Lampizator Horizon360 - Broadening Our Musical Horizons

[rspyder]

I had a minor nagging issue from when I got the DAC — the left and right output channels were reversed. Easily solvable by switching the cables on one end. However, I finally got around to fixing it and then I got carried away a little. Call me an old school fan of vintage CD variable out and fixed out.

I would think that a complete VC bypass would render a better sonic result than shorting the ladder resistors (i.e. simpler cleaner signal path). Also, it would work better as a safeguard to your speakers if someone accidentally presses the VC from 63 to 62 with the external preamp set to a normal listening level. Perhaps a discrete bypass switch will be a consideration in the next Horizon upgrade.

BTW: has anyone used the Horizon's two (which I assume are L & R channel) "Sub Out" connections to drive a pair of Subs directly from the DAC? I think it is an excellent design feature and I'm thinking of trying it. However, I don't know if the Sub Out signal is bypassed (i.e. defeated) when you select "63" or whether it is simply controlled by your external preamp in the same manner as the linestage? Your guidance or experience would be appreciated.

 

[Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus]

I’m sure Lukasz was using the volume control on the H360 and not the Neptune which I thought odd. Perhaps it was easier to see the magic eyes in the H360.

I don’t recall seeing any other Lampizator Dac at the show which I also thought odd. Plenty of MSBs.

Three other rooms had Lampizator Dac

 

[Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus]

I would think that a complete VC bypass would render a better sonic result than shorting the ladder resistors (i.e. simpler cleaner signal path). Also, it would work better as a safeguard to your speakers if someone accidentally presses the VC from 63 to 62 with the external preamp set to a normal listening level. Perhaps a discrete bypass switch will be a consideration in the next Horizon upgrade.

BTW: has anyone used the Horizon's two (which I assume are L & R channel) "Sub Out" connections to drive a pair of Subs directly from the DAC? I think it is an excellent design feature and I'm thinking of trying it. However, I don't know if the Sub Out signal is bypassed (i.e. defeated) when you select "63" or whether it is simply controlled by your external preamp in the same manner as the linestage? Your guidance or experience would be appreciated.

The sub out follows everything that happens with normal out

 

[Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus]

I was using horizon VC not Neptune because: A) the neptune was used to control vinyl volume and B) i was standing 7 meters from neptune at 45 degrees off axis and only 5 m and 15 degrees off axis with the horizon and I had sporadically some difficulties catching the wave of IR to the neptune

 

[Blue58]

Three other rooms had Lampizator Dac

They eluded me in the scramble. Apologies for missing them.

 

[rspyder]

Thanks Lukasz for that clarification and for the "Sub Out" feature on the Horizon360. It will make the connection and use of Subs very simple.

 

[ctydwn]

2nd version of Horizon w XDMI just returned from Poland w 360 upgrade. Absolutely flawless transport to and from and fast turnaround as well. Thank you to Fred, Lukasz and the whole team. Sonics are beautiful 24 hours in listening via USB. Could enjoy this and sit back for sure. but also of course ultimately via XDMI in anticipation of the Olympus.

 

[Sampajanna]

2nd version of Horizon w XDMI just returned from Poland w 360 upgrade. Absolutely flawless transport to and from and fast turnaround as well. Thank you to Fred, Lukasz and the whole team. Sonics are beautiful 24 hours in listening via USB. Could enjoy this and sit back for sure. but also of course ultimately via XDMI in anticipation of the Olympus. View attachment 139221

Congrats!!!

 

[ctydwn]

better each day. 110 hours now. 5 volt version, the voltage of choice coming through LampiNA, so roughly on par with gain with version 1 Horizon. via USB. gorgeous sound. i cannot wait to utilize its XDMI connection. added Olympus I/O to my Olympus order yesterday.

 

[JYACO]

better each day. 110 hours now. 5 volt version, the voltage of choice coming through LampiNA, so roughly on par with gain with version 1 Horizon. via USB. gorgeous sound. i cannot wait to utilize its XDMI connection. added Olympus O/I to my Olympus order yesterday.
View attachment 139462

Are you using single ended RCA outputs? Can you share your tube complement? Thx.

 

[Steve williams]

better each day. 110 hours now. 5 volt version, the voltage of choice coming through LampiNA, so roughly on par with gain with version 1 Horizon. via USB. gorgeous sound. i cannot wait to utilize its XDMI connection. added Olympus O/I to my Olympus order yesterday.
View attachment 139462

I must be one of the few who didn't mind the higher voltage of the original H360 which IIRC is 9 volts as it did not cause any clipping of my preamp. Many users of the H360 found clipping of their preamp when H360 was at 63 and AFAIK all 360's are now 5 volt. Also from what I recall the H360 was increased in voltage because XDMI is 3 Db lower than USB and IIRC that is why many users with USB found quite a bump up

 

[Sampajanna]

I had to tube roll a bit again. The higher voltage was causing bass problems in my room again. I have a small room and full range speakers. My room is well treated but still sensitive. And I can hear a SQ loss when I DSP in Roon…. My H1 tube compliment got boomy again after the upgrade. How are new 360 coming at 5V? Do they have something that lowers the volume in he signal path? Overall, I am ecstatic about the upgrade as it improves on a lot, but if you have bass issues, expect more after upgrading to 360. I hope mine will be healed by rolling. I already found an improvement putting the 504 back in the recti spot….

 

[godofwealth]

This sadly is the bane of all tube products. The voltage gain is often way too large. Tube preamps can easily produce 30-60 V, way way more than any modern amplifier needs. It’s a crazy design. You have to massively cut back on the gain setting. I think McIntosh might have been the only manufacturer who addressed this problem in their preamps.

 

[morricab]

This sadly is the bane of all tube products. The voltage gain is often way too large. Tube preamps can easily produce 30-60 V, way way more than any modern amplifier needs. It’s a crazy design. You have to massively cut back on the gain setting. I think McIntosh might have been the only manufacturer who addressed this problem in their preamps.

If the amp has low gain, as most Aries Cerat amps do, then it is not really an issue. The problem comes when the amp also has a high gain.

 

[JYACO]

I had to tube roll a bit again. The higher voltage was causing bass problems in my room again. I have a small room and full range speakers. My room is well treated but still sensitive. And I can hear a SQ loss when I DSP in Roon…. My H1 tube compliment got boomy again after the upgrade. How are new 360 coming at 5V? Do they have something that lowers the volume in he signal path? Overall, I am ecstatic about the upgrade as it improves on a lot, but if you have bass issues, expect more after upgrading to 360. I hope mine will be healed by rolling. I already found an improvement putting the 504 back in the recti spot….

Sam, what is your room size if I may ask?

 

[Steve williams]

This sadly is the bane of all tube products. The voltage gain is often way too large. Tube preamps can easily produce 30-60 V, way way more than any modern amplifier needs. It’s a crazy design. You have to massively cut back on the gain setting. I think McIntosh might have been the only manufacturer who addressed this problem in their preamps.

As I posted yesterday, I love the full open 9 vault 360 rather than the 5 volt version. I use Lamm and have for well over 20 years and there is absolutely no clipping of my preamp when I do as always and run the Horizon at 63 on the gain control.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Please enjoy my interview with Lukasz Fikus, Founder of LampizatOr, about the new Horizon360 DAC.

In this interview Lukasz discusses:
-- the origin of the Horizon360
-- technical differences between the original Horizon and the Horizon360
--sonic differences between the original Horizon and the Horizon360
-- the evolution of the Taiko Audio XDMI interface
-- sonic differences between USB and XDMI
-- his involvement in the development of the Destination Audio DAC with Sam Wisniewski

Please kindly subscribe to my YouTube channel!

 

[the sound of Tao]

Please enjoy my interview with Lukasz Fikus, Founder of LampizatOr, about the new Horizon360 DAC.

In this interview Lukasz discusses:
-- the origin of the Horizon360
-- technical differences between the original Horizon and the Horizon360
--sonic differences between the original Horizon and the Horizon360
-- the evolution of the Taiko Audio XDMI interface
-- sonic differences between USB and XDMI
-- his involvement in the development of the Destination Audio DAC with Sam Wisniewski

Please kindly subscribe to my YouTube channel!

Thanks Ron, great interview… all insightful questions… bummer that the 360 digital section won’t appear in an updated Poseidon.

The upcycled H1 boards re-used in a new dac sounds applaudable as well… a really sustainable initiative from a design perspective from Lukasz.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Thanks Ron, great interview… all insightful questions

Thank you!

The upcycled H1 boards re-used in a new dac sounds applaudable as well… a really sustainable initiative from a design perspective from Lukasz.

I agree! I think this is a great idea!

Perhaps Lukasz will call it the Phoenix?

It will be interesting to see how Lukasz prices this versus Poseidon.

 

[ctydwn]

Excellent interview Ron. Great questions and always informative to learn from Lukasz and listen to someone so passionate about their audio pursuit. He is one of the most inspirational.

Updated sound comparison original Horizon vs 360 upgrade
Received the Horizon 360 upgrade early last week from Poland (I had sent back my second Horizon w/ XDMI to be upgraded to 360). As I mentioned, the shipment process was flawless and as always customer service and communication put me at ease throughout. Special thanks to Fred for monitoring my shipment to and from pretty much daily.

Upon receipt early last week, I quickly inserted the Horizon 360 back in my system. As it had been 5 weeks, as I had been out of town, I really could not tell how things were sounding in comparison.

Fast forward 9 days and 200 hours of break-in, I listened for 3 hours this evening. Nothing else has changed in my system in the interim (including tubes, and yes, i run balanced and pentodes do not all need to be the same) and I can unequivocally say that listening, via USB, is a component upgrade-like boost in sound quality. Every song now has the sound signature I have grown to love from Lampizator at an additional order of magnitude - now with increased density, liquidity, spatial rendition, and effortless rhythm. I also believe I hear additional resolution, but as my system already is tilted toward high resolution, I do not focus on that as much anymore. Most importantly, I feel like I can let my shoulders relax, lean back and sink into my chair.

I can definitely give a full throated endorsement if folks are considering the upgrade, especially utilizing USB. I am hoping the 360 upgrade also has side benefits versus the '2nd version' of the Horizon that offered XDMI but was not the 360, for use with the Olympus. I had sent my second Horizon with XDMI in for the 360 upgrade.

As previously mentioned, the 360 Horizon I received last week is a 5volt version vs the initial 9volt version release of the 360. In fact, I am listening at full 63 volume on the Horizon as I always have, but an additional 2 or 3 higher clicks of volume on my Soulution 725 preamp with the 360 versus the original version. I want to bump the volume up even more as the sound is so effortless and engaging. I am not sure yet the volume I will be able to use once the Olympus (and Olympus I/O) arrives (also receiving Soulution 727 preamp next week), so keeping my fingers crossed that the gains/impedances all match up alright whether be via USB or XDMI.

Thanks again to the Lampizator team. Incredible. Also love the 20 year upgrade path and recycling efforts you all have underway. Back to listening. Take care all.