DAC Shootout - Tons of Fun

[Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by dkorbal

Unless I'm mistaken it was the Baltic 3.

Correct.

[Puma Cat]

Just looked up the AMR on their website. I didn't know it was also a tube DAC.

Looks pretty cool, and also to be a dual-mono design.

Cheers.

[Grasshopper]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Just looked up the AMR on their website. I didn't know it was also a tube DAC.

Looks pretty cool, and also to be a dual-mono design.

Cheers.

Pretty cool DAC for sure. The TDA chip is special, and the tubes do a great job without being “Tubey”

[Still-One]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

and the tubes do a great job without being “Tubey”

That would be a first.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

Pretty cool DAC for sure. The TDA chip is special, and the tubes do a great job without being “Tubey”

Yep, always nice when tubes do that. As does the Lampizator, I might add. The nice thing about the Lampi is you can really adjust to taste by rolling different tubes into it. S'funny to think that a tube whose only function rectifies AC to DC can have such an effect on the sound and presentation, for example, but it does.

My First Sound Presence Deluxe preamp doesn't sound "tubey", either. Can't use it right now, though, as I've sent the two external mono power supplies for it off to Emmanuel Go for an update to the latest Shunyata Research CCI-X AC noise reduction filter technology. It's going to be even quieter and cleaner when it gets back and it was already exceptionally quiet. Pretty cool havin' a preamp with ~300,000 µF of power supply capacitance, too.

Cheers.

[Puma Cat]

This is the Lampizator Baltic 3 that Grasshopper is auditioning.

Photo by yours truly use in in my TAS review.

[Grasshopper]

Great looking photos!

Wish I could read the review!

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

This is the Lampizator Baltic 3 that Grasshopper is auditioning.

Photo by yours truly use in in my TAS review.

[Grasshopper]

*UPDATE*

I got to hear the Rossini in my setup today. Now I'll concede that on a short demo, it wasn't fully warmed up, etc. so it isn't a perfect scenario. That said, for me knowing if something is "yes" or "no" is something I can judge pretty quickly.

I know that cables, tweaks, treatments can dial things in further, but the sound is the sound.

I listened to the AMR this morning, which was quite pleasant. This afternoon, I fired up the Lampi (and tried "High Gain" with the streamer volume attenuated to about 50%). To my ears that is better than "Low Gain" and 100% streamer volume, but what do I know.

For about an hour, I listened to the Lampi and had a pretty good time. In listening to it, I thought to myself, "I can live with this sound". Sure the Debussy cranks out more detail, but the Lampi is just so Musical. (The AMR is pretty detailed and musical too).

All the while, wondering how the Rossini stacks up (and the EMM too).

The Rossini arrived, I could hardly wait. 30 seconds into it firing up, I just knew it wasn't the sound I was looking for.

It did everything the Debussy does...only better. Better bass, smoother, etc. The top end is too much for me (and that could just be an issue with synergy).

I know I could run it in for 24 hours, and probably get better results. I could fiddle with filters, cables, etc.

After listening for an hour or so, I just knew it wasn't for me. I'm glad to know, and have it off the list.

We all have our tastes.

So if pressed today, the top three in order were:

-Baltic 3
-AMR 777SE
-Rossini

(depending on mood, the AMR and Baltic could flip flop in the #'s 1 & 2 spot)

Will there be a "Final" between the Lampi and the EMM???

To be continued....

[JoeN]

Congrats on getting closer to the end goal. I’m not sure how it will sound like with your already excellent system, but the EMM is tremendous. Looking forward to your listening experience.

EMM vs Lampi

Originally Posted by Grasshopper

*UPDATE*

I got to hear the Rossini in my setup today. Now I'll concede that on a short demo, it wasn't fully warmed up, etc. so it isn't a perfect scenario. That said, for me knowing if something is "yes" or "no" is something I can judge pretty quickly.

I know that cables, tweaks, treatments can dial things in further, but the sound is the sound.

I listened to the AMR this morning, which was quite pleasant. This afternoon, I fired up the Lampi (and tried "High Gain" with the streamer volume attenuated to about 50%). To my ears that is better than "Low Gain" and 100% streamer volume, but what do I know.

For about an hour, I listened to the Lampi and had a pretty good time. In listening to it, I thought to myself, "I can live with this sound". Sure the Debussy cranks out more detail, but the Lampi is just so Musical. (The AMR is pretty detailed and musical too).

All the while, wondering how the Rossini stacks up (and the EMM too).

The Rossini arrived, I could hardly wait. 30 seconds into it firing up, I just knew it wasn't the sound I was looking for.

It did everything the Debussy does...only better. Better bass, smoother, etc. The top end is too much for me (and that could just be an issue with synergy).

I know I could run it in for 24 hours, and probably get better results. I could fiddle with filters, cables, etc.

After listening for an hour or so, I just knew it wasn't for me. I'm glad to know, and have it off the list.

We all have our tastes.

So if pressed today, the top three in order were:

-Baltic 3
-AMR 777SE
-Rossini

(depending on mood, the AMR and Baltic could flip flop in the #'s 1 & 2 spot)

Will there be a "Final" between the Lampi and the EMM???

To be continued....

[JBT]

https://positive-feedback.com/review...-100-tube-dac/