I have seen inside as the maker was at my house for a weekend to set it up and had to make internal modifications to get things playing nicely together but Lukasz was understandably reticent about allowing me to photograph it and I fully respect his desire to protect his IP. He's worked very hard to develop his knowledge and while I think most of it is probably in the software I think the hardware is also pretty key.
LDMS Server
- Thread starter Golum
- Start date
Thanks very much. They are Art Audio Jota monos. They had their 20th birthday last May.
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Lucas has recently started to offer a new version of the SPDIF connection that also allows DSD files to be played; it can handle DSD64 but also allows higher rates to play downsampled to 64. Having heard the difference in musicality between the same song (PCM 44.1 KHz) played via both USB and SPDIF i was amazed at how much better the SPDIF output sounded, even when using a very modest coaxial cable against a mid range David Laboga costing three or four times as much. I had heard this from Lucas, that SPDIF is more musical but limited as to what it can play, so when I ordered the server I opted just for USB. But he is offering a retrofit and since this output can now also play DSD I opted to send my server to him to have it fitted.
I have a High Fidelity Cables CT1-U coaxial on loan as well (I use this model for both speaker cable and interconnect) and the sound is sublime. The soundstage is significantly bigger and more open, space between the notes and instruments greatly improved - what I would call 'coherence' and there is a greater sense of 'musicality' to the sound. It's quite a beautiful improvement, less in the nature of 'solid state resolution and detail' and more of the 'pure class A SET engagement'.
If you have an LDMS server it is something I would highly recommend having done.
I have a High Fidelity Cables CT1-U coaxial on loan as well (I use this model for both speaker cable and interconnect) and the sound is sublime. The soundstage is significantly bigger and more open, space between the notes and instruments greatly improved - what I would call 'coherence' and there is a greater sense of 'musicality' to the sound. It's quite a beautiful improvement, less in the nature of 'solid state resolution and detail' and more of the 'pure class A SET engagement'.
If you have an LDMS server it is something I would highly recommend having done.
I have Audio friends that have the Antipode 50 and say it is great but I have not personally heard it. The major factor for me was Lucas being available whenever I need him at any hour and I live in Arizona. His customer service is truly outstanding. The LDMS is the one component with the biggest impact on my system.
Being in the U.S., that was something I was wondering about, given that his support apparently includes visiting customers in Europe to solve problems and update hardware internals. Obviously, at least some elements of that support are not available here, at least not without a paid plane ticket.
Yes, that is true to a degree. I took a lot of time and had many discussions with Lucas prior to ordering and ensuring I had the latest and greatest. He also made it easy to expand and grow my LDMS if needed. When I received mine, we did What's App facetime. He set up my whole Server remotely through my computer. He downloaded 7tbs of music remotely. He has called me at 3am his time to discuss. Once he set up, I have not had any problems and the Roon core is nice. We are going to update the LDMS in the next day or two.
Yes, if there was anything really unique that I would need to add, I would probably have to ship it back. But I have a local guy who could take the parts and do it for me if needed. The hard cover shipping container is sweet also.
I can only agree with above statements by Willgolf. I live in USA, and support by Lucas has been extraordinary. He has informed me several times about pending updates making sure all is current. I feel confident you will be delighted with his server, it is special. I have not heard Antipodes, but I have heard other very top tier servers and I feel Lucas work is VERY competitive and a bargain in comparison.
I can understand someone might be concerned with the long term sustainability of buying something from a one man band outfit, and indeed I thought about this myself but was also lucky that I know HeiHei very well, who has had a server from Lukasz from a long time, as well Lukasz being very good friends with GregDee on here, and from whom I bought my entire system.
But even so, in many ways, buying from Lucas is lower risk than buying from a large company since Lucas is self employed ostensibly, and is therefore never going to go bust. He will always be able to opertate in some capacity and given his character, I cannot imagine him abandoning his customers ever; you'll always be able to get some kind of support from him. Maybe in the very long run there will be a legacy problem but in the very long run we all know we change our boxes eventually anway!
Besides, the sonic improvement his servers make is extraordinary. I sent mine back to have the SPDIF upgrade and used my MBP for a few listening sessions; the improvement made by the server is huge, in the realm of adding a £15k DAC or a £20k power amp. It's VFM that you buy with him.
But even so, in many ways, buying from Lucas is lower risk than buying from a large company since Lucas is self employed ostensibly, and is therefore never going to go bust. He will always be able to opertate in some capacity and given his character, I cannot imagine him abandoning his customers ever; you'll always be able to get some kind of support from him. Maybe in the very long run there will be a legacy problem but in the very long run we all know we change our boxes eventually anway!
Besides, the sonic improvement his servers make is extraordinary. I sent mine back to have the SPDIF upgrade and used my MBP for a few listening sessions; the improvement made by the server is huge, in the realm of adding a £15k DAC or a £20k power amp. It's VFM that you buy with him.
I own a K50, but never heard the LDMS (FWIW, he never responded to my contact request on his website, so I went another direction). Even though Antipodes is based in New Zealand, their support is fantastic and they are very responsive and will dial in to fix issues; they also now have automatic software updates. Additionally, since you're in the states, they have a service center in Colorado if you need to send your unit in for service.
So now that we have two companies being mentioned, here's a question I always ask: Tonally, where on the continuum of cold-neutral-warm would you describe the effect of the LDMS and Antipodes on your systems?
I think the LDMS is less about it being cool, neutral or warm and more about it being incredibly musically engaging; perhaps therefore it majors on neutrality and transparency but it does this whilst also being very engaging and natural. It sounds more like an analogue source than a digital one or at least how one might imagine a typically 'digital' source would usually sound compared to analogue.
same experience except he responded were going back and forth working towards which one to buy and then he disappeared. Haven't heard back. My guess is he's overwhelmed since he's a smaller company. Nice fella otherwise but I'd feel more comfortable with a larger company or at the very least an audition first.
The folks at Antipodes are great and, while you have to "buy" their product, they allow you to audition their products in your system for 30 days with a full refund if not satisfied.
I had a demo unit for a while and Im very capable of building a server. All I can say is his trashed mine so sad ahaha. so I then had one built there is a lot more then just parts used. it’s how they are used
what part works best together. even the type of genre you play mostly can be adjusted to be best in your setup. this is all part of his magic in tech support. it’s obvious as he makes adjustments remotely all can be heard. but once it’s setup it’s plug and play. any updates he can do remotely most times. i hit dizzy as he wizzes around making changes. i for one truly can bigot recommend his stuff.
what part works best together. even the type of genre you play mostly can be adjusted to be best in your setup. this is all part of his magic in tech support. it’s obvious as he makes adjustments remotely all can be heard. but once it’s setup it’s plug and play. any updates he can do remotely most times. i hit dizzy as he wizzes around making changes. i for one truly can bigot recommend his stuff.
Thanks for the reply. We seem to think in different terms to some degree, because the degree of warmth is something I recognize immediately, or over a long session if it's really close. When it's right for me, it's so engaging that I lose track of time. In part, that probably comes from having played classical piano for nearly a decade as a kid. "Natural" is so widely used for different tastes that I have trouble keying off it. "Analogue" I appreciate, but that's a different dimension. For example PS Audio's Directstream dac has a nice degree of warmth but is digital sounding. Fatigue with that led me a Lampi dac (and Supratek preamp), both of which have allowed me to choose tubes to meet what engages me.
Yes, a bit anyway. Now I use an antipodes S40 as the server duty only with an LDMS Pico as the player.
I have the black on the right. It comes with included powersupply ( a Farad super 3).
I also choose to reclock the USB outsignal with an internal Ideon reclocker.
My combination with Antipodes S40 sounds brilliant. And Lukasz is very good in dealing with. Its easy to speak with him several hours on the phone discussing. And the support he gives is top notch. Antipodes are also a very good company and gives equally as good support. Anyway I have descided to try to sell my Antipodes to be able to finance a second server from Lukasz that will take over the server duty. Maybe it would have been better to have opted for a Mini in the first place but since I already had the S40. According to Antipodes philosofy separating the core from the player with one computer for each duty is best for SQ but I don`t know.
Having both LDMS products makes it easier also with the support and set up procedure.
I used the Anitipdes S40 for several month alone as both server/player. And that alone was also very good, easily the best digital frontend I have had so far. But the addition with the Pico made it even more musical.
So witch is best? I don`t really know because one maybe have to factor in resale value and lifetime support. As someone said Lukasz is a one man operation and could be more vaulnerble in the furure? And Antipodes have had a really sucess with their new K and S series of servers with the new Oladra software.
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