Elrogs and Takatsuki in a Lampizator Big 7

BruceLet

BruceLet

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It's taken me a while to post this. I recently bought a Lampizator Big 7. I sold my Ayre QB9 DSD and my Berkeley Alpha DAC 2. I could have lived with the Ayre or Berkeley long term and been happy, until the B7 came along.

My friend Andy and I recently spent an afternoon comparing different output tubes. We decided that the Western Electric 422A rectifier would be the constant in the comparison. The output tubes that we wanted to compare were a pair of Elrog 300Bs and a pair of Takatsuki 300Bs.

We listened to the same tracks over and over with each pair of tubes. Both are great sounding tubes and I am happy to have the luxury of being able to listen to either of them in my system. I have to say that the differences were not great, but were distinct. Each had their strengths. Neither seemed to have a weakness. I deferred to Andy while listening, because he is much more familiar with the Lampizator, having owned a number of them.

After a couple of hours listening, we both felt that the Elrogs were slightly sweeter sounding and had a fuller bass….beautiful with vocals and Jazz. I could have stopped right there. There was nothing missing. The Takatsuki were a bit more dynamic and detailed, with slightly less, but a tighter and more tuneful, bass……Beautiful with vocal and jazz also, but if you listen to rock, they might make you happier. Still full and sweet, with nothing lacking, the Takatsuki are smooth and exciting.

Both sets of tubes were balanced, coherent and dynamic. Neither tube added a coloration anywhere across the frequency range. If you are looking for a romantic, lush vintage sound, you will not find that here. I am surprised at how neutral the sound is, while still bringing the magic of tubes.

I don't want to say that I have a preference, because I love the system with whichever pair is in there. I listen to all kinds of music and would be happy living with either. The sound is the biggest I have ever had in my system, clean, detailed and sweet, with air and a beautiful top end, (great Salon 2 tweeter and the Raidho ribbon)…..so exciting, filling the room and extending beyond the speakers. My Salon 2s sound explosive, with an "in the room" presentation, and my Raidho D1s are doing what they always do, but better….3D like no other speaker.
 
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Awesome Bruce.

I was at Bruce's when a preliminary Elrog test took place with a pair Psvane 300B WE replicas and a pair of stock 300B's were swapped in and out. The Elrog tubes in that quick test won but based on what Bruce is saying now about the Takatsuki tubes leads me to think they'd be my preference long term. I have no intention of buying 4 of any of the expensive tubes right now but maybe as a Christmas present to myself.

The great thing about our Lampizator dacs is tube rolling gives clear and tangible changes in the sound, it starts out great and only gets better :D
 
Hi guys,

Sound like fun with Andy! Say hi to him for me, as we have not spoken since we met up in Geneva.
 
BruceLet said:
It's taken me a while to post this. I recently bought a Lampizator Big 7. I sold my Ayre QB9 DSD and my Berkeley Alpha DAC 2. I could have lived with the Ayre or Berkeley long term and been happy, until the B7 came along.

My friend Andy and I recently spent an afternoon comparing different output tubes. We decided that the RCA 422A rectifier would be the constant in the comparison. The output tubes that we wanted to compare were a pair of Elrog 300Bs and a pair of Takatsuki 300Bs.

We listened to the same tracks over and over with each pair of tubes. Both are great sounding tubes and I am happy to have the luxury of being able to listen to either of them in my system. I have to say that the differences were not great, but were distinct. Each had their strengths. Neither seemed to have a weakness. I deferred to Andy while listening, because he is much more familiar with the Lampizator, having owned a number of them.

After a couple of hours listening, we both felt that the Elrogs were slightly sweeter sounding and had a fuller base….beautiful with vocals and Jazz. I could have stopped right there. There was nothing missing. The Takatsuki were a bit more dynamic and detailed, with slightly less, but a tighter and more tuneful, base……Beautiful with vocal and jazz also, but if you listen to rock, they might make you happier. Still full and sweet, with nothing lacking, the Takatsuki are smooth and exciting.

Both sets of tubes were balanced, coherent and dynamic. Neither tube added a coloration anywhere across the frequency range. If you are looking for a romantic, lush vintage sound, you will not find that here. I am surprised at how neutral the sound is, while still bringing the magic of tubes.

I don't want to say that I have a preference, because I love the system with whichever pair is in there. I listen to all kinds of music and would be happy living with either. The sound is the biggest I have ever had in my system, clean, detailed and sweet, with air and a beautiful top end, (great Salon 2 tweeter and the Raidho ribbon)…..so exciting, filling the room and extending beyond the speakers. My Salon 2s sound explosive, with an "in the room" presentation, and my Raidho D1s are doing what they always do, but better….3D like no other speaker.
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Nicely done. You are sparing no expense with those tubes....lordy....
 
joeinid said:
Awesome Bruce.

I was at Bruce's when a preliminary Elrog test took place with a pair Psvane 300B WE replicas and a pair of stock 300B's were swapped in and out. The Elrog tubes in that quick test won but based on what Bruce is saying now about the Takatsuki tubes leads me to think they'd be my preference long term. I have no intention of buying 4 of any of the expensive tubes right now but maybe as a Christmas present to myself.

The great thing about our Lampizator dacs is tube rolling gives clear and tangible changes in the sound, it starts out great and only gets better :D
Click to expand...

A christmas present to yourself? It seems like its always christmas for you my friend....
 
Bruce, you're not helping me stay away from the Lampi :exciting:

I hope Mike does't bring that DAC when he visits, I don't want to sell my Lumin.
 
Mark, I would love for you to demo it and hear for yourself. I think the quality that may make you the happiest is the BIG presentation.
 
BruceLet said:
Mark, I would love for you to demo it and hear for yourself. I think the quality that may make you the happiest is the BIG presentation.
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I agree, the first thing you notice is how close the musicians are to you and how big (left to right) and deep the sound stage is in the room. Depending on the rectifier, I can feel nose to nose to my favorite singers.
 
joeinid said:
I agree, the first thing you notice is how close the musicians are to you and how big (left to right) and deep the sound stage is in the room. Depending on the rectifier, I can feel nose to nose to my favorite singers.
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...who spits the most :fingers:
 
joeinid said:
I agree, the first thing you notice is how close the musicians are to you and how big (left to right) and deep the sound stage is in the room. Depending on the rectifier, I can feel nose to nose to my favorite singers.
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I'm trying to come to grips with your statements and wonder if other owners of the same Lampi you have feel the same way. My only experience with Lampi was their Level 4 DAC I reviewed. I know the Level 4 is much lower on the Lampi food chain, but it is still a tube DAC and it did some things that I hadn't heard digital do before (strictly talking DSD playback). Lots of digital has what I call an artificial noise floor. Below a certain level of sound, digital just stops and goes to instant black. With analog and depending on the noise floor of your system, the sound just keeps trailing off far longer than some people realize. The Lampi Level 4 was the first DAC I have heard that actually can hang onto the music as it is fading out without just pulling the curtain before the music has really stopped.

However, I never had the feeling that my seat had been shoved up on stage and that I was nose to nose with any musician. That doesn't sound like a realistic or natural perspective into the soundstage to me. So my question is, do other Lampi owners hear the same thing Joe is hearing?
 
Mark,

It depends on the rectifier used and I am exaggerating a little here but there is no doubt, the "in the room presence" is undeniable, at least for me. Not exactly on stage, but i do feel closer to the musicians.

I do not feel that anything is artificial in any way. I have never felt so connected to my music like I do with my Lampizator, especially the combo.
 
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Nose to nose is pretty close Joe and count me in as a Lampizator fan.
 
mep said:
Nose to nose is pretty close Joe and count me in as a Lampizator fan.
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Mark, Joe is running Balanced with the big bottles and also Bal amp as well. Not many have what he does and I would love to hear it myself. If I lived in NYC, I would have presumptuously invited myself over for a listen and Greek food. You hear that Joe?? Hahahahahahah.
 
wisnon said:
Mark, Joe is running Balanced with the big bottles and also Bal amp as well. Not many have what he does and I would love to hear it myself. If I lived in NYC, I would have presumptuously invited myself over for a listen and Greek food. You hear that Joe?? Hahahahahahah.
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ALWAYS welcome, seriously. I know a few Greek places but I'm hot blooded Sicilian with a little extra thrown in :D

Talk soon, I need to get to bed. I can not turn off my music, it's that good.
 
mep said:
I'm trying to come to grips with your statements and wonder if other owners of the same Lampi you have feel the same way. My only experience with Lampi was their Level 4 DAC I reviewed. I know the Level 4 is much lower on the Lampi food chain, but it is still a tube DAC and it did some things that I hadn't heard digital do before (strictly talking DSD playback). Lots of digital has what I call an artificial noise floor. Below a certain level of sound, digital just stops and goes to instant black. With analog and depending on the noise floor of your system, the sound just keeps trailing off far longer than some people realize. The Lampi Level 4 was the first DAC I have heard that actually can hang onto the music as it is fading out without just pulling the curtain before the music has really stopped.

However, I never had the feeling that my seat had been shoved up on stage and that I was nose to nose with any musician. That doesn't sound like a realistic or natural perspective into the soundstage to me. So my question is, do other Lampi owners hear the same thing Joe is hearing?
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Mep as a Lampi fan I can say my L5 was not really a SOTA dac when it came to complex music. Others like Metronome, and other SS dacs/CDPs were better. So when my B7 blew away the L5, and I bought it, I was still unsure if I had made the right decision. It took me a few SS SOTA dacs/CDP comparisons to realize not only was I right, but that small step for me, was indeed a giant leap for audiophilia...or something like that
 
Bonzo,

Thank you for your input. We all hear a little differently, but it's great to read you like the B7. I'm really happy with mine and can't see going back.
 
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