STEVE'S END GAME
And now you know the rest of the story................
As most of you who know me are aware that this past year has put me on a path where I reach the landing pad (for me at least) of completing the few remaining pieces of this puzzle I call my audio system. I had been saying that once I reach this part of the hobby I will truly be "end game"and that for me has taken countless decades to reach. These past 4 years has resulted in the addition of 3 different things to my system which I have discussed many times here
To wit.......the addition of
1. Critical Mass Systems racks
2. A complete loom of Masterbuilt Ultra cable
3. The use of Center Stage Feet under my components
Where I found myself lacking was to incorporate a present day DAC to take the place of my 12 year old Playback Designs MPS-5 which has served me well in all that time. In fact , recently, the addition of the Playback Designs USB X-lll box has served me well allowing me to play up to DSD 256 and PCM 384. I was also finding myself totally deficient in owning an adequate digital side of my system as I have been spending most of my listening time with vinyl and tape.
Fortunately the amount of information available here on WBF proved very fruitful to me as I spent countless hours reading about members' experiences with servers. Up until this time it was my goal to build the digital side of my system around an excellent DAC. That was my goal. My due diligence over the past year suggested that following this path was the correct way to go.My search led me to 2 DAC's which I have to admit have been on my mind for several years.
Specifically my short list was the MSB Select ll which I absolutely love for it's SQ's as well as it being future proof
or
the Lampizator Pacific
Talking to the higher ups at MSB, the information which I gleaned suggested that the MSB was so good that only a laptop and J River was all that was required for streaming audio
Well my world changed however 3 months ago when after months of searching and reading I felt the best server on the market that was going to take me to my end game as it seemed bullet proof as well as future proof was the Taiko Extreme. I purchased this unit with 16 TB's of internal memory cards. Simply put I have been gob smacked by the Extreme and how it sounds, and how it performs. To me it is an absolute industry break out product. During this time I was using my Playback Designs MPS-5 DAC with the USB Xlll box and I was stunned at how good it sounded.
This told me unequivocally that in order to get great music with the Extreme an Uber expensive DAC simply isn't necessary. Other members here have confirmed the same findings as has Emile.
Several years ago when I upgraded my CMS racks and added a few more shelves, one was allocated for a new music server (which proved to be the Extreme) and another was allocated for a new DAC
For those that know me, you know that I am an all tube system. I love the sound of tubes and have strived to produce as natural a sound as is possible. This brings me to my DAC shelf. It was my initial thought that my new DAC was going to be a tube DAC and the Lampi was always on my short list......so much so that the size of the shelf I ordered was spec'd to Lampi dimensions......just in case
So where has this taken me.........to my end game
I remain a tube guy and knew there was just no need (for me at least) to spend those big bucks on a DAC that in and of itself was so good that my system could have been designed around the Select ll DAC and I would have been eternally happy. Having the Extreme proved to me that I could easily stay all tubes.
I had long talks with many Lampi owners here as well re tube selection as there remained so many ways to sound this DAC as to which output and rectifier tubes should be used
As you all know I am not a tube roller but rather someone who searches for the most natural sound over all genres of music. I read that some users had hum and noise issues and there was such a diversity as to what tubes to use.
So I purchased a Lampizator Pacific 6 weeks ago according to my spec's . I only need a Single Ended as my Lamm gear is Single Ended.
Mine arrived 6 days ago and with the help of Leif S here we got it installed after Emile remotely installed the Lampi drivers. Out of the box it was unlistenable BUT there were no hums or tube noise that I could hear. I was also using a brand new MasterBuilt Ultra PC as well as new Center Stage 1.5 feet for under the DAC. So there was a lot to burn in
The tubes I selected so far are
KR-242 output tubes
RK-KR 5u4g Rectifier
I also bought a pair of RK-KR PX25 output tubes which have not yet been in my system
By day 3 I knew something specials beginning to happen as the midrange was nicely coming in. The sound stage was wide and depend there seemed to be more micro information in that soundstage. The top end however remained a little bright and the bass was slow, tubby and poorly defined.
I also purchased the volume control option on the Pacific as I was told this is a good way to tune the tubes. Indeed it has. Yesterday was the first time I had a series listen and so much had changed . I have never heard such a beautiful soundstage. The midrange is now swell developed and there is no further top end brightness. The bass is now tight, quicker and more articulate but listening to some bass guitar, I know there is still a small way to go yet.But so far I am simply dazzled
I have no hum or tube noise.In fact in anticipation of tube noise from the 242's and rectifier, I purchased several sets of HAL's AudioLabs tube dampers. So far I haven't found a need to use them
So where am I now? I am tickled pink in my decision. No question however I would have been very happy with the Select ll but as I stated the Extreme is the king pin of the digital side and I built my DAC and the rest around the Extreme. The tube DAC has added such a natural feeling to my system that I am content in every way with my decision.
In closing, I found that not only for my system and my ears, that I have made the correct decision but with so much money left over as a result I conclude the story by saying I put some icing on the cake of the analog side of my system by buying a new cartridge
So from here on, my goal is to listen to the music and continue to read about everyone else's end game plan. I have been down more rabbit holes and made so many mistakes along the way that at this point in my life I have reached my........
END GAME !!
And now you know the rest of the story................
As most of you who know me are aware that this past year has put me on a path where I reach the landing pad (for me at least) of completing the few remaining pieces of this puzzle I call my audio system. I had been saying that once I reach this part of the hobby I will truly be "end game"and that for me has taken countless decades to reach. These past 4 years has resulted in the addition of 3 different things to my system which I have discussed many times here
To wit.......the addition of
1. Critical Mass Systems racks
2. A complete loom of Masterbuilt Ultra cable
3. The use of Center Stage Feet under my components
Where I found myself lacking was to incorporate a present day DAC to take the place of my 12 year old Playback Designs MPS-5 which has served me well in all that time. In fact , recently, the addition of the Playback Designs USB X-lll box has served me well allowing me to play up to DSD 256 and PCM 384. I was also finding myself totally deficient in owning an adequate digital side of my system as I have been spending most of my listening time with vinyl and tape.
Fortunately the amount of information available here on WBF proved very fruitful to me as I spent countless hours reading about members' experiences with servers. Up until this time it was my goal to build the digital side of my system around an excellent DAC. That was my goal. My due diligence over the past year suggested that following this path was the correct way to go.My search led me to 2 DAC's which I have to admit have been on my mind for several years.
Specifically my short list was the MSB Select ll which I absolutely love for it's SQ's as well as it being future proof
or
the Lampizator Pacific
Talking to the higher ups at MSB, the information which I gleaned suggested that the MSB was so good that only a laptop and J River was all that was required for streaming audio
Well my world changed however 3 months ago when after months of searching and reading I felt the best server on the market that was going to take me to my end game as it seemed bullet proof as well as future proof was the Taiko Extreme. I purchased this unit with 16 TB's of internal memory cards. Simply put I have been gob smacked by the Extreme and how it sounds, and how it performs. To me it is an absolute industry break out product. During this time I was using my Playback Designs MPS-5 DAC with the USB Xlll box and I was stunned at how good it sounded.
This told me unequivocally that in order to get great music with the Extreme an Uber expensive DAC simply isn't necessary. Other members here have confirmed the same findings as has Emile.
Several years ago when I upgraded my CMS racks and added a few more shelves, one was allocated for a new music server (which proved to be the Extreme) and another was allocated for a new DAC
For those that know me, you know that I am an all tube system. I love the sound of tubes and have strived to produce as natural a sound as is possible. This brings me to my DAC shelf. It was my initial thought that my new DAC was going to be a tube DAC and the Lampi was always on my short list......so much so that the size of the shelf I ordered was spec'd to Lampi dimensions......just in case
So where has this taken me.........to my end game
I remain a tube guy and knew there was just no need (for me at least) to spend those big bucks on a DAC that in and of itself was so good that my system could have been designed around the Select ll DAC and I would have been eternally happy. Having the Extreme proved to me that I could easily stay all tubes.
I had long talks with many Lampi owners here as well re tube selection as there remained so many ways to sound this DAC as to which output and rectifier tubes should be used
As you all know I am not a tube roller but rather someone who searches for the most natural sound over all genres of music. I read that some users had hum and noise issues and there was such a diversity as to what tubes to use.
So I purchased a Lampizator Pacific 6 weeks ago according to my spec's . I only need a Single Ended as my Lamm gear is Single Ended.
Mine arrived 6 days ago and with the help of Leif S here we got it installed after Emile remotely installed the Lampi drivers. Out of the box it was unlistenable BUT there were no hums or tube noise that I could hear. I was also using a brand new MasterBuilt Ultra PC as well as new Center Stage 1.5 feet for under the DAC. So there was a lot to burn in
The tubes I selected so far are
KR-242 output tubes
RK-KR 5u4g Rectifier
I also bought a pair of RK-KR PX25 output tubes which have not yet been in my system
By day 3 I knew something specials beginning to happen as the midrange was nicely coming in. The sound stage was wide and depend there seemed to be more micro information in that soundstage. The top end however remained a little bright and the bass was slow, tubby and poorly defined.
I also purchased the volume control option on the Pacific as I was told this is a good way to tune the tubes. Indeed it has. Yesterday was the first time I had a series listen and so much had changed . I have never heard such a beautiful soundstage. The midrange is now swell developed and there is no further top end brightness. The bass is now tight, quicker and more articulate but listening to some bass guitar, I know there is still a small way to go yet.But so far I am simply dazzled
I have no hum or tube noise.In fact in anticipation of tube noise from the 242's and rectifier, I purchased several sets of HAL's AudioLabs tube dampers. So far I haven't found a need to use them
So where am I now? I am tickled pink in my decision. No question however I would have been very happy with the Select ll but as I stated the Extreme is the king pin of the digital side and I built my DAC and the rest around the Extreme. The tube DAC has added such a natural feeling to my system that I am content in every way with my decision.
In closing, I found that not only for my system and my ears, that I have made the correct decision but with so much money left over as a result I conclude the story by saying I put some icing on the cake of the analog side of my system by buying a new cartridge
So from here on, my goal is to listen to the music and continue to read about everyone else's end game plan. I have been down more rabbit holes and made so many mistakes along the way that at this point in my life I have reached my........
END GAME !!
