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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.

 

willgolf
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cleeds
5,915 posts
 
baylinor

This is utterly stupid for average folks to have to discuss $50 ,000 DACs.

No one is forcing you, are they?

rixthetrick's avatar
rixthetrick
1,060 posts
 

I for one have sat and listened in rooms that I cannot afford (who knows what the future brings? Maybe one day, I will. ) and I have loved seeing beautiful things I will not likely afford any time soon.

@willgolf   You’ve obviously worked hard to be where you’re at, sorry for your blindness, but also good for you on accepting the trade off for more attention to hearing.

Thank you for sharing some good news on the higher end of the Audiophile spectrum of things. Just as automobiles in the last 10-20 years have brought the mainstream into the performance territory of the elite of yesteryear, pioneers like Lukasz Fikus will help lift the expectations of the market in Audio.

Better technology and sound reproduction can only help the audiophile community. As engineers find increasingly more affordable ways to produce what was once out of reach for the common man, we aught to applaud such advancement.

A great example of this advancement and modernization while becoming affordable for the common man, is the flat screen television. A $1000 4K television will easily surpass the older plasma 1080P televisions that were a good ten times that.
The humble personal computer is another good example.

Thank you for sharing what we all should look forward to in the future.

ghasley
2,487 posts
 

@rixthetrick VERY well said…I still remember twenty or so years ago going to demo a flat panel television and when my wife overheard it was $20k she started crying, knowing all too well that I had likely already done the deal and that I was just trying to get her buyin. LOL. I hadnt and I didnt.

sgreg1
612 posts
 

700k and 50k dac!

I will run out and buy a powerball ticket and pray!

Then again even if I were to win I am pretty confident my ears are not deserving of 750k music system. Hope you enjoy the music more than your system! I do!

havocman
350 posts
 

well if you want to get ripped off for $50,000 that's your choice because no way should any deck be worth 50 $100,000 even using the best parts out there that should maybe be worth five or six thousand, unfortunately many high-end companies are rip off artists.

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