Lampizator BEST300B DAC User manual

BEST300B DAC
User Manual

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LampizatOr- BEST300B DAC Manual
Contents:
A quick guide to a smooth start 3...............................................................
Introduction 4.........................................................................................................................
Data formats 4........................................................................................................................
Audio volume level 5.............................................................................................................
The heat issue 6.....................................................................................................................
Optimal placement 6.............................................................................................................
Power on-off cycle 6..............................................................................................................
Cabling and cable handling 7...............................................................................................
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. 7...................................................................................
Rectifier Rolling 8........................................................................................................
Aging problems 9..................................................................................................................
Fuse Change 9.......................................................................................................................
COOPERATION WITH THE PREAMP 10..............................................................................
DIGITAL INPUTS 10...............................................................................................................
The TOSLINK connection 10.......................................................................
USB playback 11...........................................................................................
MAC OS operation of USB output: 12.................................................................................
JRiver DSD setting screenshots 16.....................................................................................
SOME Q & A 21......................................................................................................................
I PLUGGED EVERYTHING BUT I GET NO SOUND 23........................................................
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A quick guide to a smooth start
THE RING BUTTON
the ring has a function of USB to NON-USB switch.
VOLTAGE: All 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 a throw of a 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.
BEST300B DAC
Specifications
PCM Conversion
R2R discrete resistor ladder , up to 192 kHz via S/PDIF, 384 kHz via USB
DSD Conversion
FPGA process with analog filters and digital filters, 64x/128x/256x self selecting
Output Voltage Signal
3V pp
Frequency Response
Digital section 20 Hz - 20 kHz. Analog section 1 Hz - 200 kHz
Inputs
S/PDIF coaxial RCA, BNC S/PDIF, USB
Outputs
Stereo pair of RCA analog outputs
Mains
User-selectable 115-230-240 V AC 50/60 Hz
Power consumption
30 Watts
Color:
Black anodized aluminum
Tube compliment
One pair of 300B one piece of 5U4G or 274B or 5C3S or GZ34 or 5Y3
Footers
Hi-Ten steel footers by Stacore
Warranty
5 Years excluding tubes. 5 Years on KR-Audio tubes - Riccardo Kron series.
300B environment
5V DC heaters, up to 1,5 A, anode supply 220V DC, anode voltage 90VDC. Bias 15mA DC.
Weight (net / shipping)
10 kg without tubes / 16 kg shipping gross.
Dimensions [w xHx d]
43 cm x 13 cm x 35 cm , plus the height of tubes.
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Introduction
Thank you for choosing the BEST300B (Lampizator) DAC. 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.
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 24 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 to 384 kHz
and bit rates from 16 to 32. 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 384kHz 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,
Ogg, Ape and many more less known types. PCM abbreviation stands for pulse code
modulation.
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
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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 some master recordings are made in record industry.
In ATLANTIC DAC - for the first time we use AUTOSENSING and automatic switch
from DSD to PCM and back. Used doestn’t need to do anything just enjoy.
BEST300B DAC will automatically recognize and switch all DSD speed rates from
normal 64 SACD format to 2x (128x) and quad 256x format. 512 is not supported.
We believe that 256 is the maximum reasonable speed and going faster makes no
sense.
Audio volume level
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. 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 me via email in the form of
WAV or AIFF or FLAC or MP3 file.
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. Having said
that - chip volume systems and preamps with opamps belong in home theatre (cheap
one) and DEFINITELY not in high end.
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 DHT 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 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. Normally people switch off the dac only for the night.
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 (cathodes) 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 should 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.
Please use a decent AC cable. We suggest spending around 200-400 Euro for a good
AC cable, not more but not much less. The free 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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PLEASE VISIT OUR AFFILIATED SHOP FOR BEST TUBES: WWW.BEST300B.COM
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.
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 2Ohm.
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.
Rectifiers compatible: 274B, 5c3s, 5Y3, 5r4, 5U4G, GZ34, 5c4s, 5u4c
Rectifiers can be changed safely during playback.!Just grab them by the base.
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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 copper caps, the cables,
plugs, sockets – should last a lifetime. There are only 4 electrolyte caps which we
selected from premium brands and they should last circa 25-30 years. Other than that
we suggest to change tubes every 10 -20 years.
So - short of a thunderstrike – we expect no failures or ageing problems before 20-30
years.
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 1,6A
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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COOPERATION WITH THE PREAMP
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 100Kilo
Ohms is a perfect ballpark value. More is VERY rarely seen. 47 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.
The DAC will not be damaged in any way, but at around 10K of load the dynamics of
the dac will start to fade away.
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.
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)
TOSLINK - a fiber optic transmission of S/PDIF producing at the DAC the 5 V TTL
electrical signal.
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,
MAcMini, 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 Amanero as vendor of USB modules:
the driver is at www.amanero.com/drivers
Do not install windows driver with the DAC USB connected to PC.
Our USB converter is capable of working with 32 bit files with 384kHz signal frequency.
Only USB2 rated cables will work. The USB standard printer cable will not work.
USB cables with ferrite filters (the “thingie” on the cable ) will not work.
We recomment ROON as the best playback software, followed by JRiver, Foobar2000,
Audirvana 3
We stopped supporting HQplayer and iTunes in 2017.
The operating systems can be Linux (best) MAC-OS (any version) or Windows (any
version).
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MAC OS operation of USB output:
MAC OS dos not require any driver installation. Somehow miraculously the MAC
computer knows how to handle all USB devices. Microsoft, even 15 years later, still
cant figure out how to do it. They are probably still scratching their heads.
After plugging the DAC by the USB cable and turning it on, within 3 seconds the device
should show up on the MAC.
Note: the device will NOT be described as Lampizator DAC but as Amanero Combo
module.
To verify what is going on, please go to the “apple sign” in top left corner of the screen
and choose PREFERENCES and then the loudspeaker icon - SOUND.
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Above: on that list the Amanero should appear under INTERNAL SPEAKERS.
Next thing to check is MIDI SETTINGS of the MAC computer. We go to the top right corner
of the screen and press SPOTLIGHT (Loupe):
We type in the search line MIDI SETUP and -> enter.
In the MIDI setup we can choose frequencies of sampling we use for the Amanero output.
We don’t think that the higher the better but your own test should confirm that.
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Audirvana Screenshots of working MAC OS configuration:
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JRiver DSD setting screenshots
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