3 Feb 2016

The Magnificent LampizatOr Golden Gate DAC

By Angelo Agathangelou: LampizatOr has been in a state of vertical growth, research and development until the introduction of the DHT Directly Heated Triod format, ...the early Big 7 DAC which I reviewed last year, although it had a sublime DSD engine, the PCM aspect was all potential, but not yet an acceptable replacement for my beloved Big 6... More recently at LampizatOr HQ in Poland it was clear that matters had progressed considerably when I heard an Amber DAC that would knock the socks off most people and here I am two months later with my own Golden Gate DAC, in other words a 'Gucci' Level 7, Mundorf caps with a combination of KR Audio PX4 and Emission Labs 5U4G Mesh and my initial impression is WOW! It's like the quarter pounder joint in Cheech and Chong's up in smoke, ...it really grabs you by the boo boo.

I'm talking about the impressions of the unit straight out of the famous bombproof flight case [CIA recorders will be going nuts after that description lol] with about an hour of listening time after 30 minutes warm up time. I asked Lukasz his opinion about run in time after Robert's report that his is still running in after six months of use, but Lukasz says he doesn't believe in it!? I've known Lukasz long enough to remember that he used to suggest a couple of days run in back in the day, but having said that he was in touch a few days ago to let me know that "Your GG is in testing now. Sounds great!‏"
 
Well by my first impressions, he wasn't wrong and I guess with his pinnacle DAC, the few days of testing is considered adequate run in time. After all we are talking about a DAC costing over €17,000, £12,900 Sterling or nearly $19,000 US although I imagine our American contingent pay less taxes, but any way you cut it the price of a reasonable car, so a little run in and testing time at the factory might be reasonably expected. I have speculated in the past that it's also about ones hearing acclimating to the new gear. If there is further refinement to come as I perceived there was with my Big 6 over the first six months or so for whatever reason that will be even more icing on the cake.



'Everybody loves the sunshine' by Roy Ayers was my first sound check followed by Fink's 'Pilgrim' and Michael Jackson's 'Billie Jean', just to make sure everything is in the right place, ...it is. Moving from my previous reference Big 6, formerly known as 'The Fikus' DAC, an unit that I have had on for nearly three years 24/7 for at least 300 days of the year without a hick up, I would define its sound as super smooth, ultra musical with an eighties signature. I am still mulling over a description for the Golden Gate of which my first impressions are ultra articulate, first class attack and certainly not lacking in musicality; my shoulders began to pop as if they had a mind of their own when I played Billie Gene...
 
It is important for me that the PCM aspect works well as I use my computer all day to review internet content and my first impressions here are very favorable. I have also done some initial testing with music played through my LampizatOr TranspOrt and this is also working very well.

For those of us lucky enough to have a LampizatOr Squeezebox TranspOrt there's an underground movement of hackers that have developed some interesting freeware add-ons to version 7.9 of the software that Robert tells me treats DSD files with enough respect as to play not far off that openness of DSD quality, with the excellent user friendly aspects of our Transport's software. I'll be looking into that over the next two months. 

So there you go, a first draft and initial impression to kick of this review, that will certainly not end here. Are there any down sides, is it fatigue free listening, what's it like with classical music and Jazz? Answers to these questions, from my humble perspective and more will follow in the next few days. Stay tuned...






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4th February. Part 2: OK after about 8 hours solid listening [yes I did stop for food and a chat with fellow audiophile Robert to discuss, but otherwise I can't seem to drag myself away] I am now starkly aware of the weak link in my chain, note to self, start saving for a Kondo Ongaku immediately! As the day progressed one can hear her clearing her throat, a rasping edge is smoothing out, add this to my initial good impressions and the reality is dawning that she is a keeper.
 
I am hitting her with everything I've got, at this moment E-Z Rollers 'Walk this land' the base articulate the correct echo to the reggae cut, perhaps there is a touch of further refinement to be had as she improves over the next few days, Dexter Gordon 'Cheese cake' I'm bouncing again and I have never liked this track better than today, the same goes for Dire Straights 'Ride across the river', not a favourite of mine and yet GG delivers a nightingale purity in the opening that is winning me over, ...so that's what that was meant to sound like [the incentive to upgrade my amplifier is growing by the moment]. This effect is happening across the board, David Bowie [RIP] comes on and 'Sorrow'. I'm getting better separation between the channels, a palpably cleaner window onto the music compared to my Big 6 and the longer she plays the less fatiguing she is becoming. We will have to see in the longer term, my love for my Big 6 is not diminished, 6 and a plate of marijuana brownies have their place, but she is softer and more laid back in her DNA and GG is a different type of girl altogether, more right than soft or harsh, she is giving me the impression that she'll grow to be very well balanced indeed and in a very good way.

GG came out of the box smooth and is only getting better!

Now to the unit itself, it looks good in usual 'Big' dimensions that my rack has been designed for so it was an easy swap for me, you will need at least two feet or sixty centimetres of depth if you are starting from scratch and she's almost a foot tall [30cm] with her tubes in and as usual with Lampizator gear 17.25" [44cm] across. Personally I can take or leave the copper top, I enjoy the smokey tops that allow a better glimpse inside, but others seem to be impressed and the look does work with the exterior valves. She is a fine looking girl. Something new for me are the three ceramic / steel roller-block feet supports. One has to set the basses down by guesswork, deposit the steel balls and then set he unit down on top. I must say it wasn't as hard as I thought it would be, my spatial judgement did me credit, but it's a job probably best done with a friend. There's one at the back and two at the front and you find that GG then rocks about freely if prodded. I'm a little suspicious of how much good this does, but it does give a little extra height which helps with the use of the display control switch that's underneath the unit slightly to the right of the display.

I had sent Lukasz a new Apple remote and his staff were kind enough to program it to work with the built in pre-amplifier front end, a handy and convenient way to toggle between the three useful channels, PCM, Transport and DSD, to turn the unit on and off and control the volume. I must say that the apple remote suits GG in brushed aluminium front guise and by some freak luck she is almost precisely the same height as GG's front face. 

The display is set by the factory to come on when you perform an operation and then turn itself of with only a very faint indication left of the volume, but I found this annoying as there is a delay between performing a function and the display illumination so that you can see what you have actually done. Thankfully there is a secret button on the underside of the unit that toggles through various functions and one is able to turn the elimination on permanently and that solves that minor niggle. I chose the silver front for practical reasons purely because black shows fingerprints and dust more readily than brushed aluminium and I chose the red display and power button because they seem the logical choice when you have a sizable valve above also glowing red and I think I chose well. The display looks good on all the time too with a rather cool full screen 'Space 1999' like font showing the volume level.

Lukasz assured me that the valves are being used so conservatively by GG that they should last a lifetime.


 
More Fink 'See it all' 'Perfect darkness' and I am noticing the different voicing of my 6 that I'm used to compared with the cleaner rendition GG conveys, Fleetwood Mac 'Landslide' is rendered beautifully, intimately, she is singing just for me. Now Gill Scott Heron "The revolution will not be televised' a completely different presentation, that bouncing base guitar on the one side, drummer on the other the band is in the room and Gill really feels that shit he's telling me, ...where's my pitchfork? Ijahman Levi 'Jah heavy load', The Jam 'Start', James Brown 'Christmas is love', 'Oxygene part IV' Jean Michel Jarre, Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart, Vivaldi and now I'm grasping at straws to find a weak point, but I cannot. Each genre is rendered impeccably.



After the first full day of listening I posed the questions, is this fatigue free listening, what is it like with Jazz and Classical music, the answer to the latter is she delivers what is on the recording and I have yet to find a genre that has been misrepresented. With regards to fatigue, a very important issue if like me you spend many hours listening at one sitting, I have not found the slightest issue, but I would say that she is not easy listening like B6. Due to her level of honesty, I find myself adjusting her volume down a little during interludes and my remarks about 'The revolution will not be televised' are appropriate here, GG doesn't do background music well, you have to turn her way down for that. The LampizatOr Golden Gate DAC is highest quality front and centre listening and I have to recommend her [doubly so in combination with the LampizatOr Transport] as the other best musical source [along with my B6] I have ever heard.

...And that's just the PCM aspect, I haven't even tried the DSD engine yet! I should have a huge wad to try out some time next week, so this is to be continued. At this point I am presuming that it will be either on par or superior to the sublime level 10 rightness, openness and articulation I heard last year on the lesser prototype Big 7. 
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February 17th Update: It is becoming clear after further testing that choice of speakers is an issue. I found an old pair of Jamo Concert 8s in my storage room which lack good bass, do not have the sort of balance I require and are too bright for my taste, but do have respectable clarity that give one another perspective into the potential of the GG that does show for the first time in my personal experience the shortcomings of my old Spendor S100 speakers and beggs for one to go the extra mile and acquire a set of speakers that balances the better attributes of these two speakers. My guess is that the new Harbeth 40.2s are the right direction for the extra clarity required, with the good balance and bass foundation I am looking for and will contact Alan Shaw in the hope that he will be bringing a pair to the Bristol exhibition this month so that I might test that instinct.



The Bunker
Spendor S100
Nordost Red Dawn Speaker cables
Marantz PM14 MkII KI Signature
Artisan Polish IC's
LampizatOr Golden Gate DAC with 
 Mundorf caps, 2 x KR Audio PX4, Emission Labs 5U4G Mesh.
LampizatOr Silver Digital IC. 
LampizatOr Transport
iMac Developed by me
Generc Gold plated USB cable
LampizatOr flip SILK
Oyaide 2.0 mains cable with mixed flavour Furutech ends for power





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12 comments:

  1. Nice writeup, and a warm welcome to the GG UK club Angelo :-). We probably need to compare your KR PX4s to my own KR 45's in your Golden Girl. I've also a pair of NOS RCA/Cunningham 45's and could bring some PsVane 2A3s that seem to work really well too. What do you think?

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    1. Thank you Robert, I am very happy to be a member of the particularly exclusive Golden Gate Club, there are around 50 or so members on the planet.

      FYI I was surprised to receive the PX4s and presumed that this was KR's designation for 45s as I could find no 45s on KR's site and 45s are what Lukasz said I was getting. Now that you peeked my curiosity I found an interesting muse at 6moons on the matter: http://www.6moons.com/audioreviews/eddiecurrent3/2.html

      I queried Lukasz on whether he recommended tube rolling and he was adamant that it would be an exercise in futility as this is the best combination he has heard to date, so I imagine that you may be pleasantly surprised if your GG also has Mundorf caps.

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    2. I read the article, but those guys weren't using the same gear as us, and to be fair (and with due respect) Lucasz originally thought so highly of the PsVane WE 101Ds in the GG, which are not a patch on the KR45s (IMO,and I ought to know). Best thing is to try 300B, 2A3, 101D, 45 variants then decide what works in your system. Nice thing is that the GG is so communicative/resolving that if there is a difference between the tubes you will definitely hear it!

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    3. Thank you for the advice. I can't say I feel the need at this point, but after a month or two once I feel she has settled to a large extent, after that fair comment. I will see how things develop as she seems to be doing everything right at this point and an amplifier upgrade to fully exploit her is at the very top of my list.

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  2. I'm also the proud owner of the Golden Gate DAC (single ended), I use to use a highly modified Level 4, I never thought for a second that it could be beaten, the Golden Gate is a music maker, not another piece of audio gear, truly remarkable in every sense, astounding resolution and has a magic way with timbres and the human voice while still being able to rock when called upon! I use EL 45 Mesh tubes btw. We're the South African agents (Audio Tweak).

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    1. Hi there warm South Africa, Freezing cold UK here. An early level 4 was my introduction also. Music maker is a spot on description of both my [now my daughter Sophia's] more laid back Big 6 and our new large clean window Golden Gate. Thank you for adding your interpretation. EL 45 Mesh eh, may I ask what caps you chose and what is your amplifier?

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    2. Hi Angelo, thanks for the kind words! It's too hot here right now, I mean melting hot! Wishing for some cold right now, lol!
      I've Jupiter Caps in mine, my favourite caps, in my opinion the best of both world (Teflon/Oil-based). I am using a Sanders Magtech power amp. Here's a pic of my system... http://i1104.photobucket.com/albums/h322/AudioTweak/my%20system_Feb2016_zpsdjgao2wt.jpg

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    3. Very nice system you've got there Ramsey. I'll look out for your amplifier, although as I indicated above my gut tells me I have to save up for an original Japanese Kondo Ongaku. Shame Sanders Magtech are not represented at the upcoming Bristol, UK Sound and Vision this month, literally walking distance from my house.

      I'm afraid that being Greek Cypriot [it's often 40 degrees C in the summer in Cyprus], I can not pity the 25 degrees C I clocked online that you are basking in when it dipped to 4 C last night here in the UK. ;) I'll swap with you any day. I am going to have to visit South Africa one day; I have only ever heard good reports. Best wishes friend.

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  3. I guess the Kondo might work well in an already very very clean system (what speakers are you using btw?), however the Sanders, is as ruler flat and linear as one can get, I went from the Wells Innamorata to the Sanders because my Analysis speakers needed a heck of a lot more power and drive to control those membranes, with the Golden Gate as a front-end, I have a very natural sound and speed aplenty with masses of slam and attack. Very sweet indeed. When you plan a visit this side, please let me know? Do go to my website in order to contact me please? www.audiotweak.co.za (a bit more private than putting my email address here, sorry) ;-)

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    1. My speakers are the original Spendor S100. Some of my more remote friends tell me to update but are then surprised to hear them first hand. I make no excuses for adoring them and I spoke to Alan Shaw as I plan to purchase a pair of Harbeth 40.2, but I have yet to compile my system to a level that outplays my speakers.

      Over the years I have ventured forth with a budget of up to £25,000 sterling to find newer speakers but have never found a worthy superior with which to replace them. Perhaps I have spent too many years listening to BBC type presentation. I find the newer version by Spendor to be poor by comparison, but Harbeth have impressed me recently and the apple doesn't fall far from the tree as my daughter is also a big fan who will soon have a pair of Harbeth Super HL5 Plus.

      Named S100 Spendorhenge as I have literally bought concrete blocks arranged in the style of Stonehenge quite accidently [the ancient monument that's in this part of the world] on which to ground them to the concrete floor of my Victorian house. They are 89.5 db sensitive so not very difficult to drive. Oh boy do they play music that tugs at the soul.

      They peaked using Lampizator's GM70s with my Trusty Big 6, the unit that was actually displayed on the Lampizator site and I have never heard better musicality.

      I am speculating that my new GG with the ultimate musical amplifier and the Harbeth 40.2s will make a stonking alternative as I travel and work between the UK and Cyprus and my goal is to establish a second ultimate listening room in Cyprus and the Big 6 and S100 do seem like better partners.

      I will certainly keep a lookout for the Sanders. I have planned a trip to the Midlands later this year to hear the Japanese Kondo Ongaku and I may Visit the South coast before that to hear the Cary 211.

      It is all about the music for me and I do not say Ongaku to be a snob, I would be happier to pay a fraction of the price if there were a superior sounding alternative.

      Of course I will let you know when I plan a visit to South Africa, thank you. ;)

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  4. Try the new Graham speakers and the Trenner&Freidl Arte monitor or the pharaoh.

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    1. Thank you. The LS5/8s look very tasty. I may take a trip to Exeter and have a listen to those before I flip the switch on the 40.2s. Have you heard them and the Harbeths? I have looked at Nicholas Ripley's review and I would be interested to hear the differences between the LS 5/9 and Super HL5 Plus first hand.

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