I'm sure the Horizon is wonderful but it's that I'm not a believer in tubes in dacs, to me it’s a way of "sweetening" the sound at the expense of "lowering" other wanted parameters. Silicon does a far better "truer" "direct coupled" job IMHO. I'd like to hear what the original musical piece sounded like, whatever that might have been.
The New Lampizator Horizon DAC
On Saturday, I was lucky enough to be invited to the unofficial launch of the all-new Lampizator Horizon DAC in Los Angeles. I have a Pacific and love it but I was intrigued to experience whether the Horizon was that much better. So, My wife and I drove the 6 hours from Arizona to attend.
The event had about 18 people in attendance and featured Lukasz Fikus, the owner and brains behind Lampizator. We had a 5-hour listening session which included direct A/B comparisons between the Pacific and the Horizon, operating the Horizon without a preamp, and finally tube rolling.
My impressions were the Lampizator created a DAC that could change people's minds on comparing digital to vinyl, The amount of detail, smoothness, clarity, speed was incredible. For those interested in tube rolling the options are almost endless and I heard firsthand many different tube combinations which changed the SQ of the music. Finally, at the end of the session, we ran the Horizon without a preamp. The preamp used in the system was Lamm and the whole system was well over $700k. So we are talking about a very high-end component grouping. IMO, the Horizon DAC delivered about 95% of the sound without a Preamp. It was super hard to discern any differences in SQ.
This DAC was so good that I ended up ordering one. For anyone going to the Tampa Audio show, Lukasz Fikus will be there to officially launch the Horizon to the world this weekend. It is definitely worth a listen.
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Therin lies my problem. I am not one ot those guys who can put 700k into a system and am limited to around the 20k mark all in. 44K Euro brings this DAC in at right at 50,000 dollars. I am happy for those who can explore such fine pieces. | ||||||||
Was it Game - changing? Did it make your cry? How much does it cost? I remember one of Lukaz Video about Phono Stage, he was claiming that any designer who puts the power supply outside of the main box does not know how to design power supply or audio gear. I was shocked thats almost 70% of high end audio designers all trashed to the bin. | ||||||||
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At 72 pounds (33kg) it weighs substantially more than my EL34 amp which has three transformers and a choke. On the other hand, my own humble DAC weighs in at 265 grams (about a cup of water in weight). This says nothing, of course. Just an observation and WTF. Does Lucasz use a stretch limousine to go shopping for milk and the paper? Or perhaps a Mack truck?
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Fans of Lampizator like their kit. This new DAC costs $50,000 which is way, way higher than most DACs. But there are units that cost significantly more. Listening to a system that costs $700K should be impressive. All about system synergy and scale. I assume owners of $700K systems might have a DAC that costs more than $50K ??? It would have been interesting to compare this Lampizator against other expensive DACs? Does the rest of the system cloud the impact of the DAC? It would also be interesting to do an A:B test with this Lampi in a lower cost system like $1000 to see how the individual pieces sound vs the overall quior? | ||||||||
Certainly a "bit" out of my price range. But who am I to tell someone how to spend their $$? Nor am I one to say a 50K DAC doesn't sound better than a 5K DAC. I'm sure it does. And if you are playing in that arena, God bless you. @willgolf don't let these penny pinching rock throwers rain on your parade. Congrats to you!
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@ozzy---thank you for your comments. I can not believe the comments. It is another reason Audiogon threads have become a joke. I merely was trying to inform people of a new DAC and its capabilities not to get into a debate over whether digital is real sound or not. Not to debate whether tube rolling just masks the real sound. Not to debate the cost. Not to debate having a tube DAC. Everyone has a budget whether it is $1k or $100k. It is no different than buying an amp for $3k or $60k. There are differences in quality and sound in EVERY component as you go up the price range. That is why people have options. In this case, the Horizon is $44K eu. If you can afford it you should check it out. It is game-changing. So, if you haven't heard it, it is unfair to post comments criticizing its characteristics of it. Now as to having a super high-end system and evaluating it vs what the majority of us have, in this case, it does not matter. We were comparing the Pacific to the Horizon. The same results would have occurred on an average system. The Horizon is just plain better. I am not a shill for Lampizator but if the Horizon is not in the budget they have many other options at more value propositions. BTW, I am functionally blind so God gave me an increase in hearing so listening to this DAC was just an absolute pleasure. | ||||||||
Congrats! That should be a fun addition.
I don't have a Lampizator but I have heard several versions in different systems and they are exceptional at each pricepoint. Enjoy.
I don't really understand why some in our community are quick to criticize a piece of gear that they haven't heard as being of poor value or it can't possibly be that good. It happens in every market segment I guess but it amuses me that some draw a price line where anything spent above that amount proves the buyer must be foolish. Please, and this goes for all of us whether we buy inexpensive or expensive gear, stop overlaying your value analysis on others...its unfair.
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I also ordered a Horizon, and a Taiko Extreme server. I have an engineering degree from an accredited university, but that didn't factor into my decision making. I like the SQ of my Lampizator Pacific, so it was a small leap of faith on that front, along with feedback from Willgolf and others. So thanks Willgolf. I also like a good Cabernet when I can afford it. Grain alcohol might get the job done more cost effectively, if that's what the job is. But that's not the job I want done. I also married my wife because of the way I felt about her, not how she "measured". There is a qualitative life beyond text books. Cost is relative. | ||||||||
I enjoyed your comments and the intent of the original post, as well as your extended comments on the "What's Best Forum". Please ignore the naysayers, especially those who have never heard the Horizon, or even their other more humble DAC offerings. The world is full of "flat earthers". I literally encountered one recently who will not drive from NY to Calif by car because she genuinely feels she might fall off the earth. A Mensa member, she is not. A Darwin Award winner, possibly. I own a superb $200 Schitt DAC as well as the far more expensive Lampi GG2. They each have a role to play and both do it quite well. In the big rig, the Lampi is magnificent and for TV playback through the big rig, the Schitt does a helluva job. But even a half deaf person could easily discern the difference between a good DAC and a state of the art DAC in the right setting. Your comments, particularly on WBF, were thoughtful and informative. Follow your bliss as Joseph Campbell said, and ignore the neanderthal crowd who would rather throw rocks, eat their young, and showcase their primitive thinking. @ghasley has it right as well. And yup, I ordered my Horizon about a two months ago for Spring delivery. | ||||||||
LoLZZZZ … All the LampizatOr Fan/Rich boys have been activated 🤨
ugamotz
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@willgolf : congratulations on your new DAC.
Don’t be discouraged by the usual few naysayers & crazies who post in all threads. Ignore them, although I know it’s hard to ignore the ridiculous comments (guilty as charged in ignoring them). I appreciate your courage to post here. I am sure many folks do. | ||||||||
A couple of observations that I hope are taken in context and with respect.
$50 grand isn’t what it used to be. Full time, that’s about $24 per hour with no OT. Where I live, dishwashers start above that rate.
Second observation, its seems pretty clear to me that the OP wasn’t engaged in a look at me kind of move...in fact, he probably wasn’t seeking pricing input from anyone, whether they make $50k/yr or $5million/yr.
It seems quite obvious that someone spending this amount on a dac isn’t asking for anyone’s financial advice, let alone a financial opinion....on an audio site....from anonymous posters.
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@willgolf Congratulations on your new Dac I've listened to Lampi Dacs but only in the context of CAF I'm sure they sound fantastic though hard to tell in a show system. And congrats to the others who have them on the way also. | ||||||||
@willgolf that is awesome and I am happy for you. Enjoy it and do not let these negative Nancy Boyz discourage you. You earned it now go and get it, they will never know the satisfaction. | ||||||||
Congrats on your Dac!! Everybody spends their money differently. I have friends with 500 k boats. I love my 50k pontoon. | ||||||||
If the Horizon clearly outperforms the Pacific DAC that’s quite a compliment. Your Horizon DAC should be a splendid match with the Canary Reference mono blocks and Viking Acoustic speakers. I have no doubt that you’ll enjoy sublime sound quality with this system. In my opinion you would have been better served posting on WBF. I believe that there is more appreciation, understanding and respect from members there. You would not be greeted with the snark and comments in regard to the cost of a component as you find here. There is acknowledgement on that site that what adults choose to spend is "their" own business. Charles | ||||||||
I think all audio blogs should state up front what money range they cover. Meaning the one million dollar system money range will keep everyone with under a million bucks budget for their audio system from participating. Same with the $500,000 range. Etc,etc... This is utterly stupid for average folks to have to discuss $50 ,000 DACs. How elite can an audio blog really be before losing all credibility with the average audio enthusiast. Just my opinion. | ||||||||
But the point is it's an open forum. People pick and choose what threads/topic They want to read or participate in. One can bypass any thread they find uninteresting, irrelevant, foolish or what ever. I do this often. Why would a forum lose credibility with discussion of expensive DACs ? Just move on to something you find relatable. Charles | ||||||||
@baylinor nice system, many people would consider it over the top excess…. where shall we set the limit…again ? | ||||||||
I remember the days when Lampizator used to look like DIY Stuff from a garage, When i looked into that DAC and APL the APL Dac were years ahead in build and Tech. This is not trashing anyone. However, If i was to spend this kind of money again on DACS I would seriously now Consider the Aries Cerat stuff as well. When it comes to Dacs the Software is as much important as the hardware. Look at Playback Design PD8 Series the Dream Series engineered by one of the guys who literally invented the DSD and the DSD Recording machines. The very guy who is hired by many other audio companies to write codes for them. Andreas sticks to FPGA, the Dac has a life span of 12-14 years because he can constantly improve the codes every few months. | ||||||||
@baylinor lovely room and system ;-) tip of the hat to ya | ||||||||
@willgolf congratulations! Hopefully you’ll share your impressions once it settles in. Who cares what someone else thinks as long as it bring joy to you. One of these days I’m going to visit your place and hear your amazing, well thought out system in person. | ||||||||
@rockyboris right on…there will be a line for it…… ;-) Jim | ||||||||
