Lampizator or PS Audio Directstream DAC Mk2?

[Undecided_Dave]

Tube lifespan is really something about what you don’t need to worry. I’m with Lampi for like 5/6 years now with all possible models without one single tube going bad (NOS, used or new which i tried) and i tried more than a sane user would try.

That's good to know. I was contemplating the possibility of having to buy matched sextets to give me the 4 I need for the balanced option plus two spare in the event I needed them to replace the odd failing tube. Not sure if that works

 

[Gjo]

I owned a Lampizator Baltic 3, and I presently own a Bricasti Design M1S2.

Here's my take.

Lampizator makes terrific DACs. Factory upgrades/improvements/updates seem to come at a rapid pace. Are you sensitive to FOMO, and needing to have the latest and greatest version?

Advice about tube rolling is deep and vast. Ask yourself how involved you want to be with tube experimentation, and if you can resist the ADD-like pull to search for "the best". It burned me out.

On the other hand, Bricasti Design also makes phenomenal DACs. They're resolving, but natural. Improvements are released on a much slower pace and are generally cost effective. The factory in Massachusetts turns around upgrades/updates very quickly. Their service is second to none.

My M1S2 DAC with volume control sounds so great I sold my preamplifier and run the DAC direct to Audio Note 300B tube amplifiers.

 

[keithc]

Here you go. Early morning glow pictures.

 

[Undecided_Dave]

ENGINE ELEVEN | lampizator

www.lampizatorpoland.com

This is the spec on their latest TRP decoding engine. I use FLAC/ALAC/64 via SPDIF and it’s fine; obviously native higher res would need USB.

There is a >110 page TRP tube rolling thread on this forum. It’s a treasure trove of what everyone has gone through, worth reading.

FYI re looks, this is the Golden Atlantic TRP3, which is an upgrade from the regular TRP 3.

Thanks - I'm all about the USB as I'm server based source.

 

[Undecided_Dave]

Here you go. Early morning glow pictures.

View attachment 120381View attachment 120382

Looks lovely. What is the tube complement you have there, if you dont mind me asking? Obviously using some adapters as well. ( I wonder if anyone has played around with STL super rectifiers with this DAC?)

 

[christoph]

Tube lifespan is really something about what you don’t need to worry. I’m with Lampi for like 5/6 years now with all possible models without one single tube going bad (NOS, used or new which i tried) and i tried more than a sane user would try.

I second that.

 

[christoph]

There is a >110 page TRP tube rolling thread on this forum. It’s a treasure trove of what everyone has gone through, worth reading.

Just one piece of advice:
Don't start buying tubes you read about on the first few pages

Read the whole thread and then decide what tubes are interesting for you

 

[Undecided_Dave]

Just one piece of advice:
Don't start buying tubes you read about on the first few pages

Read the whole thread and then decide what tubes are interesting for you

I think the overwhelming advice I've been given so far is to get accustomed to the stock tubes before you make changes. Which I fully intend to do - IF - I choose to go the lampizator route of course..

 

[Undecided_Dave]

I owned a Lampizator Baltic 3, and I presently own a Bricasti Design M1S2.

Here's my take.

Lampizator makes terrific DACs. Factory upgrades/improvements/updates seem to come at a rapid pace. Are you sensitive to FOMO, and needing to have the latest and greatest version?

Advice about tube rolling is deep and vast. Ask yourself how involved you want to be with tube experimentation, and if you can resist the ADD-like pull to search for "the best". It burned me out.

On the other hand, Bricasti Design also makes phenomenal DACs. They're resolving, but natural. Improvements are released on a much slower pace and are generally cost effective. The factory in Massachusetts turns around upgrades/updates very quickly. Their service is second to none.

My M1S2 DAC with volume control sounds so great I sold my preamplifier and run the DAC direct to Audio Note 300B tube amplifiers.

Should I purchase the TRP 3 I'm unlikely to have any spare resources to purchase anything until next century let alone a huge selection of tubes.. Probably.

 

[Gjo]

Should I purchase the TRP 3 I'm unlikely to have any spare resources to purchase anything until next century let alone a huge selection of tubes.. Probably.

I know there’s some humor in your response, but resources for tubes is something to consider. Seriously. The gravitational pull to tube roll is very strong. It’s a significant aspect of Lampizator ownership.

That said, after rolling a good number of highly recommended tubes in the Baltic 3, I decided the factory supplied tube set sounded best. My audio buddy, who purchased my Baltic 3, has settled on the same, as far as I know.

 

[christoph]

I think the overwhelming advice I've been given so far is to get accustomed to the stock tubes before you make changes. Which I fully intend to do - IF - I choose to go the lampizator route of course..

That is also the advice I always give

 

[Undecided_Dave]

So before I push the button on my decision, I have one last query. I have my current DAC running 24/7 {because I can) and mostly because I work from home 3 days a week and use it all the time. Its in use 12 hours a day for 5 days out of 7. I turn off the display at night but its basically still on. Can this be done with the Lampi? I think the button on the front can be configured as a standby button which is similar, but will it take 30mins or more to 'warm up' or will it take longer?

 

[keithc]

Looks lovely. What is the tube complement you have there, if you dont mind me asking? Obviously using some adapters as well. ( I wonder if anyone has played around with STL super rectifiers with this DAC?)

That's the Western Electric 422A rectifier and the Siemens F2A power tubes w/ adapters.

So before I push the button on my decision, I have one last query. I have my current DAC running 24/7 {because I can) and mostly because I work from home 3 days a week and use it all the time. Its in use 12 hours a day for 5 days out of 7. I turn off the display at night but its basically still on. Can this be done with the Lampi? I think the button on the front can be configured as a standby button which is similar, but will it take 30mins or more to 'warm up' or will it take longer?

The Lampizators run their tubes quite conservatively, and I'd defer you to @LampiNA but I believe Fred leaves his DACs on for long periods of time to avoid the 'warm up' period that tubes need to sound their best. Some folks feel that actually the power-on/power-off period is when tubes get hit the hardest and it's more benign to just leave it on.

 

[Undecided_Dave]

That's the Western Electric 422A rectifier and the Siemens F2A power tubes w/ adapters.



The Lampizators run their tubes quite conservatively, and I'd defer you to @LampiNA but I believe Fred leaves his DACs on for long periods of time to avoid the 'warm up' period that tubes need to sound their best. Some folks feel that actually the power-on/power-off period is when tubes get hit the hardest and it's more benign to just leave it on.

Thanks - I did wonder about this. Since my home office is my 'man cave' it doubles up functionality. Its also a conservatory so prone to getting warm in the summer. My current kit has dealt with this quite well, but I'm not sure about tubes. Its pretty much the last hurdle for me to overcome my apprehension using tubes in this environment.

 

[DennisH]

Thanks - I did wonder about this. Since my home office is my 'man cave' it doubles up functionality. Its also a conservatory so prone to getting warm in the summer. My current kit has dealt with this quite well, but I'm not sure about tubes. Its pretty much the last hurdle for me to overcome my apprehension using tubes in this environment.

I live in Scottsdale, Arizona, where the summers are really hot. I have the Lampizator Baltic 4 combined with a tube integrated amplifier and a tube phono amplifier. In all, I am running 23 tubes in a listening room that was a former bedroom. The Lampizator puts out the least heat of the components, and although the room warms up in the summer, it’s not a problem for me. Until I bought the Baltic 4, I was primarily a vinyl guy, now I listen to digital 75% of the time and love the Baltic 4.

 

[Undecided_Dave]

Ok - so chime in here if you wish, but I spoke today to a work colleague (based in the US - I'm in UK) who found out by word of mouth that I was looking at Lampizator DAC. He reached out to tell me that he didn't think that the lampizators did good bass. In his opinion, based on his own demo with a Baltic 3 some time back, there were other DACs out there (Weiss, PS DSD ,Tambaqui) that did bass a whole lot better. ( He bought the PS DSD DAC MK1)
I didn't think there was huge amount in it in terms of weight but as I recall there was a little more slam to the PS DAC. Anyone triggered by my colleagues comments/experience?

 

[keithc]

Ok - so chime in here if you wish, but I spoke today to a work colleague (based in the US - I'm in UK) who found out by word of mouth that I was looking at Lampizator DAC. He reached out to tell me that he didn't think that the lampizators did good bass. In his opinion, based on his own demo with a Baltic 3 some time back, there were other DACs out there (Weiss, PS DSD ,Tambaqui) that did bass a whole lot better. ( He bought the PS DSD DAC MK1)
I didn't think there was huge amount in it in terms of weight but as I recall there was a little more slam to the PS DAC. Anyone triggered by my colleagues comments/experience?

That depends on so many things... tubes, matching w/ the downstream component, adequate amplifier overhead, even power cords, etc.
Bass is also very tricky and depends on how people define it. Some folks want bass that's supernatural, others prefer bass details over slam, etc.

 

[Gjo]

Start with the definition of "good bass" (or bad bass). Extension? Resolution? Emphasis versus other frequencies (think Massive Attack, etc)? Answer according to what's important to you, rather than what others think is "good bass". Your answers will help determine your choice of DAC...and everything else in your system.

Are we talking about lower bass, or mid bass (where lots of music lies)?

In my experience, "slam" is attributable more to amplification/speaker pairing than to a DAC. It could also be that your friend's preamplifier input impedance (or amplifier input impedance if running direct from a DAC with volume control) matches better with his PS DSD than the Lampizator DAC he heard (this assumes he heard the Lampizator in his system). If your friend heard the Lampizator DAC and PS DSD in different systems, then all bets are off because there are too many variables to make a decent comparison.

In my system, the Lampizator Baltic 3 (engine 53) had very good bass in terms of extension and frequency balance. The Bricasti Design M1S2 has better resolved bass (detail), and it's balanced within the frequency spectrum. It's faithful to the recording, which is important to me. I don't want my system to add anything that's not on the recording. If I decide I want a little extra bass, then I can add an EQ filter via Roon (but I rarely do).

I generally wouldn't choose one DAC over another based on comparing bass reproduction. One DAC that wowed me with bass when I first turned it on was a Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, but it quickly grew tiresome.

 

[keithc]

@Undecided_Dave in the end it also depends a lot on what kind of music you like. If you mostly listen to electronica & metal then maybe solid state is better.

Do you have experience with modern good tube gear? I think many of us pursued tubes because it has that je ne sais quoi that just sounds right, and makes timbre, vocals, instruments and the overall musical picture just seem so realistic. Yes, very high end solid state can be also very good, but to my ears I prefer the tube magic still because it's that last 10% that makes all the difference. Personally I wouldn't want my upstream source to be based on MOSFETs or opamps.

The source supplying the data to the DAC can also really impact the sound. In the end, it's all synergy.

 

[Undecided_Dave]

Start with the definition of "good bass" (or bad bass). Extension? Resolution? Emphasis versus other frequencies (think Massive Attack, etc)? Answer according to what's important to you, rather than what others think is "good bass". Your answers will help determine your choice of DAC...and everything else in your system.

Are we talking about lower bass, or mid bass (where lots of music lies)?

In my experience, "slam" is attributable more to amplification/speaker pairing than to a DAC. It could also be that your friend's preamplifier input impedance (or amplifier input impedance if running direct from a DAC with volume control) matches better with his PS DSD than the Lampizator DAC he heard (this assumes he heard the Lampizator in his system). If your friend heard the Lampizator DAC and PS DSD in different systems, then all bets are off because there are too many variables to make a decent comparison.

In my system, the Lampizator Baltic 3 (engine 53) had very good bass in terms of extension and frequency balance. The Bricasti Design M1S2 has better resolved bass (detail), and it's balanced within the frequency spectrum. It's faithful to the recording, which is important to me. I don't want my system to add anything that's not on the recording. If I decide I want a little extra bass, then I can add an EQ filter via Roon (but I rarely do).

I generally wouldn't choose one DAC over another based on comparing bass reproduction. One DAC that wowed me with bass when I first turned it on was a Schiit Audio Yggdrasil, but it quickly grew tiresome.

I'll try and keep this short and try to summarise a near 30 minute conversation with my colleague.

He did listen to the Lampi in his own system as well as all the other DACs he tried. Off the four he tried he felt the Lampi had decent weight (bettered by the weiss) and reasonable extension but suffered from a slight softening in the lower and mid bass. (when compared to the others). He spent 4 weeks with it in his system and he did say it never sounded bad, it just didnt seem to "pick up its feet" fast enough when dealing with fast bass heavy tracks. The others were across the board more nimble and this ultimately informed his decision on which way to go.