Lampizator dac thread, Amber / Baltic / Atlantic / Golden / Pacific / Horizon

[Souldriver]

@NickMimi

most of the time i simply revert to this weird thing that happens to me of just “seeing” the stupid music in some kind of weird ghostly image

Kind of the same. I feel like i start seeing a scene of what i hear and my mind fills in the image and set space. I can more easily describe my minds image than describe the sound itself.

@NickMimi

Same exact reason my living room is getting a new overhead fan.

Unless there is some special niche fan youre after (faniophile) Then i cant suggest a Hunter fan enough. Things may have changed in the past years but about 10 years ago we switched my bedroom ceiling fan out to a Hunter and its the best fan i have ever experienced. Its been run at least 10 years straight (no exaggeration) and it makes zero sound on low and medium settings. On high you just hear the airflow but i rarely put it that high since medium is more than enough air. The airflow is smooth and not turbulent and it barely moves. I told my dad when i finally get a house the fan is coming with me and i am serious.

[Draaly]

BUY BEST300B DAC BY LAMPIZATOR – BEST300B.COM

Anyone know anything about this?

[Polygonhell]

I know it exists, it’s also the lowest priced lampizator that uses DHT’s.
Where it fits in with the other lampizators, I have no idea.

[Towa]

Its a R2R design, so it is old lampizator. But might be really good for the price, interesting that it is exclusive to that site?

[krack]

Should I buy it blindly with no knowledge going in?

[Polygonhell]

There is some connection from 300b.com to Lampizator, it’s the only site that you can get the Lampizator SE KR Tubes.

[Towa]

ah did not know that

[NickMimi]

My understanding is that Lukasz son runs the 300B site and that is his business.

[Veritas]

This.
From what I read from other forums though, the warranty is not the same as something straight from LampizatOr, so most people opt for Baltic 3 instead.

[NickMimi]

Small personal update on MY Baltic 3 model DAC. This particular unit came stock w/older NOS Phillips rectifier, PsVane Blue globes and what seem like new production EH tubes. My tube knowledge is “weak” on my best days, I have a small variety of replacement tubes to experiment w/ that I admittedly spent way too much $$$ procuring…Somedays I hate tube based anything simply because of the associated cost, but others I crave it because i enjoy the “hunt” of looking for tubes in every crack and corner of the world…

Lukasz has not updated his manual or web page yet for the 2022 model Baltic 3, he made small changes to try and “max” it out but not enough to call it a Baltic “4”. He removed the high/low gain switch, which initially annoyed me and resulted in emails and calls on my part demanding an explanation. He explains that the little bit of wiring removed, including a switch, gets the DAC performance just a tiny bit “better”…OK…someone could have mentioned that when I was ordering. Honestly not having the option of Hi/Low gain makes little difference overall in all but limited situations. If you REALLY know your equipment well he can adjust gain internally to YOUR desired output or include a switch but you now have to ask for it.

He is using his newest 53A engine and he continues to be happy w/ the tubes he supplies even though every few months he needs to source a different variety. This is good in that the DAC’s work well enough with various combos but throws any “House Sound Signature” LampizatOr may have had in mind out the window…welcome to the wonderful world of limited tube availability

I have not swapped in w/ my own tubes yet, I am slowly going through different speaker combinations and getting a feel for what the “stock” DAC does for my system in the room as it is currently set up. One of the benefits to me was that for a relatively “nominal” cost this DAC comes stock w/ a balanced XLR option. I am taking full advantage of this output currently on my main system.

I pulled my SOTM USB regenerator out of the chain, soundstage increased in both height and width. That surprised me, the opposite has been true w/ EVERY other DAC used up to this point including the Amber3. Who knows , I can now use my SOTM pieces in my small room and re-do the whole front end of that system.

Running Innuos Zenith Mk3 streamer direct with FTA Callisto USB to DAC, (FTA Callisto adds some “color” to the sound but it is pleasant, I have a few USB’s I can eventually swap around and mess w/ the sound a bit this way too), then XLR out to Vinnie Rossi L2i-SE. I use the VR as both an amp and pre-amp…(It’s soooo good, love it ) I play around with various amplifiers afterwards, I have a few.

In conclusion, I am extremely pleased at how the room sounds in general, I appreciate and enjoy every single speaker I own for their own individual strengths and I feel I have managed to maintain a fairly even cost ratio to performance. I want to eventually add one last full sized tower to my collection The Devore O96 is still in the running BUT I may decide to simply go open baffle, or something else completely different from the other 10 main speaker styles I own. Whatever it is, it will be full sized and remain in this room.

It’s the first time in many years I feel I can spend more time listening than shopping. Feeling satiated is a good feeling finally to experience.

[dB_Cooper]

You’ve got the room for a pair of Spatial Audio speakers. They’re also keeping within the price ratio and I know you like that.

But for now, just listen! It’s free and liberating.

[NickMimi]

We shall see what pops up, someone within a 300 mile driving radius will eventually want to get rid of something "New to me " that interests me enough to jump.

[dB_Cooper]

So, questions…

Is the Baltic appreciably mo’ better than the Amber? I know your Amber was a little bit kludgy with the transformer buzz but curious as to how you’d rank the two. I’m primarily interested in hearing if you feel the rest of your gear scaled with it.

You said you got some upgrades to it when you ordered it, what were those? Caps?

Have you tried the AES or SPDIF inputs? Very interesting about the USB sounding better without the USB purifier inline. More than likely they use the same Amanero USB that most of the other Lampi use, I wonder if this is doing something with a better or upgraded PLL clock. I’ve heard that’s the practice in higher end Lampis with the USB in.

[NickMimi]

@dB_Cooper On this Baltic i had the SPIDIF RCA input altered to a BNC input simply for the more secure connection option. I asked for his upgraded tube compliment which basically got me an EML rectifier at a reduced MSRP along w/ the NOS Phillips tube he was offering anyway. Did not opt at the time for ay further changes. I could have gotten copper and a hard sided case at a cost of $1k+ but neither option added any value. I had no further requests at the time and volume control is not an option i needed or wanted on the unit. I asked about upgraded cables and was also offered a small discount on such, thus i added an FTA Callisto USB to the package. Overall w/ increased pricing across the board purchasing new simply got me the peace of mind the warranty offers and began a possible future relationship w/ their North American dealership. No money saved that would have been of substance in such an overall expensive purchase.

Did the Baltic 3 change the performance / sound output of the system overall at an expense of roughly $7k?
Yes is the honest answer. Was the change at least $7k worth of improvements would be the next logical question. This is a more subjective answer.

You have personally heard me speak my opinion on keeping cost/quality of components relative, i don’t publicly push this opinion because it is a hotly debated topic and in audio, anything and every topic can be argued with no ultimate “correct” answer simply because each and every system is unique to its environment and the listening preferences and abilities of the individuals. What is consistent though is that when you go up in quality, design and build of components you tend to get different results. When you find synergy in the environment AND the components’ sound signature quality of reproduction ability is altered. Enjoyable to each individual or not, is the subjective portion of everything in audio.

In some detailed and brain wracking listening i have tried to do, the B3 altered the sound of the components it is outputting to, BUT i have no idea if the DAC performance will again alter once the components have had enough time on them to settle in. Is burn in real for electronic components? How many hours will the stock tubes take to get into their groove? Is the power chord I have attached offering anything positive or negative to the overall performance of the unit? I know for a fact that the different USB cables alter the sound output slightly. How about downrange? ?How much effect are the XLR cables, power chords on the amp and server having? Don’t even get me started on the speaker cables…I have a switch in line to change between speakers and amps, are the crappy components in that holding me back somewhere? Don’t start me on the affects my actual room has on the sound even a deaf individual could tell you i have all sorts of things going on there…

Did I get $7k worth of mind blowing improvement? Maybe…as I continue to fine tune my own listening abilities and search out individual songs/tracks that highlight the good qualities of individual speaker and amplifier combo’s I find myself pleasantly surprised at times. I have had great music for a while now, especially when I’m just relaxed and enjoying the moment, this has not been an issue.

When we get to a point in our hobby experiences where we spend big $$$ on the room, furniture, cables, individual components, hours tweaking a single piece for positioning and listening for the subtle changes a 50 duro piece of sorbathane makes compared to a 70 duro piece, well I choose to be more careful in what I say…Otherwise I may sound weird this is a semi-public forum after all and I have met some of you personally.

Except for @Andy77 's backside, that looked good, I’ll say it again here.

[dB_Cooper]

I REALLY WANTED ONE OF THOSE FTA CABLES. I hear all the cool kids have one, but my systems doesn’t use a USB cable.

I will have to live vicariously through you guys.

[hifiDJ]

The white has landed (or maybe resurfaced)!

Pretty pumped to compare this to the spring and get some frame of reference.

Also, uh, I didn’t realize the lampi comes with a light show to boot, kind of distracting since I listen at night. lol

[hifiDJ]

First night impressions: Definitely a step-above the spring 3, respectively. But there are a few things the spring almost keeps up with, mainly in low level info. The spring’s good with that or maybe the amber isn’t as strong in that area. Amber is more neutral forward while spring is coloured relaxed. And, yeah, hi gain is where it’s at, though I’m literally 2 steps on my volume on the allnic w/ utopia. It’s the only position I can use, and putting it on low gain doesn’t help that much. lol Fortunately, I’m not getting any channel imbalance.

[rgdelato]

Hurray for stepped attenuators, but wow, I’m impressed that it’s literally only two clicks on the volume. Time for a passive preamp, I guess?

[Andy77]

That’s quite a stack 'o dacs. Looking good!

[hifiDJ]

I get 4 clicks on low gain so not much help. Lol
I thought about that but I think it’s gonna bother me too much adding something to the chain. Then I gotta get matching cables since what I have is above decent. Well I guess we’ll see how this will play out in the coming days.

Btw, for amber owners, do y’all do anything to cover the bright LEDs or do you just live with it? It’s probably not the best idea to cover the holes but maybe only during playback will it be relatively safe?