The story of
the lampizatOr DAC by Lukasz Fikus
The lampizatOr DAC story is a very long one. It starts in the fog of
the early days of lampization. Due to the fact that I built the analog
output stage (lampizatOr) I was able to listen to many dac chips in a
controlled environment. I was able to compare the DAC holding the
variable of the output stage at a constant. It gave me a pretty good
idea of what sounds good. I tested many, many chips - almost all
catalogs of Burr-Brown, Analog Devices, Sony, Cirrus Logic, Crystal
Semi-conductors, Philips, Asahi Kasei Microsystems, ESS, Sanyo,
Matsushita, Nippon Precision NPC, Wolfson Microsystems, and more .
For some time I have been working on perfecting the analog stage, just
lampizating the Hong-Kong commercial PCB's. Inevitably, the time came
to make my own PCB.
I discovered the importance of receiver chips. In my quest
for the best sound I tested various DAC products with various
receivers, and I swapped them, substituted, etc.
In the end, after deciding to build my own PCB I tested my top 5
dac chips in combination with all the receivers I could lay my
hands on. Very quickly it became apparent that it is not so easy. Every
pair of DAC - Receiver could be made to sound heavenly or horrible,
depending on the working mode, connection, resistors in digital path,
PLL loops, frequencies of clock, upsampling and oversampling choices,
power supply voltages, grounding schemes - endless experiments and
tests !
At the stage when I knew that I was already way above the sound quality
of the best commercial DAC known to me, I quit my day job and devoted
all my time to find the best sounding DAC.
Considering the time, effort, brain power and prototypes built and
destroyed - this R&D process is easily worth $100, 000
dollars or more.
Is this DAC better than Behringer or Buffalo or Satch ? I will answer
with the question - would I put my life on the line just to make a
mediocre DAC, just about equal to a 200 Euro commercial offer?
Obviously not: IT HAD TO BE MUCH BETTER.
Every morning when I fire up my system, I think - OH YES, this is the
Nirvana digital sound I was always looking for, always wanted and
strove for.
Having already a very good PCB with the digital part, I
investigated the surrounding elements: lampizatOr output stage, analog
power supplies to the lampizatOr and the power supply to the DAC itself.
I made every effort to make no compromise, totally mind-blowing power
supplies. Everything is over specified and oversized. Nothing is left
to chance. There is no possibility of noise, distortions, humming or
buzzing.
The main principle of tube stage supply is the use of chokes. These
almost forgotten devices are a panacea for delivering pure DC voltage.
They filter out any possible AC components from the DC, any noises or
fluctuations. They store magnetic fields, which when called for on
large current demand, inject the missing voltage to the circuit. They
work like a power pump.
I use minimum 2 chokes which deliver unlimited power authority and
"grunt". The music has speed, slam, power and macro dynamics previously
unheard on simple CRC filters.
The choke system works together with huge capacitance. While for high
voltage circuit with chokes, 47 uF / 400 V caps are mathematically and
empirically adequate, I use over 3000 uF. almost 100 times too much.
That fills the gap between the good and the awesome sound. Those drums
seem to try to "destroy our speakers".
To make the picture even better I use tube rectification in power
supply. It gives the advantage of slow start (about 1 minute of slow
voltage rise) plus smooth curve at the input. Simply speaking -
nothing beats this tube power supply.
Slow start makes possible the long life of signal tubes (possibly
costing a fortune for a good pair). The tubes should live for over 10
or even 20 years because they are not exposed to sudden voltage rush on
cold condition.
My signal tubes as standard are Soviet 6H6P - very smooth, powerful and
analog sounding. They are used up to 25% of their nominal power which
leads to life expectancy of 20 years or more.
The supply of the digital board is less crazy. It is a basic well
filtered and much over specified 9 V DC supply. It works so well, there
is no need for batteries. Under even the worst case
scenario, the supply is flat, noiseless and capable. It makes the
DAC and receiver very happy. Every digital consumer has one
regulated power stage per input. (Currently there are 7 per PCB plus
tube heaters, regulated as well).
The supply paths (seven of them) to the digital part make the best use
of Sanyo OS-Con capacitors, SEPC series where it matters, and tantalum
military grade caps and small chokes too.
Even if the whole lampized DAC consumes only 25 Watts in total, I
employ a custom made toroidal transformer capable of 50 Watts with
separate secondary winding for every task needed. The Digital board is
supplied by a separate EI custom made transformer.
The analog output caps, despite their nominal requirement of 0,47 uF
per channel are Paper in Oils of 1,5 uF or more, to make sure
that all the glory of the deepest bass notes comes out unharmed with no
phase shift.
To ensure a trouble free longevity of the lampizatOr DAC, all the caps
are overrated in voltage by at least 100 %. Knowing the military
standards - the real ratings of voltage failure lies somewhere 400 %
above of what we use.
I am absolutely sure that you will like the sound of my DAC, but if you
are uncertain for any reason - I offer a 7 day money back guarantee
with no strings attached. Try it, compare it - and send it back for the
full refund (minus shipping charges). I would rather sell it to someone
else than have even one dissatisfied customer ever !
Happy listening
Lukasz Fikus
P.S. Ah and that
ring button is soo cool, isn't it ?
Update: June, 2010:
Generation 2
Just today I
made public the information about the Generation 2 DAC.
The Gen 1 was "almost perfect"- it was ready. But just to make
sure that I was making really the best DAC in the world I decided one
last time to question EVERYTHING - and to redesign it. Or rather,
an asymptotically circle around the point of perfection.
I re-designed the digital PCB, the lampizatOr, tested new tubes,
operating points, capacitors, the power supply, filtering and even
wiring.
In the end I made 10 new DACS all ready and beautiful but each of them
had ONE aspect redesigned with slightly better ideas.
The overall result was a better DAC. Better enough to call it
Generation 2. And better enough to completely freeze the R&D for
the time being.
The Generation 2 lampizatOr DAC goes to production from July and will
continue until further notice.
Again, to answer the most common question: which chip is it ?
(as if it mattered at all )
The chips are modern, not the nostalgic TDA's of any sort, and they are
not available in DAC’S currently known to me elsewhere. The chips are
selected from the computer industry because they just sound better. I
can say no more, except some basic specs:
Input automatically recognizes frequency, up to 192 kHz
Bit length is up to 24
No USB available
Balanced operation: possible
AES/EBU - possible
Toslink - possible
The whole circuit - the whole DAC - both digital section as well as
analog section have zero transformers, neither on S/PDIF nor on analog
i/U conversion
There is only ONE capacitor in the whole circuit - both analog and
digital, in the so called series path.
There is only ONE gain stage
The output impedance is circa 600 Ohms
Tube life circa 10 to 20 years
All the wiring inside is made with silver wire in teflon, and no wire
is longer than 2-5 inches. The optimized point to point allows for
connection by part legs - without any wire at all.
October 10,
2010 Update
-
Announcing Generation 2,5
Well, I promised no more research, but I just could not resist the
temptation! Now that I am quite known, the manufacturers of chips send
me their newest samples. Recently I got from one of the best
manufacturers of chips their latest DAC and I just loved it. It is now
the main chip in lampizatOr DAC.
This is a balanced design, with 32 bit architecture and it fits the DAC
very well. I can upsample with frequencies even higher than 200 kHz.
At the same time the analog stage , after months of effort got a
new shape. Instead of amplifying the single ended signal by SRPP
triodes, now we employ a differential scheme where two phases are
symmetrically summed and produce the purest result ever.
Just think of it as a cure for digital conversion process artifacts.
The DAC produces positive musical signal plus conversion errors and
negative musical signal plus conversion errors. In my differential
lampizatOr stage the four components are differentially summed
up: the end result is double dynamics in music and zero distortions
(errors).
Even if the "robot" would say that in this config the music is the same
- same amount of bass, mids, trebles, same notes, same timbres, same
pace - a human listener immediately notices the big improvement - more
natural, all consuming, hallucinogenic sound.
To make the story even better - I ordered the production of a new power
transformer - double in size. It is now 100 VA.
The digital PCB got a new design too - where I made every effort to
filter out the digital noises, ground crosstalk, regulator output
noises etc. In the process I discovered new kind of filtering caps
which beat oscons, SEPC, Black Gate, ceramics, MKP - all of them.
Employment of these new caps improved purity and liquidity of the sound
quite audibly.
Summarizing - the new dac chip, new filter capacitors, new power
transformer and radically better differential lampizatOr allow me to
declare it Generation 2,5 DAC.
Recap:
Executive
brief: Why Lampizator DAC is good
Ten reasons
to trust in the lampizatOr DAC
1. Because there is a real person behind it, who dedicates his
experience, knowledge, passion and reputation to this endeavor %100
2. Because it contains zero silicon elements (op-amps or transistors)
hence there is also no local or global feedback of any kind. There is
only ONE amplification device and that is a vacuum tube triode -
nothing more pure and simple has ever been invented than single stage
triode amplifier. In my opinion, what makes triodes sound better
than opamps is the fact that opamps use internal local feedback and
external global feedback and I can demonstrate on the scope how this
DESTROYS the micro and macro dynamics of the sound wave. It is just so
much more compressed compared to the same wave form at the same volume
played by triodes.
3. Because there are no tricks, magic, or mysticism about the
lampizatOr DAC - it is simply very well planned, designed and executed
with one goal in mind - lifetime deep enjoyment of music
4. Because it is a safe investment - it will not become obsolete, and
the buying decision is always backed by 7 days and 7 nights of
listening and testing in your own home environment. What could ever
assure you of your good decision than that ? In addition it carries
full 5 year warranty.
5. The DAC has a state of the art digital section, with the industry's
best chips and parts, producing the purest, most analog like and most
dynamic sound that I have ever thought possible.
6. The Differential lampizatOr output stage is so unique that it has
two sections which "open" and "close" in opposite direction. As a
result, the current demand of such a section REMAINS CONSTANT AT ALL
TIMES. Music - or silence - the graph of current demand is ruler flat
and very small. For this reason, lampizatOr Stage requires a MINIMAL
POWER SUPPLY with just the basic requirements. Even the biggest booom
of a drum - will not draw ANYTHING from the power supply. Clever, isn’t
it?
At the same time - as if power was my obsession (remember - I am a
Power Network Engineer graduate) I made fantastic power supply, able to
deliver any impulse, if there was ever such need. It is so oversized
that we can consider it a perfect voltage source - it is for the given
circuit, infinitely capable.
The combination of these two factors - the energy demand being so low
that it is almost nothing, and supply being so large it is almost too
much - the lampizatOr DAC is therefore true to the musical pace,
rhythm, power, energy and liveliness.
7. Because the parts I use are both over specified and of very high
quality so the likelihood of a failure is really low. I seriously
expect this DAC to work 30 years non stop every day without a single
failure.
8. Because ownership of this DAC means that you supported your friendly
audiophile operation (me) and not a corporate , heartless giant.
9. I promise to offer upgrades at reasonable cost - so your
DAC can always get current generation status at any time in the future.
10. The cost is really reasonable.
To go to
Five Dac Levels explanation table and price list - click
HERE
The list of
DAC chips which I tested before selecting my DAC CHIP FOR PRODUCTION:
A LIST OF GOOD
DAC CHIPS WORTH THE EFFORT and the ready recipes for Lampizator
PHILIPS
TDA1540
TDA1541,
TDA1541A, TDA1541A/R1, TDA1541A/S1 and S2
TDA1543
TDA1545
TDA1549
TDA1305
Burrn-Brown
(Texas Instruments now)
PCM58
PCM63
PCM1700
PCM1701
PCM1702
PCM1704
PCM1716
PCM1732
PCM1738
PCM1794
PCM1716
Analog Devices
AD1862
AD1865
AD1852
AD1955
Cirrus - Crystal
Semiconductors
CS43xx – all
from that series
Wolfson
WM8740, 41, 42
Pioneer
PD2028A
PD2028B
Matsushita –
Technics
MN35511
MN35502
MN35500
MN6474
MN66271
SANYO
UPD6376
LC78816
Ess Tech
Sabre32
Reference 90018
AKM
AK4393
AK4395
AK4396
NPC (Nippon
Precision Circuits)
SM5872
New Chassis - december 2010
After a year of using off the shelf ready chassis, time came for
producing my own. I found a nice steel press shop nearby which agreed
to help me. After 3 months of planning and testing - the chassis is
ready.
The chassis consists of 10 elements which get assembled and put
together by means of 4 mm nuts. Everything is cleverly planned to make
electronic assembly easy, fast, safe and optimized.
Every component has its place. The placement follows three criteria:
short wires where it matters, easy testing and service, and separation
of sections.
Above you can see the DAC from a birds POV. There are 4 main sections,
separated from each other by steel partitioning:
Transformer section, DC power supply section, tube section and digital
board section.
There is some free space left for the future needs: USB module, LAN
module, XLR balanced output, etc.
I can have up to 4 transformers and 6 chokes and 6 tubes in this ready
designed chassis.
This picture shows the detail of tube mounting. It is a revolutionary
design - my own invention that the tubes are mounted upside down. This
way I achieve 3 main goals:
1. The socket is visible and accessible for easy soldering and
measuring
2. The tubes are accessible from the bottom, without opening the box.
The box is seal protected - during warranty it is not allowed to open
it.
3. The tubes are well ventilated and magnetically shielded (remember -
aluminum does not shield magnetically but steel DOES. )
As you can see above, I have provision for 4 output tubes, allowing me
for example to build fully balanced SRPP design with one tube per phase.
The green cans are monstrous soviet polypropylene/alu foil output caps.
Tube sockets are gold plated.
The signal goes to and from the tube by a white wire which is silver in
teflon - made in USA.
The resistors which make lampizatOr are Roedenstein metal film.
Above: view from under the DAC - the tubes have their "cave" where they
can be admired and/or unplugged.
Above - againb - the kangaroo bag style of tube mounting.
On the picture from the left: the standard population of the left hand
side real plate: Input AES/EBU with female XLR, blue input selector
switch, belden silver plated coax 75 ohm cable in teflon, S/PDIF RCA
socket with Rhodium socket, all connections are made with single
strand silver wire.
On the bottom of the above picture there is the rectification tube - a
dual diode 6C5S (indirectly heated diode) It gives 2 x 70 mA
current, if gives soft switching, zero noise and a delayed slow start
(2 minutes)
The unpopulated test PCB is there for the picture only.
this obviously wrong xlr socket is there for the photo only ...
The whole rectangle module can be exchanged depending on the holes
needed. Above is the standard configuration.
Above: the IEC standard mains socket is a typical one, wit integrated
fuse , one spare fuse, and it is made in Switzerland by Shurter.
On the left above: the mains transformer dedicated to the digital
board. It is an EI type with 9 V and 1 A.
The gorgeous Lampizator mains transformer is wrapped in Alpha Core
Goertz copper tape for the looks, shielding and extra silence.
Every consumer of power gets dedicated secondary AC winding . Nothing
is fed from common supply.
Above is the more capable alternative to 6C5S - this is 5C4S (directly
heated dual diode)
The first cap after rectifier - where the full saw tooth signal appears
- is best paper in oil. This one is 2 uF minitary Polish Telpod with
200 % overrated safety voltage. It contributes to soft but fast
delivery of DC to anodes.
The second element after the PIO cap is a choke - here the 10H/30 mA
choke. After this part the DC is alteady perfectly flat and noise free.
But the power will go through a full CLC filter again to become
insanely perfect , flat and noise freee.
The three silver cans are monstrous 1500 uF/ 250 VDC caps from Nippon
Chemical - Made in USA. That gives a total of 4500 uF at 220 V
DC. More than most amplifiers have. It is almost 100 Joules !!!
Above - the second filter - 1500uF / 40 H / 1500uF
The legs are raw and ugly but so good - kauchuk door-stops. They
support the heavy chassis while reducing vibrations due to their huge
mass of rubber.
Above - the face plate has a wet mark around the screw - a leftover of
some Pronto spray.
I think that gentlemen prefer blondes....
Summary: the new single lampizatOr box is a great one. It is plain,
simple and elegant and the sophisticated internal partitions serve the
function and purpose. The revolutionary upside down tubes are easy to
remove from underneath without opening the box. There is a choice of
silver alu or matt black face plate (7 mm grade 11 Alu) and 4 colors of
the eye: green, red, violet/blue and white. The top cover is charcoal
black and rear is shiny Zinc.
The box and lampizatOr are any mains voltage ready. There
is no more “ two box solution” for Levels 3 and 4 - all fits in one box.