By Angelo Agathangelou: It's a good time when the tweaks are complete and all that's left is the magic. My recent reviews covered virtually every Lampizator device on offer and a few amplifiers, speakers and connectors of all types from outside the fold. I find myself in a rare place of high satisfaction as an audiophile and one of the privileged few (including the designer) to have had the opportunity to test the quite individual and distinct sounding Lampizator flagships so will attempt to delineate the differences. I will also try to offer an outline of the journey and suggestions on all aspects of building a musically engaging and convenient Lampy system and suggestions of how to achieve the best bang for buck.
The creator, the man who has over the course of years since I first stumbled across his modder site has become my good friend, Lukasz Fikus, knows how to tune electronics. It is a testament that I'm his greatest critic. His puritan or strictly orthodox implementations do lead to flavours and I listen intently to those changes for that next ounce of beauty. On a good day, that's the best job in the world.
Lukasz has a cheeky side, 100 ma on the GM70SEs is the proverbial number 11 on the dial. He also has a righteous side "Make Mozart, Not Nukes!" Which quite frankly I think he should include on a rear signature plate. When it comes to the sound, I think his talent is undeniable. He has learnt over the course of years as an electrical expert and part time moddifier hobbyist the tricks and shortcomings of the main stream manufacturers and concentrated on creating the ultimate source. Some have other ideas but Lukasz is firmly in the camp that believes the source to be the key vital component for music nirvana.
My best simplification would be that it is analogous to the phonograph needle. Specifically those ones many pay thousands for. That is where the last grain of quality comes from. The DAC 4 was my introduction to this aspect and gave me the first glimpse into the world of vinyl quality sound the CD was capable of but had thus far failed to deliver, coming from my rather tasty Marantz PM17KI and CD17KI reference. Great but not vinyl.
Obviously my further comments are system specific:
(Prices approximate)
Speakers: Spendor S100 - (priceless) new £6,500
Speaker cables: 3 meter Nordost Red Dawn - £950
Amplifier: Marantz PM14KI MkII (priceless) new £3,000
ICs: Polish Artizan 'Killer' - £1200
DAC/Pre amplifier: Lampizator Big 6.5 - £6,000
Transport: Lampizator wireless - £2000
Digital IC: 1.5 meter Silver Shadow - £150
Power distributor: Faze flip SILK - £475
Power cables: 4 x 1.5 meter MCRU 'The Ultimate' £2000
A DAC 5 is basically a 'Gucci' a Lukasz would say DAC 4 and at this level you get the balanced modern clean sound that first alerted the world to his talents. A well sorted DSD 5 with your choice of caps, preamp volume and a spare line is all most people could ever wish for, some might say it's over kill to take it any further.
The best amplifier ...for your needs. The Lampizator GM70SEs allow for extraordinarily beautiful sound. There is an absolute rightness and nothing missing. These must be one of the best music lover amplifiers in the world. Having said that there are practical aspects to consider. If you live in Iceland you will find them a positive boon, a serious pair of extra radiators. The opposite is true if like myself you live in Cyprus part of the year. It is also noteworthy that they are designed for music room rather than close listening environments as the heat creates it's own chorus at close quarters. Bargain 'Gaku On' thrashing performance if you can accommodate them.
Tried out a Luxman L-509u amplifier from Audio Emotion. It was a disaster. What a beautiful object and those meters and dials! The sound was atrocious. It was so bad I packed it into silver arrow and we flew (drove very fast) 100 miles to Birmingham to make sure I wasn't going deaf. This £10,000 top of the range Luxman could not sound worse balanced. Indeed both Roger, Angie and myself agreed it must be broken. Gary a UK Luxman dealer at AE swears its working perfectly so I can only conclude, ...what a heap of crap, Luxman should be ashamed of themselves.
I have settled for the time being on an upgrade to my original Marantz PM17KI when I found an exceptionally clean PM14KI MkII. For some reason I can't abide the style of the newer machines but this beauty looks and feels as new and is a palpable step towards the stratospheric GM70SE sound. In the end, for less than £1000, I found a super amplifier that runs virtually cold and is well capable of taking me there.
That air of clarity that is missing from the mid range that is the magic of tubes is special and to that end I have heard a 2A3 Tektron that sparked my possible future interest for being more close listening friendly, quieter, cooler and with sweet sounding midds. €2000 euros for a friendly integrated tube amp is definitely something I may entertain for the future. Also might audition a UK Audio Note Otto SE Signature.
Issues with the electricity.
I think the consensus is that the stuff that comes down the line from UK and Cyprus power stations (the locations of my testing) is of a high quality, but then you have the issues of a modern home and interference of other electrical goods throughout the house. On testing the Lampizator fase Flip SILK, I found little effect from the use of the faze flippers but it certainly dramatically reduced intrusive noises that were previously apparent for example when switching my desk lamp on and off. Although the flippers are of no audible use in my system they are occasionally useful as individual on off switches and the unit allows you to switch off everything connected which is also useful. The SILK is an elegant Hi Fi power distribution unit that completes any no holds barred system but not absolutely essential if your budget is restricted.
Schuko in the UK was another decision. UK fuses are a kink in our system so I decided to try out the more linear and pure method of using Shuko between my SILK power distributor and equipment and a second trip in the ring main where I have stuck a 6mm copper bar in place of a fuse on my one top UK Furutech plug. This is highly unorthodox and the fascists in the UK don't like independent thought. Please note I do not recommend anyone else to do this. I'm just mentioning it to wind you up. ;-) I passed 7671 just for fun and am acting on my own prerogative outside the specific new build regulations set by the nanny state. Please be warned and safe, get a qualified electrician or you may go down in flames. The original electrical guide was basicaly a set of fire regulations.
Cables, a bloody mine field.
A few wrong turns along the way, I think that blind luck landed me a surprising mid price killer combination of Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables, as far as I am aware the product that made Nordost famous and a set of artisan Polish IC's apparently called 'Killer'. We are convinced that this combination is better than Kubala Sosna Elation at around 10% of the price having auditioned the combination in various different solid state and tube amp scenarios and with Spendor S100 monitors or even some horn speakers. The IC's are simply indescribable in terms of sound. I have no words but to say everything else sounds wrong, bright, warm and it sounds as if it's not there!
There are two stages of upgrade that I have noticed regarding power cables and I wonder at the wisdom of going for mid range offerings. Power cables definitely colour the sound and are no doubt helpful to some extent if shielded bearing in mind the modern house and the many other devices attached to the ring main. In combination with your favourite mains block or SILK, I believe it is possible to get 80% of the way there on a limited budget. This is an area where anyone with the ability to wire a plug and some common sense can get involved and make their own. £200 of your own choice of components from MCRU will get you a tasty quality power lead that's more than adequate or you can go bananas and get the top everything just to be sure for about £500. I have found the differences to be marginal beyond a certain point, although certain brands have certain flavours. The important thing is to move away from any fairly skinny stock items. I understand electrical flow is much like plumbing and consider it from that perspective re the flow of water through pipes. The pipe will have its own unique resonance and the size will allow or restrict the free movement of the water. I have settled on a set of top Furutech connectors with Oyaide 2.0 mono crystal cable in 1.5 meter lengths.
Never bothered to upgrade my generic £20 gold plated USB. The Toslink also seems quite benign. I do have a soft spot for the early silver shadow digital IC Lukasz made me and its understandable that it has good synergy with the DACs and Lampizator TranspOrt. Silver in this position frees all the fine detail in a beautiful manner.
The Lampizator Siver Shadow Digital IC has good sinergy with Lampi DACs and TranspOrts, the silver works well to free the detail without ever being bright.
The Lampizator TranspOrt enigma.
On the one hand I wish it didn't have to exist as I am quite content using iTunes as my interface and this wants you to use it's own proprietary system, but in the end it is undeniable that it's addition is like a level upgrade. Somehow the Transport opens the final tap and disappears any slight grain by addition, not omission. I have learnt to live with it and to in fact enjoy the iPeng app that I use to control the system on my iPhone and my little Sophia uses on her iPad.
A word on Spendor henge.
'Stradivarius' comes to mind. I have sat contemplating the beauty of these instruments and smelling their lacquer for clues to their magic. I am told that the new incarnation has an edge on finer detail and clarity but not half the musicality. They have simply risen to every occasion. I have not heard a competitor of equal all around accomplishment to date and I have heard B&W 20K speakers without being impressed. I even think the very first ones had the the most elegant clean look. I feel like the guy from 'You've got mail' and his typewriter, oops. Someone will eventually have to pry them out of my cold dead hands!
S100s are fairly big objects and so finding acceptable stands was a pain but something told me to go medieval on their ass. I am totally proud of my 'H' design concrete block configuration. Sophia has a set of UK built 'broadside speaker stands that are very good and work well with her smaller monitors but I think these are even better altogether. Especially on my concrete floor, they ground the speakers completely whilst allowing for the maximum air around them.
Now to the hard part, ...comparing the 6 and 7 DACs
All the above with the 6 first and I flip on Gil Scott-Heron beginning with 'The Revolution will not be televised'. FAT! Beautifully fat baseline opposed by that almost military opposition. In comes that flute, smooth. My head is nodding, feet tapping I have shivers down my spine. "Will not be televised!" The revolution is live in the Bunker! Doesn't Gil always sound ever so slightly nasal? The six is so right in this context down to that "80's" sound I have previously described and still railed to find a better description, that 'loudness effect' and slightly warm. There is a high level of detail but most impressive is the balance, rightness, musicality. Close your eyes and you can hear Gil centre, the drummer right, the base dude left. So good. (with this track the DAC7 can not compete with the beautiful musical base of the 6) I stick with Gill "Lady Day & John Coltrane" and it's the same story. I try some Fink "Perfect darkness" "See it all" Wow that cardboard box sounds cool, more of that beautiful fatness.
OK so let's flex it a bit more with a little Greek pop. Anna Vissi "Εχω Πεθανει Για Σενα (Remix Valentino)" Big 6 loves it and virtually adapts to the more modern clar sound with the warmth receding considerably. What's going on in there? Whatever it is works well. Barrington Levy "Under Mi Sensi". I am stepping back in amazement, made for Barrington! I've got to try something different, David Bowie "Space Oddity". Does everyone turn that up at the beginning? Not the best recording, but it works as intended. Just had to bring in Brentford All-Stars "Greedy G" that tripped up the DAC 7 in my last review. The Big 6 devours all base for breakfast! It's fat when it must be, tight when it should be and oh so musical. Involuntary head shaking and quite frankly all body movements. It's often difficult to stay seated for the desire to get up and dance.
One of my musical versions of the fabled ‘Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy’ "pan-galactic gargle blaster" drink, on the 6 has got to be Charles Mingus "Moanin". The 6 digs right in there, DEEP and gives you the full on gruff horn then smooths right out, in comes the shrill (but it doesn't hurt!) bounce, bounce heaven. I have found it's hard to get that level of rightness with these horns. The 6 get's the balance of the gruffness and smoothness of the horns so right. Virtually edible!
Al B.Sure "night and day" I feel accents the difference between the 6 and 7. The cleaner sound of the 7 is more correct and the added detail is a bonus but with a touch of brightness. David Bowie's "Fashion" also benefits from the 7 style but sounds better at lower levels with the 6.
A pattern is emerging, the 6 and 7 have their own magic points, the 6, Lukasz favourite that he saw fit to give his name to, the "Fikus DAC" seems to me the more mature, balanced, musical and endlessly listenable across all genres. The Big 7 is a highly accomplished, more detailed, more articulate that sacrifices a little base musicality. Both of these instruments, along with the DAC 5, are capable of taking you there.
Robert is besotted by the 7 that works beautifully with his more forgiving horns, with my S100s straight out of a BBC studio, I virtually have a mirror of the sound and in my set up there is an edge of brightness.
In my system the 6 works best, here there is a touch of warmth. Importantly I employ my system for perhaps 80% of my waking life and literally leave it on 24/7 unless I am traveling, so there is no room in my system for the slightest possibility of fatigue. I find the all round maturity of the 6 is the ticket in my setup. Over the long run and the whole scale of listening to all genres, wether late night low level or full blast party mode.
Like any fine speaker, there is no such thing as perfect. I am splitting hairs here about the finest gear I have heard. In the end I am satisfied with my original thoughts that the 5 is neutral/clean, the 6 is balanced/warm and the 7 is articulate/bright. From a long term all around perspective they all have their particular strengths that the others just can not match.
In the end
Sophia is bound to upgrade her DAC4 to a Big 5 and add DSD and I am sticking with my outstanding Big 6 to which I will also add DSD. In the mean time I am praying that certain tweaks and valves might better capture the 7's obvious potential to be the pick of the bunch and be as fatigue free as the 6.
I will try 101 valves with the Big 7 and Lukasz, as is his nature, is always working on solutions to elevate and progress that are sure to see the 7 find the maturity of the 6. Like I said before, you've just got to hear the 7, I think it's a world beater and a refinement away from being a world ultimate benchmark DAC.
Many US fans are apparently going for the Big 6 due to their systems already being on the bright side and certainly Greg was not wrong that the 7 works better with horns as with Rogers 18" babies we saw at the ultra high end UK 'Crannage' show. I must add that in either environment I found the 7 a tad oppressive for me at higher volumes though this did not bother Angie of Roger so personal preference plays it's part.
I would say €10,000 gets you in to this game and 85% of the way to the top if you chose your components well and take advantage of second hand bargains. €25,000 gets you 95%, because there just is no 100%. ;-)
Hope these reviews have been helpful to Lampi fans. To all the community world wide and especially to all who have communicated with me from around the world from Hong Kong to the USA and all around Europe and helped inform my comments, my thanks and very best wishes.
The Grape Vine
The DAC7 has been another major Lampizator success and Lukasz is moving on with new PCB designed versions in his continuing quest for linear quality and speed up operations and improve our waiting times, nevertheless Lampizator remains at boutique industry level not unlike Morgan motor cars in the UK, something for the connoisseur or truly out there music lover. Sophia and I are planning a road trip to the Lampizator factory to meet the people behind the magic and to make a factory tour video at some point in the not too distant future.
Lukasz has a cheeky side, 100 ma on the GM70SEs is the proverbial number 11 on the dial. He also has a righteous side "Make Mozart, Not Nukes!" Which quite frankly I think he should include on a rear signature plate. When it comes to the sound, I think his talent is undeniable. He has learnt over the course of years as an electrical expert and part time moddifier hobbyist the tricks and shortcomings of the main stream manufacturers and concentrated on creating the ultimate source. Some have other ideas but Lukasz is firmly in the camp that believes the source to be the key vital component for music nirvana.
My best simplification would be that it is analogous to the phonograph needle. Specifically those ones many pay thousands for. That is where the last grain of quality comes from. The DAC 4 was my introduction to this aspect and gave me the first glimpse into the world of vinyl quality sound the CD was capable of but had thus far failed to deliver, coming from my rather tasty Marantz PM17KI and CD17KI reference. Great but not vinyl.
(Prices approximate)
Speakers: Spendor S100 - (priceless) new £6,500
Speaker cables: 3 meter Nordost Red Dawn - £950
Amplifier: Marantz PM14KI MkII (priceless) new £3,000
ICs: Polish Artizan 'Killer' - £1200
DAC/Pre amplifier: Lampizator Big 6.5 - £6,000
Transport: Lampizator wireless - £2000
Digital IC: 1.5 meter Silver Shadow - £150
Power distributor: Faze flip SILK - £475
Power cables: 4 x 1.5 meter MCRU 'The Ultimate' £2000
A DAC 5 is basically a 'Gucci' a Lukasz would say DAC 4 and at this level you get the balanced modern clean sound that first alerted the world to his talents. A well sorted DSD 5 with your choice of caps, preamp volume and a spare line is all most people could ever wish for, some might say it's over kill to take it any further.
The best amplifier ...for your needs. The Lampizator GM70SEs allow for extraordinarily beautiful sound. There is an absolute rightness and nothing missing. These must be one of the best music lover amplifiers in the world. Having said that there are practical aspects to consider. If you live in Iceland you will find them a positive boon, a serious pair of extra radiators. The opposite is true if like myself you live in Cyprus part of the year. It is also noteworthy that they are designed for music room rather than close listening environments as the heat creates it's own chorus at close quarters. Bargain 'Gaku On' thrashing performance if you can accommodate them.
Tried out a Luxman L-509u amplifier from Audio Emotion. It was a disaster. What a beautiful object and those meters and dials! The sound was atrocious. It was so bad I packed it into silver arrow and we flew (drove very fast) 100 miles to Birmingham to make sure I wasn't going deaf. This £10,000 top of the range Luxman could not sound worse balanced. Indeed both Roger, Angie and myself agreed it must be broken. Gary a UK Luxman dealer at AE swears its working perfectly so I can only conclude, ...what a heap of crap, Luxman should be ashamed of themselves.
I have settled for the time being on an upgrade to my original Marantz PM17KI when I found an exceptionally clean PM14KI MkII. For some reason I can't abide the style of the newer machines but this beauty looks and feels as new and is a palpable step towards the stratospheric GM70SE sound. In the end, for less than £1000, I found a super amplifier that runs virtually cold and is well capable of taking me there.
That air of clarity that is missing from the mid range that is the magic of tubes is special and to that end I have heard a 2A3 Tektron that sparked my possible future interest for being more close listening friendly, quieter, cooler and with sweet sounding midds. €2000 euros for a friendly integrated tube amp is definitely something I may entertain for the future. Also might audition a UK Audio Note Otto SE Signature.
Issues with the electricity.
I think the consensus is that the stuff that comes down the line from UK and Cyprus power stations (the locations of my testing) is of a high quality, but then you have the issues of a modern home and interference of other electrical goods throughout the house. On testing the Lampizator fase Flip SILK, I found little effect from the use of the faze flippers but it certainly dramatically reduced intrusive noises that were previously apparent for example when switching my desk lamp on and off. Although the flippers are of no audible use in my system they are occasionally useful as individual on off switches and the unit allows you to switch off everything connected which is also useful. The SILK is an elegant Hi Fi power distribution unit that completes any no holds barred system but not absolutely essential if your budget is restricted.
Schuko in the UK was another decision. UK fuses are a kink in our system so I decided to try out the more linear and pure method of using Shuko between my SILK power distributor and equipment and a second trip in the ring main where I have stuck a 6mm copper bar in place of a fuse on my one top UK Furutech plug. This is highly unorthodox and the fascists in the UK don't like independent thought. Please note I do not recommend anyone else to do this. I'm just mentioning it to wind you up. ;-) I passed 7671 just for fun and am acting on my own prerogative outside the specific new build regulations set by the nanny state. Please be warned and safe, get a qualified electrician or you may go down in flames. The original electrical guide was basicaly a set of fire regulations.
Cables, a bloody mine field.
A few wrong turns along the way, I think that blind luck landed me a surprising mid price killer combination of Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables, as far as I am aware the product that made Nordost famous and a set of artisan Polish IC's apparently called 'Killer'. We are convinced that this combination is better than Kubala Sosna Elation at around 10% of the price having auditioned the combination in various different solid state and tube amp scenarios and with Spendor S100 monitors or even some horn speakers. The IC's are simply indescribable in terms of sound. I have no words but to say everything else sounds wrong, bright, warm and it sounds as if it's not there!
There are two stages of upgrade that I have noticed regarding power cables and I wonder at the wisdom of going for mid range offerings. Power cables definitely colour the sound and are no doubt helpful to some extent if shielded bearing in mind the modern house and the many other devices attached to the ring main. In combination with your favourite mains block or SILK, I believe it is possible to get 80% of the way there on a limited budget. This is an area where anyone with the ability to wire a plug and some common sense can get involved and make their own. £200 of your own choice of components from MCRU will get you a tasty quality power lead that's more than adequate or you can go bananas and get the top everything just to be sure for about £500. I have found the differences to be marginal beyond a certain point, although certain brands have certain flavours. The important thing is to move away from any fairly skinny stock items. I understand electrical flow is much like plumbing and consider it from that perspective re the flow of water through pipes. The pipe will have its own unique resonance and the size will allow or restrict the free movement of the water. I have settled on a set of top Furutech connectors with Oyaide 2.0 mono crystal cable in 1.5 meter lengths.
Never bothered to upgrade my generic £20 gold plated USB. The Toslink also seems quite benign. I do have a soft spot for the early silver shadow digital IC Lukasz made me and its understandable that it has good synergy with the DACs and Lampizator TranspOrt. Silver in this position frees all the fine detail in a beautiful manner.
The Lampizator Siver Shadow Digital IC has good sinergy with Lampi DACs and TranspOrts, the silver works well to free the detail without ever being bright.
The Lampizator TranspOrt enigma.
On the one hand I wish it didn't have to exist as I am quite content using iTunes as my interface and this wants you to use it's own proprietary system, but in the end it is undeniable that it's addition is like a level upgrade. Somehow the Transport opens the final tap and disappears any slight grain by addition, not omission. I have learnt to live with it and to in fact enjoy the iPeng app that I use to control the system on my iPhone and my little Sophia uses on her iPad.
A word on Spendor henge.
'Stradivarius' comes to mind. I have sat contemplating the beauty of these instruments and smelling their lacquer for clues to their magic. I am told that the new incarnation has an edge on finer detail and clarity but not half the musicality. They have simply risen to every occasion. I have not heard a competitor of equal all around accomplishment to date and I have heard B&W 20K speakers without being impressed. I even think the very first ones had the the most elegant clean look. I feel like the guy from 'You've got mail' and his typewriter, oops. Someone will eventually have to pry them out of my cold dead hands!
S100s are fairly big objects and so finding acceptable stands was a pain but something told me to go medieval on their ass. I am totally proud of my 'H' design concrete block configuration. Sophia has a set of UK built 'broadside speaker stands that are very good and work well with her smaller monitors but I think these are even better altogether. Especially on my concrete floor, they ground the speakers completely whilst allowing for the maximum air around them.
Now to the hard part, ...comparing the 6 and 7 DACs
All the above with the 6 first and I flip on Gil Scott-Heron beginning with 'The Revolution will not be televised'. FAT! Beautifully fat baseline opposed by that almost military opposition. In comes that flute, smooth. My head is nodding, feet tapping I have shivers down my spine. "Will not be televised!" The revolution is live in the Bunker! Doesn't Gil always sound ever so slightly nasal? The six is so right in this context down to that "80's" sound I have previously described and still railed to find a better description, that 'loudness effect' and slightly warm. There is a high level of detail but most impressive is the balance, rightness, musicality. Close your eyes and you can hear Gil centre, the drummer right, the base dude left. So good. (with this track the DAC7 can not compete with the beautiful musical base of the 6) I stick with Gill "Lady Day & John Coltrane" and it's the same story. I try some Fink "Perfect darkness" "See it all" Wow that cardboard box sounds cool, more of that beautiful fatness.
OK so let's flex it a bit more with a little Greek pop. Anna Vissi "Εχω Πεθανει Για Σενα (Remix Valentino)" Big 6 loves it and virtually adapts to the more modern clar sound with the warmth receding considerably. What's going on in there? Whatever it is works well. Barrington Levy "Under Mi Sensi". I am stepping back in amazement, made for Barrington! I've got to try something different, David Bowie "Space Oddity". Does everyone turn that up at the beginning? Not the best recording, but it works as intended. Just had to bring in Brentford All-Stars "Greedy G" that tripped up the DAC 7 in my last review. The Big 6 devours all base for breakfast! It's fat when it must be, tight when it should be and oh so musical. Involuntary head shaking and quite frankly all body movements. It's often difficult to stay seated for the desire to get up and dance.
One of my musical versions of the fabled ‘Hitchhikers guide to the galaxy’ "pan-galactic gargle blaster" drink, on the 6 has got to be Charles Mingus "Moanin". The 6 digs right in there, DEEP and gives you the full on gruff horn then smooths right out, in comes the shrill (but it doesn't hurt!) bounce, bounce heaven. I have found it's hard to get that level of rightness with these horns. The 6 get's the balance of the gruffness and smoothness of the horns so right. Virtually edible!
Al B.Sure "night and day" I feel accents the difference between the 6 and 7. The cleaner sound of the 7 is more correct and the added detail is a bonus but with a touch of brightness. David Bowie's "Fashion" also benefits from the 7 style but sounds better at lower levels with the 6.
A pattern is emerging, the 6 and 7 have their own magic points, the 6, Lukasz favourite that he saw fit to give his name to, the "Fikus DAC" seems to me the more mature, balanced, musical and endlessly listenable across all genres. The Big 7 is a highly accomplished, more detailed, more articulate that sacrifices a little base musicality. Both of these instruments, along with the DAC 5, are capable of taking you there.
Robert is besotted by the 7 that works beautifully with his more forgiving horns, with my S100s straight out of a BBC studio, I virtually have a mirror of the sound and in my set up there is an edge of brightness.
In my system the 6 works best, here there is a touch of warmth. Importantly I employ my system for perhaps 80% of my waking life and literally leave it on 24/7 unless I am traveling, so there is no room in my system for the slightest possibility of fatigue. I find the all round maturity of the 6 is the ticket in my setup. Over the long run and the whole scale of listening to all genres, wether late night low level or full blast party mode.
Like any fine speaker, there is no such thing as perfect. I am splitting hairs here about the finest gear I have heard. In the end I am satisfied with my original thoughts that the 5 is neutral/clean, the 6 is balanced/warm and the 7 is articulate/bright. From a long term all around perspective they all have their particular strengths that the others just can not match.
In the end
Sophia is bound to upgrade her DAC4 to a Big 5 and add DSD and I am sticking with my outstanding Big 6 to which I will also add DSD. In the mean time I am praying that certain tweaks and valves might better capture the 7's obvious potential to be the pick of the bunch and be as fatigue free as the 6.
I will try 101 valves with the Big 7 and Lukasz, as is his nature, is always working on solutions to elevate and progress that are sure to see the 7 find the maturity of the 6. Like I said before, you've just got to hear the 7, I think it's a world beater and a refinement away from being a world ultimate benchmark DAC.
Many US fans are apparently going for the Big 6 due to their systems already being on the bright side and certainly Greg was not wrong that the 7 works better with horns as with Rogers 18" babies we saw at the ultra high end UK 'Crannage' show. I must add that in either environment I found the 7 a tad oppressive for me at higher volumes though this did not bother Angie of Roger so personal preference plays it's part.
I would say €10,000 gets you in to this game and 85% of the way to the top if you chose your components well and take advantage of second hand bargains. €25,000 gets you 95%, because there just is no 100%. ;-)
Hope these reviews have been helpful to Lampi fans. To all the community world wide and especially to all who have communicated with me from around the world from Hong Kong to the USA and all around Europe and helped inform my comments, my thanks and very best wishes.
The Grape Vine
The DAC7 has been another major Lampizator success and Lukasz is moving on with new PCB designed versions in his continuing quest for linear quality and speed up operations and improve our waiting times, nevertheless Lampizator remains at boutique industry level not unlike Morgan motor cars in the UK, something for the connoisseur or truly out there music lover. Sophia and I are planning a road trip to the Lampizator factory to meet the people behind the magic and to make a factory tour video at some point in the not too distant future.
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