New Lampizator Level 4/ Version 4 DAC in the house

Knghifi, yours is a very good question. Most of the answer, I think, centers on not being organized. Many, especially small, manufacturers don't have stock to devote to prepare for the shows, including, of course, break in. Certainly TAD is one clear exception. They may seek better rooms and may fine tune their systems, but I have not heard much difference from day one onward.

But I should add that the use of hotel rooms is another major problem. Most are pretty awful. CES's putting the high end audio in the Venetian Towers means that many have two level room where there is no proper best listening placement. The railing of the higher portion is where you should be sitting.

Hi Lissnr,
You description of the Duelund CAST is simply dead on the bullseye. Very well said and fits my experience with them. The key words are natural and real, acoustic instruments have inherent warmth, body, color and vibrancy and they don't require any embellishment. The CAST have superb resolution and transparency yet aren't remotely analytical or clinical, just"organic" and correct. I'm actually surprised Bill experienced too much detail in some applications (perhaps revealing the character of ofter system components? ). I don't know, I can say that using the CAST in my DAC and speakers has provided stunningly excellent music reproduction and heighten the sense of realism. The Jensen may yield a pleasing "added" warmth but the Duelund are the "natural" choice.
Charles,

This is not a problem just buy two dueland caps and replace the jensen with them. If you don't like them you can always place the jensens back. In the lampizator this is a very easy job. Now get to it and report back.

Jwm, will do!

Shawbros3, my mini is a 2009 with many mods including an outboard power supply ....... Not using the switching wall wart. My Offramp 4 is loaded with Turbo clocks, Hynes Reg, latest transformer .......

The fact is the Dynamo power supply improved the sound more than the Offramp by itself. The Offramp alone was a nice improvement, but the Dynamo power supply was epic. I have shared that with Steve.

Next on my list will be placing Duelund caps in the Lampi!

I also use EA's spdif cable which is killer and should be used with the Offramp. I also use a USB filter made by UltraFi. It does a great job cleaning things up before the Offramp. Go to the UltraFi page and see it. It is called the Aubisque filter. Others make these sort of small USB filters. A/b testing proved this little device works well.

I am sure other means to sonic bliss abound and share what I have found with my Lampi and computer set up.

I am also sure the music player used....Amarra etc, also plays a big role. I think Amarra is the best option with it's room correction EQ tool. So many things impact the sound of a computer based front end. Some systems are more resolving than others making it easier to hear differences. All the little things in the end make a big difference in computer based audio. Which USB port used on the Mini matters, turning off programs in the Mini matters, software mods on the operating system matter. If these things are not done, then the Mini in question my be a jitter nerd:-). Love that phrase!

"If this is reality and believe in break in period, why bother showcasing your system if they are not at its best?"

Well, the show managers will not let us in but one day before the shows and this is simply not enough for break-in. Barely enough time for good setup. BTW, it's not just new components. I have exhibited at maybe 16 shows and each time the equipment needs break-in, even equipment that has had years of break-in. This effect I believe is due to static charge developing on all of the dielectrics during shipping and setup. Sunday is always the best day and it will probably always be that way.

Steve N.
Empirical Audio