Golden Gate DAC arrives.
- Thread starter Blue58
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Mark did very kindly offer me the chance and brought it over to my house - alas my GG 512 upgrade developed a fault and so the GG went back to Poland for repair. I received my GG back now and all is working so I would be in position to test it out - would need to twists Mark's arm to get it over again though
Unfortunately Bill and I were unable to find a convenient timeslot before the builders arrive for several weeks of tea and biscuits under the pretense of rebuilding his listening room.
If SGM cant go there, can the GG be a loaner to during the buidling mayhem period?
No biggie Norman as the SGM team already have a similar super-clocked 512 GG with PX25 which they used at the Neths show a fortnight ago
That GG is becoming my source of my new pimped headphone rig during this period
I could not possibly survive until end of Feb without high quality music reproduction in my life
I believe that one of the key SGM engineers really likes the SGM driving the GG @ 512.
Here is a link to what the engineers at Aequo thought about the electronics delivering the voltage and current to their new speakers at the X-Fi show in Holland
http://www.aequoaudio.com/demo-avnm
And this was with Roon feeding the audio tracks to HQ Player !
Roon > HQ Player running in the SGM Win 10 OS has made huge SQ advances since January this year
A question for the GG owners here. Are the super clocks part of the new dsd engine? Or also part of the newest pcm engine?
I am currently looking at second hand offerings and which upgrades are needed of I would want the newest engines for both DSD and PCM.
Also, with the Atlantic out now, do you guys think there will be an update for the GG? From what I understood (and this is also the reason
why I find the GG so appealing) is that the GG will remain the flagship of Lampizator dacs through updates, instead of launching a new flagship.
Is that true?
I also noticed that it has been quiet here for over a month. Is everybody still happy with the GG, or are there other dacs out there that would
now outperform the GG in a similar price bucket?
I am currently looking at second hand offerings and which upgrades are needed of I would want the newest engines for both DSD and PCM.
Also, with the Atlantic out now, do you guys think there will be an update for the GG? From what I understood (and this is also the reason
why I find the GG so appealing) is that the GG will remain the flagship of Lampizator dacs through updates, instead of launching a new flagship.
Is that true?
I also noticed that it has been quiet here for over a month. Is everybody still happy with the GG, or are there other dacs out there that would
now outperform the GG in a similar price bucket?
AFAIK, the 44khz family USB superclock works for DSD as well. The 48khz family is only for PCM. For DSD, I would ensure that you get Chipless and up to DSD256 as a minimum, if possible.
The GG has always been silently upgraded as far as I can tell, just less noise made about it (latest r2r firmware and component tweaking, for example). Many GG people are getting upgrades as we speak (especially for option like chipless DSD512 and superclocks), including me. Yes, GG remains the flagship and I hear talk of a Golden Atlantic, that still will be below the GG.
Outperformance would be a subjective question. Lampi people tend to like a certain sound and it will be nigh impossible to get that sound in a cheaper offering. You can get different sound for less, if that is what you are after.
The GG has always been silently upgraded as far as I can tell, just less noise made about it (latest r2r firmware and component tweaking, for example). Many GG people are getting upgrades as we speak (especially for option like chipless DSD512 and superclocks), including me. Yes, GG remains the flagship and I hear talk of a Golden Atlantic, that still will be below the GG.
Outperformance would be a subjective question. Lampi people tend to like a certain sound and it will be nigh impossible to get that sound in a cheaper offering. You can get different sound for less, if that is what you are after.
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Ruben, the superclock is an upgraded usb input card and therefore not part of the D/A engines. This is a very worthwhile upgrade though has only been introduced very recently and is unlikely to have filtered through to te used market. Similarly, the latest PCM and DSD boards were also introduced earlier this year and will likely be hard to find. I am not aware of any updates planned for GG for 2017 beyond some new digital input options though as Norman says, a Golden Atlantic is coming.
The following forum tread – especially the 11:30, 8:05p.m. post: http://www.audioshark.org/lampizator-186/help-understanding-pcm-dsd-engine-offerings-superclocks-bg7-gg-10872.html -- references frustration. The need to view forums to simply understand what Lampi PCM/DSD Engines and options like superclocks etc., are available, what they do, how they differ (technically and SQ wise) from current or previous offerings, is absurd.
I would have to believe that Lukasz and his resellers and proponents (like Winson) would like to keep from answering countless calls, emails, and forum threads over and over again about the same objective information vis-à-vis subjective info.!! Subjective information such as how for instance, one DAC Model or power cable compares to another SQ wise, is another issue and is more the purview of the forum world as it should be!
Placing a priority on the Lampizator website's timeliness and understandability that has the same or a higher priority than design, manufacturing and shipping, would go a long way to improve communications from Lampizator to all those seeking product information. Accurate, understandable, and current technical and comparable information, would (as suggested on the AudioShark forum thread) not only be a benefit to Lampizator principals and associates, but also to potential new owners and present owners desiring to upgrade their DAC’s.
Come on Lampizator team, the accurate and up-to-date establishment and dissemination of product information deserves the same attention to detail and excellence that your products have attained!
I would have to believe that Lukasz and his resellers and proponents (like Winson) would like to keep from answering countless calls, emails, and forum threads over and over again about the same objective information vis-à-vis subjective info.!! Subjective information such as how for instance, one DAC Model or power cable compares to another SQ wise, is another issue and is more the purview of the forum world as it should be!
Placing a priority on the Lampizator website's timeliness and understandability that has the same or a higher priority than design, manufacturing and shipping, would go a long way to improve communications from Lampizator to all those seeking product information. Accurate, understandable, and current technical and comparable information, would (as suggested on the AudioShark forum thread) not only be a benefit to Lampizator principals and associates, but also to potential new owners and present owners desiring to upgrade their DAC’s.
Come on Lampizator team, the accurate and up-to-date establishment and dissemination of product information deserves the same attention to detail and excellence that your products have attained!
There are some fair points here and Lukasz is already aware of the need to simplify his offering. Hopefully the website will be updated accordingly.
I've had a chance to audition the Atlantic with tube recti, DSD512 and R2R PCM, and super clocks, as well as the latest GG. In my personal opinion, the GG representing Lampizator's flagship, and for simplification's sake, it shouldn't even be available with anything less than all of the above. Personally, I like a number of the earlier/entry level options so much less, e.g. the chip-based PCM card as heard in a Siebener, let alone DSD via the R2R engine (= chipless DSD is the "raison d'être" of all Lampis, IMHO, pointless to offer even an "entry level model" without), that if I were Lukasz, I'd throw a few options overboard, and I mean, from the bottom up, not vice versa. Currently, the Lampizator price list reads much like BMW or Mercedes to me, making one wonder if there are indeed customers out there who buy a model without foot mats (seriously, people have been joking about "no wheel, no tires" entry level models for years already).
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
Greetings from Switzerland, David.
I am listening to my recently (2 weeks) upgraded/dated GG as I write. I am listening to chip less HQ player up sampled to 512. I have latest version Jcat USB card (which BTW IMO blows away the uRendu and SOtM 200) powered by the Uptone LPS-1 PSU. I have one of those isolators (can't remember the name) in between the Jcat and Lampi. EnKlein David USB cable, Sablon Ethernet cable from optic converter to i7 6700, AO, Fidelizer, Process Lasso. All HDrives are externally powered separate from the motherboard.
Right now I have KR 242's and Tak 274b in the GG, but have been switching in/out 300b's too. I already made the commitment to the Lampi brand and have compared to other SOTA DACs so I wasn't too concerned with getting my money's worth. Sound is simply amazing. One thing in paticular that stands out is much more stable imaging. This has always been disturbing for me. I would say that if you already sunk over 10k into your GG, and want all around better, there really is no option than the full on upgrade.
I so badly want to get a set of the SE 45 tubes that Bonzo is raving about in his excellent blog (thanks Bonzo) but was told no mo.
Right now I have KR 242's and Tak 274b in the GG, but have been switching in/out 300b's too. I already made the commitment to the Lampi brand and have compared to other SOTA DACs so I wasn't too concerned with getting my money's worth. Sound is simply amazing. One thing in paticular that stands out is much more stable imaging. This has always been disturbing for me. I would say that if you already sunk over 10k into your GG, and want all around better, there really is no option than the full on upgrade.
I so badly want to get a set of the SE 45 tubes that Bonzo is raving about in his excellent blog (thanks Bonzo) but was told no mo.
thanks for the feedback......I'm right behind you.
my Quad dsd was picked up from me today and is on the way back to Lampi for the full tilt boogie upgrade.....512, Superclocks, RTR pcm, new firmware, even a KR242 switch. and i was able to score a pair of those SE 45 tubes 'somewhere'.
I've got the SMG here with that same HQ Player waiting for the return.
based on how excellent my older spec GG was sounding on the SMG and the feedback like yours with the upgrade, i could not agree more on the ROI of the Lampi in general and the GG in particular. the upgrade cost was not trivial; but less than any other gear upgrade one might consider. the upgrade-ability of Lampi is a large attribute.
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