StereoSophia: World First: DAC7 - Flavour Of The New Lampizator Flagship + Full Review Update

By Angelo Agathangelou: A short introduction for the uninitiated. For those who missed it, there has been a revolution in audiophile technology. DACs have revealed that humble CD’s were always vinyl’s equal, sadly the dated concept of essentially using a light beam in place of a needle and other shortcomings of the technology used until now conspired. These issues have been traversed by replacing the record playing mechanics of cd players with solid state ram buffers and the same information available on your CD is now most conveniently on a solid state hard drive. The results are the best music I have ever heard and I have cared to hear for almost half a century.

Schools out and the only benefit of vinyl is nostalgia. …That’s OK, there's a place for nostalgia, it’s just this reviewers opinion that music lovers are finally able to enjoy their current revolutionary music in a way that has been unavailable to the masses for more than a generation. I definitely think we took a step back there for a while and the lame stream continues to half step. That’s where artisans like Lukasz Fikus have come to the rescue.

The famous Lampizator DAC4 generation3 was a revelation of the above and I couldn’t bare to part from my own generation 4, …until now. It goes like this, put a Lampizator DAC4 and Transport in between your computer and Hi Fi gear and magic happens, you’ve got every ounce of vinyl clarity but without the pops and scratches. This brings me to the all new DAC7.

Lampizator DAC7
"Most radically minimalistic DAC we ever designed." Says Lukasz, "If you try and build a triode, blah, blah." Says Greg, Lukasz UK Distributor/buff and you know I just glaze over. Sadly that's not my income source. Music is my escape from and often these days my fight with the new world disorder. You know there's no time for good music like a revolution, so I'll just say check out the Lampizator site direct for the technicals and make an attempt here to address the 'flavour' of the new Lampizator flagship and a few other updates and comments as they occur to me, so this page will continue to morph over the next few days.

Check out the previous reviews of the Big 6, Transport, SILK etc., links at the bottom. This is a continuation of the Lampizator series of reviews.

Greg is a spirited debater of music technologies. He was paying a visit to a customer in our vicinity today on his way to their Birmingham distributor and was kind enough to let me in on the roadshow with a short but revealing stint of the DAC7 in my stack affectionately known as WD's "The Bunker" Lampizator GM70 SE Amps and Transport with Spendor S100 speakers "Spendor Henge" system, replacing my resident Big DAC6.5.

First, I say 'flavour' because that's largely my first impression over a short less than an hour listening session. I heard a heavenly level 4 voicing (vinyl) to the enth degree with one query that I must answer more fully in the projected more thorough Lampizator Big Super DAC7.5 review I hope to write around August so stay tuned for that. My only query with the 7 is regarding reverb. I'll take the opportunity to finally include the DSD capability Lukasz offers and see what all the fuss is about and there is one final tweak planned.

Side/future issues: In our current 4m x 4m listening room Spendor henge are over sized but working beautifully. I have found them amazingly versatile and have yet to find a better pair of all rounder speakers. Nevertheless future plans include a substantially larger listening room and we are searching for the absolute ultimate speaker solution. I've been chatting air brick inner wall construction with Lukasz and looking at frequencies, waves and dimension for that as well as the new Lampizator offering, the ‘Destination’ speakers. Expectations are high for the collaborative offering from Lukasz and Wlodek retailing at a current price of $32,150 - €23,370 - £19,060 GULP! Anticipating the ultimate zero compromise last speakers a music lover would ever want to own for that sort of investment and Lukasz' own statement is that "they are simply the best speakers money can buy." Well that seals it then, a must buy obviously. lol. ...And Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables are all I'll need? We're getting system specific here and I expect this is the important point as Lukasz clarifies, "Whats most important, these speakers and my amps and DACs are a match made in heaven." Can't wait to hear these horns.

Greg is hot for certain horns that I "must hear" too. There will be no stone left unturned. This brings me to the tweak I mentioned. Several people have reported very positive effects of tri-wiring Spendor S100's. As Lukasz has a positive view of my current Nordost Red Dawn speaker cables in conjunction with his Destination speakers that's good news. We'll splice in a second pair of bi-wire configured Nordost Red Dawn to handle the mids and tweeters with some tasty spades. Rhodium? Tweak.

Back to the DAC7. During the Super Big 6.5 review I mentioned that I couldn't "escape the redefining charms of my DAC4 gen4" and this is what I meant. The seven has a different voicing, similar to the DAC4's clarity and definition v my 6.5's for want of a better description 80's sound. 6.5 seems to go lower and not lose clarity as such but attain this character as described, not unlike the effect of a loudness button. DAC7 plays wonderfully with jazz, loved Coltrane's Olé and Miles Davis. It may trump here. Studio 1 style Brentford All-Stars 'Greedy G' showed this reverbe issue when trying to reach down real low. Greg says this is not so apparent in a horn speaker setup.

Having said this I have already asked Lukasz to pencil me in for a review with a view to buy for August, hence the forthcoming review. I was immediately captivated by the voice of the 7 and the palpable added depth to the already beguiling 4. I also suspect that the lack of time for tweaks etc. conspired. Nevertheless this failed to leave a bad impression. Straight out of the box I was impressed. The feeling I am left with is one of hope. Hopeful that the absolute ultimate nature of the Big 7 will take away any slight blemishes. Lucasz assured me that if I liked the DAC7 the Super7 is all that on steroids and will blow me away. "Putting it all in one big box with the extra power supplies etc. and without having to make the external link." When probing further, ..as I described "more of that level 4 voicing" Lukasz disagreed insisting "The Big 7 is really more of the level 7 sound." Clearly my short listening session was not enough to plumb the depths of this new instrument. I have a premonition were looking at the end of the line for me. It's totally down to personal taste at this level. Whereas DAC6 aka 'The Fikus DAC' speaks for itself as being Lukasz Fikus the maker's, preferred sound, I have my fingers crossed that the Super 7 may end up being the definitive "Angel DAC".

Update 12 of June -
Hay la DAC7's back:
You have got to hear the DAC7. It's a completely different animal to the Big6. In comparison, glass like transparency and highs and a much more articulated base. This is where Lampizator DAC fans come to make their final choice for a specifically tailored sound and it's a very wide palate. I would suggest that the 6 errs towards tube like nostalgia and the 7 is a more modern clear sound, but condensed. I am really enjoying the 7 without the reservations I had for the Big6 and although for the right system and audiophile the 6 will be the one, for my tastes the 7 is more than a level above.

Because I am in the lengthening list for a Super7 my thoughts are, where does the sound go from here? To my ear, the DAC7 absolutely needs no more force of base. I hope this is not going to be the effect of all the extra power supplies. There is no question that I would consider myself lucky to have a DAC7 all I would ask if anything from the Super7 would be one last air of refinement. Lukasz said the Super was like the 7 but a whole lot more. If it's about added elegance, a final touch of refinement to what is already apparent in the standard DAC7 that will do nicely.

Did I mention the sound is exceptionally good for late night close low volume listening. Greg says this is to do with the massive gain. The Bunker (my system) has been described as the worlds ultimate headphones, bearing that in mind, listening at higher volumes today it was like this; with drums, I was sitting with the drummer or being bashed in the head, with higher notes, the razor sharpness could cut your head clean off! Miraculously, the house is still standing. Santana was rocking the place as I skipped tracks I wanted to settle on the less confused and crowd fussed tracks....tbc...

Between Hard Rock and limited cash.
The irritating thing is that the sweet, glassy clear, super articulate base DAC7 does not trump My indescribable Big 6.5. The truly ideal Lampizator DAC (at this point in time) would offer the ability to switch between these two. However enhanced, I can not see how even the Super7 will truly trump the Big when it comes to it's particular virtues of great immediacy and yet laid back and easy to listen to indefinitely without fatigue. Unfortunately, due to the direct nature of the design of the 7 it is not practical to make a DAC6/7, but can one justify paying double to have it all? Most of us will have to make a hard decision between the two.

My eyes are spinning like a one armed bandit for the recent progression regarding levels of Lampizator DACs and I wonder where it will go... Do we wait for DAC10 that might somehow be a mature final solution and melding of the previous characteristics of the flock with switching between multiple processors and implementations??? The point is these are both extremely talented and sweet audiophile products and it's hard to make a decision to lose A for the sake of gaining B, ideally going up we want it all and more, but here it is not the case, we have more of different. I think this can be argued for the DAC5 (an ultimate DAC4) Big6 and no doubt Super7 too.

This is the product of a no compromise approach. Choose the style of your nirvana, there is not only one, it's infinitely variable. Is it time that Lukasz moved away from zen style single talented products to something more multifunctional. LampizatOr-X-DAC?

Photo Right: Concept 2020 LampizatOr-X-DAC.
My ultimate LampizatOr-SuperX-DAC would perhaps look like a double-deck-er 6 with the lamps visible through a window in the front face rather than exposed, I would keep my excellent pre-amp volume and there would be three nice rotary switches/dials, volume, effect, source. Three point effect (5)natural, (7)transparent, (6)warm (get the DAC level reference). One for manually switching source from the front would be nice too. Anyone got a spare €10-15k?

As I can't get away this month for the first international conference in Motown (Detroit) USA 'issues facing men and boys' and as I have already given of my time and money to help make sure the event happens in the face of 'feminist death and bomb threats' would you believe and obviously after having the DAC7 back for a much closer inspection, I'm now feeling good about my next donation to Lukasz for my upgrade. After a hard days activism for the MHRM, one can suffer a little self gratification and play, no? ;)

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Additional:
life with GM70SE amps, valve technology meets Apple Mac, dual amp convenience and listening room tweaks:
I have a good year or two's experience with lamp-ized technology now and the high current nature of valve amplifiers etc. and so far my experience has been a steep learning curve for the quirks of the technology coupled to the reward of audiophile nirvana.

The system is usually at top performance within 5 or 15 minutes depending on ambient temperature. During constant use, often 24 hours as it's often forgotten on, I have had one poor valve that occurred recently. If you are serious you will have spare valves. Swapped in a pair of nice E88CC Philips SQ's and things actually improved.

Another thing worth mentioning is the occasional microphonics from the valves on the amps and a simple test for bad valves and often just a remedy for microphonic issues is to swap valves between the mono amps. You have to imagine all those parts and each individual lamp heating expanding and contracting. It's very much alive and occasionally needs a scratch here and tweak there, for example the dials, every week or so I check and every so often a minor adjustment is required.

For my personal needs as I have no time to play with valves whilst I work, I have decided to combine a solid state amp, my PM17KI for general use. Unfortunately after exposure to the GM70SE, the sound is too veiled and it requires a long absence for the Marantz to sound fulfilling. With electric bill savings bearing in mind it costs around £1000 per year to run the GM70SE's full time as I tend to do, this has allowed me to project for an item designed to last as long term in my system as my old faithful Marantz and upgrade. I am looking for an ultimate upgrade integrated, something bulletproof as a hassle free do it all core to my system and planning to audition the Luxman and other offerings soon. With the great StereoMOJO review on the L507u, I'm keen to hear the completely manual L509u and newer L507uX. Even considered the M900u power amp as my Big 6 DAC is also a pre-amp, but that would not offer the energy saving benefits, still tempting. Best of both worlds and have a great backup of acceptable sound quality whilst the GM70SE rest during work time please.

Q. Why would I pay £7,500 for the flagship Luxman in the UK, when I can order one from a shop in Japan, buy a high quality transformer and pay the UK VAT for half the money? Who cares about a 3 year UK warranty when you could buy two for the price of one of a reputedly very reliable product and how difficult can it be (famous last words) to fettle a Japanese amp internally to run of the UK power supply anyway?

(Additional Oct 2014: The Luxman was another experience like I've had with B&O, that looked beautiful, but sounded all wrong. Astonishing for a reputable company and a €10,000 retail price. I am sorry I brought it up. My aunt bought me a £5 radio when I was 5 that sounded better! The UK distributer swears it's working perfectly. Lol - I picked up a slight upgrade to my PM17KI, a very acceptable PM14KI Mk2)

Noisy Apples: When our system is running on top form and given some volume it sings there is one further issue one may have to combat for recent vinyl to digital converts and that is computer hard drive and fan noise.

I use an iMac. To get her running quietly I have taken two steps. a) I have upgraded her hard drive to 1TB SSD and b) as I discovered was very necessary after the install, I found some fan control software. She was sure confused by the SSD and decided to run her fans virtually at full hair dryer mode most of the time! This was confusing as I had expected the reverse, the new drive having no moving parts and runs cooler. This seems to have cured all ills and now... expressed in Lampizator terms, lets say my stock mac was an old level 2, became a useless dog after immediately after the install and is now a solid level 5.

Listening room: Moving the computer to a separate room and using the iPeng app to control the Lampizator Transport would take you to level 6 and finally computer fan noise would have left the scene. Level 7 would require an enclosure for the GM70SE mono blocks and ideally the whole system. At close listening distances, the amps omit a low level hum and inevitably the heat acting on metal and glass expanding as previously described omits it's own chorus of microphonics. Level 7 is perhaps all the above behind a well ventilated thick glass fronted rack so that you finally have ultimate control through a pretty cool remote controller that for mac users is our iPod, iPhone, iPad that run totally silently and only the beautiful sound emanating from your speakers. It's in the cards for our ultimate listening room. Tweak! ;)

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Update 25th July: Lukasz has begun construction of our LampizatOr Super (aka Big) 7 DAC/pre amplifier + DSD with additional XLR ++ 'Supreme Reference' on course for August review. Emmission Labs on standby! To 45 meshie or not to 45 meshie? That is the question. Whether it be nobler to stay true with a flat plate or preferable to take excursions into magic mushroom land with meshie? :)

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Update 15th November:
As a prelude to a full review here's an update prompted by a friend's recent query.

I have not been able to get good synergy with the B7 in my own system. In the end B7 PCM playback becomes tiring in the bunker. It was always going to be a tough challenge against our very special 'Fikus' DAC. We did find some extraordinary results with DSD playback in Robert's setup. I am in the process of verifying this with a final pure-DSD-B7. With any luck I'll have something up soon.

Have opted for Duelund this time. 101d and 274b tubes. The 101d were a surprise visually. They are very cute and different. I would add that Duelund take ages to break in and the first two weeks were very painful.

Lampizator is going through some changes at the moment with the use of PCBs. I would be glad to share any experiences with the community.

Otherwise upgraded our DAC4 to a B4 with volume and Dualund and she's just started 2 weeks breaking in. I will look in on her a couple of times, but I really can’t abide the strain of those particular caps when new.

At over 10,000 hours my B6 is a wonderful all-purpose machine that get's extra special when played with the Transport and I couldn't be happier. The B7-DSD is an extravagance given the lack of available DSD in the UK, but I may verify in my next review that it's effectively level 10, very open. Depends on how she performs this week in the Bunker.

I think DACs 3,4,5 are special neutral (I won't part with my 4) and the B6 gives and inaudible amount of detail for a wonderful musicality and a touch warm in a very good way. The seven startles with clarity but I find the PCM playback condensed and tiring after a while in my setup. Spendor Henge take no prisoners! ;-)

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Photos above by Lukasz, DAC7, Big SEVEN and Lampizator Destination Speakers tri-wire crossover + DAC7 in The Bunker by GPoint Audio Greg. - Photos below by WD.

"The Bunker"