DAC/Streamer project

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Ankkor

Thanks very much for all this detail! This specific DAC - how do you rate it compared to a dCS or an Esoteric? Why did you go with this one?

Because...the Lampizator Baltic 3 competes very favorably with considerably more expensive DACs.

You said your budget was $15K. An Esoteric D-05 is about $8500. That would leave approximately ~$6500K for virtually everything else: Music Server, EtherREGEN, OpticalModule, power supplies, NR power cables and...the digital cables. All that stuff won't fit into your budget of $15K.

So, I "flipped the script"...$6500 for the Lampizator Baltic 3, $8500 for all the networking/streaming components, PCs and digital cables.

As for the Lampizator B3...I had the $39000 Linn Klimax DSM/3 streamer/DAC here for 4 months while I wrote a review of it for TAS (see the December issue, it's on the cover. ). In my direct experience after 4 months of rigorous comparisons in my system, the Lampizator Baltic 3 is as every bit good a DAC as the DAC in the $39K Linn Klimax DSM/3 and in some respects, e.g. sound staging and imaging, it's better. If I had $39K to buy a DAC, I'd still buy the Lampizator B3, and put the money into other stuff like an exceptional foundation for providing power and reducing noise...like an Everest power distributor, e.g. Shunyata Omega digital cables, a Shunyata Omega QR-s* power cord for the DAC, etc, etc.

*–you want to take your DAC to another level altogether? Put a Shunyata QR-s power cord on it. WHOA....that'll blow the top of your head right off...

[FreddieFerric]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

Okay here goes as a suggestion for consideration:
At source end (preferably not in same room with the streamer and DAC)

Roon Nucleus Music Server or SonicTransporter i5 for serving up digital content to your streamer and DAC. This would have likely have Roon for the server's operating system, and either an internal or external HD for the music file content.

Network Switch: UpTone Audio EtherREGEN switch powered by Teddy Pardo or Farad Super 3 linear power supply. Connect your network router and Roon Nucleus or SonicTransporter and Optical Module Deluxe to this.

Audio-grade fiber media convertor: Sonore OpticalModule Deluxe with Finisar optical transceiver and powered by Small Green Computer linear power supply or similar specification "low noise" LPS. Use Tripp-Lite OM-1 specification optical fiber with LC/LC terminations or similar. It's really cheap...a 90 foot runs costs less than 40 bucks or so.

At destination end (in or near audio rack)
Network Bridge: Sonore OpticalRendu with Finisar optical transceiver powered by Small Green Computer linear power supply or Teddy Pardo or Farad Super 3 linear power supply.

DAC: Lampizator Baltic 3 DAC

Specifically: use Shunyata Reserch Venom V14 Digital power cables for powering all components that reside entirely in the digital domain: namely, the music server, the EtherREGEN ethernet switch, and Sonore OpticalModule and OpticalRendu power supplies, respectively. No one else makes a power cord that reduces the class of noise components that are specific to "100% digital" components. These are not, I repeat, NOT the same noise components found in devices that reside in the "analog" domain, e.g. DACs, preamps, amps...at all. This is why using the Venom V14 Digital power cord is important for these "100% digital" components.

For making Ethernet network connections, use Shunyata Research* Ethernet cables to make all Ethernet cable connections for the network-based audio components: Venom, Delta, Alpha, or Sigma; get the best ones you can based on your budget. Connect all your server and network connections to A side of EtherREGEN: Router, music server, and Wifi extender (e.g. Eero). I'd say Delta or Alpha Ethers would be excellent for making these connections, and if you want, a Venom connecting the Eero to EtherREGEN, if it fits your budget.

The most important Ethernet cable will be the one connecting B side of EtherREGEN to the input of the OpticalModule Deluxe. I'd go minimally Shunyata Alpha here, preferably Sigma, and Omega if it's in your budget.

Put the best Shunyata USB cable you can afford in your budget between the network bridge at the destination end and the DAC. The Delta is very good, Alpha and Sigma are notably better, and for ultimate performance, the Omega USB. This is the most important cable in your digital streaming system. In terms of cable priority, the Shunyata Ethernet and USB digital cables are more important that going "up" on the specification for the power cords, and even more so, the analog interconnects between DAC and preamp or integrated amp, etc (while important, they are not as important as the digital cables and power cables).

Priority for cables with the highest specification should be this (from highest to lowest importance) Digital cables (both Ethernet & USB) --> Noise Reducing Power Cords->Interconnects.

Connection Scheme like this:


Power your DAC with the best noise-reduction (NR v2) Shunyata PC you can swing in your budget, Delta NRv2 is an excellent starting point (I'm using mine on the Aurender N20 I have in for review), but Alpha NRv2 will be even better.

This should get you started....please let me know if you have specific questions. Cheers.

*-No one else even comes close, trust me on this...I did the experiments and beta-testing for Shunyata for their Ethernet cables with a full-on competitive benchmarking analysis.

OMG! I am sooo sticking with my tape decks. You have succeeded in hurting my brain.

Good luck OP, I wish you success in this complicated morass of cables, gidgets, gadgets and gizmo's.

[Ankkor]

Denafripps. Esoteric. Lampizator. dCS. D1100. chord. All slightly different presentation and subjective interpretations. I have no way to know my choice because I will never hear them all in my system.

[Puma Cat]

Originally Posted by Ankkor

Denafripps. Esoteric. Lampizator. dCS. D1100. chord. All slightly different presentation and subjective interpretations. I have no way to know my choice because I will never hear them all in my system.

I'll make it easy for you. Get the Lampizator.

[dkorbal]

Originally Posted by FreddieFerric

OMG! I am sooo sticking with my tape decks. You have succeeded in hurting my brain.

Good luck OP, I wish you success in this complicated morass of cables, gidgets, gadgets and gizmo's.

The journey is long, complicated and full of perils to dead quiet backgrounds. Not to mention expensive.

[robfine]

Originally Posted by Puma Cat

I'll make it easy for you. Get the Lampizator.

I dunno. This May-December romance I’m involved with “is getting better all the time!” I don’t know you can get some time listening to a May considering how they are sold, but my new [Holo Audio May Kitsune Edition] is maybe 15% broken in and it is already sounding just wonderful.

I have nothing negative to say about the Lampizator (accept maybe WAF) and if I had gotten around to auditioning one before I got the May’s predecessor, the Spring 1 Dac, [once I had the Spring, I then was able to trade it in and up for what I paid less 15% saving me over a couple grand] which gave me a reason to lean toward the May when I hadn’t heard either, but the May is sounding better and better so if there is an opportunity to try it, it may be worth your while. In the meantime, I do wonder what my setup would sound like with the Lampizator.

With the choices proposed, it would be hard to go wrong! Good luck with a difficult choice.


Happy holidays,

Robert