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Lampizator questions


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BTW, do we know for sure that the Lampi supports 6.1MHz DSD?

Their website only says the DAC handles 128 DSD without specifying the actual sample rate (5.6-only, 5.6 + 6.1?).

 

Not sure, it is the specs of Amanero for DSD128 DoP.

 

Matt

"I want to know why the musicians are on stage, not where". (John Farlowe)

 

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Hi,

I am one of their users. I am using Lv7 with DSD, I try to answer your questions, though lot of members have answered already:

1) to switch between inputs do you need to use a physical switch on the back? I cant easily reach the back of my system. I wonder if the switch could be put on the side near the front (somewhat acceptable), or could be made switche-able via remote (great)?

If you added "remote volume control" option, you can switch by using remote control. My DAC has such remote control so I switch DSD/PCM over remote (the only way), no hardware toggle.

If you don't add such remote control, I think you need to toggle at back of DAC.

 

2) The DSD module comes with the USB module. Does this have a RAM buffer, or do you only get that with the USB Transport?

What's the meaning of RAM buffer? You mean it paused for few seconds before play?

In my case, it plays immediately, sometimes with a small "bob" sound, but sometimes no. It seems depends on the DSD album. (I ripped them from SACDs). The "bob" sound not annoying and not easy noticed.

 

3) Along those lines, how good is the USB module (not USB transport) compared to an Audiophilleo 2 w/PP? Another way of saying this is, if I added an AP2/wpp would it sound better or worse or the same?

I don't have AP2, I would say this USB input is very clarity, high detail that is the best one I have heard so far. May be adding a USB-to-SPDIF converter may "sound better" to some people, but technically, I2S is more pure way of transmitting music signal than SPDIF, you can add more "taste" to SPDIF signal on the other hand. Like the USB transport which I have tried, it has tube inside and the sound compare to the USB input of my DAC is more airy, without lacking too much detail. In other words, it is more musical and analog feel.

 

4) Then there is the USB Transport. I've read that it comes with optional i2S connectors. Does the DAC have optional i2S inputs? Otherwise it would be hard to use :).

As I said above, it is better in adding some "taste" to the sound. My trial unit no I2S connectors and I think using I2S connector would just make it same as the default USB input which means no added value.

 

5) Using the USB Transport, can you do DSD? (I ask because it seems DSD can only come through the DSDmodule, which can only be fed from USB, or so it seems.) The output of the USB Transport is SPDIF, and I thought the DSD module can't take SPDIF input, but I have no idea if this is true.

Some USB-to-SPDIF converter supports DSD over SPDIF, and some DAC supports reading DoP via the SPDIF input port. But AFAIK, Lamp's DAC and USB transport don't support all those. Only support PCM when the interface is SPDIF. Please correct me if I am wrong.

 

 

For your rest questions I think what I said above already mentioned. Hope you get what I mean and welcome to share your view. Thanks.

Player for PCM44.1: Squeezebox receiver (modified)

Player for Hi-Res/DSD: VpyageMPD + i7 4765T, Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE, G.Skill 4G-DDR3-CL7, AdnacoS3B

DAC: Lampizator Lv7

Tube Amp: YS-Audio Pre+Power

My DIY: http://obeediy.blogspot.com

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BTW, it's good to hear they managed to remove the manual DSD64/DSD128 switch from the production unit, and the DAC now automatically detects the sampling rate. I wonder if they will be able to solve the mute issue at some point... Lampizator website states it's "inconvenient as hell."

 

This is the DAC for purist audiophiles who want to experience the best DSD sound quality and enjoy listening to the music. Music more beautiful - than they ever heard before, be it from a DSD or PCM.

We believe it is the best sounding DAC in the world today but it is inconvenient like hell. No, you don’t have to wash the records, lift manually the cartridge or change sides from A to B but you may have to use MUTE before and after listening . If you are not repelled yet - please read on.

http://www.lampizator.eu/newdac/lampizator/DSD_DAC.html

Hi Hiro,

 

FYI, my unit was built in Dec-2013 to Jan-2014

 

In my case, the DAC will auto mute when I switch from PCM to DSD "AND" it is playing PCM at that time. Or if it is playing DSD and I switch to PCM it will auto mute too. However, if I pause the music (not playing), and switch, it won't go mute automatically.

 

About the auto detection of DSD64/128, I only have one / two DSD128 album and as I could recall, it doesn't need any manual work, just play and music comes out. I suppose the auto switch is done.

Player for PCM44.1: Squeezebox receiver (modified)

Player for Hi-Res/DSD: VpyageMPD + i7 4765T, Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE, G.Skill 4G-DDR3-CL7, AdnacoS3B

DAC: Lampizator Lv7

Tube Amp: YS-Audio Pre+Power

My DIY: http://obeediy.blogspot.com

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I am now a few days in with the Lampizator (a big box Level 5), which is a part of my headphone rig that features some Stax SR-009 earspeakers. The combination is just magical. The sublime musicality of the Lampi, in concert with the detail retrieval of the the electrostatic 009s, is just frighteningly good.

 

Earlier this evening, my wife came over for a listen (reluctantly). She doesn't really understand this crazy hobby, and her frugality sometimes requires her to willfully ignore how much this stuff costs. She was listening to Till Bronner, the great German jazz trumpet player, and I saw a look come over her face that I'd never seen before. In that brief moment in time, she got it. She understood the source of my joy, and my passion for great gear.

 

Thanks to all, especially wisnon, who helped guide me in this quest.

 

You are most welcome. Just sharing my passion.

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BTW, it's good to hear they managed to remove the manual DSD64/DSD128 switch from the production unit, and the DAC now automatically detects the sampling rate. I wonder if they will be able to solve the mute issue at some point... Lampizator website states it's "inconvenient as hell."

 

This is the DAC for purist audiophiles who want to experience the best DSD sound quality and enjoy listening to the music. Music more beautiful - than they ever heard before, be it from a DSD or PCM.

We believe it is the best sounding DAC in the world today but it is inconvenient like hell. No, you don’t have to wash the records, lift manually the cartridge or change sides from A to B but you may have to use MUTE before and after listening . If you are not repelled yet - please read on.

http://www.lampizator.eu/newdac/lampizator/DSD_DAC.html

 

Yes, it (muting) has been solved a month or 3 ago (new custom PCB)...the DSD manual sample rate switch was solved in late 2013 ( it autosenses now, so you dont need to do a thing)...It was just a firmware update from Amanero and a bypass of the switch. I had mine done in mid-December.

 

I THINK it also now autosenses between DSD and PCM, but not sure. With VC remote, its not an issue anyway.

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Yes, it (muting) has been solved a month or 3 ago (new custom PCB)...the DSD manual sample rate switch was solved in late 2013 ( it autosenses now, so you dont need to do a thing)...It was just a firmware update from Amanero and a bypass of the switch. I had mine done in mid-December.

 

I THINK it also now autosenses between DSD and PCM, but not sure. With VC remote, its not an issue anyway.

My DAC as manufactured on Dec-2013 to Jan-2014, doesn't auto sense between DSD and PCM. My DAC however has the volume control installed. If autosense is possible via firmware update, I would like to know how can it be done, may be I can do it myself.

Player for PCM44.1: Squeezebox receiver (modified)

Player for Hi-Res/DSD: VpyageMPD + i7 4765T, Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE, G.Skill 4G-DDR3-CL7, AdnacoS3B

DAC: Lampizator Lv7

Tube Amp: YS-Audio Pre+Power

My DIY: http://obeediy.blogspot.com

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Hi all,

 

Obee, I've been following your posts and discussion on hiendy the Chinese language forum with the help of Google Translate! Congrats on getting your level 7 so early. I have a Big 7 on order and am waiting anxiously for it. Fred (Gopher) the US distributor has been extremely helpful in working through all the different options.

 

I am pretty excited to see how DSD performs on the level 7. I emailed Fred re: whether the Amanero chip that Lukasz uses will support anything above 5.6 Mhz, including 6.1Mhz and DSD 256, and have not heard back yet. The question is also whether native PCM is superior to upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver for native PCM material. I have a big library of DSD from SACD rips so that will be played natively.

 

Obee, what do you think of DSD playback on your level 7? do you think PCM sounds better upsampled to DSD128 in computer first? and how are those PSVANE 2A3's you got?

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Hi all,

 

Obee, I've been following your posts and discussion on hiendy the Chinese language forum with the help of Google Translate! Congrats on getting your level 7 so early. I have a Big 7 on order and am waiting anxiously for it. Fred (Gopher) the US distributor has been extremely helpful in working through all the different options.

 

I am pretty excited to see how DSD performs on the level 7. I emailed Fred re: whether the Amanero chip that Lukasz uses will support anything above 5.6 Mhz, including 6.1Mhz and DSD 256, and have not heard back yet. The question is also whether native PCM is superior to upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver for native PCM material. I have a big library of DSD from SACD rips so that will be played natively.

 

Obee, what do you think of DSD playback on your level 7? do you think PCM sounds better upsampled to DSD128 in computer first? and how are those PSVANE 2A3's you got?

Wow, really no secret and no boundary on the Internet.

 

seatrope, nice to meet you! Fred, the US distributor, is a very good service distributor. My another friend in HK who've ordered Lv7 same time as me ordered from Fred, and he got very very good service (proactive email with most updated status, fast response and best effort in replying to all my friend's emails). Luksaz is a very busy man so a good distributor who helps answers all those technical questions, manufacture status and shipment detail is very crucial. Luckily, there's a HK distributor now who is also a very good man. I look forward buying another Lampi product thru his help in future.

 

Let me share some of my views:

whether native PCM is superior to upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver for native PCM material

I don't buy the concept of upsampling (either software or hardware), because in my knowledge domain, I think upsampling in the best case just add some more information into the audio data to make human's ears feel more comfortable, it's like doing "auto contrast & brightness" to a photo: good for some photos but takes time.

 

what do you think of DSD playback on your level 7

It is beyond the PCM on my Lv7, not far beyond but it beyonds for sure.

 

do you think PCM sounds better upsampled to DSD128 in computer first?

As said above, I don't buy that so I've never tried. I guess the result would be positive, but similar to do the auto brightness/contrast to photo, it takes lot of time to do and it also takes lot of space. Currently I put my PCM music onto a 500G notebook hard drive so that I can put it into my CAT. I put the DSD data on my NAS because they are too large.

 

how are those PSVANE 2A3's you got?

That's a must buy item if you are a 2A3 user. It's not cheap and it also get quality issue. I got my pairs at about $320 USD (with 1 year warranty). Few days ago, one of my audiophile friends told me that there're quality issues from the PSVANE tubes, I am not sure my PSVANE 2A3 is a good or bad pair. Let's assume it is not up to standard, it sings very very well. It seems that the 2A3 on my DAC is not running in full load like it runs on a power amp, the tubes not very hot when running that I can keep placing my hand touching it. That's why I guess the quality issue of tubes is not obvious in my case.

Player for PCM44.1: Squeezebox receiver (modified)

Player for Hi-Res/DSD: VpyageMPD + i7 4765T, Asus MAXIMUS VI GENE, G.Skill 4G-DDR3-CL7, AdnacoS3B

DAC: Lampizator Lv7

Tube Amp: YS-Audio Pre+Power

My DIY: http://obeediy.blogspot.com

Link to comment
Hi all,

 

Obee, I've been following your posts and discussion on hiendy the Chinese language forum with the help of Google Translate! Congrats on getting your level 7 so early. I have a Big 7 on order and am waiting anxiously for it. Fred (Gopher) the US distributor has been extremely helpful in working through all the different options.

 

I am pretty excited to see how DSD performs on the level 7. I emailed Fred re: whether the Amanero chip that Lukasz uses will support anything above 5.6 Mhz, including 6.1Mhz and DSD 256, and have not heard back yet. The question is also whether native PCM is superior to upsampling to DSD128 in JRiver for native PCM material. I have a big library of DSD from SACD rips so that will be played natively.

 

Obee, what do you think of DSD playback on your level 7? do you think PCM sounds better upsampled to DSD128 in computer first? and how are those PSVANE 2A3's you got?

 

Can you post a link to the hiendy site?

 

I only know of the review33.com site.

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Hi wisnon,

 

here it is. there are several threads that obee posts in, I'll defer to him since he's the starter of these discussions on that board.

 

Lampizator Level 7 DAC

Lampizator

友人的end game.....Lampizator Big 7 DAC.... - 兩聲道音響討論區 - Hiendy.com 影音俱樂部 - Powered by Discuz!

 

Can you post a link to the hiendy site?

 

I only know of the review33.com site.

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If it can effectively upsample to DSD 128, hook it up to the Lampi DSD dac and winner winner chicken dinner.

 

Someone's a 21 fan.

Dedicated Line DSD/DXD | Audirvana+ | iFi iDSD Nano | SET Tube Amp | Totem Mites

Surround: VLC | M-Audio FastTrack Pro | Mac Opt | Panasonic SA-HE100 | Logitech Z623

DIY: SET Tube Amp | Low-Noise Linear Regulated Power Supply | USB, Power, Speaker Cables | Speaker Stands | Acoustic Panels

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Winson yes it does dsd128 and 32/384 on all inputs. It does dsd over dop so when playing the screen lights up as 24/176 . As for the sound the two lampi,s I have heard have a relaxing sound only found on my msb. It's not just details it's presentation . I have had many dacs to listen too , ,any owned some loaned . The lampi has a house sound that just sounds right. If the level 7 is a big improvement over the 5 and by any who has heard them say it is. It will be close enough to the msb for me at 1/3 the price. Now I do not need a transport I have a UMT plus so I have the network and disk well covered.

Inwas supoosed to get to hear one this weekend . But that fell through so mine is due about the end of this month.

al

 

reminded me to check on msb UT. Given that it can now output dsd through all inputs and not just hdmi, I guess it would be possible to get native dsd files onto computer that way. Before I just knew of using old ps3 of right firmware/model to backup/convert sacd to dsd files.

 

al, is this an easy process with msb UT?

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No I am sorry I was not clear in my statement. It does not output dsd stream from UMT.

Into use a ps3 to rip my sacd,s . It does plAy all sacd,s through the rj45 output . But this is only to input of msb dac. So it has no use other than to play audio , not stream to record or store on a CPU.

Al

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Hi Al,

 

Saw on another forum that you might have the I2S input on your Lampi big 7. Is that correct? Is there a solution for streaming DSD over I2S at this time? Don't even know of any computer I2S cards though there are probably some out there?

 

pinkfaun i2s but unclear if compatible with lamp i2s port. I think i2s is really pure given that it is the native signal in computer, but couple of issues. Less researched on how to output as compared to PCM. 2nd, lamp only takes dsd in through USB port.

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The I2s I have ordered is the RJ45 type . I Asked for HDMI but was told they strongly advise the data rj45. As for streaming I do not see a way other than for me to use my UMT plus and the USB output to the lampizator 7. My intension for the rj45 input are for use of my offramp 5. Just trying to make an improvement . As for streaming it will be from my UMT plus but it only goes to dsd 64 . No dsd 128 wit it . So then I am back to offramp or just USB .

Al

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Hi Al and Crashem,

 

The option for the I2S port is a dilemma for me. I was told that you (Al) and your US distributor figured out that DSD would work over the I2S - I am not sure if this is true from what you just wrote, sounds like you are not really planning to use DSD with the I2S input?

 

Crashem, I just found that thread about the Pinkfaun I2S, but it sounds like some people (PeterSt?) might be sceptical about the conversion into I2S in the noisy computer environment. I guess the Audiobyte Hydra-X+ might also be an option, that unit definitely supports DSD but I'm not sure if that unit or the Pink Faun is compatible with the Lampi.

 

Lots of questions! not sure if it's worth it to experiment with the I2S port as I have 3 devices that I need to connect.

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