Angelo Agathangelou: In the wake of the Gibson Guitar FBI raids and debacle, in this SGW exclusive, I am sad to report yet another affront to world MOJO!
Our world first "Make Mozart Not Nukes!" review of the extraordinary GM70 SE amps has remained in the top favourites and you may be wondering where the update got to.. well, so goes our story... The US/UK/Israel war of terror did it. Figures!
Yesterday I caught up with Lukasz Fikus (aka Mr Lampizator) and Greg from G-Point Audio his man in the UK. Turns out if the couriers are not tossing our hero's high end hand made gear about, they are rolling it down the street. My own delivery guy said he couldn't throw the amps because they were too heavy! Guess they were rolled. 60% of a recent US shipment arrived at audiophiles addresses destroyed by the US war of terror! Reports were ranging and obvious. An inspection of equipment quickly revealed scenarios. US customs clearly unceremoniously opening (what I know to be) exceptionally well packed Lampizator products, obvious drops smashes during inspection then clearly unceremoniously shoved and stamped under foot so as to fit back in their boxes resplendent with boot prints. The same fascist boot stamping on the face of humanity for the rest of eternity? I'm smiling through my teeth.
After clearly suffering some of the effects of the UK parcel delivery services, one of the GM70 'Special Edition' amps I had been testing had acquired a fault via a dislodged connection. Our hero came to the UK in person with care to deliver a pristine replacement (and more powerful latest update) pair and I've got news for you, this is no longer a test, Lukasz (left) won't be getting these back, (fingers crossed) these are mine, hands off fascist scum!
Our world first "Make Mozart Not Nukes!" review of the extraordinary GM70 SE amps has remained in the top favourites and you may be wondering where the update got to.. well, so goes our story... The US/UK/Israel war of terror did it. Figures!
Yesterday I caught up with Lukasz Fikus (aka Mr Lampizator) and Greg from G-Point Audio his man in the UK. Turns out if the couriers are not tossing our hero's high end hand made gear about, they are rolling it down the street. My own delivery guy said he couldn't throw the amps because they were too heavy! Guess they were rolled. 60% of a recent US shipment arrived at audiophiles addresses destroyed by the US war of terror! Reports were ranging and obvious. An inspection of equipment quickly revealed scenarios. US customs clearly unceremoniously opening (what I know to be) exceptionally well packed Lampizator products, obvious drops smashes during inspection then clearly unceremoniously shoved and stamped under foot so as to fit back in their boxes resplendent with boot prints. The same fascist boot stamping on the face of humanity for the rest of eternity? I'm smiling through my teeth.
Greg Drygala of G Point - Audio seemed like a jolly nice, shoots from the hip sort of chap, I shall be paying him a visit on the south coast later this year as he's dying to show off his "amazing horns". He'll be sending on my euro SILK soon. I'm interested in his discovered state of the art, based on 50's technology, eastern European sub €10k 'AN Japan' killer speakers ...vs my classic S100's. Look out for that review later this year. Anyone ready for the ultimate speakers... You have to build a house from scratch and incorporate. I'll write that review up in my retirement. ;-)
Update 29-5-2013:
About the most current GM70 SE - I have only had them for 48 hours and I asked Lukasz to supply me with graphite GM70 tubes as well as the previous rare and far more expensive copper for comparison. As needs developed for his trip to the UK and someone else needed the copper GM70's, I was happy to live with the Graphite only for a couple of weeks. There is a clear difference between the copper and graphite. I never got the impression that the coppers were warm, but the graphite is IMO 2 levels cooler. That's my initial impression after three weeks of separation, perhaps faster attack, more power. I think that I prefer the copper and that both might be useful for specific genres. I will report further after a side by side comparison when Lukasz sends my new coppers... by dreaded courier! Tube rolling seems to be a form of tone control.
The 'BIG SIX'
The new design of the 'FIKUS DAC' now dubbed the 'BIG SIX' - I feel honoured to have had the slightest influence. It was probably inevitable.
My introduction was with the famous DAC4 and as I had been waiting to test the amps I got to hear about the development of the DAC6 an absolute ultimate version Lukasz would actually give his name to. "It sounds the best to me." He claims and I am inclined to believe him. He hopes to have it ready for me in... two weeks.
Months ago it seems, as he described the over-sized everything he had crammed in to achieve his 6 goal and as I intended to upgrade at the earliest opportunity and was already sure of my affection for the amp cases vs the rather PC style of earlier models it seemed obvious. "Please Lukasz, not only does it make sense for the space, but I would be happy to pay a little extra for my 6 in your new amp case."
Lukazs kindly agreed but also quietly ran with this (after all his own amp box design) and added a next level twist... Holy smoky transparent top plate batman! I got a sneak preview and saw the result of his handiwork on Sunday. Unfortunately I was so wide eyed and impressed by the 'BIG SIX' (and lacking sleep since Friday morning) I forgot to take a picture... Here's one I pinched from Lukasz next to a GM70 (above). If you picture the GM70 amp case with a smoky transparent top plate and Lampizator in its classic gold font writ large across the centre, you've got it.
Update 1-6-2013:
When I said assault on MOJO, I meant it. Losing your sound once you have acquired it is a serious business, it hurts, literally. What to do? Lukasz says he can beat a 100,000 system with 3,000 spent, (and you probably can if you buy cheap seconds and copy his published modifications) but that's him. What about us?
The GM70 'Special Edition' mono amps on test here are €5,500 and the DAC4 is another €3500 + 23% VAT. That doesn't leave you much change from UK£10,000! No change at all if you chose volume control and you still have to get speakers, cables, Inter-connects and power cables. Let's face it, the full Monty plus 'BIG SIX', the 'SILK' and the 'TranspOrt' Speakers and cables is going to be a 20K system if you hold back on the speakers and restrict yourself to a pair of big Spendor's or Harbeth's, hardly the greatest compromise. A little more if you build your listening room from the ground up and implement Lukasz ultimate open baffle speaker design. (15" base speakers built into the walls etc..)
What's the alternative? I know nothing, but I'll try to give you a little of what I've gleaned of Lukasz perspective, which is constantly changing, remember 'prototype stuff'. What he might call a bedroom system. (You can find all of this in fragments over hundreds of posts at his original modder site.) You can get most of the way there for much less.
His 'sweet spot' DAC3 (now that DAC1 DIY and DAC2 the most basic models have been discontinued) for €1625, then he tends to suggest amps built on his A class principles, but surprising cheap, Hong Kong manufactured, on e-bay! Bewitch and Music Angel 845 for under UK£500 plus tax new and you could get fairly decent second hand speakers for the same again. It begins to sound plausible that you could get enough 'bedroom' love for £3k.
You can also go almost all the way there with Lampizator by basic DAC3, Transport, SILK and Standard amps for around £8k and get a great second hand pair of speakers and fair cables for another 2. £10k. Eek! But it all starts with the DAC so your first choice is an easy enough entry for any lover with an existing system who's above breadline.
Update 29-5-2013:
About the most current GM70 SE - I have only had them for 48 hours and I asked Lukasz to supply me with graphite GM70 tubes as well as the previous rare and far more expensive copper for comparison. As needs developed for his trip to the UK and someone else needed the copper GM70's, I was happy to live with the Graphite only for a couple of weeks. There is a clear difference between the copper and graphite. I never got the impression that the coppers were warm, but the graphite is IMO 2 levels cooler. That's my initial impression after three weeks of separation, perhaps faster attack, more power. I think that I prefer the copper and that both might be useful for specific genres. I will report further after a side by side comparison when Lukasz sends my new coppers... by dreaded courier! Tube rolling seems to be a form of tone control.The 'BIG SIX'
The new design of the 'FIKUS DAC' now dubbed the 'BIG SIX' - I feel honoured to have had the slightest influence. It was probably inevitable.
My introduction was with the famous DAC4 and as I had been waiting to test the amps I got to hear about the development of the DAC6 an absolute ultimate version Lukasz would actually give his name to. "It sounds the best to me." He claims and I am inclined to believe him. He hopes to have it ready for me in... two weeks.
Months ago it seems, as he described the over-sized everything he had crammed in to achieve his 6 goal and as I intended to upgrade at the earliest opportunity and was already sure of my affection for the amp cases vs the rather PC style of earlier models it seemed obvious. "Please Lukasz, not only does it make sense for the space, but I would be happy to pay a little extra for my 6 in your new amp case."
Lukazs kindly agreed but also quietly ran with this (after all his own amp box design) and added a next level twist... Holy smoky transparent top plate batman! I got a sneak preview and saw the result of his handiwork on Sunday. Unfortunately I was so wide eyed and impressed by the 'BIG SIX' (and lacking sleep since Friday morning) I forgot to take a picture... Here's one I pinched from Lukasz next to a GM70 (above). If you picture the GM70 amp case with a smoky transparent top plate and Lampizator in its classic gold font writ large across the centre, you've got it.
Update 1-6-2013:
When I said assault on MOJO, I meant it. Losing your sound once you have acquired it is a serious business, it hurts, literally. What to do? Lukasz says he can beat a 100,000 system with 3,000 spent, (and you probably can if you buy cheap seconds and copy his published modifications) but that's him. What about us?
The GM70 'Special Edition' mono amps on test here are €5,500 and the DAC4 is another €3500 + 23% VAT. That doesn't leave you much change from UK£10,000! No change at all if you chose volume control and you still have to get speakers, cables, Inter-connects and power cables. Let's face it, the full Monty plus 'BIG SIX', the 'SILK' and the 'TranspOrt' Speakers and cables is going to be a 20K system if you hold back on the speakers and restrict yourself to a pair of big Spendor's or Harbeth's, hardly the greatest compromise. A little more if you build your listening room from the ground up and implement Lukasz ultimate open baffle speaker design. (15" base speakers built into the walls etc..) What's the alternative? I know nothing, but I'll try to give you a little of what I've gleaned of Lukasz perspective, which is constantly changing, remember 'prototype stuff'. What he might call a bedroom system. (You can find all of this in fragments over hundreds of posts at his original modder site.) You can get most of the way there for much less.
His 'sweet spot' DAC3 (now that DAC1 DIY and DAC2 the most basic models have been discontinued) for €1625, then he tends to suggest amps built on his A class principles, but surprising cheap, Hong Kong manufactured, on e-bay! Bewitch and Music Angel 845 for under UK£500 plus tax new and you could get fairly decent second hand speakers for the same again. It begins to sound plausible that you could get enough 'bedroom' love for £3k.
You can also go almost all the way there with Lampizator by basic DAC3, Transport, SILK and Standard amps for around £8k and get a great second hand pair of speakers and fair cables for another 2. £10k. Eek! But it all starts with the DAC so your first choice is an easy enough entry for any lover with an existing system who's above breadline.
Coming Soon:
I'll be updating this post with more news about developments in the Lampizator fold including the phase flipping 'SILK', testing the all new 'BIG SIX + USB' and flipping a finger at big sis by going Schuko in the UK... To fuse or not to fuse? Who needs nanny state triple protection and can you hear the difference? Greg suggests you can. Must UK audiophiles suffer sub standard sound? Stay tuned.
P.S. Up with Anarchy (aka mutual cooperation and freedom) down with the MOJO bashing fascist NWO! Personal note: Happy birthday Kléo, love dad.
Update 14th June:
Search for a tube tester. Will someone please invent a universal plug and play for the layperson... If you care about the music, I have found out it's an issue that can make all the difference. Discovered an interesting looking modern option from Germany, will report when I progress. It's clearly time to delve into the world of spares and alternatives... Daunting pain in the but.
Still waiting for the Lampizator SILK and BIG SIX that I am informed should be leaving the workshop soon. Lukasz clearly struggling under the burden of his own success.
Regarding Schuko in the UK... IMO you have to do it right. You should get a pro to add a correctly rated trip switch at the consumer unit designed to outperform a 3A fuse and running a dedicated power line for your equipment. Then you will have improved overall safety whilst removing the weak point in all expensive power cables the plug fuse that is after all a very thin wire strand, logicaly counter productive at the end of a £2000 Valhalla power cable.
I'll be using the UK SILK and modifying my modest UK Blue Heaven Nordost power cables. I'll try replacing the fuses with solid copper or silver rods of the same diameter effectively opening the flood gates and leaving the special trip switch as gate keeper. Will the drop from 32A ring main to lesser Amp trip negate improvements? This is a work in progress. Message today from Lukasz "Silk Was sent yesterday, big six on Tuesday will go out" and a look inside the ultimate Lukasz aural orgazmatron. The making of the BIG 6 Special. Full of wholesome goodness and 2 levels above the legendary DAC4 ;-)
Update 18th June:
The phase flipping UK SILK arrived and in place... First impressions... It doesn't sound worse... I have a suspicion that less noise is coming through from the ring main and my desk lamp test shows this to be true. This had been an issue in the past where I would turn on or off my desk lamp and hear an audible effect from my system... Lukasz says "NOT OVER FILTERING - just gently removing the RFI and keeping all AC wave intact." I have only been listening for ten minutes but it feels like that bit works. Then there is the phase flipping. I'll need more time with that as the effect seems even more subtle.
We are used to convenience and a thousand extra gismos we might never use, here at the rarefied supreme reference end we find the absolute reverse in pursuit of no compromise musicality and sound and this translates practically into a £100,000 system with 4 off switches and no remote control. So in addition, I am and you will probably be grateful for the one undeniable improvement, a unified off switch, as well as the perceived audible improvement. In my system this would seem to be a green move, otherwise the girls remain on 24/7.
It's hard to put your finger on the changes at this level and it appears that I have no phase issues. I feel a noticable improvement in music direct from computer. Lukasz says the improvement is due to greater image focus of the system powered through the SILK. I'll hook in the TranspOrt next.
Those new to tubes have a learning curve that includes the realization of the finite nature of modern light bulbs. Once you have settled in you and had a glitch here and a pleasant surprise there or two you may, especially if you have found the thing that sets you off, have to go after backup tubes. Then there are stories of 'insanely unavailable tubes'.
Some tubes state a life of 7,500 hours. Lukasz suggests that these tubes were designed to go in Soviet tanks! So they are being used way under the serious test conditions and so these figures should be multiplied by 10. But they can go wrong so you will need a back up set at least, if you are serious. Then there is the issue of performance and matching. If you are serious enough this means a tester and research so far says testing is a pain in the ass. With a complement of quality tubes costing between £300 to infinity (there's a pair of tubes on e-bay as I write for over £700) I am looking at a bespoke solution to test for life and match for balance...
Ultra Special Pre-amp BIG SIX DAC in final testing stage. Stay tuned..
Update 29th June 2013:
The BIG SIX SE has arrived. Supreme reference aka 'Fikus DAC' including prototype pre-amp and high speed USB. First impressions, full range sound and ultimate convenience. Full review in progress.
December 2nd 2015:
"Make Mozart, Not Nukes!" Pilgrimage To LampizatOr Country
Update 30-June-2013: Lampizator 'BIG SIX' DAC - World First Review - "The best sound we can possibly make"
Update 10th May 2014: World First: DAC7 - Flavour Of The New Lampizator Flagship - Preview
I'll be updating this post with more news about developments in the Lampizator fold including the phase flipping 'SILK', testing the all new 'BIG SIX + USB' and flipping a finger at big sis by going Schuko in the UK... To fuse or not to fuse? Who needs nanny state triple protection and can you hear the difference? Greg suggests you can. Must UK audiophiles suffer sub standard sound? Stay tuned.
P.S. Up with Anarchy (aka mutual cooperation and freedom) down with the MOJO bashing fascist NWO! Personal note: Happy birthday Kléo, love dad.
Update 14th June:
Search for a tube tester. Will someone please invent a universal plug and play for the layperson... If you care about the music, I have found out it's an issue that can make all the difference. Discovered an interesting looking modern option from Germany, will report when I progress. It's clearly time to delve into the world of spares and alternatives... Daunting pain in the but.
Regarding Schuko in the UK... IMO you have to do it right. You should get a pro to add a correctly rated trip switch at the consumer unit designed to outperform a 3A fuse and running a dedicated power line for your equipment. Then you will have improved overall safety whilst removing the weak point in all expensive power cables the plug fuse that is after all a very thin wire strand, logicaly counter productive at the end of a £2000 Valhalla power cable.
Update 18th June:
The phase flipping UK SILK arrived and in place... First impressions... It doesn't sound worse... I have a suspicion that less noise is coming through from the ring main and my desk lamp test shows this to be true. This had been an issue in the past where I would turn on or off my desk lamp and hear an audible effect from my system... Lukasz says "NOT OVER FILTERING - just gently removing the RFI and keeping all AC wave intact." I have only been listening for ten minutes but it feels like that bit works. Then there is the phase flipping. I'll need more time with that as the effect seems even more subtle.We are used to convenience and a thousand extra gismos we might never use, here at the rarefied supreme reference end we find the absolute reverse in pursuit of no compromise musicality and sound and this translates practically into a £100,000 system with 4 off switches and no remote control. So in addition, I am and you will probably be grateful for the one undeniable improvement, a unified off switch, as well as the perceived audible improvement. In my system this would seem to be a green move, otherwise the girls remain on 24/7.
It's hard to put your finger on the changes at this level and it appears that I have no phase issues. I feel a noticable improvement in music direct from computer. Lukasz says the improvement is due to greater image focus of the system powered through the SILK. I'll hook in the TranspOrt next.
Those new to tubes have a learning curve that includes the realization of the finite nature of modern light bulbs. Once you have settled in you and had a glitch here and a pleasant surprise there or two you may, especially if you have found the thing that sets you off, have to go after backup tubes. Then there are stories of 'insanely unavailable tubes'.
Some tubes state a life of 7,500 hours. Lukasz suggests that these tubes were designed to go in Soviet tanks! So they are being used way under the serious test conditions and so these figures should be multiplied by 10. But they can go wrong so you will need a back up set at least, if you are serious. Then there is the issue of performance and matching. If you are serious enough this means a tester and research so far says testing is a pain in the ass. With a complement of quality tubes costing between £300 to infinity (there's a pair of tubes on e-bay as I write for over £700) I am looking at a bespoke solution to test for life and match for balance...
Ultra Special Pre-amp BIG SIX DAC in final testing stage. Stay tuned..
The BIG SIX SE has arrived. Supreme reference aka 'Fikus DAC' including prototype pre-amp and high speed USB. First impressions, full range sound and ultimate convenience. Full review in progress.
December 2nd 2015:
"Make Mozart, Not Nukes!" Pilgrimage To LampizatOr Country
Update 30-June-2013: Lampizator 'BIG SIX' DAC - World First Review - "The best sound we can possibly make"
Update 10th May 2014: World First: DAC7 - Flavour Of The New Lampizator Flagship - Preview
Photos by WD, Mr Lampizator and G-Point Greg
Lampizator GM70 SE mono amp with Graphite
Mr Lampizator and Web Dude in the UK
THE BUNKER - SGW CHQ
The 'BIG SIX'
GM70 Tubes Out
Inside the BIG SIX
The SILK
Is it Live or is it BIG SIX SE!
Links
Lampizator
G-Point Audio
Karma Police Med Style
THE BUNKER - SGW CHQ
The 'BIG SIX'
GM70 Tubes Out
Inside the BIG SIX
The SILK
Is it Live or is it BIG SIX SE!
Links
Lampizator
G-Point Audio
Karma Police Med Style
Fink - Perfect Darkness
_________
Does the US government have a mandate to destroy all MOJO, foreign or domestic? It's doing a great job._________
Attack on Gibson Guitars - OBAMA vs MOJO
Another Audiophile is born.
ReplyDeleteOk, so I'm not at all "tech-ed" up to understand all the blurb and jargon about the Lampizator, but by virtue of having ears and having been privy to hearing the sounds emitted from these classy zen looking amps (only one button), I feel I am qualified to give my two pence worth of an opinion in the form of a very simple and corny analogy; It's like wearing a musical stethoscope. Very simply put, I could hear every sound individually, each tone had its own personality and seemed to coming from its own place. The only other time I experienced anything vaguely similar to this was whilst on holiday in Croatia where the beach bar had the almighty Funktion 1 set up, however that was catering to a very large outdoor space, so to be able to recreate this experience indoors and at a fraction of the volume seems highly remarkable to me. And I must add that for all of the volume that the Funktion 1 delivers, the Lampizator oozes a richness in sound that lends itself to not having to turn the volume up just so you can hear what is actually going on in the music.
I live in the hope this experience will automatically self destruct in my memory bank as I'm now trying to re-acustom myself to my humble Acoustic Solutions Speakers linked to a Yamaha amp which up until the hearing the Lampizator seemed great to me!
I know the feeling! I was deprived for a couple of weeks and it was like going cold turkey. That's coming from a fairly decent PM17KI and CD17KI Marantz. I was honestly casting around for backups. The Marantz can't cut it any more!
DeleteA hazard a guess that the sound you heard was the combination of Lampizator 'DAC4 and GM70 SE amps'. I just added the Lampizator 'Transport' into the mix and found yet another level of clarity and sweetness.
Thank you for an excellent mini review. You don't have to be a tech-head. You are clearly a music lover. ;)