Lampizator Golden Atlantic DAC

BayStBroker said:
I've had the PS Audio "Ted Smith" Directstream DAC, which retails approximately as much as the A+. Very, very different animals I understand. My motivation for buying the Lampi is that lately my analogue sounds so much better than my digital that it detracts from my enjoyment. This dates to my adding the A95 cartridge. I'm hoping the Lampizator closes the gap. I spent some time talking to Lukas and listening to the GA in Chicago.
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That's a very nice turntable + cart + phono stage you have there. No wonder your analog system sounds so much better than your current digital. I wanted my DAC to be in a similar price range to my turntable + cart + phono stage for a fair comparison, but with the incoming GA DAC I'm going to be looking for some upgrades to the analog system. It never ends...

I've been enjoying playing the same track through the Atlantic DAC and also on vinyl through my preamp at the same time. With a press of a button on the remote of the preamp I can instantly change the source. It's made for some very interesting comparisons.
 
I've been running my A+ since October last year and prior to that I had the normal Atlantic Dac, last week thanks to Christoph in Lichtenstein for the loan and Bonzo for being a fantastic courier I'm know running the Dac with a vintage Haltron 5R4GY rectifier. This tube IMHO takes the Dac to another level, at the price point The A+ is an absolute steal !
 
Hi Lee,

I hooked Chris up with that Haltron. He would not let me part with it. LoL
Best bargain tube recti that you can find on Ebay, but you have to wait for them, as its not an everyday thing. They never run over $50, except if they have Brimar or Fivre label (overpriced).

Ultimate kudos must go to Shawn Fox who let us all know that this tube construct is a giant killer. I have seen Haltron/Fivre/Brimar/Zaerix/CEI/Certron labels on these double mica 5R4 rectis.

His buddy Michael has a GA and double Mica recti. I need to reconfirm how well it works in a GA vs an A+.
 
Yeah those are nice rectifiers. I have a couple. Labelled Haltron and Ultron, but by looking at the construction I think they are made by Brimar.

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The A+ has really won me over during its first five days in my listening room. I can't remember the last time I tapped my toes or rocked my head so frequently in response to digital sound.

DSD is a leg up, but the PCM R2R engine with superclocks is also incredibly involving. Right now I'm listening to the White Album in 24/44 and I'm transfixed. The back of my unit indicates DSD 256/512, so at some point I am going to figure out how to run Tidal with HQplayer in DSD512. Meanwhile, I am very pleased with this purchase.
 
BaySt.
I am very happy for you. I agree that its a wonderful machine.
 
BayStBroker said:
The A+ has really won me over during its first five days in my listening room. I can't remember the last time I tapped my toes or rocked my head so frequently in response to digital sound.

DSD is a leg up, but the PCM R2R engine with superclocks is also incredibly involving. Right now I'm listening to the White Album in 24/44 and I'm transfixed. The back of my unit indicates DSD 256/512, so at some point I am going to figure out how to run Tidal with HQplayer in DSD512. Meanwhile, I am very pleased with this purchase.
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Congratulations! Not a surprise to read, but always very happy to see it.

The Atlantic series of DACs are a seriously good value.
 
Gopher said:
Congratulations! Not a surprise to read, but always very happy to see it.

The Atlantic series of DACs are a seriously good value.
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Really, they are not that much cheaper than a Level 7, around 1000 euros cheaper.
 
He is incorrect that most of the GG magic has worked its way in to GA. That is true if you are listening to simple music. The dynamics, separation, scale, extension, and bass in the GG differentiates itself a lot the moment you put in orchestral. Also the tubes add much more drive and dynamics, so I disagree with his drive points. Tube rolling matches gain, and once the gain matching falls in place with the pre and power (something analog guys do on a regular basis), the drive, dynamics, jump goes up considerably.
 
Big mistake not to get the DSD512 chipless module, given he is a DSD lover.

He thinks its about the 512 capability (which only has value in upsampling). However, its a more elaborate DSD implementations and beats the DSD256 engine at every DSD playback rate.
 
I'm a little confused about the DSD engines, of which there seem to be three. The default is chip based DSD256. The R2R PCM implementation would seem to be different, but it is hard to see how the resistor ladder would work with single-bit music data (DSD). Finally there is DSD512, which I agree sounds best, even with SACD quality DSD. I've heard it describe as chipless. Does this mean it is a hand-coded FPGA akin to the Ted Smith implementation in the PS Audio Directstream?
 
Bay, there are just 2. There is a mini-chipless DSD256 engine dependent on the R2R pathway and an optional full blown independent "chipless" that does 512. The difference really is that the optional one is much bigger/more elaborately implemented.

No FPGA decoding, just elaborate filtering and as the website says, no additives, no preservatives!
 
Did I read correctly somewhere that there is actually a preamp section of sorts in the GA, if equipped with the volume control? As compared to the A+ w/ volume control just being a simpler attenuator vc??
 
While it is technically an active preamplifier, in so far as all passive parts occur before the tube amplification stage, the Golden Atlantic shares the same volume control as the regular Atlantic.

The Pacific however enjoys a new upgraded volume control solution.
 
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