LDMS Server
- Thread starter Golum
- Start date
I can now report after some burn in time that my Pico has added alot of musicality and upgrades to my system.
This Pico has the Ideon 3R usb reclocker onboard that I power from a Paul Hynes SR 4.
My pico has the functionality of a roon endpoint only whereas my roon server and storage is on my Antipodes S40. The total uprise in SQ is substantial with using the two together compared to only use the S40 as server/player. There is another level of dynamics, bass, soundstage - drums are much more real for example.
So its easier now to listen to low levels and still get the live feeling. Good for my tinnitus as well
This Pico has the Ideon 3R usb reclocker onboard that I power from a Paul Hynes SR 4.
My pico has the functionality of a roon endpoint only whereas my roon server and storage is on my Antipodes S40. The total uprise in SQ is substantial with using the two together compared to only use the S40 as server/player. There is another level of dynamics, bass, soundstage - drums are much more real for example.
So its easier now to listen to low levels and still get the live feeling. Good for my tinnitus as well
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Magnus, I am glad things are working out sq wise. All good to hear.
Just as a bit of information for anyone interested. I was able to do a A/B ..ish with an auralic mini v Pico a week or so ago. Not an expensive unit I know but I think we’ll thought of. Pico and ideon 3r reclocker running from a ld power supply using David laboga cables. I swapped the Pico unit for the auralic-the auralic was using the 3r and the D/L cables but not the power supply. I have to say there was a large difference in sq between the two. Much more than I thought. The auralic was much more hifi, less real. I think it was more user friendly but really the sq was nowhere near. The hardware on the auralic seems more robust compared to the Pico so I am assuning That the improvement is all software-down to Lucas’ programming abilities....but I have no idea. Not a high end unit for sure but an interesting comparison and a much bigger gap be the two than I had thought it would be.
Just as a bit of information for anyone interested. I was able to do a A/B ..ish with an auralic mini v Pico a week or so ago. Not an expensive unit I know but I think we’ll thought of. Pico and ideon 3r reclocker running from a ld power supply using David laboga cables. I swapped the Pico unit for the auralic-the auralic was using the 3r and the D/L cables but not the power supply. I have to say there was a large difference in sq between the two. Much more than I thought. The auralic was much more hifi, less real. I think it was more user friendly but really the sq was nowhere near. The hardware on the auralic seems more robust compared to the Pico so I am assuning That the improvement is all software-down to Lucas’ programming abilities....but I have no idea. Not a high end unit for sure but an interesting comparison and a much bigger gap be the two than I had thought it would be.
About a month ago, I received an order from Lucas Domansky — an LDMS mini built into a maximus case together with a stage 2 reclocker, along with a linear power supply and upgraded wiring. This replaced SOtM equipment including an sms 200 ultra, tx-usb ultra, and sclk-ocx 10. My dac is a Lampizator Golden Atlantic TRP with Tesla EL51 and Shuguang GZ480 tubes.
I was very happy with the sound I was getting from the SOtM equipment, but the LDMS is better in every respect that I can think of. For me, the greatest improvement is that music now takes on impressive body, the kind of feeling that one gets at live concerts. Part of this is improved bass, but there is a lot more going on. I’m no longer ‘viewing’ a sound stage, but now I’m immersed in a music event that is huge — deep, wide, and high. Tonally as well, everything seems perfect.
Right now I'm listening to Menagerie, an Australian spiritual jazz band, and they have never sounded better or more lifelike to me. I'm actually amazed that one can achieve such great sound without spending a fortune. My thanks go out to Lucas as well as to the local forum proponents of his servers whose posts convinced me of the value of his equipment.
I was very happy with the sound I was getting from the SOtM equipment, but the LDMS is better in every respect that I can think of. For me, the greatest improvement is that music now takes on impressive body, the kind of feeling that one gets at live concerts. Part of this is improved bass, but there is a lot more going on. I’m no longer ‘viewing’ a sound stage, but now I’m immersed in a music event that is huge — deep, wide, and high. Tonally as well, everything seems perfect.
Right now I'm listening to Menagerie, an Australian spiritual jazz band, and they have never sounded better or more lifelike to me. I'm actually amazed that one can achieve such great sound without spending a fortune. My thanks go out to Lucas as well as to the local forum proponents of his servers whose posts convinced me of the value of his equipment.
Pretty much that exact LMDS set up should arrive at my house in Arizona hopefully this week. I have the Lampi Pacific, so looking forward to what LMDS adds!
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Pretty much the exact LDMS set up should arrive at my house in Horsham, England hopefully this week. I have the Lampi GG1, so looking forward to what the LDMS adds!
Lucas must have had a clearance sale.Pretty much the exact LDMS set up should arrive at my house in Horsham, England hopefully this week. I have the Lampi GG1, so looking forward to what the LDMS adds!
By the way it is only 115 degrees in Arizona today.
First impressions --- I just received my LDMS and with the help of Lucas had a flawless hook-up. After 6 hours of listening, all I can say is wow. To be honest, I think I could have gone with a lesser DAC than my Pacific. Everything has been elevates with the LDMS. Don't get me wrong, I love the Pacific, but I was not expecting the sound quality to improve this much. Lucas told me it will take a couple hundred hours to fully break in. If that is the case, I am really looking forward to the future.
My music is crystal clear, each instrument is more pronounced, voicing is improved and the level of detail is magnified. I can't wait to listen to some of my live recordings.
I am extremely happy with my purchase. Thanks to Golum and Christoph for suggesting the LDMS. I did a ton of research on music servers before deciding on LDMS. I think after talking to Lucas D, you just understand his knowledge and dedication to providing a component that can take your system to the next level is apparent. Thank you Lucas! I believe I now have my dream system. More to follow when I get more hours.
Cheers
Will
My music is crystal clear, each instrument is more pronounced, voicing is improved and the level of detail is magnified. I can't wait to listen to some of my live recordings.
I am extremely happy with my purchase. Thanks to Golum and Christoph for suggesting the LDMS. I did a ton of research on music servers before deciding on LDMS. I think after talking to Lucas D, you just understand his knowledge and dedication to providing a component that can take your system to the next level is apparent. Thank you Lucas! I believe I now have my dream system. More to follow when I get more hours.
Cheers
Will
Very glad you like your awesome system.
Enjoy the ride while it will get even better
My custom made LDMS music server, arrived and was personally installed by Lukasz Domansky. I was very grateful for this as not only did he tune the set up to the room and other components, but he fixed a number of cable compatibility issues between the server and the DAC that prevented playback. I guess this is one of the downsides to buying esoteric, small volume custom built equipment, but the upside is music far beyond what a mainstream product at the same price point could ever hope to give you.
IMG_0251 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
To give you some sort of context as to how good the server is, I had been trying a Silvercore Whanfried Edition line stage pre-amp. This is a special beast, fully silver monocrystal wiring throughout and very expensive (£24k via G-Point Audio). It was quite special and lifted the dynamics, soundstage, detail and overall musicality of my system to a heart breaking level. I’m not sure why I even agreed to listen to it as currently, now the system I have is bought and paid for, there is nothing left to finance anything more than what I have. And that’s OK because what I have is wonderful. But still, I found myself musing that just when I should be enjoying a decent bump in engagement and enjoyment with the arrival of the server, I found myself thinking that the departure of the pre-amp would be by far the greater wrench and the server would be simply trying to limit the loss, a task I didn’t expect it to do especially well. Afterall, how much better could this server be over the Macbook Pro I’d been using until then?
The answer is that the server didn’t just limit the loss of the pre-amp, it almost exceeded the improvement that the pre-amp had made. The experience is revelatory, astounding, superlative.
IMG_0249 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
IMG_0247 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
The server runs Roon as a core but Lukasz prefers the way HQ Player handles the files and passes them to the DAC. I can run either Roon or HQP but so far have not switched to Roon as the HQP output is sublime.
I cannot sing Lukasz’s praises highly enough. Yes I waited a very long time for the server and his management of time and expectations became something almost comical as one reason for a delay after another was offered, but I always had the sense that he was a genuine guy, truly passionate about music and building amazing servers that just sing like a nightingale. Even then, the wait time wasn’t that bad – ordered and paid for in January and delivered just last week. OK so twice as long as you might expect from a major brand from order to delivery, but the sound quality is equally as excessive. It really is quite magical.
IMG_0248 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
The complete and final system is thus as follows:
IMG_0253 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
- Lukasz Audio Lab custom built LDMS Mini server with Ideon Audio internal re-clocker, separate PSU and David Laboga interconnect between the PSU and server. The software is a custom stripped back Window OS tuned by Lukasz himself.
- Final Cut USB cable, custom made to Lukasz’s specs; the earthing arrangement in the DAC was causing problems with cable compatibility and none of the David Laboga cables would work but the one built by Lukasz works flawlessly and sounds superb
- Lampizator Golden Gate DAC with single ended 300B output tubes
- High Fidelity CT-1 Ultimate RCA interconnect – 5m runs from the DAC to the amps
- Silvercore 833c monobloc SET amps; 20W, hand wound silver output transformers sitting on Rogoz isolation tables
- High Fidelity CT-1 speaker cables
- Horns FP10s with internal silver wiring upgrade and matching Rogoz stands – the speakers are 30kg each, the stands are 45kg!
- Grapite Audio isolation cones under the DAC and between the speakers and stands and Graphic Audio pucks between the stands and the floor
- ProAudio Bono suspension table
- Some more Polish made kit that didn’t cost a lot and look just like sound diffusers; these are yet to be mounted onto the wall. For the money (£400) they are an easy upgrade to say yes to.
IMG_0254 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
The total spend is, being honest, an appreciable fraction of my mortgage. But this was the promise I made to myself after my marriage broke down and during the years of being very unhappy in that union and not being able/allowed to listen to music (indeed obliged to sell my Naim kit), I said I would put aside that fraction to buy a dream system. The room is the limiting factor, but the true near field listening position and sheer musicality of the overall presentation is far beyond what I would have thought possible from the budget.
If anyone would like to have a listen, I am in West Sussex and would be very happy to host you.
IMG_0247 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
IMG_0251 by Greg Turner, on FlickrTo give you some sort of context as to how good the server is, I had been trying a Silvercore Whanfried Edition line stage pre-amp. This is a special beast, fully silver monocrystal wiring throughout and very expensive (£24k via G-Point Audio). It was quite special and lifted the dynamics, soundstage, detail and overall musicality of my system to a heart breaking level. I’m not sure why I even agreed to listen to it as currently, now the system I have is bought and paid for, there is nothing left to finance anything more than what I have. And that’s OK because what I have is wonderful. But still, I found myself musing that just when I should be enjoying a decent bump in engagement and enjoyment with the arrival of the server, I found myself thinking that the departure of the pre-amp would be by far the greater wrench and the server would be simply trying to limit the loss, a task I didn’t expect it to do especially well. Afterall, how much better could this server be over the Macbook Pro I’d been using until then?
The answer is that the server didn’t just limit the loss of the pre-amp, it almost exceeded the improvement that the pre-amp had made. The experience is revelatory, astounding, superlative.
IMG_0249 by Greg Turner, on FlickrIMG_0247 by Greg Turner, on FlickrThe server runs Roon as a core but Lukasz prefers the way HQ Player handles the files and passes them to the DAC. I can run either Roon or HQP but so far have not switched to Roon as the HQP output is sublime.
I cannot sing Lukasz’s praises highly enough. Yes I waited a very long time for the server and his management of time and expectations became something almost comical as one reason for a delay after another was offered, but I always had the sense that he was a genuine guy, truly passionate about music and building amazing servers that just sing like a nightingale. Even then, the wait time wasn’t that bad – ordered and paid for in January and delivered just last week. OK so twice as long as you might expect from a major brand from order to delivery, but the sound quality is equally as excessive. It really is quite magical.
IMG_0248 by Greg Turner, on FlickrThe complete and final system is thus as follows:
IMG_0253 by Greg Turner, on Flickr- Lukasz Audio Lab custom built LDMS Mini server with Ideon Audio internal re-clocker, separate PSU and David Laboga interconnect between the PSU and server. The software is a custom stripped back Window OS tuned by Lukasz himself.
- Final Cut USB cable, custom made to Lukasz’s specs; the earthing arrangement in the DAC was causing problems with cable compatibility and none of the David Laboga cables would work but the one built by Lukasz works flawlessly and sounds superb
- Lampizator Golden Gate DAC with single ended 300B output tubes
- High Fidelity CT-1 Ultimate RCA interconnect – 5m runs from the DAC to the amps
- Silvercore 833c monobloc SET amps; 20W, hand wound silver output transformers sitting on Rogoz isolation tables
- High Fidelity CT-1 speaker cables
- Horns FP10s with internal silver wiring upgrade and matching Rogoz stands – the speakers are 30kg each, the stands are 45kg!
- Grapite Audio isolation cones under the DAC and between the speakers and stands and Graphic Audio pucks between the stands and the floor
- ProAudio Bono suspension table
- Some more Polish made kit that didn’t cost a lot and look just like sound diffusers; these are yet to be mounted onto the wall. For the money (£400) they are an easy upgrade to say yes to.
IMG_0254 by Greg Turner, on FlickrThe total spend is, being honest, an appreciable fraction of my mortgage. But this was the promise I made to myself after my marriage broke down and during the years of being very unhappy in that union and not being able/allowed to listen to music (indeed obliged to sell my Naim kit), I said I would put aside that fraction to buy a dream system. The room is the limiting factor, but the true near field listening position and sheer musicality of the overall presentation is far beyond what I would have thought possible from the budget.
If anyone would like to have a listen, I am in West Sussex and would be very happy to host you.
IMG_0247 by Greg Turner, on Flickr
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Geetee ---Congrats on your new system. It took me a long time to get mine but was well worth the wait. It is the single component that improved my system the most.
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Very nice, thankyou for your report.My custom made LDMS music server, arrived and was personally installed by Lukasz Domansky. I was very grateful for this as not only did he tune the set up to the room and other components, but he fixed a number of cable compatibility issues between the server and the DAC that prevented playback. I guess this is one of the downsides to buying esoteric, small volume custom built equipment, but the upside is music far beyond what a mainstream product at the same price point could ever hope to give you.
To give you some sort of context as to how good the server is, I had been trying a Silvercore Whanfried Edition line stage pre-amp. This is a special beast, fully silver monocrystal wiring throughout and very expensive (£24k via G-Point Audio). It was quite special and lifted the dynamics, soundstage, detail and overall musicality of my system to a heart breaking level. I’m not sure why I even agreed to listen to it as currently, now the system I have is bought and paid for, there is nothing left to finance anything more than what I have. And that’s OK because what I have is wonderful. But still, I found myself musing that just when I should be enjoying a decent bump in engagement and enjoyment with the arrival of the server, I found myself thinking that the departure of the pre-amp would be by far the greater wrench and the server would be simply trying to limit the loss, a task I didn’t expect it to do especially well. Afterall, how much better could this server be over the Macbook Pro I’d been using until then?
The answer is that the server didn’t just limit the loss of the pre-amp, it almost exceeded the improvement that the pre-amp had made. The experience is revelatory, astounding, superlative.
The server was built for me to a budget of around £3k so has some significant performance downgrades on a regular Mini. It is sort of a LDMS Pico built into a Mini case with some hot rodded hardware that allows it to run Roon as a Core (the Pico doesn’t have the horsepower to do this). It’s hard to say how much it really cost because it was a package deal – Lukasz’s FP10 speakers and the server for sum less than a Mini usually retails for; I don’t know the second hand value of the FP10s as I don’t think they sell often if at all on the second hand market but even if I had paid £7k for this server I would have been exceptionally happy.
The server runs Roon as a core but Lukasz prefers the way HQ Player handles the files and passes them to the DAC. I can run either Roon or HQP but so far have not switched to Roon as the HQP output is sublime.
I cannot sing Lukasz’s praises highly enough. Yes I waited a very long time for the server and his management of time and expectations became something almost comical as one reason for a delay after another was offered, but I always had the sense that he was a genuine guy, truly passionate about music and building amazing servers that just sing like a nightingale. Even then, the wait time wasn’t that bad – ordered and paid for in January and delivered just last week. OK so twice as long as you might expect from a major brand from order to delivery, but the sound quality is equally as excessive. It really is quite magical.
The complete and final system is thus as follows:
- Lukasz Audio Lab custom built LDMS Mini server with Ideon Audio internal re-clocker, separate PSU and David Laboga interconnect between the PSU and server. The software is a custom stripped back Window OS tuned by Lukasz himself.
- Final Cut USB cable, custom made to Lukasz’s specs; the earthing arrangement in the DAC was causing problems with cable compatibility and none of the David Laboga cables would work but the one built by Lukasz works flawlessly and sounds superb
- Lampizator Golden Gate DAC with single ended 300B output tubes
- High Fidelity CT-1 Ultimate RCA interconnect – 5m runs from the DAC to the amps
- Silvercore 833c monobloc SET amps; 20W, hand wound silver output transformers sitting on Rogoz isolation tables
- High Fidelity CT-1 speaker cables
- Horns FP10s with internal silver wiring upgrade and matching Rogoz stands – the speakers are 30kg each, the stands are 45kg!
- Grapite Audio isolation cones under the DAC and between the speakers and stands and Graphic Audio pucks between the stands and the floor
- ProAudio Bono suspension table
- Some more Polish made kit that didn’t cost a lot and look just like sound diffusers; these are yet to be mounted onto the wall. For the money (£400) they are an easy upgrade to say yes to.
The total spend is, being honest, an appreciable fraction of my mortgage. But this was the promise I made to myself after my marriage broke down and during the years of being very unhappy in that union and not being able/allowed to listen to music (indeed obliged to sell my Naim kit), I said I would put aside that fraction to buy a dream system. The room is the limiting factor, but the true near field listening position and sheer musicality of the overall presentation is far beyond what I would have thought possible from the budget.
If anyone would like to have a listen, I am in West Sussex and would be very happy to host you.
Welcome to wbf and that’s a very nice system you have there.My custom made LDMS music server, arrived and was personally installed by Lukasz Domansky. I was very grateful for this as not only did he tune the set up to the room and other components, but he fixed a number of cable compatibility issues between the server and the DAC that prevented playback. I guess this is one of the downsides to buying esoteric, small volume custom built equipment, but the upside is music far beyond what a mainstream product at the same price point could ever hope to give you.
To give you some sort of context as to how good the server is, I had been trying a Silvercore Whanfried Edition line stage pre-amp. This is a special beast, fully silver monocrystal wiring throughout and very expensive (£24k via G-Point Audio). It was quite special and lifted the dynamics, soundstage, detail and overall musicality of my system to a heart breaking level. I’m not sure why I even agreed to listen to it as currently, now the system I have is bought and paid for, there is nothing left to finance anything more than what I have. And that’s OK because what I have is wonderful. But still, I found myself musing that just when I should be enjoying a decent bump in engagement and enjoyment with the arrival of the server, I found myself thinking that the departure of the pre-amp would be by far the greater wrench and the server would be simply trying to limit the loss, a task I didn’t expect it to do especially well. Afterall, how much better could this server be over the Macbook Pro I’d been using until then?
The answer is that the server didn’t just limit the loss of the pre-amp, it almost exceeded the improvement that the pre-amp had made. The experience is revelatory, astounding, superlative.
The server runs Roon as a core but Lukasz prefers the way HQ Player handles the files and passes them to the DAC. I can run either Roon or HQP but so far have not switched to Roon as the HQP output is sublime.
I cannot sing Lukasz’s praises highly enough. Yes I waited a very long time for the server and his management of time and expectations became something almost comical as one reason for a delay after another was offered, but I always had the sense that he was a genuine guy, truly passionate about music and building amazing servers that just sing like a nightingale. Even then, the wait time wasn’t that bad – ordered and paid for in January and delivered just last week. OK so twice as long as you might expect from a major brand from order to delivery, but the sound quality is equally as excessive. It really is quite magical.
The complete and final system is thus as follows:
- Lukasz Audio Lab custom built LDMS Mini server with Ideon Audio internal re-clocker, separate PSU and David Laboga interconnect between the PSU and server. The software is a custom stripped back Window OS tuned by Lukasz himself.
- Final Cut USB cable, custom made to Lukasz’s specs; the earthing arrangement in the DAC was causing problems with cable compatibility and none of the David Laboga cables would work but the one built by Lukasz works flawlessly and sounds superb
- Lampizator Golden Gate DAC with single ended 300B output tubes
- High Fidelity CT-1 Ultimate RCA interconnect – 5m runs from the DAC to the amps
- Silvercore 833c monobloc SET amps; 20W, hand wound silver output transformers sitting on Rogoz isolation tables
- High Fidelity CT-1 speaker cables
- Horns FP10s with internal silver wiring upgrade and matching Rogoz stands – the speakers are 30kg each, the stands are 45kg!
- Grapite Audio isolation cones under the DAC and between the speakers and stands and Graphic Audio pucks between the stands and the floor
- ProAudio Bono suspension table
- Some more Polish made kit that didn’t cost a lot and look just like sound diffusers; these are yet to be mounted onto the wall. For the money (£400) they are an easy upgrade to say yes to.
The total spend is, being honest, an appreciable fraction of my mortgage. But this was the promise I made to myself after my marriage broke down and during the years of being very unhappy in that union and not being able/allowed to listen to music (indeed obliged to sell my Naim kit), I said I would put aside that fraction to buy a dream system. The room is the limiting factor, but the true near field listening position and sheer musicality of the overall presentation is far beyond what I would have thought possible from the budget.
If anyone would like to have a listen, I am in West Sussex and would be very happy to host you.
Thank you kindly - It is a system I am utterly delighted with and is brining me a huge amount of joy. I am now looking to add the last component, which is a pre-amp. Until recently I had been thinking that the volume control of the Lampi GG would be a more than capable replacement for a dedicated pre-amp, but some initial listening with a KR Audio P135 and an LTA MZ3 reveal that a dedicated pre-amp stage moves things on by a huge margin.
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