Angelo Agathangelou: Thanks to Robert and Angie's hospitality yesterday I enjoyed an evening of music with the £14,000 Lampizator Golden Gate! Lukasz Fikus came into my orbit during my search for the ultimate DAC and I have watched his artisan business go from strength to strength. Today I can say with hand on heart that any audiophile who has not auditioned his equipment needs to do so or drop the title. One can get involved at quite human prices with the excellent DAC4.
My daughter Sophia is perhaps the youngest serious audiophile on the planet and she has her own special B4.5 to prove it, a super sweet DAC that you could run in and just call it a day, no more need to search. But for those who can not accept that nirvana can be bought at such a reasonable cost, Lukasz will kindly relieve you of much more with his latest DHT (Direct Heated Triod) concoction the 7 and if you are rolling in it there's the ultimate Golden Gate 7. Now let me tell you a thing or two about it when compared with my own beloved Big 6.5. the now retired 'Fikus' DAC.
I think the GG7 has some very strong points and some trumps, I heard beautiful music at Robert's last night, but we disagreed on certain points that are perhaps to do with his having lived with the break in period and my own long exposure to the B6. Robert suspects it will take 6 months in all for the GG7 to be at it's best and both Angie and Robert say that it has changed substantially over the last month since new.
Personally I find the 7's bass in certain ways is recessed and that my B6 is more natural/enjoyable in that dept. Then again she has had 2 years of 24/7/365 break in time. She sports humble Jensen caps. And is the original prototype point-to-point wired (rather than PCB) Big 6.
GG7 has flexibility, we found totally different flavours by swapping rectifier Psvane WE274b faster with Ems Labs 5U4G thicker. Bearing in mind Robert was using Psvane 101d WE replicas and it is possible to swap these with 45s. The GG7 is capable of producing very tasty music in ways it has a clarity and articulation that is very desirable.
It has to be said that there is quite some variety with all models. I have now heard 3 variants of the 7 and the GG7 is the smoothest, bearing in mind that the session was at Robert's with his horn speakers.
When I returned home I listened again to Akala - murder runs the globe, the Carpenters we've only just begun, Charles Mingus Moanin. I am afraid that I have to report that the base issue with the 7s was even more pronounced vs my B6. It is even more pronounced with my B6 played with my Marantz PM14KI Mk II. I specifically played it with my Marantz so as to avoid tube artifacts from my as yet unready Tektron 2A3/45 ref. I haven't quite got the combination of tubes right on my Tektron and as Robert commented she's a little rolled of up high, but she is a supremely musical babe. There is nothing missing from the range of my Marantz although she is a solid state, I believe that in the bunker she is a very well balanced machine and an excellent reference from which to mark others.
Robert said that with other amps the bass we described is even more recessed and I have now discovered that the bass played in the bunker with the B6/Spendor S100 combination is even more defined regarding bass.
The GG7 has additional virtues for tube rolling audiophiles and was extremely enjoyable, but I find my B6, with regards to PCM, handles bass in a more correct fashion and in my opinion that is crucial for conveying the intent of the recording. The Golden Gate offers the ultimate true to life resolution PCM playback but with this one shortcoming. For this reason I did not feel the urge to twist Robert's arm for a head to head at the bunker. I have the urge to call the artisan that makes the top secret prototype amp we were using. I am sure that I will be expanding on that cliffhanger in the future.
Next week I hope to receive about 4TB of DSD music and am resolved to review the Pure DSD-B7. That has been the best sound I have heard to date and I would like to explore that further. In memory this combined the correct positioning of bass with the ultimate resolution that the 7 brings. So at this point bearing in mind the current stable of Lampizator goodies, I can only imagine that if the future has an upgrade in store for me, it just might be a fully balanced Golden Gate Pure DSD. On this occasion we were focused on PCM playback so I will have to confirm my earlier findings at a later date.
I can see why the GG7 is popular, it has a next level clarity that has to be heard to be believed, but at this point I am more in love with my own B6 than ever because even though it can not achieve that higher fidelity clarity and resolution, when it comes to PCM playback the bass is in the correct position.
Robert on the other hand is completely in love with his 7 even though he has personally tested it against another B6 so I am afraid it is clearly a matter of personal preference. If you are a resolution junky, you might pick the 7, if bass articulation is your preference then it might be the 6. I am sure I do not have to tell audiophiles how important the interaction is with the rest of your gear and particular room.
These are my first thoughts after a long night and no sleep. I am sure that there will be a few updates to follow.
Update: I just had a spirited debate about the GG7 with Robert, the upshot is a confirmation that ones gear and room play their part. Robert feels that his listening room sucks out the bass and that the GG7 is perfectly balanced, I disagree completely and feel that I have found the same to be true of 2 other 7's that I have used in the bunker and rejected. For the record Robert's room is 22ft long and on the first floor (second story) of an apartment complex with wooden floors and the bunker is in a century old Victorian house with concrete floors brick walls and 15 feet long.
It is important to note that in addition to the Golden Gate DAC7 a Lampizator Transport in this review as is true for the earlier review of my Big 6. Whatever level of Lampizator DAC I have used the, Lampizator Transport has supplied another level upgrade to the sound and I consider it a critical component.
***
I think the GG7 has some very strong points and some trumps, I heard beautiful music at Robert's last night, but we disagreed on certain points that are perhaps to do with his having lived with the break in period and my own long exposure to the B6. Robert suspects it will take 6 months in all for the GG7 to be at it's best and both Angie and Robert say that it has changed substantially over the last month since new.
Personally I find the 7's bass in certain ways is recessed and that my B6 is more natural/enjoyable in that dept. Then again she has had 2 years of 24/7/365 break in time. She sports humble Jensen caps. And is the original prototype point-to-point wired (rather than PCB) Big 6.GG7 has flexibility, we found totally different flavours by swapping rectifier Psvane WE274b faster with Ems Labs 5U4G thicker. Bearing in mind Robert was using Psvane 101d WE replicas and it is possible to swap these with 45s. The GG7 is capable of producing very tasty music in ways it has a clarity and articulation that is very desirable.
It has to be said that there is quite some variety with all models. I have now heard 3 variants of the 7 and the GG7 is the smoothest, bearing in mind that the session was at Robert's with his horn speakers.
When I returned home I listened again to Akala - murder runs the globe, the Carpenters we've only just begun, Charles Mingus Moanin. I am afraid that I have to report that the base issue with the 7s was even more pronounced vs my B6. It is even more pronounced with my B6 played with my Marantz PM14KI Mk II. I specifically played it with my Marantz so as to avoid tube artifacts from my as yet unready Tektron 2A3/45 ref. I haven't quite got the combination of tubes right on my Tektron and as Robert commented she's a little rolled of up high, but she is a supremely musical babe. There is nothing missing from the range of my Marantz although she is a solid state, I believe that in the bunker she is a very well balanced machine and an excellent reference from which to mark others. Robert said that with other amps the bass we described is even more recessed and I have now discovered that the bass played in the bunker with the B6/Spendor S100 combination is even more defined regarding bass.
The GG7 has additional virtues for tube rolling audiophiles and was extremely enjoyable, but I find my B6, with regards to PCM, handles bass in a more correct fashion and in my opinion that is crucial for conveying the intent of the recording. The Golden Gate offers the ultimate true to life resolution PCM playback but with this one shortcoming. For this reason I did not feel the urge to twist Robert's arm for a head to head at the bunker. I have the urge to call the artisan that makes the top secret prototype amp we were using. I am sure that I will be expanding on that cliffhanger in the future.
Next week I hope to receive about 4TB of DSD music and am resolved to review the Pure DSD-B7. That has been the best sound I have heard to date and I would like to explore that further. In memory this combined the correct positioning of bass with the ultimate resolution that the 7 brings. So at this point bearing in mind the current stable of Lampizator goodies, I can only imagine that if the future has an upgrade in store for me, it just might be a fully balanced Golden Gate Pure DSD. On this occasion we were focused on PCM playback so I will have to confirm my earlier findings at a later date.
I can see why the GG7 is popular, it has a next level clarity that has to be heard to be believed, but at this point I am more in love with my own B6 than ever because even though it can not achieve that higher fidelity clarity and resolution, when it comes to PCM playback the bass is in the correct position. Robert on the other hand is completely in love with his 7 even though he has personally tested it against another B6 so I am afraid it is clearly a matter of personal preference. If you are a resolution junky, you might pick the 7, if bass articulation is your preference then it might be the 6. I am sure I do not have to tell audiophiles how important the interaction is with the rest of your gear and particular room.
These are my first thoughts after a long night and no sleep. I am sure that there will be a few updates to follow.
Update: I just had a spirited debate about the GG7 with Robert, the upshot is a confirmation that ones gear and room play their part. Robert feels that his listening room sucks out the bass and that the GG7 is perfectly balanced, I disagree completely and feel that I have found the same to be true of 2 other 7's that I have used in the bunker and rejected. For the record Robert's room is 22ft long and on the first floor (second story) of an apartment complex with wooden floors and the bunker is in a century old Victorian house with concrete floors brick walls and 15 feet long.
It is important to note that in addition to the Golden Gate DAC7 a Lampizator Transport in this review as is true for the earlier review of my Big 6. Whatever level of Lampizator DAC I have used the, Lampizator Transport has supplied another level upgrade to the sound and I consider it a critical component.
***
This is a continuation of a series of Lampizator product reviews including:
May 10, 2014:
June 30, 2013:
May 28, 2013:
April 09, 2013:
"Make Mozart Not Nukes!" Lampizator GM 70 SE Amplifier - WORLD FIRST REVIEW
The Magnificent LampizatOr Golden Gate DAC
Miss Baby Sol Ft. Speech Debelle
The Future
Michael says: Thanks, Angelo! I've been checking on and off all day in anticipation of your findings. It sounds like your trip largely confirmed your feelings with regards to PCM output--crystal clarity with fatigue potential vs warmth and depth.
ReplyDeleteI've seen a second-hand B6 listed with dsd installed (apparently sold, unfortunately) http://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649185155-lampizator-big-six-with-dsd-and-jupiter-caps/, so in the off-chance you find the same transparent resolution off-putting in the DSD 7, it appears Lucas can install the DSD module in your 6.
I suspect, however, that whatever harshness in resolution or lack of bass articulation you are experiencing in the 7 is largely a function of the PCM chip/conversion stage, but I'll reserve judgement on that until I read your DSD 7 report.
If you were able to ultimately compare DSD through a B6 & a B7 & preferred the 7, perhaps the ultimate machine would be an R2R PCM chipset inside a B7 with DSD. If you preferred the DSD through the B6, then the case is closed (for your personal preferences, at least) & you can send your 6 to Lukas for DSD installation and have all your digital music optimized in one box.
Another way (theoretically) to determine the ideal digital front end with your current equipment would be to intercept the PCM signal after the R2R chip in the 6 and send it through the DHT output stage in the 7, and visa-versa, intercept the DSD signal after the 3 hi-frequency noise filters in the 7 to send through the tube output of the B6. That may not even be technically sound or possible, but if it were, you could compare both R2R PCM and DSD through the B6 and B7 output stages respectively with the equipment you already have set up in the "bunker."
Whew. Sorry for that probably pointless detour. Thanks for the quick delivery of your initial thoughts. I'm looking forward to reading whatever you may want to add after some restorative sleep. Cheers.
Hello Michael,
DeleteI am still in need of much restorative sleep. ;-) ...Have you tried: http://www.hifishark.com/search?q=lampizator
I suspect I will be adding more, but I would like to make it clear that we played some excellent Jazz on Saturday night that was utterly memorable and I do get the GG7. I would add that this GG7 had the least 'fatigue potential' of any 7 I have heard yet and that my main issue with it was the position of the bass.
Robert has speculated that my listening room and speakers are pushing forward the bass, but I believe that it is inherent in the 7 to recess the bass to a certain degree. I would love to hear from others who have heard a 6 and 7 together so that we can put this question out of it's misery.
You make some interesting queries and I think that these may be technical issues that should be put directly to our resident eccentric Lukasz.
I will see if I have the time to question Lukasz this week as I intend to purchase a big enclosure to tidy up my Transport that is still housed in one of those old PC type boxes. I think she is worth it. Even though we are well acquainted a call to Lukasz is something I still feel one must plan as you can almost feel the cogs turning even over the phone and a mild disapproval of stupid questions, a very Polish attitude, e.g. back in the day I had to twist his arm for him to make me the first ever Big! He just could not see the point at the time, his genius is focused on the important things. He clearly gets it now. ;-)
FYI I am itching to discover what my DSD7 has to say for herself. The lack of time and DSD music has been the obstacle, but now I have secured a source for nearly 4TB of music I will be getting the ball rolling Monday and I expect to make my next post by the end of the month if all goes according to plan.
Interesting stuff, Angelo, thanks. I apparently did initially misread part of your review, and am more clear now on what you found.
DeleteIf I had a phone conversation with Lukas it would most likely be waste of his time--I'm glad a more knowledgeable Lampi customer like yourself is so willing to share what he hears and learns with the rest of us.
I still live in the archaic world of spinning the CD on a transport and sending the digital signal through the lampi. If I've read your site correctly, you play most of your digital music from files. If that is the case, I have a much simpler experiment to propose than the ones in my last email.
Many of the DSD converts in the online community seem to simply play their 16/44.1 wav or flac files through the DSD Lampi by converting them on the fly with a program such as foobar or hqplayer. After you have had some time listening to the DSD files you've recently acquired, I'd be interested in your take on how redbook files sound converted on the fly through the DSD7 compared to played in native PCM through the B6. It seems to me that would be close to an apples to apples comparison, as they would theoretically be working from the same source file. Selfishly, that also would be the most relevant comparison for someone like myself who has a vast majority of his digital music in CD form and is more interested in getting the most out of the music he has rather than rebuilding a library in other digital forms.
Maybe something to consider adding to the bottom of your list, anyway, if you feel it might be revealing. As always, though, any feedback you share of your Lampi experiences is helpful and illuminating. Looking forward to your further discoveries. Cheers, Michael
oh, p.s. if you do correspond with Lukas, I'd be very interested in his take on the h-rez capable variant of the R2R chip that was offered as an option on the old B6 page, if that's something that also interests you.
I am only one step out of sinc with you Michael. ...My collection also consists of CDs as I have never bothered to restock my record collection that was unfortunately stolen in the midd 90's.
DeleteThe only thing I do differently is to carelessly copy any new CDs I buy using the apple lossless format onto 1TB solid state drives. I have tried various different formats but the truth is that I do not hear any difference and the B6 does truncate everything to lesser resolutions and yet ..wow. Before I was converted to the Lampizaror Transport I used a fairly decent Marantz CD17KI with good results. The Transport is at once ultimately convenient and also about the best I have heard. There's not much in it, but convenience puts it over the top. In the future if I do find a better way, I have my countless CDs in a heavy safe (you don't make that mistake twice) and can copy them again in whatever great new format might come along.
Although I do have Audirvana Plus, purchased on Lukasz recommendation to use with my new DSD collection, once it is in hand, at this point everything simply goes on to iTunes then after a quick rescan by my Transport I'm in business with as good as I've heard PCM playback.
Yes, I was very interested in the expanded capabilities of the 6. I was thinking of sending in my B6 for that €1000 upgrade and then poof, no more B6 option on the Lampizator website. Bugger!
As I said, I like to be prepared when I call Lukasz and now I have even more questions. I have decided to wait until I have properly reviewed my Pure-DSD-7 because for all my qualms about the misplaced bass in the 7s, I did hear some incredible realism everywhere else and if I can confirm that DSD level 10 sound I heard some months ago, without the missing base, I will happily pay for the ultimate version of a Pure-DSD7. One way or another I will call once I have reviewed my DSD7. I'll ask if he still offers the h-rez upgrade and his take at that point.
Interesting stuff, Angelo, thanks. I apparently did initially misread part of your review, and am more clear now on what you found.
ReplyDeleteIf I had a phone conversation with Lukas it would most likely be waste of his time--I'm glad a more knowledgeable Lampi customer like yourself is so willing to share what he hears and learns with the rest of us.
I still live in the archaic world of spinning the CD on a transport and sending the digital signal through the lampi. If I've read your site correctly, you play most of your digital music from files. If that is the case, I have a much simpler experiment to propose than the ones in my last email.
Many of the DSD converts in the online community seem to simply play their 16/44.1 wav or flac files through the DSD Lampi by converting them on the fly with a program such as foobar or hqplayer. After you have had some time listening to the DSD files you've recently acquired, I'd be interested in your take on how redbook files sound converted on the fly through the DSD7 compared to played in native PCM through the B6. It seems to me that would be close to an apples to apples comparison, as they would theoretically be working from the same source file. Selfishly, that also would be the most relevant comparison for someone like myself who has a vast majority of his digital music in CD form and is more interested in getting the most out of the music he has rather than rebuilding a library in other digital forms.
Maybe something to consider adding to the bottom of your list, anyway, if you feel it might be revealing. As always, though, any feedback you share of your Lampi experiences is helpful and illuminating. Looking forward to your further discoveries. Cheers, Michael
oh, p.s. if you do correspond with Lukas, I'd be very interested in his take on the h-rez capable variant of the R2R chip that was offered as an option on the old B6 page, if that's something that also interests you. Thanks,
Michael
Ugh, sorry to hear about the theft of your record collection. Last year I lost a good portion of my records to a radiator flood while cat sitting for a friend. Losing music is a hard pill to swallow. My condolences.
ReplyDeleteI know so little about computer files it's embarrassing. But I've read online forums where people discuss streaming the files they already have stored (wav, flac, etc) to their DSD player using a program that converts the file to DSD on the fly. I believe some of those programs are free downloadables, but I could be mistaken. If one doesn't yet exist for apple lossless, it seems like only a matter of time until one does.
So most likely you eventually won't even have to re-copy or convert your files in order to play them on the Lampi DSD, if you so choose. I've read a few reports/reviews on forums where the takeaway from the 7 was very much in line with yours, that the PCM playback was lacking in some areas but the DSD was pure music magic. http://audioshark.org/lampizator-186/lampizator-big-7-review-7213.html#.VYB4kUY9mmw
If I remember correctly, that particular reviewer wound up going for a Golden Gate, which alleviated some of the issues he was having with PCM. It is probably somewhere down in that thread. Needless to say, he was thrilled with the DSD playback.
I'll leave you with a nugget I stumbled upon in a lampizator thread last night. The Lampi site identifies the 5 and 7 as sharing the same DAC chip, which differs from the chip in the 4. It also identifies the chip in the defunct B6 as being an R2R. A poster in the thread linked below, "Winson," states that the chip in the 4 is also an R2R. He seems knowledgeable about Lampizators, though I cannot vouch for the statement beyond that.
If he is correct, that might go a long way toward explaining why you so enjoy the PCM playback of the 4 and 6 while finding that of the 7 not quite as enjoyable. Also, you might be tickled to read Lucasz's (posting as "Lampizator") comments regarding the 6. His U.S. distributor is posting as "Gopher," on the thread, and has a different preference from Lucasz, supporting your feeling that at this level, it's largely a matter of personal taste.
I found the entire thread worth a read, when you have a chunk of time, as it begins with the 4 and evolves over time to discussing the 6 and 7. I am linking, however, to page 13, where Lucasz first chimes in (he has a followup comment on the next page, as well). Enjoy:
http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?ddgtl&1376527744&openflup&621&4#621
Hi guys, its "wisnon".
DeleteHere are some link regarding GG PCM. GG takes MONTHS to break in du to the Mundorf caps and even the first one made wont reach its prime until about September.
Read Marslo and Blue58 comments here:
http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?17791-DSD-DACS-Why-SUBLIME-with-DSD-recordigs-but-MEDIOCRE-with-PCM-Too-Smooth-amp-No-Jump&p=320978&viewfull=1#post320978
More reading on the GG here: http://www.whatsbestforum.com/showthread.php?17639-Golden-Gate-arrives
and here: http://audioshark.org/lampizator-186/lampizator-golden-gate-7223.html
Balanced Big 7 chatter here:
http://audioshark.org/lampizator-186/balanced-lampi-dac-joe-you-famous-now-7642.html
Finally, there is a ton of info on the Lampizator section of audiocircle.com forum. Tube rolling, power cord swaps, etc.
Happy reading.
Hi Michael, I have also heard that some are converting to DSD on the fly. Sounds like the way to go especially with the incredible DSD level 10 sounding playback on the 7. Thank you for the links, very interesting reading.
DeleteHi Wisnon, Welcome and thank you for the interesting links. Robert agrees with you regarding break in, the first month has seen significant changes.
Wisnon again,
ReplyDeleteI have a local pal with a B6 recently upgraded to DSD (Switzerland). I need to give it a good listen. I only heard PCM in his system. He recently got lots of DSD to try, so I should ask him for impressions.
The thing I find though is that DSD LOVES the big bottle DHTs, so a B7/GG DSD should in theory be better. I used to have G4L4 with R2R high rez chip (no one knows the excat chips Lukasz uses), but I cant recall it beating my broken in B7.
Based on what I read about the GG, it seems that the sum of all the minor parts improvements sum up to a good 15% subjective improvement. On pal who was thinking of vinyl upgraded from B7 to GG and is done with the TT idea. the other got one of the first Bal B7 and says his Dac search is over, even as he has an order long ago placed for the Berkeley ref dac.
Winson, thanks for the insight and the links. I just wrote a long response to your posts from my phone but lost it when I tried to post. Se la vie. Most important part of it was that I, & I assume Angelo, would be very interested in your and/or your friend's thoughts on DSD through the 6 vs through the 7. If you have that opportunity, please don't hesitate to report back here with your take. Thanks!
DeleteHi, Winson. You mention the L4G4 uses a hi-Rez capable R2R chip. I am in the market for a universal disc transport to feed my L4G4, and am
Deleteconsidering one that upsamples everything to 24/192 before sending the signal to the DAC.
My understanding is that upsampling allows for the pushing of the "noise" off to higher frequencies, allowing the DAC to more easily apply the filter without either clipping audible information or allowing noise to slip through.
Do you know if this is truly helpful for the way ladder (r2r) chips convert the signal to analogue, or do you feel it's more of a marketing gimmick than anything?
I understand you have had great success converting your redbook to DSD, but I assume much of that is a function of the chip-less Lampi DSD engine rather than the higher frequency/sample rate. Alas, I have neither the DSD module nor the computer power necessary to do that, so I'm trying to find the best sound option for the L4G4 as PCM for now.
Thanks
I actually like playing back PCM at native rate best. However, I do belive that your proposed solution should work very well too.
DeleteHQP DSD upconversion also works well with iDSD and ExaSound Dacs too.
Geardaddy on the GG Dac:
ReplyDelete"
I have one too now (#2 in the US) and sadly its a major step up from the B7. I was not expecting that....just Gucci casework and parts for rich idiots was my cynical presumption. Not so. Best digital I have heard or owned. No desire for a TT any longer. Well done Lucas..... and
Clarity, soundstaging, and an organic fluidity and cohesiveness to its presentation whether it be PCM or DSD.....again the breakin process is long and presumably not complete.... ".
One last point, its not really possible to know which PCM Dac chip Lukasz uses in a given model, as things change over time. Right now, the current design for B4 to B7 is with a design locked PCB. The L6 was always PTP and I guess that is why its phased out. I figure of the demand is still there, he COULD make a few more if people push for it.
I have no absolute proof, but too many people (like Greg who has had every model pass thru his hands) say the GG is just a notch or 2 abover EVERY other model. GG is the one to get if the pocket can stand the strain.
I agree, I've owned or tried all of the Lampi DACs here other than the Amber and latest Lite/DSD DACs and the GG is several "levels" up from anything I've heard before, even with just a few hours on it. Sublime.
DeleteFor more bass emphasis, try the Lite 7 with solid state rectification!
ReplyDeleteHi, it's Robert
ReplyDeleteAngelo and I had a really interesting evening that's for sure, with spirited, lively debate and some *really* great music (which is the very essence of what we both enjoy)!
What we didn't do is compare DACs directly ie Angelo's vs my GG. So, what was heard was my room, my system only. And there's a catch: I made a schoolboy error in placing my Absolutor OTL amp on a jury-rigged temporary stand just prior to our session, and left it that way throughout. More on that follows...
After Angelo pointed out the issues with the suck-out of the lower mid/upper bass and slightly hard edge I undid that "improvement". He was absolutely right. And we are back!
Don't misjudge the GG folks, it's a stunning achievement by Lucasz. Wisnon is right though - mine has a few weeks of playtime but it will take many more to reach it's full potential. I say that because I had the chance to compare G-Point Greg's brand new identical GG to mine recently, and the difference was astonishing - you hear the quality in the new unit, but after a few weeks there's a transformation. I've no reason to think that it won't continue to improve.
In summary: The issue Angelo noticed was due to my misplacement of my amp. It was a late session after a busy week. Sometimes I fail. What can I say :-).
Angelo: Fancy a direct A-B DAC compare? Round two if you like :-) ? I've an open-house policy, so a little bake-off would be fun if anybody is interested. I still have my previous Lampi B6 here, or you could bring your own DAC (open to all) ?
What I can say is that having tried loaner EML mesh 45s in place of my default PsVane WE101Ds in the GG I'd ultimately go with the 45s.
Robert
You're on Robert! Second encounter coming up. Make it when I may also borrow that Absolutor OTL for a test in the bunker please. I am free for this Sunday and the next as appropriate. :-)
DeleteGood :-). I'll call you this evening and we'll sort it out.
DeleteAngelo,
ReplyDeleteAny new insights from your last listening session?
Winson,
You mention on another forum that the info for L4G4 possessing an R2R chip is available on the lampizator site, but I have been unable to find it. The only level mentioned having R2R is the old B6. From where did you read/hear that L4G4 also has an R2R? Thanks.
Michael, I think its discontinued and the website discontinued. Mine had it for sure, and its serial number was 299, so any L4G4 around that number should be similar. Lukasz is using my old one he took back as a demo, so if you really need one like that, you could contact him.
ReplyDeleteThanks, Winson. Mine is #534 made in March 2014, so who knows? Later that year they officially switched over to generation 5, but mine is definitely Gen 4. My interest is mostly out of curiosity and determining the best way to feed data to the DAC--whether to upsample, etc.
ReplyDeleteTo that end I have another question you might be able to help me with, as well. Do you know if the USB in this model is the asynchronous Amenero? If so, am
I better off sending a signal to the DAC via the USB than the spdif, since the USB will reclock (and maybe control jitter) whereas the spdif will be reliant upon the transport for its clocking and jitter control? Am
I understanding that correctly?
Thanks again.
Angelo, have you and Robert have a chance for another listening session since your last update?
ReplyDeleteHello Michael, Life and the summer holidays have come between us. Thank you for the reminder. I will call to see if he and Angie are back from theirs, but I doubt that I will have the time for a while.
DeleteThe last time I spoke to Lukasz I am afraid I got sidetracked as he was focused on his new true balanced 211 amplifier which is supposed to be like the GM70SE on steroids and I am promised that the hum issue has been dealt with so obviously I ordered a pair. Apparently he used a pair of Audio Note Kondo Kagura to voice the "Twin Towers".
I did query the Big 6 tech and the possibility of balancing my own big 6, but he doesn't seem to have the time, I think events are progressing at break neck speed so Lukasz is living in the now. He'll offer you an upgrade on any Lampizator equipment based on the original price of your own so I suggest you call him direct.