Golden Gate DAC arrives.
- Thread starter Blue58
- Start date
Just look back through the thread I posted a link to you will find quite detailed reviews of each one I have tried. The VT68_GPO I haven't described in such detail but it doesn't need it - it just sounds fab to me
You can search ebay for the seller using the search facility the name of the seller is in the link.FWIW the sockets I got don't look like the auction pic. They are all black no white centre. They are very solid affairs. There may be better, but these really feel like quality.
Hmmmm, Balanced or SE, SE or Balanced, Balanced or SE
I still have many doubts on this aspect. Preferences of people are mostly due to the interface with their own systems, and I could not find any information how the GG is balanced. Is it a truly balanced, with two DSD converters and complete filtering and amplifying lines, or does it have only an analog inverting stage and /or tube buffers?
Considering that it is a tubed unit with a passive filtered HV power supply (chokes and capacitors) we can expect that a balanced unit will have a better 100/120Hz mains rejection, but I am only guessing.
Hi I replied to this from their website: No balancing signal transformers or op-amp signal cloners. We use ONLY truly balanced - from digital process to the output - QUAD-MONO design. True for both PCM and DSD engines.
Thanks! Now I see it in full - the green part was fundamental But you are costing me a lot of money!
It seems that we can conclude that a balanced unit used in SE will not loose any sound quality over a SE unit - it could be used without the extra tubes. It is just more expensive.
Lukasz never does false balanced. Components doubled and yes, quad mono DSD. SE only uses 2 of the tubes.
Bal runs hotter and is more expensive, so iif its only for SE, its a waste.
Thanks - one never knows what is coming in the the future! BTW, I read there were some very recent improvements to the PCM section of the GG - do you know any details on this improvement?
I also would be most interested in any further details as per micro's inquiry.
Hi Al,
Here's my take on all this tube rolling.
One cannot match tubes purely on testing results only but have to match them sonically. As an example, I have a Quad matched EML solid plate 45s but the closest tested pair did not sound matched. Further, swapping the tubes across the mono block amps resulted in different SQ. You could say this is how a tube reacts to its driver tube in a unique way.
My other big problem with the GG output tube and to some extent the rectifier tube is how their individual parameters are controlled by Lukasz' novel circuit.
Do we know what anode voltage, current and bias is applied to each of these tube options? Are these tubes operated at their optimum conditions? Are they stressed or have starved filaments?
I agree it is the best sounding DAC I've ever had in my system but it scares me to think of popping £3K quad of tubes into a circuit I don't know.
So maybe the different sound qualities are not only due to the intrinsic sound quality of that tube but that a particular tube hits it's ideal parameters in the circuit.
Can someone pop open a GG and measure the Va and Ik of the 45 in circuit?
Just food for thought!
And a bit of jealousy thrown in
Blue58
Not sure why that matters. I think rollers will eventually settle down with a couple of tubes, and as long as both tubes and dacs last for 10 years, it should not be a problem. Regarding price, most tubes demoed right now are between 100 - 500 USD, with rectis as cheap as 40 - 200. Very few individuals have gone WE originals, or even Elrog/Takatsuki.
Don't think so. Playing 12k for a dac to sound sublime, with the option of adding better tubes to make it sound well, more no.1, is a great option. You make it sound like the mediocre tubes are making it sound mediocre, which is clearly not the case, and I know you don't mean it that way either. The dac has been a favorite for many beating SOTA stuff with 101d replicas. In fact, why would you want to pay 3k when you could have a world beater for 200 quid of tubes? I certainly wouldn't. But then I would have the option to
They are lasting pretty long, and never known Lukasz to assure they would if he didn't think so.
It doesn't really matter if EML 45s are favored or not. As long as the dac is sounding great with some tubes (whether 6A3, 101d, 45, etc) that is all that matters. This is not about EML 45. Let's pretend that the Lampi doesn't support EML 45. Would it stop someone who likes it from buying it? No.
Both tubes have the same sound quality. If you swap a 101d between your L and R channel, I don't see any difference.
They are lasting pretty long, and never known Lukasz to assure they would if he didn't think so.
It doesn't really matter if EML 45s are favored or not. As long as the dac is sounding great with some tubes (whether 6A3, 101d, 45, etc) that is all that matters. This is not about EML 45. Let's pretend that the Lampi doesn't support EML 45. Would it stop someone who likes it from buying it? No.
Both tubes have the same sound quality. If you swap a 101d between your L and R channel, I don't see any difference.
Agreed Bonzo.
I have EML 45 solid and mesh, NU 45, Silbertone and a couple others. I have a VERY weak pair of vintage WE 101D (ST shape) which was sold for display only and have been happily using it on and off for MONTHs. DHTs in the dac are only running 5-10% of rated capacity and brand new tubes used in a reponsible way should last like 30 years...abused and its still 15 years! Old tubes like some that I have will still last 2 to 5 years and as I paid as little as $10 for some of them, I dont care too much.
There are lots of new production tubes that are reportedly great sounding and dont cost that much...look to Kron and EML as well as the replicas from Shuguang and Psvane...and the Sophia stuff too. You dont have to go vintage to get great sound. It your choice.
So far, I have never heard of a single case of DHT failure or blowout in the Dac. This is NOT a power amp, afterall. There is a case of someone inserting (forcing in) the pins the wrong way and its the DAC that was slightly damaged and the tubes took a while to fail even then.
I have EML 45 solid and mesh, NU 45, Silbertone and a couple others. I have a VERY weak pair of vintage WE 101D (ST shape) which was sold for display only and have been happily using it on and off for MONTHs. DHTs in the dac are only running 5-10% of rated capacity and brand new tubes used in a reponsible way should last like 30 years...abused and its still 15 years! Old tubes like some that I have will still last 2 to 5 years and as I paid as little as $10 for some of them, I dont care too much.
There are lots of new production tubes that are reportedly great sounding and dont cost that much...look to Kron and EML as well as the replicas from Shuguang and Psvane...and the Sophia stuff too. You dont have to go vintage to get great sound. It your choice.
So far, I have never heard of a single case of DHT failure or blowout in the Dac. This is NOT a power amp, afterall. There is a case of someone inserting (forcing in) the pins the wrong way and its the DAC that was slightly damaged and the tubes took a while to fail even then.
I. Have both new and old tubes there are two camps in tube rolling
One is pride of ownership they of course prefere NOS
then there is me I much preferred new as long as it is either close or on par with its old nos they a replicas
The new non replicas are also very good this makes me feel there is many more choices
I read reviews and this is where most info can be had. I have posted some for others as well
The lampi is a very new concept in dacs and its skins is rocking the dac world for sure I own a tricked stack from msb and it is more musical at a fraction of its cost. Luk is a man driven to play until it sounds great and this is done fast
Where some may take 6 months or more to roll a new firmware he makes changes in less than this
Making anyone who owns a lampi feel secure I that we have an upgrade path without spending On a whole new dac
One is pride of ownership they of course prefere NOS
then there is me I much preferred new as long as it is either close or on par with its old nos they a replicas
The new non replicas are also very good this makes me feel there is many more choices
I read reviews and this is where most info can be had. I have posted some for others as well
The lampi is a very new concept in dacs and its skins is rocking the dac world for sure I own a tricked stack from msb and it is more musical at a fraction of its cost. Luk is a man driven to play until it sounds great and this is done fast
Where some may take 6 months or more to roll a new firmware he makes changes in less than this
Making anyone who owns a lampi feel secure I that we have an upgrade path without spending On a whole new dac
Steve williams
Site Founder, Site Owner, Administrator
Hi Al
With all of Lukas' frequent firmware changes are these updates made available to owners as online files or does the unit have to be returned.
With all of Lukas' frequent firmware changes are these updates made available to owners as online files or does the unit have to be returned.
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