Lampizator Pacific

Hi Joe

That’s what I did yesterday, one single outlet feeding the power conditioner and everything plugged into the conditioner. I got the hum with the Pacific Dac and no hum with the Elyse Dac. As soon as I plug the LEFT RCA input from the Pacific into the GAT I get the static. The static does not happen with the RIGHT RCA input from the Pacific.

Today I spoke with Jeff at CJ who told me to eliminate the power conditioner and start with just the amp and preamp. Per his instructions I plugged the amp and the GAT into the single outlet (that fed the power conditioner) and no static hum. So this eliminates the amp and GAT as the source of the trouble? Next I connected the modwright Elyse Dac, no static hum and getting a clean music stream from Qobuz. Just taking a minute to enjoy....
 
Okay. Maybe a power strip, no conditioning, with multiple outlets will prove the theory. Good luck.
 
There's another member I have talked to that was having noise issues with the Lampi using single ended IC's he had to send it in for a tuneup to wiring scheme to resolve the issue. If your sure you don't have a problem with that specific pair of IC's you may need to contact Fred from Lampi. If you've got another pair of IC's around no matter the brand or quality try them to be sure the problem is coming from the DAC because they will ask you if you've tried it. You probably need to plug in both RCA's to complete the loop.
 
I’m pretty certain it’s the Lampi. Per Rob, I plugged the amp/pre to the same outlet, dead quiet. I have the pacific plugged into the power conditioner (different outlet); connect to preamp via RCA and there’s static, plug in the USB to pacific and static gets louder. This also happens if I switch the preamp to the power conditioner and the pacific into the wall. I have 4 sets of RCA, and the hum is a consistent finding. I am not having issues with my other Dac-modwright Elyse.
 
Last things to try before you contact Fred at Lampi. Plug everything but the amp into the line conditioner and plug the line conditioner into the top outlet of one duplex. Plug the amp into the bottom outlet in the same duplex. The whole setup is then on the same circuit if still noise then put a 50 cent cheater plug on the the Lampi into the line conditioner. If neither solves the problem then the Lampi has an internal ground issue and needs to be checked. The Lampi people are going to ask you if you've tried these things before they tell you to send it back so better to have exhausted all the possibilities on your end. Do not use the second duplex outlet.
 
I will try all combinations. Does it matter where I connect my NAS and streamer which connects to the DAC via USB.
 
For the sake of the test I would start with just the three pieces first and if you eliminate the hum using either one of the methods I described then connect the other two one at a time and if there is room in the conditioner then put them both on it with the preamp and the dac. Since we think the problem is the Lampi let's see if we can stop that hum first before adding any more moving parts.
 
I know he was trying to be helpful but Jeff at CJ's main interest was determining that the GAT was not causing the problem which he did.
 
Despite the inconvenience, I am totally loving the weight and presence of the music that’s coming through GATV2 and Elyse Dac. I will repeat all the combinations first thing Saturday after a good nite’s rest, making efforts to chart my findings.

Lest I forget, thank you all for taking the time to patiently walk me through this.
 
The Elyse is a first class dac in it's own right and in the end may be the better choice if you can't resolve the grounding issues with the Lampi.
 
Hum is mostly a system issue as anyone component cannot be the cause.
I have been busy but do want to solve your issue and this may help others
so let me ask some simple questions
if the LAMPI dac is off and Hums do this and comment
if the dac is unplugged does your setup hum ?
If you change the input to an unused one does your system hum ?
have you tried a small gauge wire as a ground from tje ground post of the LAMPI to a ground post or screw of your preamp ?
answer these then we move on.
lastly keep any WiFi router or access points closer then 5 feet. Also unplug these and take note. Hum is mostly a simple ground loop and can always be cured but it does need to done with a method and note taking.
good luck and please let be help you.
 
what happened to lampizator? they were on a real roll for a while with new products and great reception and i feel like i haven't heard anything about them for a while. i might be out of the loop, so just asking out of curiosity.
 
Skanda said:
what happened to lampizator? they were on a real roll for a while with new products and great reception and i feel like i haven't heard anything about them for a while. i might be out of the loop, so just asking out of curiosity.
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I think most Lampi fans are hanging out over at WBF...

Personally, I tried to live without a LampizatOr for some time but I'm now back on their new entry level which I find stunning to be honest. While this thread is about the TOP level Pacific, with some heritated digital engine from it the lower end models stand quite proud I'd say. I've never been this satisfied with my system as I am right now, and the LampizatOr Amber III has a great part in that!
 
Redphu said:
I’m pretty certain it’s the Lampi. Per Rob, I plugged the amp/pre to the same outlet, dead quiet. I have the pacific plugged into the power conditioner (different outlet); connect to preamp via RCA and there’s static, plug in the USB to pacific and static gets louder. This also happens if I switch the preamp to the power conditioner and the pacific into the wall. I have 4 sets of RCA, and the hum is a consistent finding. I am not having issues with my other Dac-modwright Elyse.
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I had a similar weird grounding issue as well. In my case, I traced my problem with the RCA between my passive preamp and Pacific. Weird part if I unplugged the cable on the pacific side, it would get significantly louder! In any case, it resolved itself in a weird way. One day I completely unplugged the cable and plugged it back in a few minutes later while moving equipment around and it solved itself. Weirdness. There was still a really slight hum with no music playing and not audible from more than 1 foot away. But it still bothered me.

In any case, I ended solving it by using a Star ground solution. In my case I used Nordost’s QBASE. Basically it is simply a very nice AC power strip with all the plugs but one having its earth ground impedance raised. Plug your preamp into the lower earth socket and everything else into the power strip. Theoretically, all the ground should run to preamp and be the same. I think pretty much any star ground solution works with similar principle. I would highly recommend anyone with weird ground humming issues to try such a solution. My system is almost dead quiet now
 
Good to hear. I am head over heels with my Pacific. Luckily, knock wood, no ground or hum issues here.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro
 
My Pacific is still sounding wondeful !

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Adam that looks incredible and I know with the M3s must sound even better than it looks. WOW!!!
 
fathead said:
Has anyone compared the Lampizator Pacific and Lumin X1
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No but I’ve compared it to the Nagra tube dac and to me it’s makes pacific sound round/softer, less naturaL, and Nagra takes it in resolution. For once I feel like it’s approximating live performance in my living room.
 
Redphu said:
No but I’ve compared it to the Nagra tube dac and to me it’s makes pacific sound round/softer, less naturaL, and Nagra takes it in resolution. For once I feel like it’s approximating live performance in my living room.
Click to expand...

That looks like a very nice DAC
 
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