Angelo Agathangelou: Some years ago, whilst searching in an attempt to bridge the gap between my [what I thought was] high end audio system and my Apple computer I came across Lukasz Fikus, an interesting chap who was at the time building himself a reputation as an audio modder. His old site is a testament to his exploits as he took one or other generic unit and fettled it into submission as a hobby and before long as a service for a growing band of appreciative Audio geeks. In my case it was in connection to my old Marantz reference CD player that I lucked upon our resident audio genius. I have never looked back.
My first LampizatOr unit, an early level 4 DAC was the beginning of a journey that more or less turned me into the loony boyfriend of Meg Ryan in 'You've Got Male' and his love affair with a typewriter. Many happy hours of audio heaven followed along with a struggle to find the appropriate partner components to fully exploit that original masterpiece.
My first LampizatOr unit, an early level 4 DAC was the beginning of a journey that more or less turned me into the loony boyfriend of Meg Ryan in 'You've Got Male' and his love affair with a typewriter. Many happy hours of audio heaven followed along with a struggle to find the appropriate partner components to fully exploit that original masterpiece.
Nestled in a new suburb of Warsaw, [let me start with full disclosure] in my opinion, is the beating heart of audio nirvana on our planet today. I just had the privilege of making a pilgrimage to that audiophile Graceland and I will now report the experience for the benefit of our rare breed of audio snob.
I descended into a somewhat overcast Warsaw, but the gloom was soon lifted by every Polish person I met. The super hot babe with whom I had spent the time chatting during the flight posed my first question for Lukasz, "Why do you stay in Poland?" Lukasz responds, "I like to be where I know the language." and it is clear to me during my visit that he adores his people and the community where he has landed with his new LampizatOr HQ.
The main downside he reported was the crazy government who as usual made rules and regulations that only the likes of Siemens with their ability to devote a department for dealing with government red tape could cope, where as "The three hundred entrepreneurs, who give everything for this country." Can barely cope with such paperwork and time wasting as a mere upgrade of parts or the occasional repair cost the company literally thousands tied up. That sort of thing pisses me off! One has to be retarded or a government official not to realise how damaging that must be to the Polish economy.
On the upside, sales this year have popped the cherry of $1,000,000, that is to say, LampizatOr has arrived! If further proof is needed Emission Labs [EML] are working with LampizatOr to produce a bespoke 45 for the company combining three factors that should add up to the most exquisite sound they have yet to produce, well it stands to reason if they're collaborating with Mr Fikus.
There has never before been an EML Mesh 45 in a balloon enclosure, the downside is a transportation issue due to the absent usual pinch at the top that holds the internal structure and reduces transportation breakages down to 0.01%, the new method is said to result in more like 10% fails, but the upside will be that, the internal structure being suspended and utterly separate from the glass enclosure, there should be less impact from the sound in the room reverberating through the glass and effecting the sound transmitted through the internal structure. The attention to detail in an effort to squeeze that last ounce of audio bliss is extraordinary. The faithful within my circle revere EML valves so this is definitely one of those markers in history that underline the fact that LampizatOr is the very last word in audio excellence.
Entering the hallowed ground I first caught sight of the listening room and immediately began to take note of the ways the room has been enhanced, virtually every surface was covered with acoustic foam and for the final touch a curtain is drawn to seal the entrance. By trial and error I have found that similar enhancements were required to perfect my listening room, but I will now set aside my more half-hearted attempt and go full sound booth in my UK listening room as it clearly benefits the sound.
Lukasz's partner made me feel right at home with a lovely cup of tea, then a lively debate ensued, the upshot of which was my revelation that I believe [religiously] in GM70 copper valves and have no time for the graphite versions of the same, Lukas confirmed that in his opinion "the GM70 Copper is where the magic resides," unfortunately it is not feasible to make GM70 twin towers as they would burn hotter than the sun in use and I think that is a great shame, but there’s no getting around the laws of physics.
Those who have a problem with Russian parts can opt for the 211 valves, but in my opinion it is some of these Russian tank and MIG components [the ones that qualify the motto "Make Mozart, Not Nukes!"] that make LampisatOr so damned special. I dare any audio company at any price to challenge the Copper GM70 LampizatOr, ...it is the cleanest window onto the sound I have every encountered and better than ever in its latest incarnation.
When it comes to sizing up an audio system I find that Sophia [my six year old daughter, the UKs youngest audiophile, claims our friend and fellow LampizatOr fan 'Golden Gate' Robert Stanley] and I are invariably 'name that tune' fast and that was the way with the latest incarnation of the copper GM70 LampizatOr amplifiers played with a humble Amber DAC, ...so I made a mental note, "we are swapping our current models for an Amber DAC and a single ended Golden Gate as soon as possible!" Lukasz and I listened to various jazz and followed that with a point of reference for me by playing "Nothing is ever finished" by Fink, followed by another album of his that I didn’t realise existed, released in 2013 "Fink meets the Royal Concertgebouw Orchestra". It was all very special and I wish that I had booked a later flight for my return.
Lukasz showed me the new pride of his listening room, a beefy esoteric transport and I foolishly asked, "Is it modified?" Of course, "Everything is modified" came the swift reply.
I should add that Lukasz insists that the edge that I noted previously on the DAC7, has been smoothed out and that fact has now been confirmed by Robert who says that he has now heard a couple of 7 lite's that come scary close to his own boutique Golden Gate. Some serious refining has clearly been going on at headquarters, so that those entry level models, the Amber that I heard and 7 lite are excellent value with no excuses. A well partnered Amber is very acceptable and it seems those seeking the ultimate need not feel ashamed with their 7s if the 'Gucci Golden Gate' is fiscally out of reach, ...the 7 and GG are basically the same circuit anyway.
I should add that Lukasz insists that the edge that I noted previously on the DAC7, has been smoothed out and that fact has now been confirmed by Robert who says that he has now heard a couple of 7 lite's that come scary close to his own boutique Golden Gate. Some serious refining has clearly been going on at headquarters, so that those entry level models, the Amber that I heard and 7 lite are excellent value with no excuses. A well partnered Amber is very acceptable and it seems those seeking the ultimate need not feel ashamed with their 7s if the 'Gucci Golden Gate' is fiscally out of reach, ...the 7 and GG are basically the same circuit anyway.
As time grew short we made our way on a tour of the upper level of the artisan factory house, where in various large rooms, the team Lukasz has built up over the last couple of years into a well oiled machine of enthusiastic individuals were hard at work compiling various units, each member with his own speciality, the heroes that make those units that bring us such extraordinary pleasure. The hero responsible for fettling my new GM70s into submission, another responsible for the exceptional value entry level Amber DAC, the artist in charge of the high end Golden Gate DACs, each worthy of respect in their own right and as Lukas reports, they are no longer waiting for his instruction as in the early days, each knows their tasks well and takes the initiative to complete whatever is required by clients from around the world. They are clearly a talented, hard working and happy team.
One or other of the new Twin Tower 211 or the new series GM70 amplifiers were on my shopping list this trip but in the end I chose the new improved GM70s as they have now matured to the next level and gone is a low level hum that was apparent in the early versions that was my only criticism. Price is not an issue for me, only the most exquisite sound. It is an interesting balancing act that has to be played with the transformers, two of which are now encased in resin to aid the low noise floor, the former internal one has grown considerably in size [above Lukasz shows the underbelly labelled TOROIDY] and has now been repositioned outside to aid heat dissipation and to that end after four hours on I can report that they are certainly cooler than the original series, but the most impressive achievement is that low noise floor. I perceived only the noise of heat and no hum whatsoever. The third transformer has been kept as original because apparently this aids the sound reproduction.
In the end the only price you pay for the new amps apart from the €9000 + Tax cost (a little less than UK£8000 including VAT), is heat and that is an extremely acceptable price for the pinnacle of amplified sound reproduction that the LampizatOr GM70 Copper amplifiers provide. I have spent the last couple of years trying to find better amplifiers with a five figure budget, because the low level hum of the originals was intolerable for me as I sit less than two feet away from my amps in my primary listening position and to that end I have bought and sold five amplifiers in the attempt to find a replacement, including both transistor and valve types and nothing came close to the rightness of these amps. I am awaiting their arrival in the UK and I shall certainly write a review once I have had a week or two to live with them.
After completion by the team upstairs, every unit then goes downstairs to undergo two days of further testing by Lukasz himself in the Lampizator listening room to ensure integrity and sound quality.
Did I mention that Lukasz is a Buddhist? I think that's tongue in cheek, but his company motto is rather a give away to his pacifist nature that is always an admirable trait in my book.
My visit was over too soon, I had the pleasure of spending time with my extraordinary, humble, hero who was kind enough to chauffeur me back to Warsaw airport and like that, ...poof, ...I was gone.
Update 7th December 2015: As a final note, I mentioned my change of heart to some of the lads on the recent 211 twin towers thread and there were some questions so I called Lukasz for the details today. The power of the LampizatOr GM70 remains 22 Class-A WPC and consumption specs 180 WPC have remained the same. The major change that seems to have taken the reliability of the units to a new level has been the use of a silicone bridge rather than a tube rectifier. Apparently in the past if the rectifier tubes failed it caused havoc. Lukasz reports that the changes have been overwhelmingly positive with a better-controlled bass and an expanded 3D image, but a marginal degradation of timber for example when listening to the violin. This is the new design for all new LampizatOr amplifiers. I shall try to go more in depth with my upcoming 2016 model GM70 copper review that with any luck will be complete within the month.
THE BUNKER
***
Update 7th December 2015: As a final note, I mentioned my change of heart to some of the lads on the recent 211 twin towers thread and there were some questions so I called Lukasz for the details today. The power of the LampizatOr GM70 remains 22 Class-A WPC and consumption specs 180 WPC have remained the same. The major change that seems to have taken the reliability of the units to a new level has been the use of a silicone bridge rather than a tube rectifier. Apparently in the past if the rectifier tubes failed it caused havoc. Lukasz reports that the changes have been overwhelmingly positive with a better-controlled bass and an expanded 3D image, but a marginal degradation of timber for example when listening to the violin. This is the new design for all new LampizatOr amplifiers. I shall try to go more in depth with my upcoming 2016 model GM70 copper review that with any luck will be complete within the month.
Speakers: Spendor S100
Speaker Cables: Nordost Red Dawn
Mono Amplifiers: LampizatOr 2016 GM70 Copper
ICs: Polish Artisan Bespoke
DAC: LampizatOr Big6
Computer: iMac Special developed by myself
USB Cable: Generic Gold Plated
Transport: LampizatOr
Digital IC: LampizatOr Silver Shadow
Power Hub: Lampizator Flip SILK
Power Cables: Furutech Gold, Silver and Rhodium mix
for final flavour/tuning, with Oyaide 2.0 cable
Related links:
Power Hub: Lampizator Flip SILK
Power Cables: Furutech Gold, Silver and Rhodium mix
for final flavour/tuning, with Oyaide 2.0 cable
Related links:
World First: Lampizator 'BIG SIX' DAC - "The best sound we can possibly make"
LampizatOr HQ:
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