Lampizator Horizon v. dCS Vivaldi Apex Listening Comparison

[bonzo75]

Yes; I have always planned to add a modest digital set-up using only Qobuz, as I think it is nice to be able to hand to guests an iPad and to let them play their favorite music.

Guests, I drink v60 or French press Panama Geisha coffee, but look here is some Nescafe for you

 

[Ron Resnick]

I don't understand it, but it turns out that not everybody finds my favorite fifteen tracks to be their favorite fifteen tracks.

 

[microstrip]

Yes; I have always planned to add a modest digital set-up using only Qobuz, as I think it is nice to be able to hand to guests an iPad and to let them play their favorite music.

Will you be able to sleep well at night if they find they prefer the modest digital to your very expensive vinyl? Better keep it very, very modest ...

 

[Ron Resnick]

Will you be able to sleep well at night if they find they prefer the modest digital to your very expensive vinyl? Better keep it very, very modest ...

As long as I love my vinyl and I find it emotionally engaging why would I care what anybody else thinks or prefers?

I think you are making the mistake of assuming that I have some ego associated with my high-end audio preferences. I don't.

 

[morricab]

Will you be able to sleep well at night if they find they prefer the modest digital to your very expensive vinyl? Better keep it very, very modest ...

Why do you prefer your not very modest digital to your not very modest analog?

 

[InfigoAudio]

They have shown up rather recently. Or, at least, I just noticed them last year when they made some truly impressive sound at the Washington show (I heard only from reports and videos). Then they showed up at the LA show where I saw them in person. Their stuff sounded great. As such, I asked for an audition which Hans happily agreed to.

Method 4 | Infigo Audio Inc

The Method 4 is a high end ultra pure digital to analog music converter that will reveal every musical detail of your digital music library.

www.infigoaudio.com

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be part of your system that evening!
It is always fun to A/B systems and see what happens...
Yes, we're new, but here to stay

Hans

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thank you so much for giving us the opportunity to be part of your system that evening!
It is always fun to A/B systems and see what happens...
Yes, we're new, but here to stay

Hans

It was great to meet you, Hans! I was very impressed -- both sonically and in build quality -- with your Method 4 DAC!

 

[InfigoAudio]

Thank you Ron, and great to meet you as well!
It's always good to have extra ears listening when comparing systems, I'm very glad you were there too that evening.
I thoroughly enjoyed it!

 

[howiebrou]

Lampi is awesome in Martin Logan systems. The valves really add a much needed density to the panels. And I have heard vivaldi stack with CLX with both constellation and audio research electronics it was awful

So Lampi is like KY Jelly?

 

[Tango]

So Lampi is like KY Jelly?

He said density Howie, not slippery.

 

[bonzo75]

I guess the two of you have experienced it on yourself so you know more

 

[howiebrou]

He said density Howie, not slippery.

I was thinking of the Lampi KY Special version being a cure for the Boulder dryness! Tube rolling ranked in terms of moistness...

 

[howiebrou]

I guess the two of you have experienced it on yourself so you know more

Thai special.

 

[bonzo75]

I was thinking of the Lampi KY Special version being a cure for the Boulder dryness! Tube rolling ranked in terms of moistness...

If Schitt can sell as a brand, KY special can.

 

[rando]

I was thinking of the Lampi KY Special version being a cure for the Boulder dryness! Tube rolling ranked in terms of moistness...

Mentally comparing likeness of Helen Thomas and various vacuum tubes was not the audio humor I expected this morning.

 

[andromedaaudio]

 

[microstrip]

View attachment 94722

Yes, stereo recording adds and detracts enough to music to become enjoyable. Some do not want playback to add or detract anymore.

The paragraph you quote sounds nice, but IMHO is essencially a manipulation of words and semantics. Stereo playback needs to add complementary problems to "synergize" with the recording.

BTW, most manufacturers write something similar to your quote in their marketing prose.

 

[PeterA]

 

[andromedaaudio]

Audiophile cookbook.

Put a dry amp in the pot together with a very fluid pre amp .
Then add thick cables and interlinks and stirr for about 20 min
Then leave it boiling for 24 hours

 

[James Romeyn]

Last week at pk_LA we compared the Infigo Audio Method 4 DAC (MSRP $35,000) to the dCS Vilvaldi Apex DAC. The Method 4 is designed by Hans Looman, a Dutchie from Delft, The Netherlands, who now lives in Canada. Hans is the CEO and Founder of Infigo Audio. Hans was very straightforward, very low-key and very knowledgeable about digital audio circuit design.

On a couple of the tracks with which I was unfamiliar I could not tell which DAC was which. But on familiar tracks I could determine which was the Method 4 and which was the Apex.

Overall I found the Method 4 to be smoother and slightly warmer and more analog-sounding than the Apex. I found the Method 4 to offer generally slightly greater decay and more harmonic resonance than the Apex.

On Jeff Buckley's "Hallelujah" on Grace the attention-grabbing guitar pluck in the beginning of the song sounded synthetic and unnaturally edgy on the Apex. On the Method 4 the guitar pluck sounded like I am accustomed to it sounding. It sounded more organic and golden, rather than unnatural and silvery.

The last track we used to compare the DACs showed us something interesting. This particular track had a dance vibe. When we played it on the Infigo we felt we had a bit of a drive literally to get up and dance. Playing this track on the dCS I had no such feeling to get into, or to connect with, the music. The dCS made this lively track sound clinical and unengaging.

The dCS Vivaldi Apex is the champion of resolution, detail, dynamics, and low-frequency punch. To my ears it is the sound of the Boulder electronics in the functionality of a DAC.

The Lampizator Horizon remains my favorite DAC in this on-going audition and comparison process. Interestingly I preferred the Method 4 over the Nagra, even though the Nagra has a tube amplification stage. To my ears the Method 4 sounded a touch more natural and tube-like (this, for me, is a compliment) than did the Nagra.

Full disclosure: I am an Infigo Audio dealer. My business partner Duke LeJeune of AudioKinesis and I had a paid marketing section prior here. If this post is unwelcome, I respectfully request the moderator delete it.

Considering Ron's comments Re. the Lampizator DAC, I am anxious to hear it.

I respectfully request to share two brief experiences Re. Infigo and CEO Hans Looman, who visited a few weeks prior to 2022 FLAX (AV Showrooms and Enjoy The Music awarded Infigo and our AudioKinesis Gina speaker Best of Show @ 2022 FLAX.)

Eventually Infigo's $35k Method 4 DAC, $50k/pr Method 3 mono blocks and Infigo cables replaced all components of similar function in my system. At some point in this process my spouse Debra entered the sound room solely to grab something from the freezer in the cold storage and return upstairs to the kitchen. Instead, she stayed downstairs listening for over an hour; the sound producing a look on her face like someone who just went sailing on the Mediterranean Sea.

Later, Debra was gone, all the Infigo gear was installed, the system was tuned, and Hans left the sound room to perform a chore in my office next door. I picked up the tablet and streamed one of my favorite albums on Tidal, Letters by Jimmy Web. Letters is special to me both for the music and the memories of the era when it was released. Recording quality is middling or a little better. Letters reminds me of being with a friend in his room with his Magnavox stereo, a friend with whom I played original music he wrote and who introduced me to Webb, Tim Buckley, Traffic, John Fahey and more great music.

While Hans was away, longer than expected, I had one of those rare out of body experiences, transported 50 years prior with my friend in his room, experiencing all the emotions of that moment. I was so emotionally far away that when Hans suddenly appeared, I was immediately and almost violently brought back to the present. Reliving the emotions with my friend then suddenly being shocked back to reality made me openly weep and I could not quickly stop.

I apologized to Hans for my embarrassing outburst of emotion. It was nice and comforting to hear Hans say that he considered my reaction a complement.