[warp2600]

We have discontinued what was referred to as the 'chipless' DSD engine in Generation 6, having arrived upon what we believe is a better sounding solution.

If someone were very particular in wanting an older engine in a current dac, we could probably accommodate the request--one of the beauties of being a custom shop.

Thanks for clarifying that.
And it's great that the shop accommodates customers' requests.

 

[AlanU]

Wow, only 2 pages so far on the thread for this up & coming DAC?

Oh also as I understood from comments on the Amber 3 from another thread, it does not necessarily have an overtly warm, euphonic / tubey sound, although it does use a tube buffer on the output stage. Is that the general consensus or does anyone disagree? Because I would also use pairing this with a tube amp and I often like a fairly SS-like sound, hopefully not double-tubiness LOL.

Also @Gopher feel free to chime into this and my post above too.

I'm really curious if there's a Canadian distributor to test such a DAC.

My Space Tech tube dac can be tweaked - to sound like solid state to incredibly warm tubey bloom if I choose. I can even add a solid state full wave diode rectifier configuration for true DC feed. I use a tiny rectifier in my tube dac which is a separate unit called a Super Rectifier. 2x Small little 300B (sarcasm) and KT88 buffers or the legendary 6L6GC black plates for incredible sonic bliss.

There is few tube dacs that have intrigued me. The local builder in my area does amazing point to point wiring. I'm just following this thread to hear more about this Lampizator dac.

 

[leftside]

I'm really curious if there's a Canadian distributor to test such a DAC.

My Space Tech tube dac can be tweaked - to sound like solid state to incredibly warm tubey bloom if I choose. I can even add a solid state full wave diode rectifier configuration for true DC feed. I use a tiny rectifier in my tube dac which is a separate unit called a Super Rectifier. 2x Small little 300B (sarcasm) and KT88 buffers or the legendary 6L6GC black plates for incredible sonic bliss.

There is few tube dacs that have intrigued me. The local builder in my area does amazing point to point wiring. I'm just following this thread to hear more about this Lampizator dac.

Where are you located Alan? I'm asking because I've also taken a look at Space Tech (based in Vancouver) and am intrigued by their DACs. If you are also in Vancouver, then you are more than welcome to bring the Space Tech to my place so we can compare to my Lampizators.

When you say "local builder" do you mean Space Tech?

 

[AlanU]

Where are you located Alan? I'm asking because I've also taken a look at Space Tech (based in Vancouver) and am intrigued by their DACs. If you are also in Vancouver, then you are more than welcome to bring the Space Tech to my place so we can compare to my Lampizators.

When you say "local builder" do you mean Space Tech?

Yes Space tech located in New west, BC.

Which Lampizator do you have?

Albert has ramped up the cosmetic looks of his gear. He's used alot of wood work since tube gear apparently sounds better with wood apparently. He's incorporated more aluminum chassis with wood.

My current setup I'm using a super rectifier that can run either 2.5 or 5 volt rectifier tubes. I'm currently running a 300B tube and svetlana 572 monster rectifier tube and that is "super rectifier" that is not part of the dac. The 2.5 volt setup I can use a cheap RCA 1616 rectifier tube which are truly a sweet sounding setup. If i want even more air i can use my mercury vapor rectifier tubes for more high's and more air around the instruments. The Tube dac can run a small 5881 vintage tungsol to beefy Kt88. The body and dynamics is not like a lethargic tube setup. The meaty rich vocals is truly remarkable that no solid state dac can touch.

If you contact Albert you can bring your Lampizator and compare it to his current DSD tube dac. That point to point wired dac runs a beautiful 274B rectifier with Kt150!!!!!!!!!!!! If you add the super rectifier unit and remove the 274B rectifier tube ........... be prepared to have your jaw drop in the difference. Kind of like comparing a flow of music from a straw to a fire hose.

I'd love to test the lampizator one day. So far I've not found a tube dac that can match the space tech. However this is why the lampizator sounds like a great product. A good friend of mine loves his 6000 dollar blue circle dac and he's floored in the SQ of the space tech dac setup I have. I wish I could spend such money on a beautiful looking lampizator at this moment.

I'm at the stage of where SQ can still get better but it's getting closer and closer to diminishing returns.

 

[DecentLevi]

@AlanU I for one wouldn't mind you posting photos of your above mentioned DAC & amp. Anyone object to it? And I would be interested to hear a comparison with the Amber 3 to your DAC sometime perhaps.

 

[leftside]

Yes Space tech located in New west, BC.

Which Lampizator do you have?

If you contact Albert you can bring your Lampizator and compare it to his current DSD tube dac. That point to point wired dac runs a beautiful 274B rectifier with Kt150!!!!!!!!!!!! If you add the super rectifier unit and remove the 274B rectifier tube ........... be prepared to have your jaw drop in the difference. Kind of like comparing a flow of music from a straw to a fire hose.

I'd love to test the lampizator one day. So far I've not found a tube dac that can match the space tech. However this is why the lampizator sounds like a great product. A good friend of mine loves his 6000 dollar blue circle dac and he's floored in the SQ of the space tech dac setup I have. I wish I could spend such money on a beautiful looking lampizator at this moment.

I'm at the stage of where SQ can still get better but it's getting closer and closer to diminishing returns.

I have a Euforia DSD (but I use Roon or JRiver when I want to listen to PCM and the player does the conversion). The Euforia sounds great, and can be had for a very reasonable price when they turn up on the used market as not everyone is prepared to take the 10 mins to configure Roon or JRiver to do a PCM to DSD conversion.

I also have a balanced Golden Atlantic. The only piece of equipment that beats the sound quality of that is my VPI turntable and Benz cart + a lot of hours learning how to setup and configure said turntable.

I'd be more likely to take one of Alberts TOTL DACs to my place and listen with my gear for a fair comparison, and pay the re-stocking fee after I'd listened for a few days. Albert is only a 20-30 min drive from me. I'll be buying a second DAC to replace the Euforia at some point next year, but I have a few other priorities right now before I buy/replace yet more audio gear. Skis, bikes, holidays...

 

[Gopher]

I'm really curious if there's a Canadian distributor to test such a DAC..

We handle all sales/distribution of LampizatOr for the continent, including Canada. Please feel free to reach out to me directly if I can answer any questions you might have.

Regarding comparisons, we stand by our products and are quite proud of everything in our catalog. That said, comparisons with our current generation products would likely be more meaningful than our discontinued models.

 

[Zachik]

I know it is a long shot, but does anyone here have by any chance the Amber 3 and the Audio-GD DI-20 (or DI-20HE)?
I am going to audition soon:
A. Source (fanless NUC running Win10) -> Callisto USB cable (loaner courtesy of @Gopher) -> Amber 3
B. Source (fanless NUC running Win10) -> Supra USB cable (my current USB cable) -> Amber 3
C. Source (fanless NUC running Win10) -> Supra & Callisto USB cables -> Gustard U12 -> WireWorld Silver Starlight 7 Coax cable -> Amber 3

I plan to A/B the 2 USB cables direct to the Amber 3, and also A/B those when adding the U12 in the middle.

I am very curious if anyone has the aforementioned Audio-GD DI-20 (a potential upgrade to my Gustard U12). Obviously, I would expect it would improve vs. the U12, but also I am curious which connection be best? My Amber got Coax (RCA), and AES inputs. No IIS (I2S), which most people seem to be using on the Head-Fi thread for the DI-20...
Lastly, I wonder if the Amber 3 Coax will support the ACSS output of the DI-20 (using BNC to RCA cable)? It is supposed to be an improved SPDIF (Coax).

 

[DecentLevi]

Hey guys I was considering a SW1X DAC, but I've heard they don't support DSD? And it would seem the Amber 3 does - or is that an extra add-on?

Also I saw photos of the Amber 3 model on the Lampi website, and the use of 3 separate types of tubes has me a bit perplexed - do they overheat being enclosed in a metal chassis, even perhaps on a hot day? Somehow I thought it was only one. Then also, does this tube DAC sound clean / neutral and 'pure', rather than added tube saturation? If I get this I would also use it for sound design and mixing / mastering, aside from normal listening for this it would have to be very puristic and not colored in any way.

Also a highly seasoned member had recommended MHDT Labs DACs. These are also tube DACs and far cheaper. Does anyone have any opinions on a comparison (even indirect) to the Lampi Amber 3? Obviously they're on a lower tier, but for someone (me) who only has a Modi 2 Multibit, would those be noticeably better? Thanks...

 

[zkeller]

I have had my Lampizator Amber 3 for a few weeks now, and I would highly recommend it. I have Benchmark, Cary, Chord Hugo and Lumin DACs but this is superior by far.

I also might mention that I used to use Audirvana and Lumin upsampling in order to bring clarity and life to the music, but I have found that the Amber 3 without upsampling is so natural and clear that I have stopped fiddling with the settings now and just leave it to the Lampi which just does the job so well.

I prefer tube sound over clinical sound in general, but I have not found the Amber 3 at all rolled off or overly warm. To the contrary I find that it is beautifully clear. I can only use the word 'natural' to describe how it sounds to me. And I just love the way sound decays making my relatively small room sound larger … let me stop here.

 

[Zachik]

do they overheat being enclosed in a metal chassis, even perhaps on a hot day?

In a word: No!
I had my Amber 3 running 24/7 for 5 days (burning in stuff), and it barely was warm on top (which has venting holes). As long as you do not block the venting holes on top - you're just fine.

for someone (me) who only has a Modi 2 Multibit, would those be noticeably better?

ABSOLUTELY!!
Very noticeable difference, IMHO. I did not A/B with the Modi, but with my Metrum Amethyst (which is already a big step up from the Modi according to people that compared) - the improvement was noticeable.

 

[Monsterzero]

My old Vinshine R2R absolutely destroys my Modi 3,which is in my den system,to the point that my wife noticed the difference when I swapped one to the other unbeknownst to her.
In turn my Lampi TRP destroys my Vinshine.
@Gopher has mentioned to me several times that while the TRP is superior to the Amber 3,the Amber "can hold its own" against its big brother.
@DecentLevi in case you're unaware,TRP is an acronym for 'tube roller paradise'. I have found that rolling tubes in my DAC makes much more than subtle difference in the way my system sounds.
I also agree with the above post,that the Lampi DACs do not sound in any way overly romantic or warm,though im guessing a pair of Mullard EL34s might take the TRP further down that road if one chose to go there.

 

[DecentLevi]

Thanks guys. And what about @Gopher or anyone else at Lampizator. What's your word on the above, if the sound is 'colored' or euphonic vs. clean and pure? And does it support DSD or is that an add-on?

 

[Gopher]

Thanks for your interest guys. For the record, the Amber 3 DAC is in no way colored or euphoric. The decision of implementing tubes in our DACs wasn't done to sugar coat things or create a euphonic sound. On the contrary our DAC is beloved for it's ability to capture the emotion of a performance while remaining neutral, dynamic and honest in it's presentation.

If you peek through the various reviews (both user and professional) of our current line up of DACs, a common theme should be honesty with no talk about euphony or coloration.

The Amber 3 is an easy piece to love. And yes, for the record it handles DSD as a base option.

 

[DecentLevi]

@Hansotek I am really interested in the other professions about the Smber 3, especially how it can be so drastically better than me Chord Hugo 2. This was a DAC I already thought was almost miraculously good. How can it get better than that without coloration or the like?

I feel like the Amber is more spacious, more detailed, more transparent and a touch more organic overall. Relative to my Hugo 2, the Yggy A2 is a moderate, but noticeable improvement. The Amber 3 is a much, much more dramatic improvement.

Avove was a quote from the 2359 Glenn thread. Did you mean to say it was better than the Yggy 2 also?