DCS Or LAMPIZATOR- YOUR CONSIDERATIONS.

[bonzo75]

Thanks for the information regarding the tubes and how to set them up. Besides the sound and the philosophy behind the GG, another unique selling point for me is the fact that it is upgradable. dCS does offer firmware upgrades, but being able to keep up with Lampizator with all the new hardware build into your existing DAC is one that weighs really heavy for me.

The key thing is the DHTed Lampi lets you put the best valves in audio at the top of the electronics chain. Lamm, Jadis, AR, and other valve electronics that come in down the chain are great but do not have this level of valves

 

[wisnon]

and for the KR242 you do need pin adapters. not a big deal but I had to source mine in China.

The Lampi 242s dont need adapters. Kron made the correct terminations for him.

 

[Zero000]

Hold on a minute - KR do not even make 242 anymore - only on special order.

Also, it does NOT work in early hardwired B7 DACs. I tried it - it is a 2 amp 5V odd tube and it overloaded mine. As I was expecting it to.

Avoid I reckon.

 

[bonzo75]

Hold on a minute - KR do not even make 242 anymore - only on special order.

Also, it does NOT work in early hardwired B7 DACs. I tried it - it is a 2 amp 5V odd tube and it overloaded mine. As I was expecting it to.

Avoid I reckon.

Yes they make it to special order. The reason it did not work in your dac is yours is one of the first one ever made and it is quite different from mine. It worked on mine and Wisnon's B7. Anyway the voltage and gain can always be reset.

 

[Zero000]

There's some old stock floating around on ebay for £800. Personally I'd go with the times and get something that isn't going to cost a fortune on special order, which I expect it will. If it doesn't or you don't care feel free to play I suppose.

You could special order the PX4 with a UX4 base. If you want to sell, though, that might restrict your market of potential buyers a bit. So using adaptors really makes sense for PX4.

 

[wisnon]

Hold on a minute - KR do not even make 242 anymore - only on special order.

Also, it does NOT work in early hardwired B7 DACs. I tried it - it is a 2 amp 5V odd tube and it overloaded mine. As I was expecting it to.

Avoid I reckon.

It worked beautifully in my old one and I had a B7 (late 2014) and GG trialling the 242 at the same time!

 

[Brian Walsh]

No contest for me. Big 7 trumps vivaldi any day, add to that the fact you can add exotic valves (which I have not tried on the lampi and still stay within a fraction of the vivaldi stack cost

One of my customers who is very particular has had a Big 7 for a few months but openly admitted he plans to sell it, effectively saying it doesn't sound real. He had a Berkeley Reference before that but never warmed up to it. He will be auditioning the Bricasti M1 SE in a few weeks, which in my biased opinion has about twice the performance of the stock M1. He could opt for the (gold) Limited Edition version if he wants, which sounds dramatically better than the SE.

 

[Steve Williams]

Brian

in what way did it not sound real? Was it too colored

 

[bonzo75]

One of my customers who is very particular has had a Big 7 for a few months but openly admitted he plans to sell it, effectively saying it doesn't sound real. He had a Berkeley Reference before that but never warmed up to it. He will be auditioning the Bricasti M1 SE in a few weeks, which in my biased opinion has about twice the performance of the stock M1. He could opt for the (gold) Limited Edition version if he wants, which sounds dramatically better than the SE.

What was his set up and what valves did he use?

 

[Zero000]

It worked beautifully in my old one and I had a B7 (late 2014) and GG trialling the 242 at the same time!

I am surprised. Don't quote on the 5V 2A though as I don't think it is that bad, but I did find the spec somewhere and it was way over 6.5 Watts.

Kedar and I both new straight away it didn't work - seriously obvious distortion.

Did you get a GG?

 

[Zero000]

One of my customers who is very particular has had a Big 7 for a few months but openly admitted he plans to sell it, effectively saying it doesn't sound real. He had a Berkeley Reference before that but never warmed up to it. He will be auditioning the Bricasti M1 SE in a few weeks, which in my biased opinion has about twice the performance of the stock M1. He could opt for the (gold) Limited Edition version if he wants, which sounds dramatically better than the SE.

Very, very surprising.

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Hi chaps,

Please would you explain to me what exactly is happening when you use the 242 and it causes this distortion - is it the Lampi overdriving the preamp input stage or the Lampi output stage not coping?

Thanks

 

[wisnon]

Hi chaps,

Please would you explain to me what exactly is happening when you use the 242 and it causes this distortion - is it the Lampi overdriving the preamp input stage or the Lampi output stage not coping?

Thanks

Not sure...it just seems like too hot an output. Too much force trying to come thru a small opening...

 

[wisnon]

I am surprised. Don't quote on the 5V 2A though as I don't think it is that bad, but I did find the spec somewhere and it was way over 6.5 Watts.

Kedar and I both new straight away it didn't work - seriously obvious distortion.

Did you get a GG?

Yes, GG with R2R PCM. Imagine how the 242 worked beautifully in the B7 and obviously wrong in the GG...and this was head to head.

 

[wisnon]

Very, very surprising.

It takes all kinds....

 

[Audiophile Bill]

Not sure...it just seems like too hot an output. Too much force trying to come thru a small opening...

Lol, Norman. Hopefully someone might know - I am hoping it is the Lampi overdriving the input stage of the preamp as my new amp can take a whopping pro level 9v, which is mental....

 

[Brian Walsh]

Brian

in what way did it not sound real? Was it too colored

As I understand it, not natural, so yes, colored in some way. He listens to all kinds of music.

 

[Brian Walsh]

What was his set up and what valves did he use?

I must assume the stock tubes. Soulution electronics, Raidho speakers. A modest system

 

[Audiophile Bill]

I must assume the stock tubes. Soulution electronics, Raidho speakers. A modest system

Oh dear - I hope Ked has a glass of whiskey before he reads this. He detests Raidho - he thinks they are utterly crap.

 

[wisnon]

As I understand it, not natural, so yes, colored in some way. He listens to all kinds of music.

Naturalness his one of the hallmarks of the Lampi sound in my books.

As I said, to each his own.