LAMPIZATOR THREAD COMMENTS REVIEWS TUNING

[orrman]

@orrman

Which tubes does the unit come with stock? I’m guessing these are configured as right/left channel input/driver on one side and output opposite? Looks very cool! I’m working with an Atlantic TRP3 that I’ve had for just over 6 months now. The Poseidon was announced a couple of months after I received my dac. I haven’t heard one yet but there are many out there making the upgrade. Out of curiosity- how is the volume control working out with your Riviera?

This is from the manual:

You can run it single ended with half the tubes if you desire. I think I might do that later on, will make rolling easier.

I run Levante on 12 o'clock on its pot and then control volume with Poseidon. Out of 63 steps on its volume control my comfortable listening is between steps 28 and 42 so that's seems like a good balance between the two components.
With Poseidon on volume control bypass with my sensitive 96db speakers I barely have any room on the Riviera pot

 

[number1sixerfan]

Hey!
This is my first Lampizator DAC, I upgraded from a Rockna Wavedream Signature (and a Wavedream Edition before that).
I've had now a little over a month with the Poseidon, still getting to know it but I'd say it has finished its burn in period by now. Really enjoying the balance it has between engagging captivating sound and just gobs of details with a really holographic staging. It almost forces you to feel and hear everything like you're in the middle of a sphere of sound but it's never fatiguing.

I'm running stock tubes for now, will need to do plenty of catch up reading on different options and Poseidon tube rolling is quite a new thing afaik

These days I'm almost only listening through speakers but I definitely plan to try my chain out with different headphones.

Full system:
Speakers are Devore Fidelity O/96
Amp is Riviera Levante
Source is Antipodes K50
Cables are FTA Sinope for USB and Double Helix Chimera for interconnects and speakers cables.
Power cables are a mix and everything is plugged into a Audioquest Niagara 5000 and sitting on a quadraspire SVTL rack with Isoacoustics Gaia Titan Theis feet.

Improvement so far are definitely upped a notch in realism and timbre, probably a step back in transients attack and slam (all of this would make total sense for those familiar with what the Wavedream is strong at).

I'm super happy with it so far, it does get toasty but warma my heart with every listen too!

It's a beauty, congrats on the purchase. Somewhat similar to you, "slam" and visceral impact was really the only area that didn't improve over the MDave for me. Everything else was a clear step up, especially realism and openness. Bass impact has gotten slightly better with tube rolling but nothing really substantial. Still trying to land on my final set of tubes though.

Congrats!

 

[Designsfx]

Somewhat similar to you, "slam" and visceral impact was really the only area that didn't improve over the MDave for me. Everything else was a clear step up, especially realism and openness. Bass impact has gotten slightly better with tube rolling but nothing really substantial.

Just out of curiosity- does your Pacific have volume control? Are you using your dac with a preamp? Lastly- are you using Roon or HQ Player as your interface or something else? I have a friend who just purchased a Lampizator and also owns a Dave- trying to understand the similarities between your experience and his.

 

[number1sixerfan]

Just out of curiosity- does your Pacific have volume control? Are you using your dac with a preamp? Lastly- are you using Roon or HQ Player as your interface or something else? I have a friend who just purchased a Lampizator and also owns a Dave- trying to understand the similarities between your experience and his.

Has the volume control, no preamp, Phoenix reclocker directly to it, and then directly to my headphone amps (T2 and EC 300B). Roon and Tidal primarily.

 

[Designsfx]

Thought I’d put this up as this thread has little going on. This week I’m trying out the Philips EL3N paired with an ancient RCA Globe 80 in the TRP. I’d been interested in these tubes for some time and recently purchased a NOS quad that are in beautiful condition (Thanks @mordy). I also need to thank @Deyan for spinning up some nice side contact adapters!

These only have a few hours of play on them but so far are sounding really nice. These are easy to drive and produce a nice low end response. Although the bottom end doesn’t dig as deep as some of the triodes I own I haven’t found them to be disappointing. What I really like the most about these (so far) is the midrange production, I would have to say that so far the EL3N produces one of the nicest out there. The low mid response is in the right place- strong enough to support what is going on but without elevating things to the point of sounding shouty. Where and how it blends with higher frequencies is really nice and leaves enough separation between the two that the recording remains comfortably clear. The high end response is where things can become a little tilted towards the sizzle but this is seeming to smooth out as the time passes. I listened to a couple of really “hot” recordings last night after installing these and it was approaching the point to where I started to sense fatigue. Today I’ve listened to 4 new complete releases and have not had that impression at all- just a really crystal clear energetic top end. So far I really like these and will definitely put in some more play time. If you’re rolling tubes in a TRP3 consider these on par with a really great pair of 6L6GC’s but with much more sophisticated midrange. More to come!

 

[mordy]

Thought I’d put this up as this thread has little going on. This week I’m trying out the Philips EL3N paired with an ancient RCA Globe 80 in the TRP. I’d been interested in these tubes for some time and recently purchased a NOS quad that are in beautiful condition (Thanks @mordy). I also need to thank @Deyan for spinning up some nice side contact adapters!



These only have a few hours of play on them but so far are sounding really nice. These are easy to drive and produce a nice low end response. Although the bottom end doesn’t dig as deep as some of the triodes I own I haven’t found them to be disappointing. What I really like the most about these (so far) is the midrange production, I would have to say that so far the EL3N produces one of the nicest out there. The low mid response is in the right place- strong enough to support what is going on but without elevating things to the point of sounding shouty. Where and how it blends with higher frequencies is really nice and leaves enough separation between the two that the recording remains comfortably clear. The high end response is where things can become a little tilted towards the sizzle but this is seeming to smooth out as the time passes. I listened to a couple of really “hot” recordings last night after installing these and it was approaching the point to where I started to sense fatigue. Today I’ve listened to 4 new complete releases and have not had that impression at all- just a really crystal clear energetic top end. So far I really like these and will definitely put in some more play time. If you’re rolling tubes in a TRP3 consider these on par with a really great pair of 6L6GC’s but with much more sophisticated midrange. More to come!

Glad to hear that you like the tubes! I do want to point out that these are old school heavy duty tubes that should be good for at least 10,000 hours. In addition, based on use in different amps than yours, they require a very long burn-in period - up to 250 hours. Some people even noticed improvements up to 400 hours!
But as you said, they sound good right out of the box; as they change it is a pleasurable journey.

 

[leftside]

It's a minor miracle getting all 3 GEC tubes that align properly. As much as i like KT66, I think I prefer the slightly warmer 4654/El50 and relatives in this DAC though.

 

[Designsfx]

It's a minor miracle getting all 3 GEC tubes that align properly. As much as i like KT66, I think I prefer the slightly warmer 4654/El50 and relatives in this DAC though.

@leftside
That looks great! Still wondering if you’ve explored the triodes with your TRP yet..

 

[leftside]

@leftside
That looks great! Still wondering if you’ve explored the triodes with your TRP yet..

I need to double check with Lampizator and see if they work with my TRP. Next winter project....

 

[CHABO]

Salut Alain,

Félicitations pour le Pacifique. C’est un DAC incroyable. J’adore mon Pacific 2 (je l’utilise dans mon système de haut-parleurs séparé).

Je n’ai pas essayé le PX25 vintage ou le 101d vintage, mais j’ai possédé Riccardo Kron KR PX25 et Psvane 101d. Le 101d n’était pas impressionnant et a rapidement été retiré. Le RK KR PX25 est vraiment bon pour un tube moderne, et si quelqu’un ne voulait pas jouer avec NOS, RK KR PX25 est une excellente option, bien que j’aie légèrement préféré le RK KR242 dans l’ensemble pour une dynamique explosive, pour un tube de sortie moderne.

Je n’ai pas lu grand-chose sur les expériences des utilisateurs avec UX245. Pour la famille de tubes 45, j’ai l’impression, d’après d’autres rapports d’utilisateurs, que l’EML Globe Mesh 45 est considéré par beaucoup comme le meilleur de ce type de tubes, par les utilisateurs qui ont expérimenté différents tubes.

Les Philips PT14 et PT35 sont les meilleurs que j’ai entendus pour les tubes de sortie, mais c’est mon goût personnel, car j’aime un son plus linéaire/équilibré/dynamique et très détaillé, mais organique et naturel. Telefunken RS242 et Visseaux TMBF1 sont également exceptionnels. Je pense que la famille 45 est meilleure sur la musique axée sur les médiums (comme 300b), donc une perspective sonore différente, mais vraiment agréable.

Jouir.

Blake

Bonjour Blake,

Pour l’instant, je suis content de la synergie formée par le tube redresseur USAF 596 et la paire de RCA Radiotron UX245, car le 596 apporte une dynamique et une solidité fulgurante, tout en préservant une grande transparence, que les autres tubes redresseurs NOS que j’ai essayés : plus de 15 différents !

Sincèrement

Alain

 

[CHABO]

@Designsfx @leftside Avez-vous essayé des fusibles de rechange dans votre Lampis ? C’est un moyen relativement rentable d’accorder/accentuer davantage une signature sonore au-delà de votre régime de tubes. J’ai collé avec le SR Purple (considéré comme SR Master ou QSA mais ils ne sont pas aussi chauds que ce que je recherche... sans jeu de mots).

@Designsfx @leftside Have you tried aftermarket fuses in your Lampis? It's a relatively cost-effective way to further tune/emphasize a sonic signature beyond your tube regimen. I've been sticking w/ the SR Purple (considered SR Master or QSA but they're not as warm as what I'm looking for... no pun intended).

Hello

To date, I have installed (in a good way...) an SR Master fuse on the Lampizator with a clear gain in seat, opening and depth. The dynamics are still good, but without excessive effect, if I compare it to the addition of a QSA Red fuse on my preamplifier.

In my case, I prefer it because the USAF 596 rectifier tube already brings a lot of dynamics to the reproduction rendered by the converter.

Sincerely,

Alain

 

[Elect37]

Any Poseidon owners rolling tubes?

 

[BlakeT]

Any Poseidon owners rolling tubes?

Congrats on the Poseidon!

I'm guessing there is a 99.9% chance you've already surfed it, but, if you haven't, WBF Poseidon/Horizon forum threads are really the best source for this discussion. This thread is fairly dormant, with only small signs of life popping up now and then, like a small green plant breaking through in the middle of a desert, LOL!

I often forget this thread even exists..

 

[Elect37]

Congrats on the Poseidon!

I'm guessing there is a 99.9% chance you've already surfed it, but, if you haven't, WBF Poseidon/Horizon forum threads are really the best source for this discussion. This thread is fairly dormant, with only small signs of life popping up now and then, like a small green plant breaking through in the middle of a desert, LOL!

I often forget this thread even exists..

Nah did not know about it
Gonna try and give it some water

 

[orrman]

I'm running my Poseidon stock since getting it, only replacing the rectifier to a RCA (minimal improvement but also very minimal investment).
I just moved from running it balanced to single ended and plan to begin rolling it soon. @Elect37 let us know what you end up discovering, the Poseidon specific information is still quite sparse online.