[Articnoise]

On audio circle there is very good thread on tube rolling.
But I can give you a quick synopsis
300B ps vane are very good for this.
Other brands as well. Eml 45 are a good place to start but as you want more weight go witha 300B eml is also very good.
Eml and ps vane are both good brands.
The switch in the reward goes down for these tubes. Up for 45
Post your thoughts when you try them
Al

 
So that’s the verdict for the upgraded level 7 Headdac and how does it compare to your Big 7 as a dedicated dac?

 

[bmichels]

 
 
So that’s the verdict for the upgraded level 7 Headdac and how does it compare to your Big 7 as a dedicated dac?

 
very good question.   I am interested also by the answer à

 

[mastek]

I have MSB Analog DAC.
 
Should I sell my MSB Analog DAC and buy Lampizator Lite 7 ? is this an upgrade?

 

[js319]

New Lampi owner reporting for duty! Initial listening impressions (mostly of DSD) to follow. Cheers.

 

[js319]

Dvorak 9th, 4th movement, Youth Orchestra of the Americas, Jean-Pascal Hamelin

I had previously not rated this recording all that well, because I thought it sounded relatively “closed” and flat. This would not have been one of the first tracks I listened to, except for the fact I was looking for big orchestral pieces on DSD as test tracks, and I didn’t have many of those.

Within the first few bars, my jaw was on the proverbial floor. This is so NOT a “closed” recording. That “closedness” is actually the transients of notes lingering in the air before dissipating; the longer and louder the music built up, the more reverberating and enveloping it is. What I had previously heard and mistook for a distant, flat recording was actually a very life like representation of the acoustics of a live recording in a music hall.

And the amount of nuance, as opposed to just detail, contained in the recording! Even very low volume passages, say one or two strings being plucked, have life and emotion of their own. I am hearing inflections of tone and timbre that I have never heard in this piece – not just this performance, I am talking about this symphony altogether, period.

At the end of the performance there was some applause. I was literally startled as there was a particularly loud clap to the left that sounded very life-like. The applause feels enveloping, has texture but not piercing or metallic in any way, and was definitely on a different “plane” than where the music was.

To nitpick and in an attempt to be balanced, I do feel that some of the most complex passages felt more labored than what I had previously heard. I will need to properly A/B this on tracks I am more familiar with to confirm my findings. Nonetheless, even if this really were the case, it’s a trade-off I would gladly live with. Between relatively flatter sound flowing smoothly, vs. music chugging along with all the instruments along for the ride in their proper place, with their individual timbre preserved, as well as wave after wave of tone and emotion gushing out … I would take the latter.

This was supposed to be brief impressions, but the more I reflected on what I heard, the more I ended up having to say. So I now have no time left for now to talk about all the other music I listened to last evening. To sum up my listening experience with this one piece as an example, the Lampi delivered music – music, not sound – in a natural and organic way that I think is very hard to match. And the most impressive thing to me is, I am not forced to choose between euphonics and “hifi”, as if the two were mutually exclusive. They aren’t and shouldn’t be. I think the key is for the “hifi” end of the bargain not to be in the form of overly embellished detail, but instead a lifelike presentation that allows one to hear more of the emotion. And this the Lampi delivers in spades.

More detailed sharing to come in due course.

 

[wisnon]

Wow, you have some nice tubes there!
 
What is the configuration of your Big 7? I notice no VC, but what caps do you have and do you have DSD128 or 256 engine? What input and output types?
 
Finally are you in US/Europe or somewhere else?

 

[js319]

Hi there. DSD128 and Jupiter caps. I did think about ordering the newly offered balanced configuration, but then I really didn't want to give up tube rolling. I'm in Asia. Cheers.

 

[wisnon]

Thanks for the fast reply JS.
 
Did you try the VT99 driver tube in your Woo head amp?
 
 
Again, lovely tubes you have there.

 

[js319]

Thanks for the fast reply JS.

Did you try the VT99 driver tube in your Woo head amp?


Again, lovely tubes you have there.

Thanks for the recommendation. Indeed the National Union 6F8G are my driver tubes of choice!

 

[00lunar]

Thanks for the recommendation. Indeed the National Union 6F8G are my driver tubes of choice!

 
Those WE101D-L you have really are something. The best ones I've heard thus far. But that aside, "7" really is something special. I see no other DAC I'd like to have. I assume you're using DSD engine, not PCM one, right?

 

[kiertijai]

I would like to know how good is the headphone part option of the Big 7 ? is it powerful enough to drive the Abyss, HE6?
Does the preamplifier option of the Big 7 have volume adjustment? and does it have the sound quality of the DAC part?
I don't have much of the tubes mentioned for tube rolling, how good is the 300B and 274B for this Big 7? as I have those for my amplifier.
I don't see the XLR out option, is it correct that if we have that option we can not do the tube rolling?
thanks,

 

[js319]

   
Those WE101D-L you have really are something. The best ones I've heard thus far. But that aside, "7" really is something special. I see no other DAC I'd like to have. I assume you're using DSD engine, not PCM one, right?

Hi there. Thanks for your kind words. Yes, indeed I have the DSD (128) module.
 
 

  I would like to know how good is the headphone part option of the Big 7 ? is it powerful enough to drive the Abyss, HE6?
Does the preamplifier option of the Big 7 have volume adjustment? and does it have the sound quality of the DAC part?
I don't have much of the tubes mentioned for tube rolling, how good is the 300B and 274B for this Big 7? as I have those for my amplifier.
I don't see the XLR out option, is it correct that if we have that option we can not do the tube rolling?
thanks,

Sorry I can't be of help, as I did not order the headphone, volume control, nor the balanced options. Alrainbow may be able to answer your question. I suspect the HE6 would be a stretch for the amp to drive. You are right that the balanced option only allows the use of 101D tubes at the moment.

 

[wisnon]

Kiertjai,
 
You are confusing 2 different products, the Big7 Dac (Which can have headphones jacks as an option) and the Big7 HeadDac.
Neither will be able to drive the HE-6, but the HeadDac will have a transformer bypass switch and with the bypass it will drive the Senn HD800 and a few others. Without bypass, it will drive low impedance HPs which are not as "hungry" as the HE-6. The best match thus would be the HD800 and such Phones as you get to bypass the output transformers for another veil lifted.
 
The HeadDac has the same tubes as the B7 Dac, ie 2 DHT output and a 5v recti PLUS it also has a driver tube (VT99 of 6sn7). Thus the haedDac is same Dac as By but with a Headamp integrated. The Dac with phone out Jacks will limited to the easiest HPs to drive as there is only the preamp driving it. All headphone out Dacs/headDacs MUST have the volume control option.
 
AL absolutely loves the B7 HeadDac and he has 2 Woo amps and the Senn SS headlamp as well.
 
This is my understanding from AL and Lukasz.

 

[wisnon]

   
Those WE101D-L you have really are something. The best ones I've heard thus far. But that aside, "7" really is something special. I see no other DAC I'd like to have. I assume you're using DSD engine, not PCM one, right?

I think his B7 has both PCM and DSD.

 

[kiertijai]

Dear Wisnon, JS319
    Thanks for the info.
    I can save 1000 euro to have the headphone output in Big7 Dac.
    May be another 1000 euro from preamplifier function ? 
   
    What kind of tubes used in Big7 Dac ?  : Rectifier ...., Driver......, Power......
    I own 300B and 274 B, can those tubes be used?  result?