Thread: LampizatOR DSD Only DAC Generation 5

Lampi is 2 separate engines in the same box.

You can thus do what you like. PCM only, DSD only or both.

Adam is running DSD only (on the fly) as he upsamples all to DSD256 via HQP and AO/Win2012/Core Mode CAPs server.

I play back natively PCM or DSD straight from my library. Everybody is happy and I can try Adama's approach later, especially when I upgrade to DSD256.

Originally Posted by Steve

Why do many go for the pre-amp/volume option for a DAC? Is it primarily for the display showing mode of operation and remote on/off features?

Why doesn't the L7/Big7 have a balanced option?

Remote and one less component in the signal path (no preamp).

Not sure the box can fit balanced components (doubled) for the DHT implementation. 20 power supplies for SE, so 40 for balanced!

I did a lot of comparos.

The first Big 7 Łukasz borrowed me was one with both the ESS DAC and their pure DSD engine.

You could listen to PCM files in a number of ways on this DAC:

1. Play native PCM via ESS DAC
2. Play PCM upsampled to DSD via ESS DAC
3. Play PCM upsampled to DSD via pure DSD engine

The #3 option won hands down to my ears. This is what made me buy this DAC.

For this reason, the Big 7 I ordered had no ESS DAC onboard at all. So my Big 7 is DSD only.

Of course, that doesn't mean you cannot play PCM files on it. You can, but you have to upsample all PCM files to DSD. I do it on the fly on my computer.

You can use Jriver or HQ Player to do that on the fly on Windows machines (I see no reason to do it offline - it would be a waste of time and storage space). You can also upsample stuff on Macs (I'm not a Mac guy, buy AFAIR you can use PureMusic to do that).

Having your DAC DSD only has another sonic advantage. Not only there is less circuity inside (less radiated RFI/RMI inside) but there is no capacitor in the signal path between the two 'engines' (PCM / DSD). No capacitor = shorter signal path = better sound.

This is my second Lampi. I have first bought the Lampi DSD level 5 gen 5 two months ago, as a proof of concept (I have very few DSD files). I loved what I've heard, so I decided to get the Big 7.

The results are absolutely stunning, and at this price, the price to performance ratio is almost silly good.

To my ears no compromise…and its not the same chassis people worry about, but the (to their mind unnecessary) switch needed for having both in the same box, as both engines are almost completely separate, sharing only the USB input and output tubes….but never at the same time.

So as a purist, I can see wanting one or the other but as someone who used to have the Lampi boxes for DSD and PCM sepate and now with a B7 with both, I am not missing anything.

Originally Posted by Elberoth

I did a lot of comparos.

The first Big 7 Łukasz borrowed me was one with both the ESS DAC and their pure DSD engine.

You could listen to PCM files in a number of ways on this DAC:

1. Play native PCM via ESS DAC
2. Play PCM upsampled to DSD via ESS DAC
3. Play PCM upsampled to DSD via pure DSD engine

The #3 option won hands down to my ears. This is what made me buy this DAC.

For this reason, the Big 7 I ordered had no ESS DAC onboard at all. So my Big 7 is DSD only.

Of course, that doesn't mean you cannot play PCM files on it. You can, but you have to upsample all PCM files to DSD. I do it on the fly on my computer.

You can use Jriver or HQ Player to do that on the fly on Windows machines (I see no reason to do it offline - it would be a waste of time and storage space). You can also upsample stuff on Macs (I'm not a Mac guy, buy AFAIR you can use PureMusic to do that).

Having your DAC DSD only has another sonic advantage. Not only there is less circuity inside (less radiated RFI/RMI inside) but there is no capacitor in the signal path between the two 'engines' (PCM / DSD). No capacitor = shorter signal path = better sound.

This is my second Lampi. I have first bought the Lampi DSD level 5 gen 5 two months ago, as a proof of concept (I have very few DSD files). I loved what I've heard, so I decided to get the Big 7.

The results are absolutely stunning, and at this price, the price to performance ratio is almost silly good.

So you got the B7 yesterday??? Do you have the DSD Direct option on it? Unfortunately he did put it on mine…its the feature where you can bypass the output cap! AL loves it for certain tracks.

BTW, the ESS chip is only in the Amber.

The diff between the B5 and B7 would be the PCB design and the DHT output tubes instead of small signal tubes. DSD LOVES DHT. The switch totally shuts down PCM when DSD is in action, so no RFI interference. The purity point is only about having the swicth in the signal path for the combo Dac configuration.

You can upsample on the fly with Mac with HQP and JRiver too.

Originally Posted by wisnon

So you got the B7 yesterday???

http://audioshark.org/computer-digit...tml#post116864

HQPlayer is superior to J River, but less convinient (you loose the Jremote app).

Haven't tried the Saracon. I believe you can use it to upsample offline (waste of time and storage space IMO), but also you can use it as a plugin to Jriver, Foobar etc, if your DAC supports ASIO drivers.

You are spot on Dpod4.

Originally Posted by Dpod4

This is why i ordered DSD only. And if best sound is dsd I didn't want to pay extra for PCM when I can use my Modwright 5400es or HUGo to play pcm. If I am missing something in my logic Pls someone tell me before they build my unit.

Only that I prefer the Big7 PCM to the Hugo, by far. However, as you already own 2 PCM Dacs, i see the Logic.

According to most, HQP polysinc upsampling filters are the best around, better than Saracon, too.

I am never up sampling, so cant confirm.
Thing is, I also still spin discs, so I can't ever rely solely on up sampling.

Interesting. So you were sent 2 different units? Were both units Gen 5?

Darrin - glad you were able to turn it around. Now you must be thinking Big 7 or GG time!

Thank you for your testimony. May I ask what your digital source is?

Darrin, I am glad you were able to cross the Rubicon. Lampi caps take a while to break in and for the magic to arrive, but as you saw, patience is rewarded.

I am still in awe of the Purity of lampi DSD, but when the caps break in on the GG, PCM will be very, very close to DSD. Mike's GG for example, wont start really hitting stride until August, based on the history of his Mundorf caps and most benefit will go to PCM there. For some inexplicable reason DSD breaks in much faster...???

I have a Big 7 on the way. I still don't know too much about this unit, but I gather there are two discreet modes in the unit - DSD and PCM and that I need to switch the unit into one of the modes manually?

For purposes of break in, does it matter which mode or are both truly discreet such that they have to be broken in through separate usage?

Originally Posted by madfloyd

I have a Big 7 on the way. I still don't know too much about this unit, but I gather there are two discreet modes in the unit - DSD and PCM and that I need to switch the unit into one of the modes manually?

For purposes of break in, does it matter which mode or are both truly discreet such that they have to be broken in through separate usage?

Congrats Ian! Yes, you use the remote to switch between PCM and DSD. It's best to break in both PCM and DSD. I find PCM takes longer.

Have you started to think about tube rolling?

Will you be using a Mac or Windows or something like an Aurender? I'm using an Aurender N100H and it works great.

Originally Posted by Mike

Congrats Ian! Yes, you use the remote to switch between PCM and DSD. It's best to break in both PCM and DSD. I find PCM takes longer.

Have you started to think about tube rolling?

Will you be using a Mac or Windows or something like an Aurender? I'm using an Aurender N100H and it works great.

I have not thought about tube rolling. I have done SO much of that in the past that I have hundreds of tubes in various boxes around my house and to be honest I hope those days are over. I will evaluate the unit based on whatever tubes it comes with and if it doesn't do what I need it to do, it will be returned.

I use a CAPS v3 server as it allows me to use JRemote (the most amazing app). That said, if there's a sonic advantage of using the Aurender over a windows box, I might consider it, but the app would have to be really good...

Originally Posted by Mike

Congrats Ian! Yes, you use the remote to switch between PCM and DSD. It's best to break in both PCM and DSD. I find PCM takes longer.

Have you started to think about tube rolling?

Will you be using a Mac or Windows or something like an Aurender? I'm using an Aurender N100H and it works great.

Mike, I was having drinks with your ultimate Tune rolling source last night in Geneva (he is with a group doing watch factory tours). He gave me the whole story of how he tracked down BtB and found the easy supply for the Elrogs via Munich and even showed me your package as delivered. i bet you were sweating. That was a close call.

Originally Posted by madfloyd

I have not thought about tube rolling. I have done SO much of that in the past that I have hundreds of tubes in various boxes around my house and to be honest I hope those days are over. I will evaluate the unit based on whatever tubes it comes with and if it doesn't do what I need it to do, it will be returned.

I use a CAPS v3 server as it allows me to use JRemote (the most amazing app). That said, if there's a sonic advantage of using the Aurender over a windows box, I might consider it, but the app would have to be really good...

If you have a ready available tube stash, you owe it to yourslef to try. This is not like amp tube rolling as you can change the DHT really on the fly and turn down the volume and change the rectis (almost on the fly). This tubes will last forever as they are not stressed by mere Dcac fuynctionality, given they are built for POWER amp duties. Find what you like best and stick with it. YOU HAVE THE TUBES already.

Originally Posted by wisnon

Mike, I was having drinks with your ultimate Tune rolling source last night in Geneva (he is with a group doing watch factory tours). He gave me the whole story of how he tracked down BtB and found the easy supply for the Elrogs via Munich and even showed me your package as delivered. i bet you were sweating. That was a close call.

Originally Posted by FlexibleAudio

Ok, ok I am going to have to give the Lampi another listen sometime. Maybe the one I heard at Axpona wasn't broken in yet as I have been told. (Please no one tell Norman I admitted this. It's a secret.)

I was not impressed at Axpona either but it was in a system I wasn't familiar with. You just can't isolate one component at a show. You need to audition it in your home.

For what it's worth, I listed to the AVShowrooms video of the GG from Axpona and it didn't sound good at all. Could have been due to the room, the rest of the system, the music they were playing or that the DAC wasn't broken in yet. However, I listened to the AVShowrooms video of the Level 7 from the 2014 NY Audio Show and it sounded incredibly good. I really need to hear these DACs in person somewhere.

Ken

Guys - I can assure you, the GG is all the Big 7 is and more. I had the Big 7 here and now the GG. What I will tell you is that, to me, the Big 7 sounded best with 45's and the GG with 300b's. But both sound good with either. My friend Andy has both a Big 7 and a GG and he says exactly the same thing. They are both great, but they sound optimum with different output tubes. That being said, even now, we are learning that the Big 7 sounds incredible with Takasuki 300b's and the GG sounds incredible with Elrog 300b's - so it all depends.

I've also experimented with cables this week, and believe it or not, the little $50 Straight Wire cable with filtering sounded quieter than my WW Platinum USB. What exactly do I mean? Well, with my WW Platinum cable, it let through all the crackle, crackle, noise when switching between tracks. It sounds like the Lampi has some digital indigestion. . But with the Straight Wire USB (with filtering) it's dead dead quiet with NO loss of sound quality.

My old military RCA rectifier arrived today, so I need to try that soon.

Originally Posted by Mike

Guys - I can assure you, the GG is all the Big 7 is and more. I had the Big 7 here and now the GG. What I will tell you is that, to me, the Big 7 sounded best with 45's and the GG with 300b's. But both sound good with either. My friend Andy has both a Big 7 and a GG and he says exactly the same thing. They are both great, but they sound optimum with different output tubes. That being said, even now, we are learning that the Big 7 sounds incredible with Takasuki 300b's and the GG sounds incredible with Elrog 300b's - so it all depends.

I've also experimented with cables this week, and believe it or not, the little $50 Straight Wire cable with filtering sounded quieter than my WW Platinum USB. What exactly do I mean? Well, with my WW Platinum cable, it let through all the crackle, crackle, noise when switching between tracks. It sounds like the Lampi has some digital indigestion. . But with the Straight Wire USB (with filtering) it's dead dead quiet with NO loss of sound quality.

My old military RCA rectifier arrived today, so I need to try that soon.

Mike,

I'd like to hear the single-ended Big 7 with Elrog 300b's. When they put an aluminum chassis all the way around that baby, there will be no keeping me away! Are you using the USB Regen with your GG?

Ken

Ken - you may get your wish.

Hot off the presses....





Anodized brushed aluminum with honeycomb vents, identical like Golden Gate, now available for Big 7.

Originally Posted by Mike

Ken - you may get your wish.

Hot off the presses....





Anodized brushed aluminum with honeycomb vents, identical like Golden Gate, now available for Big 7.

Oh no!!!!! Trouble Trouble Trouble Trouble.

Interesting that this B7 has only two output tubes and balanced outputs. Dual DHT's?

Ken

Originally Posted by Alpinist

Interesting that this B7 has only two output tubes and balanced outputs. Dual DHT's?

Ken

Interesting. Good spotting Ken. I don't know.

Originally Posted by Mike

Guys - I can assure you, the GG is all the Big 7 is and more. I had the Big 7 here and now the GG. What I will tell you is that, to me, the Big 7 sounded best with 45's and the GG with 300b's. But both sound good with either. My friend Andy has both a Big 7 and a GG and he says exactly the same thing. They are both great, but they sound optimum with different output tubes. That being said, even now, we are learning that the Big 7 sounds incredible with Takasuki 300b's and the GG sounds incredible with Elrog 300b's - so it all depends.

I've also experimented with cables this week, and believe it or not, the little $50 Straight Wire cable with filtering sounded quieter than my WW Platinum USB. What exactly do I mean? Well, with my WW Platinum cable, it let through all the crackle, crackle, noise when switching between tracks. It sounds like the Lampi has some digital indigestion. . But with the Straight Wire USB (with filtering) it's dead dead quiet with NO loss of sound quality.

My old military RCA rectifier arrived today, so I need to try that soon.

Andy told me the same thing 2 nights ago in Gva. He is loving the Elrog 300b, but didnt mention the Takasuki for the B7. I am getting an EML mesh plate set for the B7 to compare to the Solids I have.

Originally Posted by Alpinist

For what it's worth, I listed to the AVShowrooms video of the GG from Axpona and it didn't sound good at all. Could have been due to the room, the rest of the system, the music they were playing or that the DAC wasn't broken in yet. However, I listened to the AVShowrooms video of the Level 7 from the 2014 NY Audio Show and it sounded incredibly good. I really need to hear these DACs in person somewhere.

Ken

Perfect storm speakers were new ( I mean finished AT the show in Axpona) and missing some XO adjusments that were not mae till Sat night. Likely the vid was taken before that. Nothing could be evaluated under those circumstances. It happens at shows…rush and obstacles…bad combo).

Originally Posted by Alpinist

Interesting that this B7 has only two output tubes and balanced outputs. Dual DHT's?

Ken

Probably the owner asked for XLR outputs? Not fully internally balanced, as that requires 4 matched tubes.

Originally Posted by Alpinist

Mike,

I'd like to hear the single-ended Big 7 with Elrog 300b's. When they put an aluminum chassis all the way around that baby, there will be no keeping me away! Are you using the USB Regen with your GG?

Ken

You must be telepathic. The B7 has moved to an ALU chassis, cut like the copper one used in the GG. That plan was in the works for a while now, as I heard about itmonths ago. Surprised it took so long, but I guess he is swamped.

I have been using the Regen with Corning for 5 weeks now. Wink, wink! Its like a Swiss army knife, run go order one and you will find a use for it!

Originally Posted by FlexibleAudio

Yes, there is no substitute for at home listening but I still think shows have value. If it sounds good it's good if it sounds bad you haven't necessarily learned anything.

That is how I approach shows too.

I hated the Blade run with Soulution electronic a few years back in Zurich, as it failed the cricket test for reslution while the cheaper LS50 setup did not.

The following year the Kef Ref 3 sounded great in a smaller room and when I told the British guy about my previous experience, he was appalled and recalled that he was not there for the setup and declared they must have botched it (he seemed genuinely angry). He guaranteed that if it came back another year (Blade 2 now), he would be there to make sure its done right and I should come back for another listen. Based on the quality of the Ref 3 demo, I gave him the benefit of the doubt.

Originally Posted by wisnon

Probably the owner asked for XLR outputs? Not fully internally balanced, as that requires 4 matched tubes.

Hi Norman,

Not a bad idea as I've always preferred the XLR connection to the RCA.

Ken

Originally Posted by wisnon

You must be telepathic. The B7 has moved to an ALU chassis, cut like the copper one used in the GG. That plan was in the works for a while now, as I heard about itmonths ago. Surprised it took so long, but I guess he is swamped.

I have been using the Regen with Corning for 5 weeks now. Wink, wink! Its like a Swiss army knife, run go order one and you will find a use for it!

Norman,

The aluminum chassis is a big selling point for me on the Big 7. What improvements have you experienced with the Regen? Have you found the Corning optical USB cable to be superior to other high-end USBs such as the WW Platinum 7 USB, which I own? Lastly, is your Big 7 DSD 128 or mono 256?

Thanks so much,
Ken