Laufer Teknik Memory Player 64

SCAudiophile

Well-Known Member
Sep 11, 2010
1,156
435
1,205
Greer South Carolina (USA)
It's a Dac and Server in one. The big thing are the hardware and software proprietary tech. Like Read until right, de-fractionalization of the SSDs, embedded jitter removal with the patented process that removes the wasted zeros in digital samples, memory playback, etc.

Mark Porzilli creation!

+1 on this from what I've been told; what Elberoth says it true if you are talking about just building a kick-ass server but the value add for platforms like the Memory Player 32 and 64 as well as others like the Lampizator SuperKomputer seems to be all the above-board config and custom work that happens. In the case of the MP64, there is extensive development put into the Virtual Battery, Power Supplies, De-Fractionalized Memory, IDEAS ©jitter reduction software, and the Clock Mapper software....
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
I surfed the MP site after LT's. It's 22k for the top server/transport/streamer. 55k is with the conversion section. Sorry was on my way out and had no time to browse earlier.

Dimfer here at WBF has been using an MP for a long time now. Where's he been?
 

abeidrov

VIP Donor
Dec 17, 2015
695
340
443
Moscow
I surfed the MP site after LT's. It's 22k for the top server/transport/streamer. 55k is with the conversion section. Sorry was on my way out and had no time to browse earlier.

Dimfer here at WBF has been using an MP for a long time now. Where's he been?
Jack, are you sure?
This page lists the 2016 US retail prices just for the server: https://www.thememoryplayer.net/the-digital-transport-
The top model is $52,950.
There is another page for the Digital/Analog Player, which is server + dac. This is the page: https://www.thememoryplayer.net/blank
The list price for the top model is $55,000.
 

JackD201

WBF Founding Member
Apr 20, 2010
12,308
1,425
1,820
Manila, Philippines
Dang, that is one confusing website. You are right tovarisch.
 

abeidrov

VIP Donor
Dec 17, 2015
695
340
443
Moscow
Very confusing, and they charge just around $5,000 for a dac. Quite cheap considering the overall price.
 

bonzo75

Member Sponsor
Feb 26, 2014
22,442
13,471
2,710
London
Very confusing, and they charge just around $5,000 for a dac. Quite cheap considering the overall price.

Maybe this is what Marc was looking for, a low priced dac in that price range with a great streamer
 

asiufy

Industry Expert/VIP Donor
Jul 8, 2011
3,711
723
1,200
San Diego, CA
almaaudio.com
I've heard this unit as a client's home. The DAC is not good at all, but when we reverted to using the built-in USB (no fancy USB card), it sounded pretty good! Very, very good, no harshness whatsoever.

Another drawback is that, AFAIK, it only uses JRiver. Let's see if my client can have Roon installed there, and an even better USB card. That will bump performance even further. I'd be then curious to compare it to our SGM...


cheers,
alex
 

microstrip

VIP/Donor
May 30, 2010
20,806
4,698
2,790
Portugal
Dang, that is one confusing website. (...)

Much more confusing than you really think ... One more product that should be evaluated by performance, not by the technical entertaining verbiage of its site or reviews - audio sites love reproducing these long meaningless comments.
 

BruceD

VIP/Donor
Dec 13, 2013
1,509
576
540
This is ideal for ddk, he can digitize all his vinyl with each of his turntables and then sell all of them off, he will make a lot of money. Jack can also do similar with his AF0, lamm and EMT phono. All of a sudden memory player looks like a much lower cost solution

PG1.jpg
 

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
3,172
1,410
Hong Kong
Volent Audio Hong Kong recently acquired the dealership of Laufer Teknik Memory Player.
It has been the official HK dealer of SGMS, Innuos, Antipodes and Nimitra (of Fidelizer) for several years.
I went for an audition and compared MP vs other servers/streamers.
I am not sure of the exact model of the MP but Mr. Ben Lau, boss of Volent told me that it's not the top version and didn't have the DAC option. The price is lower than the SGMS by a few thousands USD.
The other components used were Volent VL3.5 ; Totaldac Six dac ; Bespoke Audio passive preamp ; Westminister Lab mono poweramps & cables ; Synology 916+ NAS with a Japanese Buffalo gigabit switch for NAS audio.

MP at Volent HK a.jpg

To summarize :
Both SGMS and MP were way ahead of the other brands of servers/streamers in all aspects of sonic performance.
SGMS & MP were on par. The former had better authority and bass quality whereas the latter was smoother & more musical yet retaining similarly high resolution.
I myself like the MP more because it had a DVD drive for CD ripping and can play CD on-the-fly as CDT. It also had both usb and spdif digital outputs. A very convenient all-in-one.
However, the chassis and external look/built of SGMS were much better than MP which looked like an ordinary big desktop computer.
 

cat6man

Well-Known Member
Feb 6, 2013
890
995
1,155
west of NYC, east of SF
@CCKeung

Have you had a chance to compare any of these streamers with an ultraRendu or signature Rendu running as an NAA with HQPlayer (no upsampling)?
 

CKKeung

Well-Known Member
Jun 17, 2011
3,053
3,172
1,410
Hong Kong
@CCKeung
Have you had a chance to compare any of these streamers with an ultraRendu or signature Rendu running as an NAA with HQPlayer (no upsampling)?

Sorry, I don't have such experience. BTW there are not many UltraRendu users in Hong Kong and there may be nil for Signature Rendu.
Only SGMS has HQPlayer as the official/recommended player software.
MP's official player is JRiver and I heard that its hardware & software are tweaked to suit JRiver.
 

toetapaudio

Well-Known Member
Feb 13, 2017
53
2
138
Forest of Dean UK
Volent Audio Hong Kong recently acquired the dealership of Laufer Teknik Memory Player.
It has been the official HK dealer of SGMS, Innuos, Antipodes and Nimitra (of Fidelizer) for several years.
I went for an audition and compared MP vs other servers/streamers.
I am not sure of the exact model of the MP but Mr. Ben Lau, boss of Volent told me that it's not the top version and didn't have the DAC option. The price is lower than the SGMS by a few thousands USD.
The other components used were Volent VL3.5 ; Totaldac Six dac ; Bespoke Audio passive preamp ; Westminister Lab mono
poweramps & cables ; Synology 916+ NAS with a Japanese Buffalo gigabit switch for NAS audio.

View attachment 35463
To summarize :
Both SGMS and MP were way ahead of the other brands of servers/streamers in all aspects of sonic performance.
SGMS & MP were on par. The former had better authority and bass quality whereas the latter was smoother & more musical yet retaining similarly high resolution.
I myself like the MP more because it had a DVD drive for CD ripping and can play CD on-the-fly as CDT. It also had both usb and spdif digital outputs. A very convenient all-in-one.
However, the chassis and external look/built of SGMS were much better than MP which looked like an ordinary big desktop computer.

May I suggest that the fidata is also considered as a top level server. Another great review:

https://positive-feedback.com/high-fidelity/fidata-hfas1-s10u-network-serverfiles-player/
 

vernonwtx

Well-Known Member
Oct 12, 2017
23
13
110
Houston, TX
www.lovetabernacle.net
I started using the MP in 2010, and upgraded to the MP64 16-core summer 2017. Huge difference (including using as a preamp). I tried to best it (within my budget) on LP... Nakamichi Dragon CT, ZYX Universe II, Silent Source Music Ref 2 Phono Cable, Aesthetix IO Signature w/ 2 separate power supplies, lots of NOS tubes, etc... recording on MP64 at 32-215 verse RED CD upsampled to 64-196. I can then very quickly A-B compare the files. The upsampled CD still better sounding. One of these days, I will record all my LP's, sell LP gear, and upgrade to 32-core. Hope this helps.
 

johnsonlwu

Well-Known Member
Apr 26, 2015
27
8
133
Is the Laufer still a competent player in todays terms? A dear friend who passed recently left a unit supposedly is "32 Core player with Onboard Dac rca/xlr outputs, along with aes/ebu, spdif and usb outs. It has most of [the] current power supplies and a windows 10 OS." Is there any audiophiles in the SF Bay Area who might have appetite for it?
 

Thaluza

Member
Jul 21, 2021
8
4
8
60
I bought my Memory Player 64/16 “Platinum” version from Sam Laufer in 2019. I am very happy with the sound. I might upgrade to the 64/32 “Diamond” version, but I do not feel a compelling desire to do so. Sound quality is excellent, as is. I would say the Memory Player sounds smooth with no grain, yet there are certain things, such as brass instruments and keyboards, which can sound very real, full bodied and present. This occurs on many of my recordings, not just on the audiophile stuff. What I hear is dependent on the rest of my system, of course, but the Memory Player deserves much credit for what I am hearing. My previous reference was a modified Mojo Audio Mac Mini with Mojo power supply.

I output using USB. Mine has two optimized USB outputs for audio. Cable differences are easily audible.

There is a very slight "whirring" sound that occasionally comes from inside the Memory Player. This seems to coincide with when the IDEAS jitter reducing software is doing its thing. On a scale of 1-10, with 10 being the worst, the annoyance level is only a 1.1. I have heard fan noise, tube hiss, and transformer hum that is much worse than this.

Last year, Matt Clott (he of the “absolute best dac” thread on Audiogon) reviewed a Mojo Audio EVO dac, with the Memory Player as his source. Apparently he still uses the Memory Player. He writes for Enjoy the Music and The Absolute Sound now.

Streaming from Qoboz sounds just as good as file playback to me. I installed Roon and dispensed with JRiver. The Memory Player contains complex software and upgraded hardware, but in simple terms, it is a computer with Windows and a browser installed. It has multiple USB inputs for a mouse and a keyboard, and it has an HDMI output for a monitor. It was relatively easy to do the Roon install myself. The sonic difference between Roon and JRiver was subtle at best. The decision to use Roon instead of JRiver was a no brainer for me.

Only one issue. When I first got the Memory Player, I had a problem ripping files. Per Laufer Teknik, the Memory Player is supposed to work best with JRiver. You are supposed to rip files with WAV64 for best audio results. Whenever I chose WAV64 before ripping, it resulted in track orders becoming jumbled. For example, Track 3 would display in Jriver as the first track on the album. Track 3 would then play before Track 1. Sam Laufer ignored my email pleas for help. I also left a couple of phone messages. I don’t know why he never responded. This poor customer service experience is my only issue, a quite serious one, but not enough to make me want to part with my Memory Player. Ripping cd’s with WAV32 was not problematic. There is no sonic difference between WAV32 and WAV64 that I could hear, so I gave up on WAV64. I wish Sam would have offered more help, as maybe he could have proven my listening impressions about WAV32/WAV64 to be wrong. Hopefully the customer service improves, and they come up with a better manual and an updated website. The product itself is wonderful sounding, in my opinion. It has been trouble free so far.
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: unboxed and CKKeung

wisnon

Well-Known Member
Dec 12, 2011
3,525
635
1,200
Best to contact Sam directly. He doesn't know offhand who you are, but said:
"If he contacts me I’m happy to address his concerns. He can contact me on WhatsApp or via email at sam_laufer@yahoo.com"
 

emyyl

New Member
Jul 28, 2022
6
3
3
60
I bought my MP64-16 from Volent Audio HK in 2020 after first auditioning one at Volent driving a TotalDAC. Having started with vinyl and cassette tapes in the 70's and never really took to the flat and clinical sound of CD's, the MP was like a trip back to the lively and warm sounds of analog in the 70's.

The MP produces the smooth and 3 dimensional sound that makes all my old CD's listenable again. I attribute it to their proprietary IDEAS technology which rearranges the bits of the music file that is randomly stored on hard discs and CDs into sequential order, just like on a vinyl record. It just sounds right and listenable, even with my modest DAC and amp in a way that streaming doesn't.

I have also experimented with using its ethernet output instead of SPDIF. Through Sablon cables, the Sonore Ultrarendu and Uptone EtherRegen, the sound comes out from a blacker background and just has more body and atmosphere. Adding clocks and linear power supplies to the chain further improves the sound.

Although maybe still lacking that last bit of bite of good vinyl gear, I could live with an MP forever with the convenience of your whole library at the fingertips on your iPad, and no longer have the urge to upgrade the server. As someone on Audiogon wrote, he could rip his whole collection to the MP and give up all his records and live happily forever. I have not listened to a Taiko Extreme but the MP is really something special.
 

About us

  • What’s Best Forum is THE forum for high end audio, product reviews, advice and sharing experiences on the best of everything else. This is THE place where audiophiles and audio companies discuss vintage, contemporary and new audio products, music servers, music streamers, computer audio, digital-to-analog converters, turntables, phono stages, cartridges, reel-to-reel tape machines, speakers, headphones and tube and solid-state amplification. Founded in 2010 What’s Best Forum invites intelligent and courteous people of all interests and backgrounds to describe and discuss the best of everything. From beginners to life-long hobbyists to industry professionals, we enjoy learning about new things and meeting new people, and participating in spirited debates.

Quick Navigation

User Menu

Steve Williams
Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator
Ron Resnick
Site Co-Owner | Administrator
Julian (The Fixer)
Website Build | Marketing Managersing