LampizatOr Introduces Native XDMI Functionality-The Next Horizon

[Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus]

Hello everybody, I am just packing my car to go to Munich and I am very excited because we will partner in the main HALLE2 with DearWolf / La Linea speaker company, among other good companies - a startup from Poland made by the people who know what they are doing. Be prepared for a good sound. Taiko Olympus will be the highlight of this presentation and we will bring the Poseidon `DAC with the Taiko input (the first one - Taiko compatible Poseidon). These speakers are extremely elaborate Accuton wonders that should show beautifully the Olympus superiority - simply digging an unheard-of amounts of information. It is very similar effect to the one that Michael Fremer makes when playing his "metals" versus vinyls. It is a "holly shit!" effect. Of course the Munich show is not a proper place to hear nuanced music presentation - we will be in a plywood box for a booth but soon after - all 200 users of Horizon and 50 something users of Poseidon will be able to get the upgrade package. As we announced before - the whole retrofit job - parts and labour - will cost 10% of the Dac list price plus the cable of choice plus the shipping. The two cables we prepared are Lampizator Silver Shadow and KBL Sound Extrema - for 1000 and 3000 Euro respectively. The reason I mention the cable is because it is a very important piece of the puzzle and should not be taken lightly. For comparisons we will have in Munich the very good "normal"music server as well as very high caliber vinyl rig.
SEE YOU IN MUNICH
P.S. In Marriott DeLuxe we will have horn speakers from Destination Audio (sam Wisniewski's NIKA baby horns) but no Taiko there, sorry.

 

[steve williams]

Wish I were there Lukasz

 

[adyc]

Congrats Steve on your new Horizon. The serial number 2888 is considered a very lucky number in Chinese.

 

[LampiNA]

I am excited to report that the Olympus XDMI is playing beautifully via Lampi Link into the LampizatOr Poseidon DAC at Munich 2024 as it makes it's world debut.

 

[keithc]

Steve thanks for sharing and allowing us to partake in your journey. Pretty cool esp from the perspective of someone who only did vinyl.

 

[Alrainbow]

Steve while I’m sure both dacs sound amazing
Have you tried a compare of inputs same dac and taiko ? Curious

 

[steve williams]

Only input I’ve compared is the USB input on both and this DAC is out of the box far superior My guess is it is due to rolling line changes made by Lukasz in the production as I was the first to receive the last Horizon 2 1/2 years ago and AFAIK I’m the first to receive this present iteration of the XDMI version

 

[Alrainbow]

Very good news and it shows how hard Lampi continues to improve an excellent product
thanks for the feed back.
enjoy your system music is new yet again

 

[Bohemian]

Unfortunately I will not be there in person this year. Hoping next year is my year, but with the addition of another show in Dallas and a planned event at Steven Williams home, I was at my travel threshold.

Those who will be at Munich will be in for a big treat though. The room featuring the LampizatOr playing Native XDMI via the Olympus server at:

View attachment 130048

This room promises to be a show stopper and I highly encourage everyone making it to Munich to stop by and witness the debut of this new protocol in person.

Hello Fred,
Is this Taiko upgrade available for the Pacific 2?

 

[LampiNA]

Hello Fred,
Is this Taiko upgrade available for the Pacific 2?

It is not at this time. We may be able to incorporate it in the future, but for the time being the focus of this rollout will be on the Horizon and Poseidon.

 

[Moladiego]

@Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus Could you please confirm the following: earlier this year you informed us that if we opted to retrofit the old Horizon's with XDMI, you would include your own silver XDMI cable free in the 1/10 Horizon-price retrofit price (otherwise, €1K; same for the third-party nano copper cable, €2k if with retrofitting bundle price, otherwise, €3K). Your latest pricing table on your website seems to indicate that the €1K and €3k cable prices are regardless of whether we do retrofit, i.e., they would be in addition to the retrofit price. Are your earlier bundle discount prices for the cables still on the table? Also, the timeline of your accepting retrofit, whether you provide the shipping labels or we do (I prefer you provide shipping labels for your discount pricing as a manufacturer), whether we go thru our dealers or directly ourselves, etc. Thanks.

 

[steve williams]

@Lukasz "Lampizator" Fikus Could you please confirm the following: earlier this year you informed us that if we opted to retrofit the old Horizon's with XDMI, you would include your own silver XDMI cable free in the 1/10 Horizon-price retrofit price (otherwise, €1K; same for the third-party nano copper cable, €2k if with retrofitting bundle price, otherwise, €3K). Your latest pricing table on your website seems to indicate that the €1K and €3k cable prices are regardless of whether we do retrofit, i.e., they would be in addition to the retrofit price. Are your earlier bundle discount prices for the cables still on the table? Also, the timeline of your accepting retrofit, whether you provide the shipping labels or we do (I prefer you provide shipping labels for your discount pricing as a manufacturer), whether we go thru our dealers or directly ourselves, etc. Thanks.

FWIW, I got the first XDMI Horizon and I paid $3K for the KBL cable. HTH

 

[MasonStorm]

View attachment 129903

Hi Steve! I’m hoping to buy a Horizon like yours next year (a real chance to have saved enough $ by then). I see from this sheet that they wired your HDMI I2S port to be compatible with PS Audio sources, which I’m thrilled to see can be done, since my CD transport is PS Audio’s SACD version. If you happen to have that too, do you find that the Horizon is able to unlock/play back the DSD layer from an SACD? I ask because Paul McGowan has said (in many of his videos) that a special decoder chip from Sony has to be present in the DAC to do so.

 

[steve williams]

Hi Steve! I’m hoping to buy a Horizon like yours next year (a real chance to have saved enough $ by then). I see from this sheet that they wired your HDMI I2S port to be compatible with PS Audio sources, which I’m thrilled to see can be done, since my CD transport is PS Audio’s SACD version. If you happen to have that too, do you find that the Horizon is able to unlock/play back the DSD layer from an SACD? I ask because Paul McGowan has said (in many of his videos) that a special decoder chip from Sony has to be present in the DAC to do so.

I don't spin discs anymore and TBH the reason I have the new Horizon is for one reason only and that is to rid myself of USB and use XDMI solely going forward once my Olympus and IO arrive

 

[LampiNA]

Hi Steve! I’m hoping to buy a Horizon like yours next year (a real chance to have saved enough $ by then). I see from this sheet that they wired your HDMI I2S port to be compatible with PS Audio sources, which I’m thrilled to see can be done, since my CD transport is PS Audio’s SACD version. If you happen to have that too, do you find that the Horizon is able to unlock/play back the DSD layer from an SACD? I ask because Paul McGowan has said (in many of his videos) that a special decoder chip from Sony has to be present in the DAC to do so.

Unfortunately playback of the SACD layer is not possible with the LampizatOr DACs (or most any commercial DAC I'm aware of). The reason isn't complexity of the format so much as it is a DRM (digital rights management) issue. The copy protections employed is why there were so few options available (like the older Playstation) for ripping DSD.

 

[MasonStorm]

Unfortunately playback of the SACD layer is not possible with the LampizatOr DACs (or most any commercial DAC I'm aware of). The reason isn't complexity of the format so much as it is a DRM (digital rights management) issue. The copy protections employed is why there were so few options available (like the older Playstation) for ripping DSy cheap DACs (a Holo Audio May and the PS Audio MK 2) can both do it, using the I2S interface

Unfortunately playback of the SACD layer is not possible with the LampizatOr DACs (or most any commercial DAC I'm aware of). The reason isn't complexity of the format so much as it is a DRM (digital rights management) issue. The copy protections employed is why there were so few options available (like the older Playstation) for ripping DSD.

My cheap DACs (a Holo Audio May and the PS Audio MK 2) can both do it, using the I2S interface, but I was hoping a more upscale DAC like the Horizon could do it. Oh well. Thanks!

 

[godofwealth]

I imagine Taiko and Lampizator have gone to XDMI to get around some copyright issues with HDMI and I2S. I’m sure sonic considerations were part of the rationale as well.

 

[dminches]

I imagine Taiko and Lampizator have gone to XDMI to get around some copyright issues with HDMI and I2S. I’m sure sonic considerations were part of the rationale as well.

My guess is the design has 100% to do with sound quality and the ability to implement it. Not sure what copyright has to do with it given that HDMI doesn’t sound very good to start with.

 

[godofwealth]

I could be wrong, but my understanding is that manufacturers using the HDMI interface must pay a licensing fee.

Registration to receive the HDMI Adopter Agreement

Become an HDMI® Adopter, Register to become an HDMI Adopters, License with HDMI

www.hdmi.org

What are the Licensing Costs Associated with HDMI?

HDMI is great, but there’s a lot of confusion about the licensing fees associated with it. We’ve created a quick reference guide to alleviate this confusion.

www.symmetryelectronics.com

 

[steve williams]

I imagine Taiko and Lampizator have gone to XDMI to get around some copyright issues with HDMI and I2S. I’m sure sonic considerations were part of the rationale as well.

What copyright. XDMI is Emile’s baby. This is XDMI Not HDMI