My experience with Lampizator

[BlueFox]

The review in Stereophile, or The Absolute Sound, said each Reference DAC was hand tuned to achieve its sound.

 

[PeterA]

The review in Stereophile, or The Absolute Sound, said each Reference DAC was hand tuned to achieve its sound.

I think Robert Harley wrote a review of the Berkeley Ref DAC in TAS a few issues ago. IIRC, he stated that it approaches, and surpasses in certain areas, the performance of his Basis Inspiration TT. That is saying something.

 

[bonzo75]

I wasn't talking about regular BADAs, but about the Reference DAC.

Mike had the Reference, and Joeinid had also ordered the reference? Also the friend of Mike's who first loaned him the Lampi, Jerry, had the Berkeley Reference. Only Brucelet had the non-reference

 

[Al M.]

Mike had the Reference, and Joeinid had also ordered the reference? Also the friend of Mike's who first loaned him the Lampi, Jerry, had the Berkeley Reference. Only Brucelet had the non-reference

Alright, and I will now listen to some Mozart and Beethoven string quartets on my regular Berkeley Alpha DAC 2, which performs wonderfully.

 

[bonzo75]

Alright, and I will now listen to some Mozart and Beethoven string quartets on my regular Berkeley Alpha DAC 2, which performs wonderfully.

Didn't mean to nag on Al. You are ole of the nice sensible guys on the forum that Peter B didn't like

 

[joeinid]

Mike had the Reference, and Joeinid had also ordered the reference? Also the friend of Mike's who first loaned him the Lampi, Jerry, had the Berkeley Reference. Only Brucelet had the non-reference

Yes, going on almost 7 months wait for the Berkeley Ref dac myself, with still no idea in sight when it will ship. Several more customers that I know of both before and after my order are still waiting. One guy from Oct/Nov last year is still waiting for his. This is BS.

 

[bonzo75]

Yes, going on almost 7 months wait for the Berkeley Ref dac myself, with still no idea in sight when it will ship. Several more customers that I know of both before and after my order are still waiting. One guy from Oct/Nov last year is still waiting for his. This is BS.

I assume you heard it before ordering it?

 

[joeinid]

I assume you heard it before ordering it?

Why would I do that? Can't change my behavior now

Never heard it.

 

[bonzo75]

Why would I do that? Can't change my behavior now

Never heard it.

Lol. Ok.

 

[Al M.]

Didn't mean to nag on Al. You are ole of the nice sensible guys on the forum that Peter B didn't like

Don't worry, Bonzo. It was just a small reminder that, in the end, it's all about the music. And that at some point it''s good to find satisfaction in what you have.

On the menu were:

Mozart string quartet KV 421
Beethoven quartet op. 59/2
Beethoven quartet op. 59/1
Maxwell Davies, Naxos quartet No. 4 (2004)

Wonderful.

 

[Geardaddy]

No idea, Geardaddy. I'm a bit sad I didn't get to try the Golden Gate, not just because of the upgraded parts but because it would have had the tubes (101d replicas) that might made the difference, but the deal I was offered didn't include any audition - it was a final sale and based on my experience with the Big 7 I couldn't be that optimistic.

So I'm back to using my Playback Designs which is smack in between the Big 7 and the MSB Analog. I would audition the Berkely Alpha Reference if there wasn't a manufacturing backlog (I hear 7 months and counting for some people).

That's too bad Ian. The GG is good and offers an innate flexibility. It is resolute (enough) but also organic and "analog." Case in point: my Auralic Aries (which is essentially a wireless streamer/computer) went through a firmware change not too recently, and my SQ went into the toilet after having been sublime for weeks on end. I was pissed. Yesterday, they updated the firmware again, and the SQ was now better than ever. So, the GG is not a typical tubed marshmallow that covers over a multitude of sins. I have very resolving speakers (like you) and a specially engineered room where every little change is staring at you in the face.

The Magicos are resolution machines. That is good and bad. With digital in particular, that can makes things a challenge. The GG would/could have been a great potential match.

Cesar mentioned Totaldac. I looked into that company and both their dacs and servers have promise. He does have a trial period although you are on the hook for shipping from France. Another company out of the UK (CAD) also caught me eye. No audition though....

 

[bonzo75]

I have heard CAD a few times. No comparison. Anthony, why don't you try the Aurender or a Caps Zuma like HQP and let us know differences with your Aries.

 

[Geardaddy]

I have heard CAD a few times. No comparison. Anthony, why don't you try the Aurender or a Caps Zuma like HQP and let us know differences with your Aries.

Anthony? The CAD and Totaldac appear to be serious attempts at engineering and would be worth hearing in one's home.

I have audio buddies who have had either Caps or highly modded minis who converted to the Aries. The Aurender I would still like to hear (and or the totaldac server).

 

[bonzo75]

Anthony? The CAD and Totaldac appear to be serious attempts at engineering and would be worth hearing in one's home.

I have audio buddies who have had either Caps or highly modded minis who converted to the Aries. The Aurender I would still like to hear (and or the totaldac server).

Sorry, Andrew. The Totaldac seems really good. Unfortunately I didn't get to hear it in a proper room and set up, but it sounded very good from the brief demo. I will visit Audioblazer again when he expands his room and gets new speakers to listen to it. So they had caps with win12 and AO, or just caps. The thing with caps is you can keep modding, adding better power supplies etc

 

[blbloom]

I loved my Berkeley Alpha. Would like to hear the reference.

 

[bonzo75]

Please let's not revisit this, it's over.

I keep reading about the need to demo things in one's system. I think that if you expect an in home demo (with a good possibility of return) you should not be asking for any significant discount. Same goes for hand holding and endless tech support.

 

[Geardaddy]

I loved my Berkeley Alpha. Would like to hear the reference.

 

[wisnon]

There are many DACs Ian can try like Trinity, CH Precision especially Trinity as it almost has the amount of loyalty as Lampizator.

Depends on if he wants to play back native DSD, or only a PCM conversion. Neither Trinity nor CH plays back DSD in native form, as they have to convert to PCM to play via the BB1704 chipset.
I have heard both Dacs BTW.

 

[wisnon]

I have never engaged in tube rolling.

As far as the output quality of tubes is concerned, a great power supply is much more important than premium tubes. What use is a premium tube if it doesn't operate under the optimal conditions that it's designed for?

If, as you say, the Lampi was a bit soft on transients, I am starting to wonder if the Lampi features as competent a high-voltage-DC power delivery to the tubes as is supplied by the BorderPatrol external power supplies for my amps.

You are kidding, right?

The Lampi probably has the MOST overspecified Power Supply out there in Dac-Land. This is Luaksz's forte as his background is high voltage physics and tube gear depends on well elaborated power supply.


Excerpts from his interview:
"What is your approach to power supply and how important it is in your opinion?


Power supply is everything. Remove the power supply importance and my DAC is like any other 200 dollar DAC from China. Power supply to the tube anodes, tube heaters, and 9 other digital supply points, sets the LampizatOr DAC aside from the crowd and makes it sound as heavenly as it does.

Separated power supply is highly regarded with audiophiles. What are your views on benefits with outboard power solutions and two box design?


I don’t follow that path because I really know whats going on, I don’t just speculate that removing PSU from the “consumer” should “bring some benefits”. The separation is a huge tradeoff and the result is a proof - closely built supply delivers faster, better and cleaner. There is no mythical “interference” because I measure it that it isn’t there. I will take a one box for a two box any time. I sell DAC Level 5 which is a two box only because of lack of physical space in one box.


Why tubes in the audio path?

I have no particular attachment to tubes. If the parrot guano gave better results in signal amplification, or transistors - I would use them. Tubes sound good not because they are made of glass, or because they have vacuum inside, but because I can get away with simple amplifier stage without local or global feedback and without high part count. The tube circuit can be as simple as humanly possible - in my case the stage has just one resistor, one triode and one capacitor. Thats why I love tubes. Listening confirms that the signal is pure, uncorrupted, and the musical content comes through, shining in full musical glory.


What would you say, that Lampizator- Lukasz Fikus is doing different and specific to other DAC’s?


Mainly I am very open to listening test and comparisons. I don’t follow so called datasheet and white paper specs - I use the chips the way I want and I make the chips sound the way I want, even if the approach is far from textbook or dogmatic respect for manufacturer’s suggestions. I realized that chips for DAC are not digital devices (like in computers) but they are analog devices, responding really strongly to strange manipulations like power supply filtering, capacitor quality, connection topology, clock frequencies, materials used for wiring and soldering, vibrations, magnetic fields, grounding schemes and so on. Making a chip sound in a specific way is like building violins. Yamaha can’t duplicate what Stradivari did, it is a secret of the trade. It is like cooking, or gardening, or animal training. It is not about zeroes and ones.

Anything special about topology?


There is nothing special really. Anyone can make a circuit equally good just after 2-3 years of every day testing and trying. What is special is my absolutely fanatical approach to testing by ears in thousands of hours of nightime listening. I use circuits insanely simple, if you remove one more part - everything will collapse. So I am testing the absolute limits of simplicity that I can get away with as an engineer. I remove and remove and remove until I can’t remove anything else and then I make the circuit sound best under these circumstances. In sound quality less is more, because the signal gets less chances to be distorted and loosing the natural beauty of the music.

 

[adyc]

Depends on if he wants to play back native DSD, or only a PCM conversion. Neither Trinity nor CH plays back DSD in native form, as they have to convert to PCM to play via the BB1704 chipset.
I have heard both Dacs BTW.

How do you find both DACs compared to Lampizator?