I've been an audiophile for probably more years than I suspect many of the readers of this post are old . Over these years I have been pretty steadfast in my goal which has always been to chase the best sound quality In my system and to my ears. Until 3 years ago I was virtually 100% analogue with a strong listening preference towards vinyl and tape. So what changed?
Here on Whats Best Forum, I have found that we have become a repository of audio information from so many gifted users who have such diversity in their listening habits along with members whom I consider to have some of the best audio systems in the galaxy. I have been fortunate to have heard so many of these systems. Here on WBF we have members from all over the world who are active here in reporting changes in their systems, what they consider new and what they consider special. I began following several threads in, of all places, the digital forum and the computer audio forum as I was noticing a very distinct change in the paradigm of what most people around the world were listening to. There seemed to be a plethora of new threads almost daily by members with excellent systems who were anxious to share their thoughts and recommendations. To wit, there seemed to constant threads from members all over the world about a company originating out of Poland with a strange name called LampizatOr pioneered by a man named Lukasz Fikus who was producing DACs that were using tubes. My system is 100% tubes and has been for probably 25 years. I loved that I could change the sound of my system to my liking by experimenting with different tubes, so this man and company caught my attention. Lukas, it seemed was a devout audiophile who loves tubes and loves to make DACs. I was fascinated by the fact that Lukasz seemed to be mentioned by reviewers at almost all audio shows around the world. I was also fascinated that he seemed to learn from each iteration of his DACs how to make one even better. I also found myself smiling when so many of his devout users aptly coined him "Master Yoda" as indeed, when he spoke, words of wisdom always flowed.
I followed these threads for well over a year and it seemed time for a change to my mediocre and outdated digital part of my system and I bought in with the purchase of a LampizatOr Pacific and from the get go I was gobsmacked. I was hooked as I found myself able to listen to all hires formats as well as DSD512 . One year later I found that Lukasz mind is always working as there were no flies on him and suddenly I heard that he was presently designing is next DAC called the Horizon. I remained reticent as I kept asking myself, "how could he make something better than the Pacific?" I found that a tough thing to wrap my head around. I was able to have conversations with Lukasz and Fred Ainsley, his distributor here in the USA. I was informed of how he was designing a DAC that had so many possibilities that not only virtually any tube could be rolled into the DAC (as there were signal tubes, power tubes and a rectifier) It was said that in the use with this DAC there was no such thing as a bad tube because there would be so many permutations and consultations. I wa fascinated and took the bait. I remember receiving mine and the tubes with which I started . It was a new playground and I felt this was something so special that I invited Lukasz to take a trip across the pond as well as Fred to spend a long weekend at my house and invite any and all members here at WBF to come and have a listen. That was a very special time as I got to spend lengthy discussions with Lukasz about him and his design goals as well as Fred who has championed the line here in the USA. That was Feb 2022 . A lot has transpired since.
For those whoo want to have a look, the thread I started about this new DAC called the Horizon has sprouted wings as it has become one of the most read threads here on WBF with well over 400,000 views
whatsbestforum.com
I was loving the fact that I could listen "native" to all formats. There was no upsampling etc, only listening Native, as that was always an agenda item of mine. So much discussion ensued about what tubes to use that a secondary thread has ene=merged as it too has sprouted wings as there are alway new users, with different suggestions. This thread has proved to be so informational that I think just about every user has posted their thoughts and recommendations. It continues to change constantly
whatsbestforum.com
Concomitantly with all of this, I discovered streaming , something which I heretofore had never considered. as I always felt that playing the real thing was paramount in achieving the best sound quality. There seemed to be another buzz going on in the Computer Audio Forum once again about another recently started company out of Holland called Taiko Audio, by another audiophile who just so happened to have been involved in one of the worlds largest supercomputer at the University there. Then came the famous thread started by member CK Keung in Hong Kong, called Taiko Audio SGM Extreme, La Creme De La Creme. This thread, suffice it to say has become the most read and posted to thread on WBF with well over 3 million views and well over 21000 posts
whatsbestforum.com
Once again I was hooked and ordered my Extreme just prior to receiving my Horizon. I was fortunate to meet Emile Bok, owner of TaikoAudio as he too made a trip across the pond to visit several WBF members. Emile spent several days at my home and during that time I again came to learn that he, like Lukas Fikus was an ardent audiophile whose only quest in the hobby was to achieve the best sound quality in the product he manufactures To my simple mind I felt that I was onto something special as these 2 amazing individuals shared the same goal as I ....to produce a product that strives to output the very best sound quality To my mind I felt these two men and their companies were like a marriage made in heaven.
Here on Whats Best Forum, I have found that we have become a repository of audio information from so many gifted users who have such diversity in their listening habits along with members whom I consider to have some of the best audio systems in the galaxy. I have been fortunate to have heard so many of these systems. Here on WBF we have members from all over the world who are active here in reporting changes in their systems, what they consider new and what they consider special. I began following several threads in, of all places, the digital forum and the computer audio forum as I was noticing a very distinct change in the paradigm of what most people around the world were listening to. There seemed to be a plethora of new threads almost daily by members with excellent systems who were anxious to share their thoughts and recommendations. To wit, there seemed to constant threads from members all over the world about a company originating out of Poland with a strange name called LampizatOr pioneered by a man named Lukasz Fikus who was producing DACs that were using tubes. My system is 100% tubes and has been for probably 25 years. I loved that I could change the sound of my system to my liking by experimenting with different tubes, so this man and company caught my attention. Lukas, it seemed was a devout audiophile who loves tubes and loves to make DACs. I was fascinated by the fact that Lukasz seemed to be mentioned by reviewers at almost all audio shows around the world. I was also fascinated that he seemed to learn from each iteration of his DACs how to make one even better. I also found myself smiling when so many of his devout users aptly coined him "Master Yoda" as indeed, when he spoke, words of wisdom always flowed.
I followed these threads for well over a year and it seemed time for a change to my mediocre and outdated digital part of my system and I bought in with the purchase of a LampizatOr Pacific and from the get go I was gobsmacked. I was hooked as I found myself able to listen to all hires formats as well as DSD512 . One year later I found that Lukasz mind is always working as there were no flies on him and suddenly I heard that he was presently designing is next DAC called the Horizon. I remained reticent as I kept asking myself, "how could he make something better than the Pacific?" I found that a tough thing to wrap my head around. I was able to have conversations with Lukasz and Fred Ainsley, his distributor here in the USA. I was informed of how he was designing a DAC that had so many possibilities that not only virtually any tube could be rolled into the DAC (as there were signal tubes, power tubes and a rectifier) It was said that in the use with this DAC there was no such thing as a bad tube because there would be so many permutations and consultations. I wa fascinated and took the bait. I remember receiving mine and the tubes with which I started . It was a new playground and I felt this was something so special that I invited Lukasz to take a trip across the pond as well as Fred to spend a long weekend at my house and invite any and all members here at WBF to come and have a listen. That was a very special time as I got to spend lengthy discussions with Lukasz about him and his design goals as well as Fred who has championed the line here in the USA. That was Feb 2022 . A lot has transpired since.
For those whoo want to have a look, the thread I started about this new DAC called the Horizon has sprouted wings as it has become one of the most read threads here on WBF with well over 400,000 views
Lampizator announcement: launch of our all new TOTL HORIZON DAC
Horizon The DAC of the future Lampizator announcement: launch of our all new TOTL HORIZON DAC Just when I thought that our TOTL Pacific DAC would be the end of the road for us, we decided to change the tactics concerning the improvements. Instead of making small incremental improvements of the...
whatsbestforum.com
I was loving the fact that I could listen "native" to all formats. There was no upsampling etc, only listening Native, as that was always an agenda item of mine. So much discussion ensued about what tubes to use that a secondary thread has ene=merged as it too has sprouted wings as there are alway new users, with different suggestions. This thread has proved to be so informational that I think just about every user has posted their thoughts and recommendations. It continues to change constantly
LampizatOr Horizon - Tube Rolling Paradise
As number of happy Horizon owners is starting to increase day by day and within the agreement with Steve I'm opening this thread where we'll be able to discuss and advise regarding the different options in terms of tubes we tried and experienced in Horizon. Main Lampi thread regarding tube...
whatsbestforum.com
Concomitantly with all of this, I discovered streaming , something which I heretofore had never considered. as I always felt that playing the real thing was paramount in achieving the best sound quality. There seemed to be another buzz going on in the Computer Audio Forum once again about another recently started company out of Holland called Taiko Audio, by another audiophile who just so happened to have been involved in one of the worlds largest supercomputer at the University there. Then came the famous thread started by member CK Keung in Hong Kong, called Taiko Audio SGM Extreme, La Creme De La Creme. This thread, suffice it to say has become the most read and posted to thread on WBF with well over 3 million views and well over 21000 posts
Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : the Crème de la Crème
Emile of Taiko Audio told me that he has been very busy to fulfill the orders of SGM Extreme for his Korean customers and he doesn't have time nor energy to start a thread on WBF. Let me do it for him. :) Here are some of the spec of the Taiko Audio SGM Extreme : -Dimensions 483*450*180mm...
whatsbestforum.com
Once again I was hooked and ordered my Extreme just prior to receiving my Horizon. I was fortunate to meet Emile Bok, owner of TaikoAudio as he too made a trip across the pond to visit several WBF members. Emile spent several days at my home and during that time I again came to learn that he, like Lukas Fikus was an ardent audiophile whose only quest in the hobby was to achieve the best sound quality in the product he manufactures To my simple mind I felt that I was onto something special as these 2 amazing individuals shared the same goal as I ....to produce a product that strives to output the very best sound quality To my mind I felt these two men and their companies were like a marriage made in heaven.
