Continued from above....
I’ve not discussed the sound in any great detail yet so let’s get to it. Even with the above shortcomings aside, the Lampi is quite simply an extraordinary instrument. I have not heard digital playback this good previously. It's spectacular combination of utter musicality and spatial resolution are mesmerizing. But it's the timbre of instruments that, to quote a well-worn phrase, are just closer to the sound of the real thing than anything else I’ve heard in the digital space. Most noticeably it's the ability to convey microdynamics that is truly stunning. Piano arpeggios breath with the life and sparkle of the real thing and are impressively devoid of harmonic homogenization that frankly, I've not experienced before with digital reproduction. I’m sure we’ve all had 3 am nights in our audio lives listening to some piece of gear, or cable or speaker that makes us unable to stop listening into the wee hours. But frankly, I’m not sure I’ve ever had a 3 am week! And let me tell you, as much as I love listening to music, those consecutive late nights can be a bitch on your daytime brain function! The listening experience is so extraordinary and mesmerizing that walking away willingly is not a simple option. In fact, listening to a Lampi is an experience that very much looks like the Kubler Ross change curve. Here’s what you can expect to experience.
1) Shock and denial.
Holy crap, what the hell am I hearing and why haven’t I ever heard anything like this before? This simply can’t be happening.
2) Anger
Damn this thing. Why was I so stupid not to listen to a Lampi in my system before now? After all, there are a lot of Lampi zealots out there. Surely I should have paid more attention. I’m mad at myself! I must be an idiot.
3) Bargaining.
Ok, just one more album. No, hell just one more song Then I’ll go to sleep. Or…maybe just one more.
4) Depression
Oh hell, just admit you’re a useless blob and you can’t move from the listening chair. There’s no shame in feeling depressed knowing you aren’t going to function well in the morning?
5) Acceptance
You’ve completed the cycle and experience unbridled joy when you finally accept that what you are listening to will be there the next night, and the night after that and the night after that. The story has a happy ending after all.
Bottom line. I can't get enough of this thing. The quest marches on.
Marty, wait till you spend 5 years with it. It continues to surprise and pleasure with almost every visit and I had one of my most exciting audio visits yesterday I touched about briefly on the forum last night. Though you won't do visits it will still happen for 5 years and beyond.
Loved reading the various stages because I was sensing your shock and denial through email, how much you wanted to dislike it.
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