Lampizator questions

[Guf Gufler]

My L4 clicked, the L7 I heard at CES clicked. My Big 7, with out volume control does not click, obviously. My Lampizator L5 Preamp clicks. I think its the nature of the volume control. What I notice with the preamp, because I ran it with the plexiglass top off is there the mechanical clicking coming from the unit more than from the speakers. I feel like the clicking is less if you adjust the volume control to only go up 2 notches instead of 4. Maybe its even smoother if you step down to one.

[bebop86]

so my question is - Is the VC on the Lampi L7 better than using a hi-end preamp??- thks

[ALRAINBOW]

As the lampi VC is passive in some ways it's not. But there is much to consider

first off a preamp is adding flavor to the mix. Weather you want it or not. It can be useful if the IC is long and may help. But the theory is less is more. For me I do not use a preamp but I do have a digital cross over that has a VC. I just bypass it or bypass the VC in my B7. It's really about how it sounds for you. My view is do it if you feel the need to have more inputs or if the over all sound is better to your ears. A few dacs have a VC IN them as long as I can trust them to work fine I am happy with this.

Al

[Guf Gufler]

so my question is - Is the VC on the Lampi L7 better than using a hi-end preamp??- thks

 

my vote would be no

 

"Well, despite the fact that apparently the pre is unnecessary, somehow - the sound via PRE is better than without it. It does something thats important.

Pre adds space definition, power, depth, heigtht, slamm, full timbre - it is important but I dont know why.

That little \something - for some folks is PRICELESS."

 

 

That is taken from Lukas's website. Its from a few years ago so maybe he changed his mind. Others on the internet will tell you them the heart of the system is the preamp. But yeah you can search the internet until you find people that agree with you. My experience is a preamp is better. I'm trying to sell my L4 with volume. And i'd love to say how much better it is than a pre....But i'd be lying.

 

Think of it like your iphone, yeah it has a camera but is that camera better than a stand alone $9000 Leica? Maybe not even better than your $300 point and shoot.

[ALRAINBOW]

My vote would be ask the manufactory . Many dacs made say no preamp. As less is more. I can add to the list my MSB stack. Now there are those that agree with you. I think it's system dependant and as I will try it when I setup my infinity IRS V

in NYC. And edorr who has my dsc is using a preamp I will,mostly likely try. But by no means I am convinced of the need. Less must be more in more cases that not. Now regarding the B7 lampi I do think luk is against having one from a purist view. But I think he should be the one to way in on his product or a rep at any event .

And as I type this damn this lampi does PCM fantastic .

 

Al

[wisnon]

my vote would be no

 

"Well, despite the fact that apparently the pre is unnecessary, somehow - the sound via PRE is better than without it. It does something thats important.

Pre adds space definition, power, depth, heigtht, slamm, full timbre - it is important but I dont know why.

That little \something - for some folks is PRICELESS."

 

 

That is taken from Lukas's website. Its from a few years ago so maybe he changed his mind. Others on the internet will tell you them the heart of the system is the preamp. But yeah you can search the internet until you find people that agree with you. My experience is a preamp is better. I'm trying to sell my L4 with volume. And i'd love to say how much better it is than a pre....But i'd be lying.

 

Think of it like your iphone, yeah it has a camera but is that camera better than a stand alone $9000 Leica? Maybe not even better than your $300 point and shoot.

 

Guf, the L7 with DHT may be different though. Those are power amp tubes remember, and the VC is simple step resistor ladder attenuation with only ever 2 resistors in the pathway. Also, I think the VC vs Preamp conclusion will be system dependent.

[ALRAINBOW]

Hello does anyone know what is better for play back using audivarna plus. Core mode or isotope 64 ?? Any ideas

al

[Guf Gufler]

Guf, the L7 with DHT may be different though. Those are power amp tubes remember, and the VC is simple step resistor ladder attenuation with only ever 2 resistors in the pathway. Also, I think the VC vs Preamp conclusion will be system dependent.

 

well crap! I wish I had VC. Yeah anyone in the market I would suggest to get it. For 500$ bucks its a no brainer just to test it out. I guess I should follow my own suggestions. My experience is based on a L4.

[bmoura]

well crap! I wish I had VC. Yeah anyone in the market I would suggest to get it. For 500$ bucks its a no brainer just to test it out. I guess I should follow my own suggestions. My experience is based on a L4.

 

As long as it can be easily bypassed, the $500 VC option would be one to strongly consider when looking at a Lampi.

[ALRAINBOW]

AS i have had my B7 for about 4 or 5 days now going 12 hours at 6 and 6 at a time . the pcm is as good or better than my msg stack . as it plays i am in amazement . the presentation is awesome its like hearing your music all over again. my home cpu stinks . and the dsd was good but not giving the wow that the cpm has. so i fired up my iMac and audirvana plus . i put on elvis 57 a dsd download . its only dsd 64 from analog . track 3 it has a simple clapping in left the channel . now clapping is a simple sound but so is a piano and most dacs stink at it this dac is giving me the texture of the hands as they clap. the only time i have heard this is with my msb. this may seem simple but its a milestone . this dac has given me my wow moment. i can hear into the recording so deep that gives me chills of realism . i now have my WOW moment

thanks winson , rob and most of all lukas for this device and at this price its an even better wow for me.

al

[wisnon]

As long as it can be easily bypassed, the $500 VC option would be one to strongly consider when looking at a Lampi.

 

 

Yes, set the attenuation to zero db and you are in bypass mode. At least that is what Lukasz told me…I dont have VC on my Lampis either. LoL

[wisnon]

AS i have had my B7 for about 4 or 5 days now going 12 hours at 6 and 6 at a time . the pcm is as good or better than my msg stack . as it plays i am in amazement . the presentation is awesome its like hearing your music all over again. my home cpu stinks . and the dsd was good but not giving the wow that the cpm has. so i fired up my iMac and audirvana plus . i put on elvis 57 a dsd download . its only dsd 64 from analog . track 3 it has a simple clapping in left the channel . now clapping is a simple sound but so is a piano and most dacs stink at it this dac is giving me the texture of the hands as they clap. the only time i have heard this is with my msb. this may seem simple but its a milestone . this dac has given me my wow moment. i can hear into the recording so deep that gives me chills of realism . i now have my WOW moment

thanks winson , rob and most of all lukas for this device and at this price its an even better wow for me.

al

Glad to hear this AL. I have not heard a Seven yet (now I am VERY motivated to hear one), but based on the convo with Lukasz and with Rob/Fred/Greg, I had no doubts that this was a GREAT LEAP FORWARD. I also think its now clear that the Big 7 is even beter than the 2-box L7. Seems to be a lot more elaborate too, 20 PSUs vs 9 in the 2 box L7.

[seatrope]

Hi all,

 

Wanted to chime in on this. I was under the impression that the Lampi VC was not just a passive attenuator. I remember asking Lukasz through Fred my dealer several months ago, and the reply was that there is tube buffering after the attenuation step. So I believe that the 45 output tubes are actually AFTER the attenuation module, which makes it not a simple passive attenuator after the final gain stage. In my own head I think of it actually as a mini preamp built inline with the Lampi.

 

I already use a passive preamp (Placette) in my system; for my purposes there would be technically no difference if the Lampi VC was just a passive attenuation step before the output jacks.

 

More evidence that the attenuation module is before the final gain stage (45 tubes) is that if you mute the system or have it at next to minimal volume, the background hum does not change. If it were just a passive attenuator after the 45 tubes it would of course kill the hum if you had it on mute or minimal volume. Same thing with ringing and tapping on the chassis - muting does not change that.

 

Furthermore, I do hear a reduction in dynamics if I pass the Lampi Big 7 through my passive pre as opposed to running direct. Going through the passive pre does kill the hum and ringing as you would expect.

 

All of which points to this VC design being essentially an active preamp. Correct me if I'm wrong - these are all these conclusions I came to after speaking with Fred and hearing it in my own system.

 

 

As the lampi VC is passive in some ways it's not. But there is much to consider

first off a preamp is adding flavor to the mix. Weather you want it or not. It can be useful if the IC is long and may help. But the theory is less is more. For me I do not use a preamp but I do have a digital cross over that has a VC. I just bypass it or bypass the VC in my B7. It's really about how it sounds for you. My view is do it if you feel the need to have more inputs or if the over all sound is better to your ears. A few dacs have a VC IN them as long as I can trust them to work fine I am happy with this.

Al

[seatrope]

Also, wanted to give a quick update on the situation with my system. Currently, my unit is with Taras, the Lampizator tech based in New Jersey. Fred and Lukasz acted very quickly and took care of the shipping out to Taras, who is very responsive and seems extremely knowledgable.

 

Furthermore, Lukasz sent me a long email in way of explanation, which I wish I had received sooner before I made my prior post.

Earlier on I had mentioned to Lukasz that my system was pretty high gain and in the past have had issues with volume controls, i.e. that I had to listen at the lowest 5 steps of most preamps/volume controls because my system is so sensitive/high gain.

Because of this, he customized my Big 7 to try and negate this, by deliberately taking off the gain on my Big 7, setting it at 1 on a level of 1 to 30. This probably resulted in an interaction as another part compensated for the low gain and resulted in a feedback loop of sorts.

 

Hence, it seems that the main problem that I was concerned about, the feedback/oscillation and ringing problems, are due to a customization that Lukasz performed for my system. He's identified the problem and overnighted parts to his technician Taras to fix the problem.

 

I am very impressed by the level of customization possible with an outfit like Lukasz's, even though in this case it resulted in a less optimal outcome. How many other manufacturers would go in and make modifications to the basic circuit parameters of their DACs to optimize the interaction with downstream components for the individual customer? A pretty rare thing I'd say, and speaks a lot to the spirit of this company.

 

So far Lukasz, Fred and company have handled this promptly, efficiently and professionally. I am hopefully and anxiously awaiting my repaired DAC.

 

My opinion of the music remains the same and in agreement with the glowing impression that Al (ALRAINBOW) has posted! Can't wait to further explore when my DAC gets back.

[wisnon]

Big7 on a roll, taking no prisoners!

 

LoL

 

Newport 2014: Gingko Audio brings Wells, LampizatOr and DanaCable | Confessions of a Part-Time Audiophile

[seatrope]

Hi all,

 

Got my Big 7 back from servicing with Taras, who was great at keeping me updated with his findings throughout the process, and got the unit back to me very rapidly.

 

I'm in the process of burning in the unit before making any sonic judgements. However, fresh out of the box it's evident that noise has been reduced greatly - the problem with feedback/oscillation that I had described previously when running the 7 directly into my amps using the L7 VC, is now gone. Ringing and microphonics are also greatly reduced.

 

One thing that I did want to mention, which I hadn't noticed before, is the sensitivity of the L7 to AC purity. I have Lutron network control dimmers throughout my condo, and I clearly notice the hum in the system when there are lights on in the condo! This is filtered through either a original Shunyata Hydra or a APC power center.

 

For those of you with noise problems, this might be worth looking into. Turning off all the lights further reduced but did not entirely get rid of residual hum (nor should it as the 45s are DHTs and some hum is the price to pay for admission).

 

On continuous burn in now, fingers crossed!!

[ALRAINBOW]

A not e to consider. In use ps audio p5 and 10,s. As I do not use them for any power amps . I can highly recommend them for any other devices . I muse mine for tv,s , cable rec and sat rec. I also use them for anything audio except for power amps. The result is obvious and nothing on the other side of input matters . It even helps my msb stack and 10 k in psu,s you would think it would not matter but it does and just simple 12 gauge power cords used. Just a thought . For me I use the P5 to DAC and a iMac CPU a ppa red USB cable and it's the best sound I have ever heard from a digital front .

al

al

[sligolad]

Gone very quiet in Lampizator land recently, interested in knowing how those with recent Lampi acquisitions are finding the latest Lampizators after a few weeks running?

I ordered a Big7 three weeks ago and still waiting on a delivery date....must be busy at the factory!!

Surprised really there has not been much feedback recently or maybe people just cannot get away from some sublime music.

Ordered the Volume Control and the DSD options included.

[obee]

Hi there,

Not follow up this thread for months. It's been quite active.

I'd like to raise a question. I am Lv7 user and recently one of my friends gave me an PCM384 album. I played using USB and found that there is a white noise in background (kind of like raining in background).

Does any Lampi DAC user tried PCM384 file? I just curious does it support or not. To me, I don't care at this moment the support of PCM384 as I am happy with PCM44.1 at the moment.

[seatrope]

Hi there obee,

 

Glad you are enjoying your L7! I have never tried a PCM 384 kHz file so far. So cannot comment.

 

But I did want to follow up a comment that I had made earlier in the thread - there was some question about whether the Lampi L7 supported DSD256 or not. After trying to get a sample DSD256 file working, I contacted Lukasz again and found out that the answer for now is no. The USB input does support it but something after the Amanero board only supports up to DSD128.

But as you say, there is almost no DSD256 or PCM384 kHz music, so it's really a moot point.

 

Yeang

[wisnon]

Lampizator 7 DSD DAC

 

Also, HifiPig did a L7 review…google it.

[ALRAINBOW]

Lampizator 7 DSD DAC

[PhilipAC]

Hi there,

Not follow up this thread for months. It's been quite active.

I'd like to raise a question. I am Lv7 user and recently one of my friends gave me an PCM384 album. I played using USB and found that there is a white noise in background (kind of like raining in background).

Does any Lampi DAC user tried PCM384 file? I just curious does it support or not. To me, I don't care at this moment the support of PCM384 as I am happy with PCM44.1 at the moment.

 

Hi

 

I have a L5. I find something which I can't explain. If I upsample PCM to 352 or384 using Audirvana+, it plays flawlessly. BUT if I play a native 384 DXD file (e.g. from 2L), I get hiss (presumably the same as your "rain").

 

Doesn't bother me because I only have 1 DXD file, but I would like to know, out of curiosity, if anyone can explain this.

[bmoura]

Hi

 

I have a L5. I find something which I can't explain. If I upsample PCM to 352 or384 using Audirvana+, it plays flawlessly. BUT if I play a native 384 DXD file (e.g. from 2L), I get hiss (presumably the same as your "rain").

 

Doesn't bother me because I only have 1 DXD file, but I would like to know, out of curiosity, if anyone can explain this.

 

Other than 2L, DXD releases are pretty rare. I tend to stay with DSD and PCM these days vs. DXD.

[k6davis]

JRiver has just released an update that includes (among other things):

 

7. NEW: Added '4xDSD in native format' to the real-time DSD encoding choices.

 

The Amanero USB board inside the Lampi is supposed to be able to receive DSD256 - with Windows anyway. Someone here posted that Lukasz himself said that DSD256 worked well on the Lampizator DSD, but that there were some issues he was examining with DSD512.

 

Anyway, I am away from home and unable to test it myself, but I'm very excited/curious to see if this works and works well.

 

If anyone out there is equipped and inclined to give it a try, I'd love to hear your findings!