Pacific dac: Lampizator's new top of the line dac

[christoph]

You don’t have the flexibility of the VC but like you I prefer avoiding an additional VC)

Originally I didn't want the VC as well but I did'nt want to wait any longer for a Pacific without VC and bought one that was available and that was WITH VC.

In hindsight, I'm very glad I went for the VC because of the flexibility AND the preamp section is really VERY good.

I was always one that says a separate preamp is best but to beat the preamp section of the Pacific, you need to invest VERY dearly on an absolute top Preamp

 

[christoph]

Actually when i received Pac factory setting was on low gain so i did listen in this position for months as i was lazy to pull the cover off and i did use 242/25 non stop. Later i moved to high gain setting and i prefered it more but to define now the diff i honestly can’t. Sorry

Have you tried the PX25 and/or the 242 also on the high gain position as well?

 

[Golum]

Have you tried the PX25 and/or the 242 also on the high gain position as well?

Yes - all played on both positions but truth to be told i never did PX25 high/low; 242 high/low, etc. and compare one after another...

 

[Golum]

According to some, this must be an awesome combo



After I know and love the second combo, the first one must really be very special

'Some" being me , and yeah it is special

 

[abeidrov]

If I order Pacific without VC, will it work with 242 tubes on a low gain setting? Or do I need to tell Yoda specifically about 242 tubes? And if I do, how does he now, which gain to put on a low gain setting, as it totally depends on my preamp / amp / speaker combo? Sorry for all these questions, I just want to get it right this time.

 

[Jazzhead]

I have no VC on my pac and see no need for it either.

Long past the point, where you tried the 242

 

[christoph]

If I order Pacific without VC, will it work with 242 tubes on a low gain setting? Or do I need to tell Yoda specifically about 242 tubes? And if I do, how does he now, which gain to put on a low gain setting, as it totally depends on my preamp / amp / speaker combo? Sorry for all these questions, I just want to get it right this time.

I would really go WITH VC and cover all (future) eventualities.

Maybe you don't even need a new Preamp because the Pacific Preamp section is really good.
With VC you have ALL options

 

[bonzo75]

external preamps are better than Pac pre

 

[Golum]

external preamps are better than Pac pre

Exactly what Chris said, but it needs to be an $$$$ one to beat VC in Pac

 

[abeidrov]

I would really go WITH VC and cover all (future) eventualities.

Maybe you don't even need a new Preamp because the Pacific Preamp section is really good.
With VC you have ALL options

I would, but my amp has balanced inputs only, so I’ll have to go with a balanced Pacific with VC, which I do not want to do due to number of tubes and extra cost.

 

[bonzo75]

Exactly what Chris said, but it needs to be an $$$$ one to beat VC in Pac

I have tried many, from yamamoto and KR pre and total dacwhich are not really expensive to audionet stern etf Pac. Even with big 7 from yamamoto To Shindo giscours and jadis and AR ref 3
Many others with GG which did not have a VC. So, I prefer external pre for sure.

I don't need a VC for PX25, Lampi 45s and the others. My main interest in asking about VC is if it increases the flexibility for KR 242. If KR 242 is distorting with a particular pre, will it change that by changing the VC? I doubt that

 

[moby2004]

If I order Pacific without VC, will it work with 242 tubes on a low gain setting? Or do I need to tell Yoda specifically about 242 tubes? And if I do, how does he now, which gain to put on a low gain setting, as it totally depends on my preamp / amp / speaker combo? Sorry for all these questions, I just want to get it right this time.

Assuming you won’t go with the VC option ( I am actually considering going to the VC option if one day a MK2 or any kind of other improvements are being offered) you have a low/high gain switch totally independent of the tubes you are using. In my case the switch is located on the bottom of the unit ( as the provided Stacore feet are pretty high , it s easily accessible ).
Originally I ordered the RKPX25 tubes and the low gain switch with those tubes is providing a 2V output whereas the high gain is providing 6V output with those tubes again.
Then I bought a pair of KR242 and those tubes have more gain so I believe the 2v/6v range is no longer exactly respected. And with those specific tubes with the high gain switch on ( no issue at all with the PX25) I noticed some digital clipping issues with some recordings but also depending on your downstream preamp ( with a passive bespoke pre absolutely no issues at all) .
( I also did a test by using the Roon digital volume control. I had to put -3db to avoid the clipping issues)
So if I were you, I would ask to “calibrate” the high gain switch with the KR242 tubes in mind so you should be safe as those tubes are the most powerful ones I am aware of. And would you go with another tubes it will work smoothly even with the high switch on.

Alex

 

[Golum]

I have tried many, from yamamoto and KR pre and total dacwhich are not really expensive to audionet stern etf Pac. Even with big 7 from yamamoto To Shindo giscours and jadis and AR ref 3
Many others with GG which did not have a VC. So, I prefer external pre for sure.

I don't need a VC for PX25, Lampi 45s and the others. My main interest in asking about VC is if it increases the flexibility for KR 242. If KR 242 is distorting with a particular pre, will it change that by changing the VC? I doubt that

Ked I guess we all have a very different view on "not really expensive" pre as many which you mentioned above are way above 10k.
Yes, VC totally increases flexibility for your beloved 242 and makes it usable in every system and on top mentioned and in long explained by @Alrainbow and Steve W brings additional benefits to the table.

 

[Golum]

So if I were you, I would ask to “calibrate” the high gain switch with the KR242 tubes in mind so you should be safe as those tubes are the most powerful ones I am aware of. And would you go with another tubes it will work smoothly even with the high switch on.

Alex

Spot on!

 

[dminches]

David all non VC units have them and they are inside at the back of the unit at the edge of the board where the tubes are. There are two switches.
You can easily check also the output V via tech sheet as the values for the high/low gain V are written on the bottom of the first page.
And yeah its meant to be used

I popped the cover off after Fred told me this. It was shipped in the high gain position and that's where it will stay. I tried the low gain but I had to push my preamp too much so I just put it back at high.

 

[christoph]

I would, but my amp has balanced inputs only, so I’ll have to go with a balanced Pacific with VC, which I do not want to do due to number of tubes and extra cost.

I understand your point. I wouldn't go balanced as well

But I would still order VC, just for the sake of flexibility
And resale/trade-in value is also higher

 

[Steve williams]

If you don’t have a vol control I. Dac. Use the voltage control in playback software. J River is very good as is hq player
Sadly Roon is horrible. The point is I’m software it allows to back off just enough to stop digital ring and keep dynamics

There's always Herbie's Tube damping rings

 

[howiebrou]

I took the lid off my Pac tonight to look for my gain switch is unfortunately not on the outside. It caused some issues such as one channel having no sound. Luckily I got it back but I wouldn't recommend fiddling either it too often. I have mine in high gain for PX25, RD27 and 300B.

 

[Tuckia]

As my rack is good old Finite elemente spider, Pac is sitting on Ceraballs as per picture while entire rack is on Cerabase so i would assume its nicelly isolated.
But also i would say all tube gear responds very nicely to proper isolation.
View attachment 68641

Thanks for sharing. Looks nice.
Some of my SS gear, like the Antipodes EX and Aurender N10, have responded to isolation footers too.

 

[Tuckia]

If you can leave sws on high and Lower volume on player to maintain sweet spot on preamp
Post results then I’m interested in the results.

I'm running the HQPlayer embedded in Roon. I bought the license after hearing how much better it sounds than Roon Ready. Currently not using any filters, upsampling, DSP, or other features - just the player. I'll enable the variable volume and give it a whirl with the PAC switches on high.

BTW, I wasn't quite right in saying the sound collapsed when the pre VC was way down. It was all the way down! Sound still bled through, although broken up. The Allnic pre has a nifty VC which maintains constant output impedance into the active stages. It doesn't have a sweet spot, more of a sweet range. It does have a smidge of turbo lag at the bottom, but once above idle it is strong and consistent.