More on the Lampi 7

Some excellent insight into the excitment around the Big 7 dac

http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=129085.0



Also, more here http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2966

Extracts from a post in the above link

"As a lead up to the purchase I always had a leaning towards a DCS DAC, a Meitner/EMM Labs DAC or a Lampizator DAC. Three very different DAC’s in terms of design philosophy from three very different companies...

This past week the Big7 has proceeded to shock, frighten, startle, leave me in awe and generally lift my listening pleasure to a point I could never have imagined. When I think of it words like Beast and Magical come to mind because of the way it handles whatever I throw at it. It seems it is still improving but some big shift in performance has occurred in the past week where it is now on a whole other level compared to the Meitner, whole other planet really!"

Glad you're happy with the unit. I felt the same way when my Ayre was upgraded. Was it your unit that had the issue with cable routing on the DSD side?

No, might be Justin's, possibly because he uses an old laptop heh

My objective is not to say I am happy with it. It is to encourage people with the budget to audition it. If multiple people like it over dCS, Meitner, and 35k MSB stack, there must be something there. Of course, some might like the others more as well, but the difference in price between Big 7 and the others is HUUUGE.

If I am in the market for a Lampi, no point in looking at the MSB stack (apart from a curiosity point of view) as I will not be able to afford it. However, if I am in the market for an MSB stack, I should audition the Lampi, because if I end up liking it more, I might save myself 20k. Ditto for Esoteric and dCS. Potential Giant Killers should always be auditioned. I will be traveling to the US to check out GT Audio planars

I think it is a good circuit.

Where good means most others appear to not be in same league, LOL.

My laptop has USB 2 ports in. TBH I was suspecting the DAC I had (the metal cased level 7, which is no more) to have a DSD issue, but I was just being nice about JRiver on the fly or long lead issues. But I wasn't 100% sure. This confirms THERE ARE issues with the DSD implementation: http://www.tirnahifi.org/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=2966

If anyone is interested in this DAC, here's my 9 page thread on it, with pics: http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?32378-Lampizator-Level-7

I think you'll get the impression I reckon it is good

My DSD worked smoothly when I had the Aurender

Justin, in that thread I was surprised to see Shun Mooks on your DAC. Have you come over to the dark side?

Bernard said:

Justin, in that thread I was surprised to see Shun Mooks on your DAC. Have you come over to the dark side?

Click to expand...

Hi Bernard, wait till I visit his place to hear the new speakers. Read his posts the following day.

Btw, my conversion rate is 100%. Not 99, not 98. That is with the Diamond resonators. I take them along when I go to someone's place to listen to their speakers. With the Mpingo discs it is more like 80% hear, though not all want to buy. The resonators, for those who have heard it, are the best (note the superlative) tweak they have heard, and the consistency is amazing. There are, of course, those who warn me not to get it over to their place because they are not interested because they don't have measurements and consider it BS.

Recently a guy here who is a music scholar (was a head choralster, can play the piano and the trombone), went bonkers on listening to the effect of the smaller resonators under his ref 3. He is now out hunting for more, so is his friend.

As for the Synergistic HFT, some claimed that the Dynaudio room at the Windsor show, with Ayre amps (which I didn't go into) was superb sounding, and the walls were covered in HFT though the demonstrators were not dealing in them.

Kedar, I don't want to hijack this thread, but do you use the resonators under a piece of equipment and the Mpingos on top, or is it one or the other but not both?

Do you have the Mpingos on top of your CDP tangential to the drive or in an 8" equilateral triangle?

BTW I don't remember seeing you post your system here. Or did you?

Bernard said:

Kedar, I don't want to hijack this thread, but do you use the resonators under a piece of equipment and the Mpingos on top, or is it one or the other but not both?

Do you have the Mpingos on top of your CDP tangential to the drive or in an 8" equilateral triangle?

BTW I don't remember seeing you post your system here. Or did you?

Click to expand...

You can do one or the other or both. They are independent of each other. The Mpingo discs are just fine tuners. Some people like them more around the room then on components. I also thing Synergistic research might be better than the Mpingo discs around the room, but haven't tried them in mine.

The resonators are the most incredible thing in hifi. It is the single biggest tweak that cannot be substituted. For all other hifi components, you have substitutes. All of us have 3 to 4 speakers we like, would like to try some valve, or some krell amps, there is the Lampi, the dCS, other valve dacs, blah blah. Depending on price and availability and our room, we buy something.

The resonators are a must before your CD player and preamp. Nothing else can do for your sound what they can. Stillpoints and Symposium owners, all those I know who have heard these resonators, no more like their own products. A guy who owns Silent Running Audio racks (SRA are extremely expensive racks made by a company that does vibration control in nuclear submarines for the government) has bought the resonators. Another guy prefers the vibraplane under his TT but the resonators under his components. You can ask Roberto again if I am exaggerating.

The resonators will add so much more musicality, 3dness, soundstage, separation to your system. Also they can make you play your system louder beyond the point at which you now did. These findings have been seen independent of system and rooms. MBL 116fs with Ming da amps, mine, lampi with EML 45 amp and horns, top of the line transmission line speakers like Proac with integrated MBL amp, Focal Maestro Utopia placed 17ft apart in a room, with AR Ref 3 and Krell - you name it - it works. A couple of guys were also reviewers.

Here's what my system was - being dismantled now http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?15679-System-480-(Summit)&highlight=summits