Lampizator DAC by Lukasz Fikus

Because my own very unit which I built ( sorry, re engineered or modified ) is be...t..er...( hate to make this claim openly but relative to my own system ya ) , this is based upon the TDA 1541A DAC, for me the best ever DAC chip( most analogue ) ever produced compared to the modern variants made today, ( to all the TDA guy out there, the true TDA sound is not just mellow or analogue sounding as most of you all know it or heard on your Marantz and Phillips player la ) I know that he even uses up to the 32 bit AKM dac chip. But bits being bits and sample rates being sample rates, nothing constitutes more than the actual character of the DAC chip itself, the Analogue Devices, Phillips TDA, ESS , AKM, Burr Browns, CS, all have their own character thus no matter which brand of player they go into, the character remains the same due to the DAC chip being used.

And I can safely GUESS that Lamp uses the AKM variant, which is available to be purchased anywhere to start off designing his DAC's. Plenty available on e bay and widely used by many DIY'er's in the US, 4393, 4395, 4396 you name it, they have it...

Its more of a been there done that heard that for me, I don't need to spend anymore money or time on it , kinda already know the main design protocol needed to make it tick, after all I have spent almost 3 years researching and experimenting with various DAC's and comparing them and has been fun doing so. ( that includes the very expensive Audio Note DAC 4 Sig. and the DCS Elgar ) I don't make an open blinded claim, I actually owned these and have sold them after listening and comparing them. Except if someone would be so generous to let me have a listen to their DCS Scarlatti, am sure that would be a great

Being able to take a peek and first listened into the Lampizator prototype unit I bought initially a year or so ago opened up a vast design idea from Lamp himself I don't see in any of the high end DAC's or CD players made today irrespective of price. ( Don't think any will ever follow such a design ) It was really an eye opener if you asked me again.

Besides, his prices are really up there now and honestly for the same money, I rather jump into transcription direct idler drive turntables... something along the line of a Garrard 301..

Analogue is analogue la, the best of digital can only come close but never beat it... that's for sure.

Am finally done with digital that's for sure.. won't give it up but bout time I stop firing up the solder gun and sit back listening to the music I enjoy.


What you briefly heard out of the initial prototype before, is still a distance to what the level 4 itself la, that I can be sure of.

Well you could ask Ung again of what he thought of it when he first heard it, he auditioned it in his own system for a week with no biased influence before offering to buy it. I never got to audition any of Lamp's stuff before buying it ( he offered me at a special price,thanks Lukasz ) but when it arrived and I first heard it that night, it was just a true eye opener...

Tell you what was a real disappointing purchase, that Audio Note DAC 4 Sig... I went after listening to it...

Once again guys, these judgement are all made in the very context of my own system, I have not at any time made claims that it applies for every other system out there..

For all the TDA1541a lovers:

He made a special commemorative model...

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/200643974730?ru=http%3A%2F%2Fshop.ebay.com.au%3A80%2F%3F_from%3DR40%26_trksid%3Dm570%26_nkw%3D200643974730%26_sacat%3DSee-All-Categories%26_fvi%3D1&_rdc

Thanks Dixon.,



I am sure the Lamp 4 is excellent.

If there is a chance, I wld like to audition it in a proper setup.



BTW, yr DIY DAC with borrowed ideas better than the Lamp?

Then we shd all buy from you.



Cheers

Hahahahaha..am flattered but thanks, am no designer myself ya.

Thought I like to say yes but unfortunately this is only a hobby for my own listening enjoyment, besides, the achievement of the sound is the sum of every single component in the DAC, no matter how miniscule it is. Some new some NOS.

I can arrange one that I help a friend to build BASED UPON ( not actual ) the Behringer unit, I believe this is an equivalent iteration of my very own except it uses the AKM dac.

Given the very expensive quality of the components used in that unit and also the tubes it uses, it betters the earlier prototype I had listened to , thats all I can comment about it. Currently going through another iteration using more exotic tubes to strike a better balance in its sound.

I will answer your last question when I meet you one day ya..

Dixchen,



One of the latest improvements made since the April release of the Generation 3 is the semi-active summation circuit. This apparently tends to remove MOST of the sonic signatures of tube types, making tube choice less important than before.



He also changed some operating parameters in the output stage of the DAC to the tubes.



Finally, since January this year, he has been using the video DSP receiver chip that improves detail retrieval and a sense of space. I had a L2 October production (old DIY Chassis)that has been upgraded to a L4 equivalent in July and the improvement is NOT subtle. I am hearing new details, even though I have not fully broken in the DAC yet. I have not had a chance to fully test the upgraded unit due to other commitments.

dixchen wrote:Because my own very unit which I built ( sorry, re engineered or modified ) is be...t..er...( hate to make this claim openly but relative to my own system ya ) , this is based upon the TDA 1541A DAC, for me the best ever DAC chip( most analogue ) ever produced compared to the modern variants made today, ( to all the TDA guy out there, the true TDA sound is not just mellow or analogue sounding as most of you all know it or heard on your Marantz and Phillips player la ) I know that he even uses up to the 32 bit AKM dac chip. But bits being bits and sample rates being sample rates, nothing constitutes more than the actual character of the DAC chip itself, the Analogue Devices, Phillips TDA, ESS , AKM, Burr Browns, CS, all have their own character thus no matter which brand of player they go into, the character remains the same due to the DAC chip being used.

And I can safely GUESS that Lamp uses the AKM variant, which is available to be purchased anywhere to start off designing his DAC's. Plenty available on e bay and widely used by many DIY'er's in the US, 4393, 4395, 4396 you name it, they have it...

Its more of a been there done that heard that for me, I don't need to spend anymore money or time on it , kinda already know the main design protocol needed to make it tick, after all I have spent almost 3 years researching and experimenting with various DAC's and comparing them and has been fun doing so. ( that includes the very expensive Audio Note DAC 4 Sig. and the DCS Elgar ) I don't make an open blinded claim, I actually owned these and have sold them after listening and comparing them. Except if someone would be so generous to let me have a listen to their DCS Scarlatti, am sure that would be a great

Being able to take a peek and first listened into the Lampizator prototype unit I bought initially a year or so ago opened up a vast design idea from Lamp himself I don't see in any of the high end DAC's or CD players made today irrespective of price. ( Don't think any will ever follow such a design ) It was really an eye opener if you asked me again.

Besides, his prices are really up there now and honestly for the same money, I rather jump into transcription direct idler drive turntables... something along the line of a Garrard 301..

Analogue is analogue la, the best of digital can only come close but never beat it... that's for sure.

Am finally done with digital that's for sure.. won't give it up but bout time I stop firing up the solder gun and sit back listening to the music I enjoy.


What you briefly heard out of the initial prototype before, is still a distance to what the level 4 itself la, that I can be sure of.

Well you could ask Ung again of what he thought of it when he first heard it, he auditioned it in his own system for a week with no biased influence before offering to buy it. I never got to audition any of Lamp's stuff before buying it ( he offered me at a special price,thanks Lukasz ) but when it arrived and I first heard it that night, it was just a true eye opener...

Tell you what was a real disappointing purchase, that Audio Note DAC 4 Sig... I went after listening to it...

Once again guys, these judgement are all made in the very context of my own system, I have not at any time made claims that it applies for every other system out there..

Definitely some good points raised in your description.


Just a few curious questions:

So, (within the context of your system) a dCS Elgar was bested by your custom-built DAC, what were the conditions of this test ? A subjective evaluation? Even if it was a subjective test, perhaps in the context of a sizable audience or just by a single person's findings?

Might you have some sort of bench test measurement data to also illustrate it's sonic superiority over a dCS Elgar? Maybe something like those nice fancy graphs and charts that Stereophile like to batter their review units with, but maybe no need to be in such detail lah...

If you could also share what were the other equipment (CD transport, Amp, Speakers, etc... ) in the system used for the comparison/evaluation, so we can better understand the above as well ?

after so much of debates and discussion

CDs transport + fikus lampixator DAC eXCEL LP[vinyl] turntable ???



what is the end result => Analogue as vinyl or HIFI sounding that just focus on dynamic...you know emotional has nothing to do with dynamic and resolution...

how much do you sell the DAC Lampizator??i'm in North Malaysia...sell in RM right?which tube dose this DAc use??i mean all tube... but izzit din't satisfied with this item within 7days you'll return full payment??

New reviews:

http://parttimeaudiophile.com/2012/01/0 ... vel-4-dac/

Impressive stuff.


and

http://www.theaudioeagle.com/columns/da ... rison.html