Lampizator Amber-3 User manual

Amber-3
Dital to Analog Converter
User Manual
Version 2.0 - Jan 2021

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WARNING: as every of our products comes with a 7 days testing period (please to confirm
it - ask your dealer first), during this time it is not allowed to open the DAC. The screws are
protected with a seal. You have to decide, if you like the sound and you want to keep it.
After the 7 days period expire – your DAC is a keeper, and you may open the hood. This
does not invalidate the warranty, however – any modifications – no matter how small –
invalidate the 5 years warranty. Changes, upgrades and mods must be pre-authorized in
writing, even tube change. DACS returned during the test period with the seal broken will
not be refunded and will be sent back.
THE SHORT MANUAL
1. Plug in
2. Enjoy
Remeember - the front panel LED RING button is not a power
switch but USB input switch.!
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Short description
Amber-3 was built on the basis of our 20 years experience with the tube technology.
The success of LampizatOr DACs was mainly due to our approach to the analog stage
with tubes, backed by the tube power supplies etc.
As a result you get a reference performance of world class, fabulous sound.
Some main characteristics are:
Elegant timeless chassis and front panel - a classic Lampizator no-nonsense design.
Upgrade path for owners (to higher models)
Update path for owners - for new features and specs
Trade In path for bigger models, even after warranty
5 Years warranty
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Highlights:
Fully tubed, single ended and balanced output stage
Zero feedback, zero silicon design
Phenomenally transparent and dynamic
True analog sound from Lampizator - the tube expert
All tube design of maximal purity
TrueCopper Lampizator capacitors
2-layer, double copper layered PCB
Indirectly heated diode rectifier
Massive chokes in power supply CLC section
Extremely good digital conversion engine developed in house since 2008.!
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A quick guide to a smooth start 6...............................................................
Introduction 7.........................................................................................................................
Data formats 7........................................................................................................................
DSD 8......................................................................................................................................
Audio volume level (Hi Gain - Lo Gain) 8............................................................................
The heat issue 10...................................................................................................................
Optimal placement 10...........................................................................................................
Power on-off cycle 10............................................................................................................
Cabling and cable handling 11.............................................................................................
Tube rolling and replacement 12.........................................................................................
Rectifier Rolling 14................................................................................................................
Aging problems 15................................................................................................................
Fuse Change 16.....................................................................................................................
Volume control Khozmo Lampizator 17..............................................................................
COOPERATION WITH THE PREAMP 18..............................................................................
Amber-3 as preamp 18..........................................................................................................
DIGITAL INPUTS 19...............................................................................................................
The TOSLINK connection 19................................................................................................
USB playback 20....................................................................................................................
MAC OS operation of USB output: 21.................................................................................
Block Diagrams 22................................................................................................................
I PLUGGED EVERYTHING BUT I GET NO SOUND 24........................................................
USB operation basics 25......................................................................................................
LINUX 30......................................................................................................................
Windows 30.................................................................................................................
LISTENING TO THE MUSIC 31..............................................................................................
SOME Q & A 34......................................................................................................................
Specifications 35...................................................................................................................
Rear panel layout 36..............................................................................................................
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A quick guide to a smooth start
VOLTAGE: All Amber-3 DACs are shipped with the voltage of MAINS according to the
country of destination. If you bought the DAC second hand and you are in different voltage
zone - the DAC can be converted by switching the special switch at the back.
It is not necessary, but advisable that the power cable used is a quality one, not simply
a computer cable. It is also advisable to use some kind of AC filter – in many cases this
brings nice results. Generally under-filtering is better than over-filtering.
Due to multitude of AC plugs around the world - we dont supply any AC cable at all.
!
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Introduction
Thank you for choosing Lampizator Amber-3. We created it with huge research effort to
deliver not only world class musical performance, rivalling the most expensive DACs
money can buy, but also to offer very long life of the product. Simply speaking – if you
adhere to some basic precautions listed below – the product should last a lifetime and
hopefully in this period – will never be outperformed by a competing product.
“Whose lifetime?” one might ask – well – let’s not go into details – enough to say it
should work flawlessly for the foreseeable future.
The Amber-3 should be future-proof. Shall we ever launch a major upgrade to the
electronic or mechanical part – you can get the upgrade at very reasonable cost. Shall
you decide you need some added features – you can also get them at reasonable cost
anytime in the future - any option you initially forgot.
We can’t be 100% sure, but it is extremely unlikely that the market and the industry in
the future will embark any technology of music storage faster than 192 kHz and with
more resolution that 32 bits. We already hit the human ear limits, not to mention the
real needs of mass consumers (MP3).
Data formats
The DAC is capable of automatic recognition of all sampling rates from 32 through 44,1
to 768 kHz and bit rates from 16 to 32. Also DSD is recognised and automatically
switched, making mixed playlist possible. DSD formats 64x and 128x and 256x and
512x are switched also automatically. Since few if any transports offering SPDIF
format of the 192 kHz exist in the consumer market, it is hard to guarantee the
operation but on the professional ones which we tried – it worked. From our experience
the transmitters of SPDIF are incapable of making good square wave over 48 kHz, so if
you play a 192 kHz file, be aware that on one hand you “play” more detailed data, but
at the same time your signal is waaay more distorted so at the end of the day for this
reason alone it may not be worth it to chase the hi-rez rabbit.
If you use USB connection, all our DACs will play up to 768 kHz and 32 bits. This
theoretical limit does not imply that you need RECORDINGS of that resolution, which
don’t exist by the way, but that you can use up sampling to play regular files. We
however listen to all recordings at the resolution settings they were recorded.
By PCM files we mean all known file formats like: MP3, MP4, Aiff, Flac, WMA, WAV,
APE, Ogg, and many more less known types. PCM abbreviation stands for pulse code
modulation.
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DSD
Direct Stream Digital, also known as DSD format - this format is not new as many
people think, it is as old as digital but it wasn’t used for consumer audio or home audio
- before. It became very popular after 2010 and continues to make its way into our
homes. It is VERY different than our well known PCM format as found in our CD files,
MP3, FLAC or WAV - AIFF. It encodes the music in the data stream differently, looks
different and sounds different. It is the format in which the SACD discs were recorded
and a format in which the analog master tapes were backed up by record companies. It
is currently the format in which sometimes the session recordings are made in record
industry.
In Amber-3 DAC - we use AUTOSENSING and automatic switch from DSD to PCM
and back. Used doesn’t need to do anything just enjoy.
Amber -3 DAC will automatically recognise and switch all DSD speed rates from
normal 64 SACD format to 2x (128x) and quad 256x format (with special software
only ) . 512 is supported only with the use of very good and fast streamers that are very
rare but our DAC will play it.
We believe that 256 is the maximum reasonable speed and going faster makes no
sense.
Audio volume level (Hi Gain - Lo Gain)
Tube technology allows us to set practically unlimited volume level at the output, up to
100 x higher than from a normal CD player. We have decided to adhere to one
internally set standard: the test tone of 1 kHz at -20 dB produces an output of sine
wave 300 mV AC under the amp load of 47K. Thats equivalent of circa 3 V pp. @ 0dB.
Shall this be inconvenient for some reason – it is adjustable in the range of 0-1800 mV
by just one resistor change. The test tone is available from us via email in the form of
WAV or AIFF or FLAC or MP3 file.
Fot the user’s convenience we added a switch: Hi-Gain is for all systems that handle it
without major clipping distortion.
If the Hi-Gain is clipping - please use lo-gain and that is compatible with every existing
amp or preamp.
Generally - we prefer the sound of the DAC with high output levels, and most amps
don’t have any problem with that. A simple potentiometer or stepped attenuator takes
care of that. Only solid state chip based preamps will saturate and distort thats why we
need to know in advance about such solid state chip volume system being driven by
the DAC. We will keep then the volume level at the “book” level of 2 V pp.(Lo-gain
switch position) Having said that - chip volume systems and preamps with opamps
belong in home theatre (cheap one) and DEFINITELY not in high end.
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LampizatOr DAC should not be used with opamp based preamp, no matter how good.
Because the op-amp feedback loops will remove the whole joy of music as delivered by
the tubed DAC.!
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The heat issue
Many people are concerned about the heat inside the player.
We want you to relax about it - that this is NOT an issue. The DAC operates well below
half of its maximum allowed temperature. Tubes are DESIGNED to be hot, this is their
very nature. Thats why they have internal heaters and when they are not at optimal
operating temperature – they sound bad.
The other components are guaranteed up to 105C and we are expecting no more than
45 degrees Celsius in the air inside the DAC.
Our only advice is do not heat the box additionally by placing it - for example - on top of
a hot class A amplifier. Give it some space around to allow free air flow and adequate
cooling. Do not cover it with blankets or mats.
Optimal placement
Apart from the heat issue as described above, the DAC has no special placement
requirements. Just remember to keep the S/PDIF cable not longer than 1,5 m (5 feet)
and RCA chinch cables – not longer than that either. USB cables should not exceed
2m and MUST NOT have ferrite filters on them.
Since tubes are microphonic, they hate vibrations. Therefore it is forbidden to
place the dac on top of the speakers or a sub. Choose least vibrating location,
preferably at least one foot behind the plane of the speakers.
Power on-off cycle
The tube lifetime, almost like the life of a car engine in cold climate – is determined
largely by the on-off cycle. The heat expansion coefficient of the glass is so much
different than that of the metal, that the air-tight seal of the metal pins can leak oxygen
inside the tube and eventually kill it. Even if it is just one molecule per day. So in other
words it is better to keep the DAC always on, than to switch it on and off more than
necessary.
The lampizator DAC with tube rectifier has a slow start feature which brings the high
voltage supply gradually up, at the rate of two- to five volts per second. The PSU
reaches 250 V DC after 90 seconds. This helps to extend tube life. The DAC is also
equipped with voltage down feature (bleeders) which reduce the power voltage upon
switch-off at roughly the same rate.
On top of that – the tubes are operated always around 25% of full nominal power,
which greatly increases their life expectancy. Combining all the factors together, the
tube lifetime should be anywhere between 10 and 20 years, assuming the player is
switched off only once per day, for the night.
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Additionally all our DACs have special heater circuits that slow down the inrush current
by the factor of 10 and protect the heaters from developing spots and blemishes that
cause metal erosion and eventually death (of the tube). Our circuit goes way beyond
the tube datasheet recommended protection. It extends the tube life at least double
versus the datasheet specs.
Cabling and cable handling
Just to be sure that we know what we are doing:
- AC cable can be freely plugged and unplugged during operation. It is OK for the
DAC but NOT OK for the amplifier and speakers. A loud thump may appear after
switch off. Please turn your volume fully down before switching off the DAC.
- SPDIF cable can be plugged and unplugged when the transport is powered off. The
DAC can be on. However doing it on „hot” when all is working – is not dangerous for
the DAC as long as the AC power supply has the GND for all products (DAC,
transport, amps).
- Signal cables can be plugged / unplugged with the amplifier volume turned fully
down. XLR cables can be unplugged and plugged at any time because it is in their
professional nature to do so.
Please use a decent AC cable. We suggest spending around 100-200 Euro for a good
AC cable, not much more but not much less. The black AC “computer grade” cables
are not good enough for serious audio.
Please use a decent digital interconnect. In our DAC it is completely unimportant what
is the wave characteristic impedance of the cable (the famous 75 Ohms). Just use the
cable that sounds good to you. Analog as well as digital interconnects can be tried.
Best results are obtained with silver cables. Let your ears decide, not specs of the
cable.
Lampizators produces all types of cables for audio systems - you can order them
from us with confidence of tremendous value for money. To beat our cables you
need to spend 2000 Euro per one. !
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Tube rolling and replacement
We sell the DAC with the best tubes we can find in consistent sustainable supply.
Therefore we feel you should not be tempted to change them for any reason.
If you feel that you MUST try other types of tubes – we need to pre-authorize it in
writing. Otherwise you loose the warranty, sorry.
Here are some practical tips for tube rolling:
1. Tube compatibility- many people ask “is the tube X compatible with Y?” and the
answer is of course - it depends. Tubes can have completely different bases but be
compatible by parameters and can be swapped by means of an adaptor. A good
example are ECC40, and 6SN7GT - different bases but very close parameters. Or
ECC88 and 6DJ8. Or 6H8C and 6N1P.
2. Other scenario is when the tubes have same base (say - noval) but they have
different pinouts. So we CAN NOT inter-change the two tube types but we CAN use
an adaptor. Same base type and same pinout DOES NOT MEAN that the tubes are
interchangeable - best example is cc81 and cc82 - same base, same exact pinout
but completely different parameters. Or octal 6SN7 and VT99 - both octal, same
parameters, different pinout.
3. Some tubes can have same base, same pinout and same parameters except the
different heaters. Best example is ECC82 and 12BH7 - the former uses half heating
of the latter. They can be used with a switch or within limited timing or with extra
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care, depending on the heater arrangement in our DAC. Another example are
completely different tubes that miraculously are perfectly interchangeable - like
E182CC with 5687.
4. DHT triodes used in our Level7 and Big 7 DAC are yet another can of worms. Most
DHT tubes have the same base (four pin) and the same pinout (two fat legs are
heaters and cathode, two slim legs are Grid and Anode. The problem is that these
tubes have completely different heater demands. Our DACBig7 7 is designed to
accept ALL KNOWN dht triodes from this group: 101D, 45, 245, 345, 6A3, 2A3,
300B. People keep discovering more and more compatible triode types every
month.
5. Our Atlantic-2 TRP DAC is designed to accept all known octal base power tetrodes
and pentodes - hence the nick-name Tube Roller’s Paradise.
We supply the tubes that are purchased new from reliable sources. They are tested
and matched.
PLEASE VISIT OUR AFFILIATED SHOP FOR BEST TUBES: WWW.BEST300B.COM
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Rectifier Rolling
Rectifiers are generally less rolled but many customers report that huge leaps in synergy
can be achieved when, after choosing the optimal music tubes, we also choose optimal
rectifier.
How can we tell the rectifiers ?
At Lampizator we use generally two sub-groups of rectifier diodes: directly heated and
indirectly heated.
Indirectly heated diodes are those which have separate heater coil mounted underneath
the cathode. The heater current does not mix with the cathode current. This has several
advantages (diodes are smaller, they live longer, they are much more vibration-resistant,
and they can be connected in series with many tubes sharing one heater source. They
have 5 active pins on an octal base. We use 6X5 (USA) or Soviet 6c5s (6u5C) type. They
are very short bottles..
PINOUT: 2-7 is heater 6,3 V AC. Pin 8 is cathode. Pins 3 and 5 are two anodes.
THIS IS THE TUBE WE USE IN AMBER-3 DAC. We supply the popular Soviet made
6C5S diode, but good results can be obtained by using USA made 6X5, with one
exception of Bendix brand that uses double heater current.
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Directly heated diodes are older in design, physically larger, and have 4 pins versus 5
and use 5V heaters versus 6,3.
PINOUT: 2-8 is heater 5,0 V AC. Pin 8 (or2) is also cathode. Pins 4 and 6 are two anodes.
Other pins - even if existing - are not connected. To test - just use a meter and check
resistance in ohms between the pins. IN A RECTIFIER THE ONLY TWO PINS WHICH
SHOW ANY OHM READING AT ALL, ARE HEATER PINS. THE READING SHOULD BE
IN SINGLE OHMS like 2 Ohm.
Some people report back that the directly heated diodes sound better than their indirectly
heated counterparts, but this hasn't been verified in any semi scientific way. Generally we
expect the directly heated diodes to have up to 400% higher current capability as well as
voltage max. It al depends on the DEMAND of our circuit. Some Lampizator tube stages
demand only 2 mA in total, some can demand 40mA and more. Amber-3 DAC demand in
total for 2 channels is 20 mA for the SE or 40 mA for the balanced version.
To change music tubes you must switch off the amp. DAC can continue to work.
The rectifier can be changed safely DURING LISTENING without even turning down the
volume.
Aging problems
As already explained above, the DAC should age very very slowly.
The digital PCB should last a lifetime. The transformer, the output caps, the cables,
plugs, sockets – should last a lifetime. There are only 5 electrolyte caps which we
selected from premium brands and they should last circa 20 years. Other than that we
suggest to change tubes every 10 years.
So - short of a thunderstrike – we expect no failures or ageing problems before 20-30
years.
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Fuse Change
The DAC is equipped with a non-repairable 20 mm glass fuse circuit breaker inside the
IEC-AC socket at the back. There is also one spare fuse provided in the little drawer
removable when changing the fuse. The fuses are 1,6A (or 2A for USA/Japan/Taiwan)
they are slow blow, and overrated by the factor of 3. Therefore it is impossible for the
fuse to blow without a specific reason - a failure inside the player. Consequently, if the
fuse burns, it is a signal to send the dac for service and NOT change the fuse.
Obviously the second fuse will burn as well.
WE ABSOLUTELY DO NOT ALLOW changing the fuses for any larger size than 2 A or
installing the “audiophile silver bolts” in place of the fuse. Fuses are there mainly to
SAVE YOUR LIFE. And we mean that. You can experiment with audiophile grade
fuses but not DEAD BOLTS please.
!
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Volume control Khozmo Lampizator
(This concerns DACs equipped with volume control modules with display and remote).
The volume control is an extremely nice module, that changes the way we use the
DAC.
It is worth noting that this is THE HIGHEST quality level in volume control domain,
mbetter than chips, opamps, potentiometers, rotary switches, motorized switches,
autotransformers etc. Therefore it is EXTREMELY hard to find an external preamp that
may equal our DAC in sound quality.
The module consists of 5 elements:
1. Power supply with the DAC power management relay, allowing to switchON/OFF
the whole DAC via the remote while keeping the volume module powered.
2. The display - backlit 2 x 16 alpha LCD, which is our GUI.
3. The microprocessor board with memory, firmware and the chip that controls the
relays
4. Relay volume board with resistor ladder. The microprocessor connects the resistors
in such way that they form a resistive attenuation L-Pad with 63 steps of logarithmic
attenuation. The overall impedance is held at almost constant 20k and the steps are
calibrated in 1 db distances.
5. The virtual potentiometer (rotary dial) with push action called the encoder.
The module is capable not only of volume adjustment but also of the input selection-
both analog inputs as well as digital.
Using the volume module: Press the volume knob down and the display will show
selection of 4 analog inputs . Sequential push moves one input up and goes around.
The input selection is available from the remote in direct mode - just press iNPUT
button to choose input.
MUTE function: this is useful to use instead of turning the volume all the way down.
Available ONLY via remote.
POWER OFF - the DAC will be switched off fully but the remote module will be always
alive to enable you to power it ON again.
*** Do not be upset about the “C 2018” text - it means the date the firmware was written
for this module and not the year of manufacturing of the DAC.
0dB operation: at full volume - 0dB the DAC operates as if there was no volume
module. This position is recommended for systems with own volume control: preamp or
integrated amp. The resistor ladder is completely by-passed.
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COOPERATION WITH THE PREAMP
The DAC with volume control should sound audibly cleaner and more direct without
any preamp between the DAC and the amp. The preamp, however good, will veil a lot
of the DAC’s natural clarity, speed and directness. If you feel you need the preamp
nevertheless, use DAC at the full volume or order your DAC without volume module.
The load presented by the preamp or amp or simply the next analog component that
the DAC sees, should be as high as possible. It is measured in kilo-Ohms and 47 Kilo
Ohms is a perfect ballpark value. More is VERY rarely seen. 20 K is next common
value, and it is great too. 20 K is kind of on a low side, but we can handle that. Lower
than 10k is bad news. But our Amber-3 DAC will handle 10 as well because we
configure the DAC with additional cathode follower, low impedance buffer stage.
Having said that - every properly designed amp or preamp keeps the load value above
40k. And if it doesn’t - we simply don’t choose such amp because it was not designed
with audiophiles in mind.
Amber-3 as preamp
Amber-3 with volume control has one analog input available, where the DAC acts as a
purely analog preamp. The digital board is bypassed, and the signal goes through active
tube stage and volume control. It is of very fine sound quality and can be used for your
tuner, cassette deck, reel to reel player or phono stage, or an SACD or CD player without
digital output. A telephone can be connected via headphone jack adaptor.!
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DIGITAL INPUTS
There are three data types that our DAC can read internally: biphase, i2s and USB.
The bi-phase can come in many forms, but the most common are:
S/PDIF (Sony/Philips data inter face) by means of single ended square wave of
amplitude around 0,5 V pp
AES/EBU - the same as S/PDIF but the signal is a mirrored (balanced) pair of square
waves around 2,5 V pp (max. 5 V pp)
TTL - just as S/PDIF but 5 V pp
TOSLINK - a fiber optic transmission of S/PDIF producing at the DAC the 5 V TTL
electrical signal.
RS422 - it is practically the same as AES/EBU
The i2S is the same as biphase but separated into 4 signals - each carrying only one
type of information. Biphase encodes 4 groups of informations in one signal stream.
Specifically they are: System Clock, Bit Clock, Left/Right Clock and Data. We can
install these four in any type of connector, because there is no standard. Most
customers use RJ45 LAN socket or simply four RCA sockets just like in TV RGB.
The TOSLINK connection
Is toslink bad or not ? That is the question. Like everything in life - it can be bad or it can
be good.
By using own experiments and oscilloscope observations we concluded, that Toslink is not
bad and not inferior to RCA SPDIF if implemented properly. Toslink is EXTREMELY
demanding about the power supply quality. That’s why we build for toslink separate
dedicated power supply and with this supply the response is instantaneous and there is no
deformation of square wave. Usually Toslink ports are installed in cheap low end gear and
the power supply to Toslink is completely neglected. Not in LampizatOr DAC. If you have
Toslink in your DAC you can be sure it will sound good and not degrade the sound. Of
course providing that the transmitter part of the link is at least semi decent.
NOTE: All Apple products which have headphone output (iMac, MacBook, Power MAC,
MAC-Mini, iPhone, iPad, iPod) - have a secret toslink transmitter hidden inside that port.
Just buy the special cable - Toslink Minijack and when placed in the headphone output of
an Apple product - will emit light with SPDIF in it. That is a very good way of using MAC
computers as transports.
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USB playback
USB data requires installation of additional converter
module to convert the “packet” data into a steady i2S
stream. Our asynchronous converter has internal RAM
and two own clocks and own power supply and own
power transformer secondary winding.
The USB module requires a driver for Windows to
recognize it. MAC OS and LINUX work without any need
for extra drivers.
We use one vendor of USB modules:
For Amber-3 we use “LJ-Lampizator” USB module: the driver is at http://www.jlsounds.com/
drivers.html
Our USB converter is capable of working with 32 bit files with 384kHz signal frequency.
Only USB2 rated cables will work.
USB cables with ferrite filters (the “thingie” on the cable ) will not work.
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