Anyone here compared the Lampizator GG to the Aries Cerat Kassandra II reference DAC??

morricab · Feb 28, 2017

With all the buzz on the excellent sounding GG (heard it at Christoph's and it is very nice...PCM only so far though) I was wondering if anyone has heard at length it and the Aries Cerat Kassandra II DAC? It is also a very amibitious design with R2R (chips not discrete) tech and an advanced tube output stage. It is DSD compatible but I won't do DSD "chipless" like the GG.

Just curious because having now lived for a while with the Diana Integrated I have to say that Aries Cerat seems to know their stuff.

Jazzhead · Feb 28, 2017

morricab said:
With all the buzz on the excellent sounding GG (heard it at Christoph's and it is very nice...PCM only so far though) I was wondering if anyone has heard at length it and the Aries Cerat Kassandra II DAC? It is also a very amibitious design with R2R (chips not discrete) tech and an advanced tube output stage. It is DSD compatible but I won't do DSD "chipless" like the GG.

Just curious because having now lived for a while with the Diana Integrated I have to say that Aries Cerat seems to know their stuff.

Bonzo did a compare on Zero Distortion with the Aires flagship , have a look .

bonzo75 · Feb 28, 2017

Jazzhead said:
Bonzo did a compare on Zero Distortion with Aires flagship , have a look .

He has already been active on that thread.

flyer · Feb 28, 2017

Well, I would also be interested to hear if other opinions exist.

I have a customer that has the Lampi GG and he wants to do a comparison with the Kassandra, that will be instructive, certainly given the fact that he has a pair of horn speakers which will amplify any sonic difference. Timing is not defined yet though I expect it to happen in next two months.

morricab · Feb 28, 2017

Jazzhead said:
Bonzo did a compare on Zero Distortion with the Aires flagship , have a look .

Yeah, I kind of wanted to hear if some other opinions were out there.

wisnon · Feb 28, 2017

morricab said:
Yeah, I kind of wanted to hear if some other opinions were out there.

Did you hear Michael's GA yet?

What does the Kassandra 2 cost?

morricab · Feb 28, 2017

wisnon said:
Did you hear Michael's GA yet?

What does the Kassandra 2 cost?

Hi Norman,
No I didn't hear his GA yet...last time I was over at his place he had the loaner Atlantic you brought over originally to Christoph's. The Kassandra II is 18K euro for the "smallest" model (still 60Kg!)

Audiophile Bill · Feb 28, 2017

Which version of the Kassandra did Ked compare the GG to and how much is it?

Cheers

wisnon · Feb 28, 2017

Audiophile Bill said:
Which version of the Kassandra did Ked compare the GG to and how much is it?

Cheers

The middle one for 55K. The top one is 82K.

wisnon · Feb 28, 2017

morricab said:
Hi Norman,
No I didn't hear his GA yet...last time I was over at his place he had the loaner Atlantic you brought over originally to Christoph's. The Kassandra II is 18K euro for the "smallest" model (still 60Kg!)

They tell me the GA is much better than the Atlantic plus, shockingly so.

morricab · Mar 1, 2017

wisnon said:
They tell me the GA is much better than the Atlantic plus, shockingly so.

What does the GA go for, pricewise? How does it compare to the big brother GG?

bonzo75 · Mar 1, 2017

morricab said:
What does the GA go for, pricewise? How does it compare to the big brother GG?

GA is a pentode and tube rolls restricted compared to GG, so the GA compares will have to be done with different tubes in GG. An important thing to know about Lukasz though is that if this new version of Golden Atlantic does manage to beat the GG, in a few months he will produce a better version of GG beating the GA. Also w.r.t. your first post the GG has both chipless and R2R DSD.

As for the comparisons, Christoph can do the compares, though at the mo he does not have any ideal GG valves - he has KR 45s which are anemic and 101D which are detailed and dynamic but not the best in tone. He had borrowed my 242s for a while and loved them on his horns with the Kronzilla, but is waiting to pick up his own set. There is a GA scheduled to arrive with the UK distro this week so some of the Lampi gang will probably do a few compares to the GG here.

wisnon · Mar 1, 2017

morricab said:
What does the GA go for, pricewise? How does it compare to the big brother GG?

60% or so of the price of equivalently specced GG.

Cant tell how it compares, but as soon as C and & M put in the time, they will let us know. My GG has come back from upgrades and I can tell you that ORDER has been restored...it is a different/much better animal. I dont do poetry or hyperbole, but dayum, the GG is significantly better SQ Wise than before..especially on pcm.

Believe High Fidelity · Mar 1, 2017

Was hoping to do more comparisons with the Kassandra, but not at lot of top shelf DACS here in TX.

wisnon · Mar 1, 2017

Believe High Fidelity said:
Was hoping to do more comparisons with the Kassandra, but not at lot of top shelf DACS here in TX.

Its a very good Dac for sure, according to those who heard it. Pricey, but I guess BIG IRON dont come cheap!

flyer · Mar 1, 2017

wisnon said:
The middle one for 55K. The top one is 82K.

Allow me to correct that, the Kassandra Signature Edition is 41k EUR. That is the one I have on demo. Thank you.

wisnon · Mar 1, 2017

I got the prices from Believe Hifi last year in $$$$. Look it up in the Aries thread right here. Not trying to disparage (why should I, I like both him and Stavros), you can ask him too.

flyer · Mar 1, 2017

Hello Wisnon, I don't know the meaning of 'disparage' but I am sure you did not invent the price. Can it be the price you quoted is in USD and not EUR? That would make a lot of sense and explain the difference.

But I will check with Believe HiFi

wisnon · Mar 1, 2017

flyer said:
Hello Wisnon, I don't know the meaning of 'disparage' but I am sure you did not invent the price. Can it be the price you quoted is in USD and not EUR? That would make a lot of sense and explain the difference.

But I will check with Believe HiFi

Meaning to demean or speak ill of someone...

Yes prices in $ I thought, but no it was Euro...but may have changed since last year and you can do a search and find it one of the threads here:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showt...om-Aries-Cerat&p=399473&viewfull=1#post399473

Pricing in Euro is as follows (give or take 1k) not including VAT

7500 for the Prestige Series

18k for Reference Series

55K for the Siganture Series

81k for the Limited Edition Series
Believe High Fidelity Ltd is the North American Distributor for:

Aries Cerat Electronics and Loudspeaker Designs - www.aries-cerat.eu
Vermouth Audio Cables - www.vermouthaudio.com

Incito Preamplifier wins Best Preamplifier of 2015 with almost perfect score! - Article here

CES 2016 coverage here
THE SHOW Newport coverage here
Like us on Facebook!
Follow our YouTube Channel

Joshua
Email: j@Ibelieveinhifi.com
Web: www.ibelieveinhifi.com
My System
Quick reply to this message Reply Reply With Quote Reply With Quote Multi-Quote This Message Blog this Post
06-15-2016, 06:28 PM #149
Believe High Fidelity Believe High Fidelity is offline
[Industry Expert]
Addicted to Best!
Believe High Fidelity's Avatar Join Date
Nov 2015
Location
Hutto TX
Posts
279
US Direct Pricing is as follows

12k for the Prestige

35K for the Reference Series

82k for the Signature Series

120k for the Limited Edition Series

bonzo75 · Mar 1, 2017

Guys, there is a misunderstanding here. Wisnon did have a right to think its 55, but flyer is also quite fair and friendly not the types to disparage so let's move on

Anyone here compared the Lampizator GG to the Aries Cerat Kassandra II reference DAC??

Well-Known Member

VIP/Donor

Member Sponsor

VIP/Donor

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Well-Known Member

[Industry Expert]

Well-Known Member

VIP/Donor

Well-Known Member

VIP/Donor

Well-Known Member

Member Sponsor

Similar threads