Wisnon, I was actually reflecting today that I should have been more generous in my praise of the Lampi dsd dacs as yes, I was aware Adam (Elberoth) who I respect owns a Big 7 Level 5. I could also be mistaken about the number of DSD titles out there. By all reports it is a very well built and great sounding dac.
I feel I should just make a couple of important points here. Firstly the latest spec Vitus SCD-025 which I own is about 50% better than the previous spec player which Agear heard (which was already regarded by many as the best single box cd player in the world). It is true balanced, has very wide bandwidth, resolution & low noise, whilst sounding on the warm side and mellifluous. Vitus use very sophisticated (and expensive!) robotic machinery and manufacturing techniques which are second to none, including Boulder. They use their own all-discrete analogue modules drawn from the SL-102 preamp, an extremely accurate master clock and use zero negative feedback. During the development and testing phase of this player, the references used were the old spec SCD-025 and a Techdas AF1 with thales tonearm & Dynavector x1s cartridge connected to a Masterpiece Series phono stage. Not bad!
Also keep in mind a system is more than a dac, no matter how good it sounds in and of itself. Just as how good or bad a recording sounds does not depend on the number of 'bits'. It is the sum of all its parts and the synergy they impart. I've built my system on that principle, with no weak links, and in fact plan on expanding my family of Vitus Signature Series components later this year which will take my rig to the next level.
Another thing i've learnt is, you'll never convince a fan of tube dacs that a ss dac sounds as musical. I couldn't even convince a 'phile who owned a Chinese Vincent cd player that my Vitus dac might just sound better.
The above comments are purely for balance. I can see both from looking at the exceptional build quality of the Lampi dacs & the GG's expensive parts bin that it is a serious dac. The balanced GG dac is $17kEUR, whilst the Vitus is $19kEUR, thus the pricing suggests these dacs are more peers than killer vs just very good.
Finally, yes I would accept if you were playing purely DSD files, the Lampi would likely have the edge. Though amongst the hundreds of millions of digital recordings, including Indy recordings, only a tiny percentage are currently available on DSD. Though I accept if you avidly purchase from that small title list, you would end up with a considerable collection. And if you illegally rip SACD's via a PS3, you would likely expand that list further. But it's still a tiny percentage, and virtually unrepresented in Indy and world music. I'm taking note, but won't be rushing out any time soon to buy one. Just saying.
I feel I should just make a couple of important points here. Firstly the latest spec Vitus SCD-025 which I own is about 50% better than the previous spec player which Agear heard (which was already regarded by many as the best single box cd player in the world). It is true balanced, has very wide bandwidth, resolution & low noise, whilst sounding on the warm side and mellifluous. Vitus use very sophisticated (and expensive!) robotic machinery and manufacturing techniques which are second to none, including Boulder. They use their own all-discrete analogue modules drawn from the SL-102 preamp, an extremely accurate master clock and use zero negative feedback. During the development and testing phase of this player, the references used were the old spec SCD-025 and a Techdas AF1 with thales tonearm & Dynavector x1s cartridge connected to a Masterpiece Series phono stage. Not bad!
Also keep in mind a system is more than a dac, no matter how good it sounds in and of itself. Just as how good or bad a recording sounds does not depend on the number of 'bits'. It is the sum of all its parts and the synergy they impart. I've built my system on that principle, with no weak links, and in fact plan on expanding my family of Vitus Signature Series components later this year which will take my rig to the next level.
Another thing i've learnt is, you'll never convince a fan of tube dacs that a ss dac sounds as musical. I couldn't even convince a 'phile who owned a Chinese Vincent cd player that my Vitus dac might just sound better.
The above comments are purely for balance. I can see both from looking at the exceptional build quality of the Lampi dacs & the GG's expensive parts bin that it is a serious dac. The balanced GG dac is $17kEUR, whilst the Vitus is $19kEUR, thus the pricing suggests these dacs are more peers than killer vs just very good.
Finally, yes I would accept if you were playing purely DSD files, the Lampi would likely have the edge. Though amongst the hundreds of millions of digital recordings, including Indy recordings, only a tiny percentage are currently available on DSD. Though I accept if you avidly purchase from that small title list, you would end up with a considerable collection. And if you illegally rip SACD's via a PS3, you would likely expand that list further. But it's still a tiny percentage, and virtually unrepresented in Indy and world music. I'm taking note, but won't be rushing out any time soon to buy one. Just saying.