Agear
Ditto. That is why I ordered the Lampi L7 (based on reports from end users). I also eyeballed the Allnic and it looks beautiful. I am sure you will be pleased. It appears that a DHT minimalist output topology has a lot of promise.

Allnic DHT is promising but this 4th of July weekend it's only been used for movies. Helpful for break in but impossible to tell anything about it's real potential other than it's happy with all kinds of input (USB, Optical and SPDIF).

Albert, I have always appreciated photography, and I very much enjoy seeing individual rooms captured. Since you care deeply about both realms, would you be willing to help Charles as a mission of mercy? Possibly fly in to Michigan to help him capture his room? Charles is not a complete audiophile yet. The equipment is there. The language and sensibility is there. The photography is not.

The hardest part of that job is taking time off and making the flight. The photography would be easy.

I could not agree more Albert. Digital is the toughest nut. As a preteen, my first source was vinyl, and in many ways I have been swimming upstream trying to get back to that "sound."

I hear nothing but praise for the Lampi too. Maybe we're finally on the way to making digital fun to listen to.

albertporter July 06, 2014 20:38

Albert,
Shigeki Yamamoto made his name developing excellent low power SET amplifiers primarily for the Japanese market. He successfully obtained the same sound characteristics via his DACs and I'm grateful for that accomplishment. I Suspect you'll be very happy with the Allnic DHT DAC given the talent of its designer. As with Yamamoto he also seems deeply focused on music reproduction and connecting with it.

I wish we lived near each other so we could spend an evening playing both. I know from your equipment what you value so I'm sure the Yamamoto would be right down my alley.

albertporter July 06, 2014 20:27

Andrew it seems all of your posts go up late. And not just on any single thread. Your such a Rebel Rouser. Tom

theaudiotweak July 06, 2014 18:30

07-05-14: Albertporter
Your description of the Yamamoto is precisely what I'm looking for in a DAC. I don't know yet if my new acquisition will fulfill that need or not.

Ditto. That is why I ordered the Lampi L7 (based on reports from end users). I also eyeballed the Allnic and it looks beautiful. I am sure you will be pleased. It appears that a DHT minimalist output topology has a lot of promise.

I am pleased for you, digital is the toughest nut to crack in high end audio. All the rest is easy, at least in my experience.

I could not agree more Albert. Digital is the toughest nut. As a preteen, my first source was vinyl, and in many ways I have been swimming upstream trying to get back to that "sound."

Albert, I have always appreciated photography, and I very much enjoy seeing individual rooms captured. Since you care deeply about both realms, would you be willing to help Charles as a mission of mercy? Possibly fly in to Michigan to help him capture his room? Charles is not a complete audiophile yet. The equipment is there. The language and sensibility is there. The photography is not.

agear July 06, 2014 11:56

Charles, please note the date of my post. There is usually a lag of 1-3 days in my posts.

agear July 06, 2014 11:38

Agear,
I corrected my error above regarding Jeff's Lampizator model.

Albert,
Shigeki Yamamoto made his name developing excellent low power SET amplifiers primarily for the Japanese market. He successfully obtained the same sound characteristics via his DACs and I'm grateful for that accomplishment. I Supect you'll be very happy with the Allnic DHT DAC given the talent of its designer. As with Yamamoto he also seems deeply focused on music reproduction and connecting with it.
Charles,

charles1dad July 05, 2014 23:34

Your description of the Yamamoto is precisely what I'm looking for in a DAC. I don't know yet if my new acquisition will fulfill that need or not.

I am pleased for you, digital is the toughest nut to crack in high end audio. All the rest is easy, at least in my experience.

albertporter July 05, 2014 21:55

Correction, Jwm has the Lampizator "Big 5" DAC not the Big 6 as I've stated earlier.
Charles,

charles1dad July 05, 2014 13:53

Albert,
No, my Yamamoto hasn't been directly compared with Jwm's Lampizator Big 6. In his system he'll compare the Big 6 with his new Aesthetix. I'm not much of a shootout enthusiast anymore (though they make interesting reading no doubt). The Duelund modified Yamamoto DAC makes beautifully natural music and that's all I'm after. Jwm (Jeff) has two excellent DACs to evaluate and enjoy. The Aesthetix Romulus Signature is really something!
Charles,

charles1dad July 05, 2014 01:37

Have you compared the Yamamoto directly with the Aesthetix and / or Lampizator Big 6?

By that I mean in the same system at same time. If yes did all votes go the same way?

albertporter July 04, 2014 22:33

Charles, thanks for the feedback on Well tempered.

I am intrigued to hear about how the Romulus fairs against the Lampi. I thought Jeff had a L5?

agear July 04, 2014 19:39

Hi Albert,
To clarify, My good friend Jwm has the new Aesthetix Romulus Signature CD player and he also has the Lampizator Big 6. We live close to one another and I visited him yesterday for an initial listen. I use a Yamamoto DAC upgraded with Duelund CAST capacitors and simply love it(resolution and very organic character). I also use Rick's High Fidelity CT1- Ultimate digital cable and it's superb!
Charles,

charles1dad July 04, 2014 11:12

Charles,

Reads like you too are on the warpath to get digital to make music without thinking about the hardware.

I'm sure Jim White's DAC will be good, he is a brilliant designer and all around great guy.

One of the guys in my group is a Lampizator fan but I've only had one model here in my own system. Seems there are many variations and lots of difference in performance between them.

I read with great interest your post about Duelund CAST and Jupiter Copper foil. My friend Rich Schultz who builds High Fidelity cables is a fan of both of those caps and I've heard some comparisons although the conditions were not well known to me, rendering my opinion not clear on the outcome.

albertporter July 04, 2014 03:39

This evening at Jwm's home I had the opportunity to hear a brand new (delivered today) Aesthetix Romulus Signature CD player and it's very good sounding straight from the shipping carton. Even with generic stock tubes it made quite a favorable impression. Exceptionally musically truthful, dynamic, ,powerful and lively in character. I can imagine that with some mandatory burn in it could be something very special. It's certainly off to an attention grabbing debut. His Lampizator level 6 has some major competition.
Charles,

charles1dad July 04, 2014 02:38

Hi Stef4,
Thanks for your kind comment. I just went with the Duelund CAST due to their successful results in my speaker crossover. The CAST is equally impressive in the Yamamoto as well. They're superb as output coupling capacitors. Some have reported that the Jupiter copper foil capacitor is as good (or better) for less money, I haven't heard them. No regrets for me, I love the CAST influence in my system. I've been able to hear a number of really fine DACs. None of them compel me to replace the Yamamoto-Duelund CAST combo.
Charles,

charles1dad July 01, 2014 19:00

Hi your system looks great. I also have a yamamoto dac and looking to upgrade the dac. Have you tried different kinds of capacitors before settling for the Duelund capacitor?
Thanks Stéphane

stef4 July 01, 2014 11:47

Hello Spirit,
That's wonderful news and I'm very happy for you.Your success with the preamplifier isn't surprising to me. The folks at Audion are clearly talented and know their stuff. It makes sense that their top level and all out assault on the SOTA preamplifier would mate splendidly with the premium 845 Black Shawdow SET. I'm sure you fully appreciate your good fortune and will remain in "heavenly" bliss and indulge in your music. To say you favor it above the esteemed Robert Koda is quite a compliment. As we both understand via the accumulation of experience, it's all about component and system synergy/compatibility.
Best Regards,
Charles,

charles1dad June 29, 2014 02:11

Charles, lovely things really do come in 4's - 4 leaf clovers, and now the Audion Quattro 4 box preamp. Oh my gosh, so sweet and transparent, w/out the slight over bass/cloying Koda pre, fast and dynamic w/out the hash and slight shrillness of my Hovland.
I'm sending this message to you from Heaven - because I just died and went there!

spiritofmusic June 28, 2014 22:55

Andrew,
I loved my WTT (It was superior to my Linn Sondek LP 12). The WTT with its arm provided what I cherish most, natural music reproduction and musical ebb and flow. Once that arm is set properly in the oil resovoir, just sit back and enjoy. My records just sounded right, the poor recordings were revealed for what they were. Many other brand and models have since come along and are more sophisticated and certainly more expensive. In terms of pure music making ability I don't know that they're an improvement. I strongly recommend that you give one a good listen, I suspect that you'll be impressed. The WTTwas both organic and quite resolved and very nuanced (like a really high quality SET amplifier). Like the best audio components you're pulled into the music and forget about the hifi checklist.
Charles,

charles1dad June 26, 2014 21:50

Charles, tell me about your experiences with the Well tempered TT. I am inheriting my grandmother's vinyl collection in addition to resurrecting my own. I have a friend or two raving about the WT Amadeus. I am also looking at Triangle. My bias at this point is to start with a restored vintage table (cheaper) and go from there....

agear June 25, 2014 20:41

Hi Roxy54,
The Backstage platform is very attractive and I'm sure performs as good as it looks. I love what the Apprentice contribute to my system. The Backstage would expectedly do more at a higher level. Who knows Roxy, you may one day own them.
Charles,

charles1dad June 24, 2014 08:41

Charles and Grannyring,
Being a user of the Apprentice as well as the SP 101, I drool when I look at pictures of the Backstage, imagining what it would do for my system. It must be truly magical. If only I could afford one! Until that unlikely day, I will appreciate my other Starsound platforms.

roxy54 June 24, 2014 03:56

Willdo Charles. The Koda left a BIG impression on me. It ordered the sound reducing a lot of tizz/hash, instilling a sense of ease that is rare in audio. Music seemed to slow, but this was a positive in that nothing was rushed in any way. Even more positive was a revealing of layers and textures in the low end that gave a real earthiness to the presentation. In comparison my Hovland on it's return seemed a lot more ragged and noisy in comparison, with a distinct coolness to the presentation esp. wrt lack of real bass depth.
BUT i do feel the Hovland had the edge in terms of excitement, the Koda a little too lush, and the 24 step volume control just a little too coarse re fine adjustment wrt 38 steps on my Hovland.
If the Audion Quattro can approach even 50% of the Koda's positives, with a real synergy w/the power amps, I'll be bowled over.

spiritofmusic June 23, 2014 22:36

Hello Spirit,
That seems like an exceptionally good deal, especially with the 2 week return policy. Four boxes are a lot, however I suspect that this is a genuine all out assault on the SOTA by Audion. Nothing substitutes for actually hearing a component in your home. My gut feeling is that it will mate brilliantly to your Black Shadow 845 amplifier. I'm very curious how this four box preamplifier compares to the single box (or 2?) Robert Koda which is also a highly praised SOTA assault as well. You're in store for much fun and learning for certain. Please keep me posted.
Charles,

charles1dad June 23, 2014 13:03

Charles, thanx for all your replies and input to all my queries SET related, you've v.much helped me make that initial jump away from SS end up a success.
I've just taken a punt on the Audion flagship preamp, the 4!!! box Quattro (dual mono/dual psu design). The handful of reviews on the web seem to put it right up there, and I'm hoping it'll form a great synergy w/my Audion Black Shadow SETs, giving me that extra bass texture/warmth I'm missing w/the Hovland pre (that I noticed esp w/my Koda K10 trial). It was being advertised w/the cap upgrades Audion recommend at a price less than a third of rrp - too good to turn down.
I'll keep you posted on the outcome. I do have a 2 wk return period, so if I get nowhere w/it, I'll get my cash back.
My first issue is, where in blazes do I situate this thing?! 4 boxes is an ergonomic challenge to say the least.

spiritofmusic June 23, 2014 09:14