Thread: New DAC recommendation after Lampizator ?

I love my Lampizator Big 7 Gen4 that I purchased Lukas directly couple of years ago, but lately it giving me the bit of trouble and all my tech guys in area refuse to fix it....sigh.... so trying to replace the unit that can compete with Lampi sounds.

My budget is under 8K wonder whats out there ,has to be reliable and hint of warms sounds.

Thank you in advance.

I was also going to suggest Bricasti. I really like the PS Audio Direct Stream but not so sure it would meet the warm criteria, perhaps the Perfect Wave would be better. The Direct Stream converts everything to DSD if that's any +/-.

I was able to hear the Lampi, I believe L7 and compare it to the Directstream, same system. The presentations were very different. The L7 sound was big and bold, that may be difficult to match.

I was jokingly going to say, is there anywhere to go from Lampi? Have you contacted Fred or emailed Lukas? My friend is a Lampi user and they always seem to take care of him.

Originally Posted by GSOphile

Several that might interest: Bricasti M1 (used?); PS Audio Direct Stream; Ayre QX-5 Twenty (new modular pricing based on inputs selected).

My friend just traded in Bricasti to PS audio and quiet happy with it. Its on my list too. Thanks

Originally Posted by Mr Peabody

I was able to hear the Lampi, I believe L7 and compare it to the Directstream, same system. The presentations were very different. The L7 sound was big and bold, that may be difficult to match.

I was jokingly going to say, is there anywhere to go from Lampi? Have you contacted Fred or emailed Lukas? My friend is a Lampi user and they always seem to take care of him.

Yes, I hear you. I brought my Lampi to PS audio dealer to compare it and it was same result. The Lampi sounded much more big and bold.

I sent message to Lukas but haven't heard back from him yet. I'm sure he's busy with new Dac he launched. I get too much hissing sounds from my DAC its so noticeable now and time to do something.

Paul

Look at Aqua La Scala Mk. II Optologic, it has a tube/Mosfet hybrid circuit. Atelier Audio in Montreal is the Canadian Distributor. I deal with Mark at Well Pleased AV who is the US distributor. Also Joe has owned the Lampi and the Ayre and now a Directstream DAC so talk to him about the differences.

LUMIN A1. Very analog sounding.

Mike

I thought he had a Lumin?

Paul

Another thought, though way below your stated maximum, is the Musical Paradise unit that many of us have owned and I still use everyday. I assume from all you years with tube gear that you have a stash of rectifiers and small signal tubes so you can order the unit with the AKM 4497 DAC chipset and the stock tubes. Once it has hours on it you can roll the tubes or if you feel the need the capacitors all of which you can get locally from Chris at Parts Connexion if you don't have them. You would be out about $1500 and you may be surprised like I have. Garry's in Edmonton so you can contact him in advance of buying.

Paul, the Aqua Formula would be right up your alley.

i cant see you liking Bricasti with your preferences.

I've asked myself this question a few times lately as every now and then I feel that all the exposed tubes is a bit inconvenient for me due to lack of space etc. I have been looking around for alternatives, and as per KeithR's suggestion above I tend to come back to the Aqua Formula. I have not heard it yet though. The Formula is also quite expensive, but they do seem to take care of their customers with upgrades etc, just as LampizatOr does. Other DAC's that has been on my radar includes Playback Design Merlot and MSB Analog. However, I still love my Lampi very much and I'm not sure that I can see myself parting ways with it.

Generation 4 is also getting quite old, maybe you should look into upgrading or refurbishing your Big7 into today's specs instead of going sideways/backwards? I'm pretty sure Lampi would help you and take care of the issues you are experiencing. My own Lampi journey has been from L4G5, Atlantic to Golden Atlantic and I think with each model they have felt more mature and polished.

Originally Posted by Jack

Paul

Another thought, though way below your stated maximum, is the Musical Paradise unit that many of us have owned and I still use everyday. I assume from all you years with tube gear that you have a stash of rectifiers and small signal tubes so you can order the unit with the AKM 4497 DAC chipset and the stock tubes. Once it has hours on it you can roll the tubes or if you feel the need the capacitors all of which you can get locally from Chris at Parts Connexion if you don't have them. You would be out about $1500 and you may be surprised like I have. Garry's in Edmonton so you can contact him in advance of buying.

Thanks Jack. Interesting. I never heard them either. I might contact Chris at Parts Connextion I made several business with him before. Thanks for advise.


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Originally Posted by KeithR

Paul, the Aqua Formula would be right up your alley.

i cant see you liking Bricasti with your preferences.

Hmmm I would love to hear the Aqua. Which I never heard/seen it before. Have you heard it Keith ?


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Originally Posted by Gopher

What country are you in, Paul? We do have a warranty program and our own techs in the US...

We also have a very generous trade in program that could easily get your a much fresher Lampi within your budget... If you loved your gen 4 for so long, you really need to hear where we are today as we trickle out generation 6.

I'm in Toronto Canada Gopher. I contacted some well known tube gear guru and either no reply or refuse to touch with it. What is the my option Gopher ? I was really happy with the sounds of my DAC except recent noise issue and ofcoz push button on DSD whenever I like to listen to DSD.


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Paul

Atelier is just the distributor so check with them and see if they have a stocking dealer in your area. The model Keith is referring to is about $15K the one below it with the tube input section is about half that.

Paul,

I am sure you know of Lampizator's generous upgrade route so that should be your first choice IMO.
But if you are on the lookout for alternatives, two brands that have impressed me are TotalDAC and Aqua.

The TotalDAC sound is very organic and the least "digital" - forgive the cliche.

At Munich in May, three very good rooms had TotalDAC stacks - Engstrom, Marten and Absolare.
I have no idea about sales support for TotalDAC in Canada.

Regards

Originally Posted by Nikhil

Paul,

I am sure you know of Lampizator's generous upgrade route so that should be your first choice IMO.
But if you are on the lookout for alternatives, two brands that have impressed me are TotalDAC and Aqua.

The TotalDAC sound is very organic and the least "digital" - forgive the cliche.

At Munich in May, three very good rooms had TotalDAC stacks - Engstrom, Marten and Absolare.
I have no idea about sales support for TotalDAC in Canada.

Regards

I concur on the TotalDac. I’ve been auditioning a TotalDac d1-12 with a custom power supply. It ranks up there at the very top with the best I’ve heard in my room. It has the right level of detail plus the necessary harmonic structure to produce REAL music. Very engaging.


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Originally Posted by Paul

Hmmm I would love to hear the Aqua. Which I never heard/seen it before. Have you heard it Keith ?

Paul, yes I've heard the $14k, SS Aqua Formula - though not the less expensive tube-based dac they produce which also gets good reviews.

Mike sums up its qualities quite well - which I feel goes along with your prior purchases and musical preferences. It is also upgradeable which I feel is mandatory at the 10k+ level.

full disclosure- I prefer MSB to the Aqua (and all dacs I have heard for that matter), but feel you would prefer the latter. The Totaldac would seem another good option, but I have not personally heard one to comment.

Originally Posted by bonzo

Hi Paul, the difference between generations in Lampi is big and as is between big 7 and GG. Also, tubes themselves are a phenomenal upgrade. I suggest that if you do not have a Canadian distro, go via Gopher or Mike. Lukasz unfortunately is not the best at emails, and I heard he lost an office admin recently who would sift through emails. The clock upgrade, R2R, other circuitry changes, the DSD 512 are massive upgrades.

Also in R2r you do not have to press the button to change between PCM and DSD

Thank you so much for great information. Quick question though. Do you think the DSD512 is necessary ?

Originally Posted by Mike Lavigne

I moved from the Lampi GG to the Aqua Formula.....so a similar move you are contemplating.

the Formula does have excellent levels of mid range body and weight for solid state. nothing thread bare or lean about it. and I would agree that as it's modular it's more future-proof than many choices.

Thanks Mike. Good to know you are happy with Aqua. Only problem is buying the stuff without hearing is my question....

Originally Posted by KeithR

Paul, yes I've heard the $14k, SS Aqua Formula - though not the less expensive tube-based dac they produce which also gets good reviews.

Mike sums up its qualities quite well - which I feel goes along with your prior purchases and musical preferences. It is also upgradeable which I feel is mandatory at the 10k+ level.

full disclosure- I prefer MSB to the Aqua (and all dacs I have heard for that matter), but feel you would prefer the latter. The Totaldac would seem another good option, but I have not personally heard one to comment.

Thanks Keith as always,

Originally Posted by bonzo

Necessary, no, but good to have, yes. The DSD 512 engine on some music sounds better than all otter DSD and PCM, even if you are running it at DSD 64. But the PCM itself is good enough.

Thanks I will give some thought. I never had one and was toally happy with the sounds with my Big7.

Originally Posted by Paul

Yes, I hear you. I brought my Lampi to PS audio dealer to compare it and it was same result. The Lampi sounded much more big and bold.

I sent message to Lukas but haven't heard back from him yet. I'm sure he's busy with new Dac he launched. I get too much hissing sounds from my DAC its so noticeable now and time to do something.

Cheaper to send back to Poland for a refresh than to shell out $8K!
Call Lukasz directly, as its easier than trying to stand out in a cloud of 500 daily emails.

As Bonzo said, current B7 with superclock, R2R, DSD512 will be 2 levels above what you have now and all in will not set you back more than about $3K. AL has a B7 HeadDac that has gone back to Poland at least 3 times for tweaks and he says it clearly beats his retail $40K MSB diamond (or platinum) with Galaxy 2 clock upgrades.

Speaking about Lampi... have you guys seen the new and much needed refreshed website? It looks to be official, not sure why there's a new domain name though....

https://www.lampizatorpoland.com/

It has prices and details about the new Pacific in various configurations. But the most interesting page is the customer care page which I think anyone ever having doubts about buying a Lampi should read. This is how you work with your customers during several DAC generations... all thumbs up!

Originally Posted by wisnon

Cheaper to send back to Poland for a refresh than to shell out $8K!
Call Lukasz directly, as its easier than trying to stand out in a cloud of 500 daily emails.

As Bonzo said, current B7 with superclock, R2R, DSD512 will be 2 levels above what you have now and all in will not set you back more than about $3K. AL has a B7 HeadDac that has gone back to Poland at least 3 times for tweaks and he says it clearly beats his retail $40K MSB diamond (or platinum) with Galaxy 2 clock upgrades.

Thanks. Would you able to tell me the difference of new B7 vs Atlantic ?


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Hi Paul,

Please keep in mind, as good as the Atlantic is, the Golden Atlantic we talked about is a whole other beast than the regular Atlantic. This is the same as how the Golden Gate is clearly a different beast than the Big 7.

Originally Posted by Paul

Thanks. Would you able to tell me the difference of new B7 vs Atlantic ?


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Atlantic is more HF extended but not as "full" as the GG, cant recall vs the B7 (générations of GG and B7 also matter). Output tubes not rollable, only the recti, which does make a big difference to the sound. The Lampi anniversary KR5u4g and the "cheap" double mica 5r4gy are Kings here.

GA is a cut above the Atlantic Plus, and comes with standard goodies like Superclocks and DSD512 engine. Mike had one in his showroom in Sarasota with the AG Unos driven by Lampi 211 monoblocs and the room was GREAT.

You wont go wrong with the GA.

Originally Posted by wisnon

Atlantic is more HF extended but not as "full" as the GG, cant recall vs the B7 (générations of GG and B7 also matter). Output tubes not rollable, only the recti, which does make a big difference to the sound. The Lampi anniversary KR5u4g and the "cheap" double mica 5r4gy are Kings here.

GA is a cut above the Atlantic Plus, and comes with standard goodies like Superclocks and DSD512 engine. Mike had one in his showroom in Sarasota with the AG Unos driven by Lampi 211 monoblocs and the room was GREAT.

You wont go wrong with the GA.

Thanks winsnon. I meant the Golden Atlantic from beginning anyway. Sorry I can't keep up these new product and names. Lol.

According to Gopher the DSD512 is still option on GA. Not standard. I wish it was.


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Originally Posted by Radiohead

It's very difficult to do better than Lampi if you like the sound. I've lived with Lampi dacs for several years starting from L4, G4 to the two box version L7. I wanted to move away from tubes and settled with T+A DAC8 DSD. I exclusively upsample everything to DSD 512 through my T+A. I'm extremely happy with T+A for the past couple of years or so.

You are the second person went to T+A. Must be nice sounding dac.


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Upsampling does not improve most music on my GG. The latest consensus among a group of Lampi power users is that it's a bandaid that is NOT needed with a proper front end Server. Upsmapling DSD is always a losing proposition and only Some PCM benefits. HQP native rate kicks butt and can easily be controlled by Roon. Roon itself is also getting better.

Every 6 months things change in this game and thats why I appreciate Lukasz keeping his stuff updated with constant improving.

The latest trinket I see from him on Facebook is a Lampisized Tascam 300 ADC that he claims give the SWEETEST vinyl drop to DSDrip he ever heard. i goota get me some of that!

https://www.facebook.com/FikusLampi/...08913116394489

Originally Posted by Paul

You are the second person went to T+A. Must be nice sounding dac.


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I have a reviewer Buddy who had one and a SGM at the same time. He was initially smitten and send back his GG gen1 for a refresh before sale to finance the SGM/Dac 8 combo. He said the PCM on the Dac 8 was "Meh", but the upsample to DSD512 was superb with the SGM ...a $20K combo.

Long story short, when the GG came back with new firmware and Superclocks...sale cancelled immediately and the prospective buyer was PISSED! Hahaha. He said the PCM was now virtually equal to the Lampi chipless DSD!

Version matter, tubes matter and with auto switching between the R2R PCM and DSD, flexibility mattered too.

You must do what is right for you, so trust your own instincts.

Originally Posted by a.wayne

Agree with upsampling always found the results negative ....

Agreed - and it's no different, IMO, at the Mastering level. If the master is 24/96, the 24/192 usually sounds worse. Leave it the heck alone. It's nothing but a money grab for HD Tracks and others. Another reason I love MQA. No post Mastering upsampling BS.


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Originally Posted by Mike

Agreed - and it's no different, IMO, at the Mastering level. If the master is 24/96, the 24/192 usually sounds worse. Leave it the heck alone. It's nothing but a money grab for HD Tracks and others. Another reason I love MQA. No post Mastering upsampling BS.


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+2

Upsampling in my opinion has always degraded the sound in every system and with every DAC I’ve ever owned. I’ve done exhaustive comparisons. At times there has appeared to be a bit more detail but the midrange almost always became thinner and the treble more edgy. I always play at the native sampling rate now.

Ken

Originally Posted by shadowlight

So are the power users now saying that 512 DSD is no longer needed? Why bother paying for it if it does not provide any benefit.

For the record, I’ve never owned Lampi or upsampled to DSD 512. I primarily listen to PCM. So your results could most definitely vary!!!

Best,
Ken

Originally Posted by shadowlight

So are the power users now saying that 512 DSD is no longer needed? Why bother paying for it if it does not provide any benefit.

Cause the 512 engine sounds better at EVERY native rate than the 256 engine!

Also, not what I said, upsampling (using the best in class HQP) does NOt help every song. Clearly it does help some, but not all and perhaps not even the majority.

Originally Posted by Alpinist

+2

Upsampling in my opinion has always degraded the sound in every system and with every DAC I’ve ever owned. I’ve done exhaustive comparisons. At times there has appeared to be a bit more detail but the midrange almost always became thinner and the treble more edgy. I always play at the native sampling rate now.

Ken

It dépends on which algorithms you use, the source material and the filter selection. JRiver cant compare to HQP. Even when using HQP, you need to figure out the right filters to use from a huge selection permutation.