Hey everyone I’m a long time follower, but this really my first real post on WBF. It was worth the wait. I’m sitting here in my listening room being seduced by my new Horizon! Only a handful of days of break in but already enthralling.
Right now my current tube compliment is: Pysvane blue globe input tubes, a set of KT170’s a Western Electric 422A. I have a Takatsuki 274B arriving tomorrow, and I’m quite interested in what I brings to the table. I won’t be able to try any other input tubes until my 6922 to 6SN7 adapters arrive, since I have a wide variety that I’ve rolled with my Decware SE84UFO25 SET amp.
So my DAC journey has been an interesting one. Starting with a Metric Halo LIO8, then a Phasure NOS1, a Holo Spring, a Chord Dave with first an M-Scaler and then a custom linear power supply, the latest was a Holo May Level 2 (I still have all of them) and now the Horizon.
I arrived here following the Horizon thread and then North American debut at Steve William’s home with his wonderful system. It was really Ron’s interview with Lukasz that convinced me. Lukasz passion, philosophy and engineering prowess convinced, even with never owning a Lampizator product. It really felt right to me that this was going to be what I’d been searching for in a DAC finally realized!
I was fortunate enough to confirm my belief a Axpona, when I was able to hear the Horizon in person. I’d be completely remiss if I didn’t say my confidence in the decision was really bolstered upon meeting the guys from Lampizator NA. Fred and Rob. Wow! what a super team to represent Lukasz products. I felt like I’d found a lost brother in Fred! Just super down to earth and well ok, it didn’t hurt that he was a former wrestler and showed me a picture of his son carrying on the tradition! It brought back a lot of fond memories of my dad carting me around the country to wrestling tournaments since I was in first grade, and being there with me through my collegiate career. I was also unaware that Fred also represented Taiko, so I pulled the trigger on an Extreme. I’m really looking forward to all the things they’ve got coming to the Extreme platform. My DIY copy of the Extreme with Nenon’s spec’d power supply and the Taiko DC to ATX converter does a darn good job but it’s time for the real thing and all the knowledge that Emile and his team bring to bear.
So back to the HorIzon. I might not be the most eloquent writer in describing the sound of music being played through the Horizon, but I’ll give you my take on what makes it so compelling to listen to and why it‘s a game changer in my system.
When I think of dynamic range, I think of what I can hear from the quietest sound to the loudest portion of song I’m listening too and reproducing that with no compression. But with the HorIzon, I’m hearing that with every performer within the song! I’ve never heard that kind of delineation in my music play back until now! And what that does is allows me to hear the artistry of each individual performer within the composition. I‘m not sure if any of you can relate to how I‘m describing it, but for me, it just sucks me in and commands my attention. I literally feel the interplay of the performers and the vibe of the performance!
It is just so compelling and enticing that I can’t focus on anything else. There is just so much more information being communicated through the Horizon in a natural analog way. The Horizon is so sweet and delicate but also has such a grip and weight on the music. It is quite simply the best music reproduction I’ve heard, with the caveat that my experience with really high grade analog is limited. I will add though, that at Axpona I thought it bested both analog tape and vInyl in the room.
Well I’m going to wrap it up, and I know there’s plenty of break in that will take place over the next month and then of course the unlimited tube rolling permutations, but I’m one lifelong audiophile who’s finally found his endgame source!
Todd
