"To Lampi or not to Lampi?....That is the question." by William Shake-it-up

I have had in my posesion no less than 7 lampi,s. From the small level 4 to 3 B 7 and the new headac. No unit had any issues . But as I loaned my unit to a couple of freinds. One had hum in his home . Hum is a case by case basis I was able to eliminate it. With a power strip and a new water ground clamp in his home. Being a electrical engineer had its merits in audio . I did have A friend who had serious tube noises. But changing the tubes fixed it. Let's face it there is no perfection in any device but customer support and forums with many who own the product rules. Ps audio has great support and great forums too. They also have had there Share of issues and its completely PC boards . Same was with my audio Gd dac. They to had good support. What was not cool was my 40 K msb dac that just plugging in my usb while it was on and the computor was on too . Locked up my usb Input. Tech support advised it to be sent back to msb. I Was lucky to have an idea . I reloaded the usb update firmware and it worked . Not even msb new of this fix. And go find a forum for msb. I only know of two people with one. Not counting the analog ones . There is no doubt that our audio devices have issues playing well with some devices . But having people to post with and getting answers from those who have boldly gone before you matters the most to me.
Al
 
SMDH
That is the same design Dac my pal Marcel bought in December (Blackdog). Only 3 were ever made in that design. Here is HIS feedback of the exact unit

Perfect!!

To
  • Lukasz Fikus​
CC
  • me

    ​
  • ​

  • Hello Lukasz

    I received the DAC yesterday and was listening a long time alreadyJ Now it’s pure pleasure to listen, I can tell I never heard a better DAC.

    Specially the depth behind the Loudspeaker is now huge, all other DAC’s are flat in comparison. Only the AcoustcPlan has a little bit of that space/room.
    For me is the searching for a DAC now history.


    Regards and thank you
    Marcel






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I hope that the G5 PCB editions get out there more so that the credibility factor of this brand can be lifted. It certainly has a cult following but Lampizator has also been demonstrated as either a love or hate relationship.

Everyone wants the DAC magic but nobody wants be stuck with a bitter lemon.
 
blackdog said:
A dealer asked me to check out two units that he had brought in due to some issues. Here's a list of the things I found technically wrong. These were customized level 4 DAC's

Fit and finish of the very cheap chassis was terrible.
It had a significant 60hz hum.
At any level above -20dB it was too hissy and it was volume dependent. -20db gave it a 1.8V output using standard measurement.
The tubes supplied were very microphonic, and changing them would be a nightmare due to the cheap chassis.
It was ordered with USB and two S/PDIF inputs, it was shipped with only one S/PDIF along with the USB.
The remote was from an LG TV and didn't work most of the time.
For the most part it sounded good, but microphonics from the tubes was a problem.
Heat inside the enclosure would have led to failures - no venting for the heat from the tubes. Lukasz didn't think it would be a problem.
Unit was built using 4 circuit boards of varying quality, the wiring between boards was sloppy and had several bad connections that needed repairing before the DAC would work properly.
Lukasz was completely unresponsive to the issues.
The price was way out of line for the build and quality issues.

Both DAC's were sent back
I'm sorry to be so negative about this product as I really wanted to like it, but as delivered they were unsellable.
Click to expand...

Dan,

Thanks for your honest feedback. Can you do me a favor and give us the time frame of these circumstances. As I tried to indicate in my OP, the company has changed (grown and improved) significantly in the last couple of years and a big part of this exercise is to determine the recency of the findings. Thanks!
 
Paul,
I don't know when they were built. But they were delivered to the dealer around Christmas and I had them mid January.
I really think that if he reduced the gain of his analog stage and cleaned up the build quality he would have something (and maybe a good remote too).
 
5 of the seven lampi s I have listened too meaning had in one of my systems were point to point soldered
Starting from about 2 1/2 years ago. Only the last 3 months are they pcb and these two were B7 and the new head dac
Hope this helps
 
So my tally of participants on this thread with firsthand experience goes 6 positive and 1 negative as shown below. Although, I would argue at this level no negatives should be tolerated by an owner (particularly comments as negative as Blackdogs.) That said, I have a unrelenting desire to give this dac a try.

Positive Members
JLAudio - "There was a beautiful flowing quality to the music that no other dac has displayed."

Mep - "I damn sure love the way it sounds."

Elberoth - Various positive statements on different threads.

findog - "my experience with the Lampi name (Fred, Lukasz and Taras) have only been positive."

Alrainbow - "I have had in my possession no less than 7 lampi,s. From the small level 4 to 3 B 7 and the new headac. No unit had any issues ."

Wisnon - Various positive statements on different threads.


Negative Members
Blackdog - Various negative comments on engineering, fit and finish, and microphonics.



 
Hi Paul,

Thanks for closing the loop from your original post. It seems that most of the Lampi posters have migrated back to WBF. Do you think you are going to audition one of the models?

Best,
Ken
 
Well Paul, I guess you chose to ignore the fact that Jerry's had to go back to Poland for repairs only a few days after receiving it. What about Adam's early experiences with buzzing and humming? Unfortunately Joe and Bruce chose not to chime in - likely afraid of the wrath of Norman.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
How can you speak for others who did not. Why not speak for me then about my other dacs that had issues. For what ever reason you seem slighted about a fine product so spill it already why ???
 
Because I spoke to them first hand while they were listening - multiple times. They said it sounded bright, thin and nasty and noisy as heck and “something was clearly wrong with it.” Build quality was one step away from DIY.

Paul, I have sent you an email I received TODAY from a very trusted source. Maybe NOW you will believe me. I look forward to your comments on this new little nugget. This is the stuff I hear privately DAILY.

Paul, it surprises me you would even consider this product. I know you. You do your homework. You seek out knowledge from trusted resources like David at Design Audio. And ultimately, you seek out the best sounding and engineered products – one of the reasons you gravitate toward Soulution.

Look, I'm done trying to be the good Samaritan. Paul has all the evidence he needs to make an informed decision now. If people want to ignore all the horror stories I've heard, then I wish them luck. If I was in the market for a DAC (I'm not, as I much prefer a network music player) in that price range, there are a lot of better, properly engineered DAC's I would buy from real companies - including the Berkley Reference DAC (and suffer the conversion of DSD to PCM). At the end of the day, I thought $13,000 or $17,000 was a lot of money, but I guess not.

Ultimately, people will buy what they want to buy and suffer the consequences or enjoy the fruits. Once again, Caveat emptor.
 
So now you seem to be the one designated to do a call to action against lampi lol. Why do you hate them so much. It seems a waiste of ones time.
A while back I bought a hugo
It was supposed to be the best dac and some insisted it was better than a 10 K. Dac. One person claims it's as good as there 45K msb stack.
I bought it to be used with my ciems and an iPhone As a transport. THe dac is far from great and honestly not worth the 2500 I payed for it.
My point is not all products are as good as what we read
Unfortunately for you the lampi products exceeds it's expectations
But some how this is not good enough for you. You need to find the few unhappy people and exploit there stories as your own

What's wrong with you to hate a company so much. And make the happy people wonder if they made the right choice. Not cool to bash as you do not own one.
I sometimes bash ps audio DS dac. But hey I own one.
Buy one already then you have earned the right to gripe until then shut up. Myles I like this website but this mike guy has ruined this place for me.
Hatred is bad business for everyone including the website forums.
 
It's not hatred - it's facts. I'm signing off this thread. Good luck guys. I hope everything works out for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
AUD$20K to land a balanced GG here, installed. I'm afraid I can't justify that level of consumption risk at this time.
 
Mike said:
Well Paul, I guess you chose to ignore the fact that Jerry's had to go back to Poland for repairs only a few days after receiving it. What about Adam's early experiences with buzzing and humming? Unfortunately Joe and Bruce chose not to chime in - likely afraid of the wrath of Norman.

Anyway, I hope it works out for you.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

My Lampi hum may have been related to a nearby cable TV box, that was unknowingly plugged into the same circuit....on the opposite side of the wall. Today, I plugged in my REL subwoofer, and was getting a bit of a hum on the same circuit. I finally shut the breaker off to see what else might be on the circuit, and discovered a cable box in the opposite room. Once the cable box was plugged into a different circuit, the subwoofer quit humming. So that was most likely the culprit.
As stated before, I sent the Lampi back to the factory to trade for an updated model, not repairs. Lukasz was kind enough to upgrade me to the newest one-box Big 7 unit, for just the price difference in parts. So I cannot re-test that particular Lampi unit in the same circuit, to see if the hum disappears now ??
As I mentioned before, the hum was very slight until I turned the preamp up to its maxium volume.......as DSD's require so much more volume for some reason ?? But I did not return it to the factory for repair. It functioned fine (no hum) in two of my other systems. So I felt it was a issue it had with the Pass gear......and high volume settings. Now I realize it was most likely a 60hz. hum coming off of a cable box, on the same circuit.
I just want my particular case made clear, so others can make an informed decision. I disclosed earlier in this thread that I may become a dealer for the Lampizator line, so you can weigh my thoughts with that in mind. But I also plan to keep a Lumin in one of my systems, to help Mike's effort with those fine units. So I hope I will be considered neutral in this thread ? I am still in the demo stage right now with the Lampizator gear. Lukasz wanted me to hear the updated version of the Lampi 7......so I gladly accepted his offer, and cut short my trial of the first unit.
I will give more details when I receive the new version. I had the Lumin S-1 and Berkeley Reference dac to compare the Lampi 7 up against. It does have some special qualities, that I am sure of. But my review time has been short lately, as I have been struggling with my Mom's health. I was also trying to do a cable review on the Avanti cables at the same time, as Mike was so kind to allow us Shark members. So my time with the Lampi was divided up among other priorities.
 
Mike - I was honest with everyone here. I have disclosed that I had an early, non PCB Lampi Big 7 that had some noise issues. Then I had two PCB based Big 7 (one on loan, and one my own), plus the Lampi DSD L5 gen 5, and all have been rock solid.

Why do you recall the fist example and completely ingnore the other ?

I wouldn't bought a product that was build as the older models (to much DIY for my taste), nor a product that has any issues (noise, reliability or other).

But as I said - both PCB based Lampis have been rock solid, build quality has improved to acceptable levels, Apple TV remote is fabulous and works great, and most importantly - on DSD, it sounds better than ANY dac I've heard to date - and that includes the Vivaldi and top of the range MSB DAC (which you know I have owned and I believe Al still does).

I'm not even able to imagine Lampi to sound bright :weird:
 
I am just getting back to this thread. Mike I do believe what you have said. Their is little doubt that these issues have occurred for some people. It does also seem probable that quality is improving with the new pcb's and manufacturing progress. Also when I hear someone like Bruce from Puget Sound say it is the best DSD he has ever heard that gets my attention. Bruce knows DSD.

I haven't said I am writing a check yet Mike but the science behind Lukasz's DSD approach (unconverted raw pulse data played only with filters) and statements made by some pretty knowledgeable folks hear on the AS and other forums makes it a high likelihood I will be stopping by the Lampi room at Axpona more than once!
 
JDLaudio said:
My Lampi hum may have been related to a nearby cable TV box, that was unknowingly plugged into the same circuit....on the opposite side of the wall. Today, I plugged in my REL subwoofer, and was getting a bit of a hum on the same circuit. I finally shut the breaker off to see what else might be on the circuit, and discovered a cable box in the opposite room. Once the cable box was plugged into a different circuit, the subwoofer quit humming. So that was most likely the culprit.
As stated before, I sent the Lampi back to the factory to trade for an updated model, not repairs. Lukasz was kind enough to upgrade me to the newest one-box Big 7 unit, for just the price difference in parts. So I cannot re-test that particular Lampi unit in the same circuit, to see if the hum disappears now ??
As I mentioned before, the hum was very slight until I turned the preamp up to its maxium volume.......as DSD's require so much more volume for some reason ?? But I did not return it to the factory for repair. It functioned fine (no hum) in two of my other systems. So I felt it was a issue it had with the Pass gear......and high volume settings. Now I realize it was most likely a 60hz. hum coming off of a cable box, on the same circuit.
I just want my particular case made clear, so others can make an informed decision. I disclosed earlier in this thread that I may become a dealer for the Lampizator line, so you can weigh my thoughts with that in mind. But I also plan to keep a Lumin in one of my systems, to help Mike's effort with those fine units. So I hope I will be considered neutral in this thread ? I am still in the demo stage right now with the Lampizator gear. Lukasz wanted me to hear the updated version of the Lampi 7......so I gladly accepted his offer, and cut short my trial of the first unit.
I will give more details when I receive the new version. I had the Lumin S-1 and Berkeley Reference dac to compare the Lampi 7 up against. It does have some special qualities, that I am sure of. But my review time has been short lately, as I have been struggling with my Mom's health. I was also trying to do a cable review on the Avanti cables at the same time, as Mike was so kind to allow us Shark members. So my time with the Lampi was divided up among other priorities.
Click to expand...

Sorry to hear about your Mom. (I lost mine in January.) First things first. I wish you the best.

When you get time however, I would love to hear your thoughts regarding the Berkeley Ref and Lampi 7. (Probably my top two contenders.)
 
Elberoth said:
Mike - I was honest with everyone here. I have disclosed that I had an early, non PCB Lampi Big 7 that had some noise issues. Then I had two PCB based Big 7 (one on loan, and one my own), plus the Lampi DSD L5 gen 5, and all have been rock solid.

Why do you recall the fist example and completely ingnore the other ?

I wouldn't bought a product that was build as the older models (to much DIY for my taste), nor a product that has any issues (noise, reliability or other).

But as I said - both PCB based Lampis have been rock solid, build quality has improved to acceptable levels, Apple TV remote is fabulous and works great, and most importantly - on DSD, it sounds better than ANY dac I've heard to date - and that includes the Vivaldi and top of the range MSB DAC (which you know I have owned and I believe Al still does).

I'm not even able to imagine Lampi to sound bright :weird:
Click to expand...

Ok, so if a new law was passed limiting all humans to one dac and you must choose between the Lampi and the Trinity (you can keep the HQPlayer) what do you do??????
 
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