basis. Maybe he'll pitch in w/his views.

True - and Audiocrack too, apart from Mike L - He has 4 high quality TTs and the GG - Blue Pearl JEM, which was rated by Roy Gregory to be much better than Rockport Sirius, the Da Vinci Gabriel, Forsell, and Walker. Kuzma Airline and da vinci arms, Lyra Olympos, Koetsu Coralstone, and Lyra Connoisseur, among other things. But we can dismiss AC and Mike as a bit unique with their analog set up, like ddk, so not representative of normal audiophiles

Audiocrack · May 19, 2016

bonzo75 said:
True - and Audiocrack too, apart from Mike L - He has 4 high quality TTs and the GG - Blue Pearl JEM, which was rated by Roy Gregory to be much better than Rockport Sirius, the Da Vinci Gabriel, Forsell, and Walker. Kuzma Airline and da vinci arms, Lyra Olympos, Koetsu Coralstone, and Lyra Connoisseur, among other things. But we can dismiss AC and Mike as a bit unique with their analog set up, like ddk, so not representative of normal audiophiles

Would be very happy if my wife would call my 'audio aberration' as "a bit unique" .
But let me add another opinion: although I like the Trinity combo and my Lampi GG/dedicated server very much, all my turntables - provided they are set up well - beat them in many important ways. In particular (and in one word) the fluency of vinyl always strucks me when I have not listened to vinyl for a while. Would love to have it the other way round - because I am not really good at getting the best out of (my) turntables and because digital playback, in particular playing files using my ipad, is much more convenient - but to my ears vinyl still rules (have no tape deck experience in my set ups).?

thedudeabides · May 19, 2016

bonzo75 said:
But we can dismiss AC and Mike as a bit unique with their analog set up, like ddk, so not representative of normal audiophiles

Very true. The cost difference alone makes it a totally unfair comparison. Ridiculous actually. And of course, its all totally subjective anyway so who cares. Not I.

For me, I have eight year old digital technology and I'm quite content with it. It sounds just fine to me and I spend my audio money on music.

Oh boy, another A vs D thread. Time to make some popcorn.

Analog vs Lampizator

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