Tuesday morning at 8:30am Grannyring paid for USPS Priority Express "overnight" to ship my Orchid Dac to Ohio, guess what, it just "arrived" in Nashville, TN. Wednesday evening at 5:30pm.
I called the sorting hub and got an attitude with the bums rush, I asked her to please slow down so I could give the tracking number, finally.
She said "oh, the guy didn’t pick-up all the express deliveries, it’s in the back here"
They’re not the only ones, UPS and FedEx can F$$K up a cup of coffee too, nice work.
I know I’m not alone, just the principle, when you pay extra, it seems to get worse.
My experiences with Brent Jessee have been positive. He'll provide recommendations based on your budget and the sound you're after. He'll also offer an extended warranty and will honor it.
Another thumbs up for dealing with Brent Jesse. He will even take back tubes within a certain period of time (can't remember what it is) if they are not to your liking. Outstanding customer service.
AM puts the Orange fuse in for $100 in the SE model. It is an option at purchase. Darn little fuse makes a nice little sonic upgrade. Hard to believe, but it did in the Orchid. Looking forward to your comments. Have fun!
@grannyring Brent Jesse www.audiotubes.com is a good place for NOS 12au7’s. Forthright to a fault, which is kinda important when you are buying tubes you may not even open for 10 or 15 years....the good news is you just need a really nice single with matched triodes rather than a matched pair with matched triodes.
How many play hours on the Amber by then? SR Orange fuse in it as I think the AM does? Love the SR Orange fuses and ordered one for the Amber 3. They sound wonderful in my upgraded Orchid dac!
Just got my Amber last week and am hosting a (two person) dac shootout this weekend. The Amber, Audio Mirror T3-SE, iFi iDSD pro, & a Shiit my friend is bringing over (unsure of model #). I've already had the iFi (and a Matrix X-Sabre Pro) for a few weeks... both will be going back. Unfortunately haven't gotten to seriously listen to the Lampizator yet due to an unscheduled visit for all of MLK-day weekend.
Thanks @ghasley, Can you provide me with a link to your tube source? Mine has no volume as I will use The Truth preamp with it. I will use the USB input fed by my Innuos server. Single ended only.
@grannyring How did you have yours configured? Balanced? Single ended? Volume control?
To manage your expectations: Compared to fresh out of the box until the Amber 3 came on to full song was probably 200 hours. I know, that seems like an eternity to us instant gratification types. I left my music server feeding the dac (usb) continuously 23/7 only turning it off for 1 hour per day to allow for thermal/cooldown cycling.
I hope you like it Granny. By the way, its a pain to open the case, I just did it this past weekend: screws on back, screws on underside and the top two on the faceplate, then a little flexing of the case cover to free it from the chassis. 1 12au7 (swapped in an old Mullard longplate from the 1950’s) was like spreading buttah on hot, fresh baked bread! LOL.
My Amber 3 will be in the system tomorrow night. Looking forward to comparing it the upgraded MHDT Orchid. It will need some play time to sound its best and I will post updates along the way!
I just got shipping notification from Chris at VHaudio for the ODAM's and CuTF's that I will put in my preamp. I have had a Lampizator Atlantic Plus for the last couple of years and probably won't be upgrading to another dac anytime soon so if these Vcap caps work well in the preamp I might be interested in seeing how they do in the Lampi.
Several months ago,
based
in part on Terry Londons' recommendation, I purchased the MHDT
Orchid
dac with the WE tube upgrade. To give a system context,
speakers are
Audio Note AN/J LX, preamp is the STP SE/Stage 2, amp is a
First Watt
SIT 3. I use an Oppo BDP105 as a kind of server, with an
external
hard drive connected to it. I have purchased interconnects,
special
jumper cables, and a usb cable from Grannyring (Bill Dion). I
have
found his products to be exceptional value, and my experience
in
dealing Bill and communicating with him has been absolutely
the best
experience I have had in my over forty years of being into
this
hobby. So when I had the chance to have him modify my Orchid,
I
jumped at it. He replaced key resistors with Vishay Zfoils and
Audio
Note Tantalum non magnetics, and certain caps were replaced
with Vcap
Odams, and Vcap CuTFs. I just received the dac from Bill
yesterday. I believe it already had over 50 hours of burn in
time,
and I have been running it since receiving it as I am aware
that
these caps and resistors take some time to fully break in. But
in
listening today, I am a very happy camper. The sound stage has
expanded, the noise floor reduced (eerily so), bass is deeper
and
better defined......it feels like one is that much closer to
the
musicians, the singers, the music, the emotions evoked. So
much of what makes for better
sound appears to be a kind of getting rid of what gets in the
way. I
can only assume that is at least in part what these upgraded
components have done. There are two descriptors that kept
coming to
mind in trying to describe what I have been hearing with these
upgrades: 'refined' and 'natural'. I have not heard the
Lampizator Amber 3 so I cannot comment on a comparison.
The Pagoda is not as good sounding as the Orchid to some ears. It is subjective for sure. Many think the Orchid is the gem of the MHDT Dac line. The upgrades I have done on the Orchid certainly increase the sound quality by at least 25-30%. The key resistors are an important element in getting the most out of the Orchid. Agree on the fuse upgrade!
I bet your modified Amber 3 sounds amazing! Hope the stock Amber 3 is as good as the upgraded Orchid units I have heard. We will see! I have high expectations and some of this is based on your comments audioman58.
I have a maxed out Lampizator Amber 3 with totally upgraded bigger case . no need to remove 16 screws and remove the whole case I set it up just slide off the top . I put over $2300 in upgrades with tube rolling options and the best of the best parts and wiring .i am upgrading to a modded Atlantic . Nothing under $6k is as musical or versatile as this dac and looks great. it had stock 6x5 rectifier tubes , I find the 6ax5 Tungsol or Amperex verygood. Upgrade. I had added a 5 v transformer for Even better sound the great classic 5ar4 and currently using nos 1950 RCA 5U4G coke bottle smooth plates exceptional sound. rectifier tubes and without question help to Taylor your system .
Having a tonof experience modding products to get the most out of them the orchid has a lot of hidden potential just by upgrading all the white smoothing, coupling caps . The Pogota is much better then the orchid it is a true 20 bit classic Burr Brown 1704 chipset and sounds very good . I have upgraded 2 of these and a orchid changing the 6 white caps , upgrading the fuse is a dramatic upgrade , you can go even further upgrading the power supply caps many installing a all copper Furutech IEC input. We are talking over a 10% improvement across the board and comparison with dacs several times their cost the New Jolida Black ice glass DSD with a few mods is a giant killer stock it won in a shoot out against several well known dacs . The mods are a big plus .
Congrats Bob! That’s what this hobby is all about, recreating an event worthy of your attention and I’m thrilled for you that listening to your new dac has brought you joy. Indeed, Grannyring is one of the good guys and there is likely a little "kharmic mojo" goodnesses infused into your new Orchid because of its prior owner.
"
Looks like some real lucky person snapped up grannyring’s Orchid. The
quality of the upgrade, both parts and workmanship absolutely top notch.
Lucky guy indeed." I'm the guy. And the original poster of this thread. I received grannyring's modified Orchid yesterday. Here are my thoughts. Firstly, my system is described in the first post on this thread. Grannyrings extensive modifications are detailed further down so I won't repeat them on this post. First a little background about me; I'm a serious lover of music. Some of my earliest childhood memories are of begging my parents for records. Or a dollar to buy a record. Listening to the radio everyday and into the night. It was a natural thing and I didn't have to develop a love for music. I just had it.
I started playing percussion in the 5th grade, and have continued throughout my adult life. I've played hundreds of gigs, taught and have listened to live gigs as often as possible since I was about 16 or so.
Jazz is clearly my first love, followed by R&B, World Music, (especially Latin and West African) classical , (mostly modern) and the random opera.
I guess what I'm trying to say is that I know what a trombone sounds like. Or a trumpet, or a string bass. Not amplified. Or a piano. Good pianos sound sweet, round and beautiful; the cheaper ones not so much. So I get the Orchid yesterday. (Shout out to grannyring for superb packaging, communication and from our phone conversation I felt he was an all around good guy. Maybe one day I'll meet him. The Orchid arrived about 1 pm yesterday and having listened to music most of the morning plugged it in. I let it warm up and get used to its new home until today when I gave it a serious listen.
Here are my impressions; 1. At 67 years of age I was seriously wondering if I could even distinguish a difference between the PS Audio NuWave and the Orchid. I live in a small town, hundreds of miles away from any hi fi stores. I only know of two other people that even have a 2 channel rig. The answer is yes. The difference was instant and apparent. 2. Did I like the new sound? Again the answer is yes. And it took me awhile to figure out why I liked it.
I don't have your typical reviewer's command of language to describe the nuances heard. What I will describe is how I "feel" about the what I hear. Think about what it's like to listen to music on a cold winter day. It's like zero degrees outside. The heat is cranked up and you're sitting on the couch listening to music. You're warm but there is still a chill in the air. Now, think about the first time you ever experienced wood stove heat. It heats everything; the floor, the table, the furniture and the drapes.
The Orchid sound like a wood fired stove. Everything is warm, cozy and wraps around you in a way that makes you want to want more. Most of the music I listen to is made by real, not electronic instruments. In a way, they are organic sounding and I got much more of that with the Orchid than I did with the NuWave.
The soundstage is better. Not a little bit better, but a lot better. And for some reason the relation between my left and right speaker is more harmonious than it's ever been.
To summarize all the above; music is now even more enjoyable. And to be honest I didn't think it was possible. - Bob
"...the Amber looks like the screws are only on the faceplate."
I have the old(er) Amber model and by looking at the pictures, it appears the chassis is very similar or the same as the new model. In addition to the larger hex screws on the face plate, there are 11 small screws all around the chassis that need to be removed in order to remove the cover and access the inside. The three tubes are very firmly in place and the likelihood of them dislodge during shipment seems very slim. Given the absence of any vent holes on the chassis, my concern/curiosity was the heat generated by the tubes affecting tube/electronics lifespan, especially the 6X5 rectifier almost touching the top cover so I ran mine without the cover for a while until I was convinced the heat was not an issue given the huge empty space inside the chassis. Tubes’ visual esthetics notwithstanding, I ultimately put the cover back on. As a side note, in my unit, changing the tubes to NOS 12AU7/12AT7 (with balanced triodes) gave a more balanced and extended sound. Its possible that the OEM Brimar tubes were simply tired. If the new Amber 3 is indeed significantly better than mine, then you guys are in for a treat since I think mine sounds very good in my (all tube) system.
I would love to bring a hot rodded Orchid over for a comparison to your two box Goliath DHT dac! Your power supply alone is 5 times the weight of the diminutive Orchid.
That is incorrect. We don't invalidate warranties if you opened the case to change or roll tubes. We just don't encourage it to avoid electrical shocks and or damaging gear with wrong tube types, etc.
It would make a lot of sense if they ship without the tubes installed for safety while in shipping transit, so that owners will install the tubes themselves when they receive them.
No way opening up the case should or will void a warranty. I am not just hooking up a piece of gear that was shipped from Poland without first making sure all tubes are seated properly and nothing is loose. Standard operating practice. @lampizatorna please confirm as I just purchased a unit and I am looking inside before giving it 120 volts and risking a short or worse in my rig. Tubes or parts shift or become fully or partially unseated etc... Stuff just happens when shipping and handling from so far away. Seems like a reasonable thing to do. I have had my share of gear show up with broken tubes, tubes loose and only partially in the socket, parts shifted and loose etc....
Well, I have 2 DACs - Modwright and Aqua and the cases have several hex screws on the casing itself to make it easy to remove; the Amber looks like the screws are only on the faceplate. So if I follow you if a tube goes bad while the unit is under warranty and you don't want to incur shipping for something as easy as replacing a tube it sounds like you will invalidate the warranty because of 'broken seals". I don't get the logic to this setup
With all due respect to the Lampizator team, the case is similar to a great many cases: to remove the cover one only need remove a few screws (hex) and I'm sure it slides off to reveal the inner workings. There are a couple of seals which would be broken if you did remove the cover, which might void the warranty if you did so (I emphatically have not!).
Now, if I wanted to tube roll some 12au7's etc, it would take something pretty spectacular to better the sound. Flavor the sound? Yes, I'm sure it would be possible but to significantly better the sound by rolling in some NOS tubes would be highly subjective. I haven't felt the need to tube roll the one I have but I wouldn't hesitate if I believed it "needed" it or there was some sort of deficiency/correction that could be influenced by tube rolling.
As is always the case, listen to your manufacturer if they provide guidance, especially if by not following said guidance it would void the warranty. I just didn't want the community to believe that future tube maintenance was going to require a trip back to the manufacturer in Poland and the answer is no. Recognize that manufacturers and their role in promoting safety/operability and long term reliability are best served by advising against opening the unit.
I just wanted to make sure the audiogon community wasn't under the impression that the case is sealed, as in impossible to open, versus advising the user base to seek out an audio professional before "fixing" the Amber 3. Peace to all.
In short, if you want to risk voiding your warranty, the Amber 3 can be opened just like other equipment you may have.The difference being that by breaking the seals, there is no turning back.
Since the Amber 3 is a sealed design we don't encourage tube rolling. If careful the case can be opened, and the tubes can easily be changed. If you're concerned about damaging the unit and or electrical shock, please have an experienced tech replace the tubes. We have two techs we use for service/warranty repair, one on each coast.
Rob, from the pictures of the Amber 3 it looks like the case is a sealed enclosure, what is involved with changing the tubes either due to tube failure or desire to tube roll? Does the unit have to be shipped somewhere for service?
To answer Butlers post, Yes Lampizator North America will be a the Florida Audio Show in Feb 7-9th.
We will have two rooms. Duplicating the Capital Audiofest room that was considered one of the best in show. Amber 3 DAC, Spatial and Linear tube audio. Just under 10k for the system too. The Amber 3 will be for sale as a demo deal.
We are also doing a high end room with Vac, Daedalus and will have a brand new balanced Pacific and our SuperKomputer for transport duties. The Pacific and SK have already been spoken for.
Hope to see you some folks from Agon there. It's a fun show, and of course the weather beats most places in Feb.
Rob Lampizator North America https://Lampizator.com
@dfairc777a Would love to... wish someone had one around. And I do still believe strongly in "ymmv", regardless of the outcome. So much depends on the system in which everything is embedded.
I, for example, have no doubt that the psa directstream sounds spectacular in some systems (see the stereophile reviews), but it just didn't work in mine (or with my ears). I also have know that my amplifiers (first watt f4s) would sound terrible with some speakers, but are wonderful with mine.
Not sure people will be as interested in the comparison, but I'm also ordering two other demos to join the shootout. The ifi dad pro and sabre x-matrix pro. I've been convinced that the audio mirror and lampizator will be at the top, but I figured this was the right time to test out a number of competitors and put any "what if" thoughts to rest. I've also got a ps audio perfectwave mk2 at home and previously owned a directstream. Together, that's wolfson, brown-burr, Delta-sigma, es, fpga, and r2r decoders. Should be interesting to see how my internet-derived expectations hold up...
Looks like some real lucky person snapped up grannyring’s Orchid. The quality of the upgrade, both parts and workmanship absolutely top notch. Lucky guy indeed.
I just ordered an Amber 3 demo from our friendly TN Lampizator dealer (shipped to CO). I'll get it in mid-January for a shootout against my Audio Mirror Tubadour III SE. Very curious to see how it goes. Either the Amber ships back to TN or someone else gets a good deal on a beautiful AM DAC with upgraded tubes...
I just picked up an amber 3 demo from the cap fest and I have to say in my limited usage so far everything ghasley says about it is accurate imo.
ghasley
"The Amber 3 has a more pronounced low end and the mids, while not as pronounced as the Lampizators of yesteryear, is a bit more present than the Aqua. The high end is too close to call but the Amber 3 seems more layered and 3 dimensional to me than the Aqua. Where the Amber just has me shaking my head wondering how did they do it at this price point is in the area of tempo or jump factor. It just seems to have a little more PRAT or life to the music. Hey, it might all be due to something very minor like output voltage or something along those lines. The Amber 3 just feels a bit more dynamic I guess is how I would describe it. Not artificially so (like the Chord Dave to me). "
I cant comment on his specific comparisons but the description on the low end, mids and high end with music being more layered and 3 dimensional is what I am hearing in my system also. I am hearing things I haven't heard and it totally leaves me stunned on how good it is. ( keep in mind I have only been in the hobby for two years unfortunately and I have only had to compare the amber to the dac in the mac c2600, a ps directstream, and the jolida tube dac( and if the amber 3 was in that shoot out above mentioned imo the amber would win hands down at least when comparing the directstream and the jolida))
Sorry cant compare the orchid but I would definitely test both before making a decision.
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