HornedFrogGuy

I was able to snag, off the 'gon, a gently used Kevin Gilmore Blue Hawaii (non-SE).

I am now a few days in with the Lampizator (a big box Level 5), which is a part of my headphone rig that features some Stax SR-009 earspeakers. The combination is just magical. The sublime musicality of the Lampi, in concert with the detail retrieval of the the electrostatic 009s, is just frighteningly good. Earlier this evening, my wife came over for a listen (reluctantly). She doesn't really understand this crazy hobby, and her frugality sometimes requires her to willfully ignore how much this stuff costs. She was listening to Till Bronner, the great German jazz trumpet player, and I saw a look come over her face that I'd never seen before. In that brief moment in time, she got it. She understood the source of my joy, and my passion for great gear. Thanks to all, especially wisnon, who helped guide me in this quest.

k6davis - forgot to mention that I am a confirmed Mac guy and the Audiophile Optimizer seems to be Windows only.

K6davis - I had read on CA that you had gone DSD only, and I certainly considered going in that same direction. I would have, until they told me of a very gently used, maxed out L5 (big box) for well under retail. It seemed prudent to go in that direction, since it wasn't that much more than a new DSD-only and any initial depreciation would be taken by someone other than me!

Thanks ALRAINBOW! The amp is actually the KGBH, the predecessor to the BHSE. I made the decision to buy it when I discovered that I was looking an 18 month wait on the BHSE (and I saved nearly $3000 to boot!). I actually used to own an 007 Mk.1 but sold it.

I'll look forward to hearing his comments, wisnon. Thanks!

I will do. The Lamp will arrive next week, but I'll need to be patient because I have yet to find the final piece of the puzzle. As suggested earlier, the Lamp is going into a HP rig. Transport? Check (iMac). DAC? Check (lamp). Electrostatic HP amp? Arrives this Friday. Stax SR-009? No check. Very hard to find, and haven't yet been successful. Hence the need for patience.

Of that I have no doubt! As I was searching for a new DAC, and came across the Lampizator, it seemed extraordinary that there could be a piece of audio equipment that garnered near-universal praise . . . not just praise, but almost a sense of reverence. Then, in talking on the phone with an A'gon member (who sold me my in-bound Blue Hawaii electrostatic HP amp), he told me he had spent a fortune on various high-end DACs, but who finally found a Lev 4 Lampi. His advice? Stop researching, buy Lampizator, stop upgrading, and start listening to music as it should be experienced. Then, I discovered the Stereo Mojo review, and that was all the evidence I needed. Thanks also to wisnon, for his wisdom and encouragement.

As of tonight, I've become a proud member of team Lampi, having just agreed to purchase a Gen 4/Lev 5 w/ DSD module, fully balanced, Duelund Caps, volume control. I'm so excited!

Thank you so much for weighing in, longbowbbs. I know that the Stax 009s and the HD800s are quite different from one another (stat v. dynamic, for one), but both are known as incredibly transparent HPs, capable of grabbing gobs of detail from recordings. In fact, I had kind of come to the preliminary conclusion that the W4S would really play to this strength. Your post gives me even more confidence that that is the case. Not to hijack the thread further, but the current plan is to go with a Headamp Blue Hawaii SE to power the Stax, just in case you're familiar with it. But enough about me . . . looking forward to hearing more from Richard!

Like a few before me on this thread, this (too) is my first time to post on CA (though I've been lurking for at least a year). Many, many thanks to Richard for his incredibly helpful offerings and updates. Nothing can approach a live audition, but the information in this thread has been the next best thing! Quite frankly, before discovering this thread, I had locked on acquiring either the Auralic Vega or Exasound (both quite a bit more expensive). But now I think my I'm leaning toward the W4S DSDse. Thank you Richard! Just FYI (since I haven't even had time to list my equipment), I will be using the DAC in a computer based system driving some new Stax SR-009s.