Dear customers
Here is a specific place created for all our customers to share their opinions about both:
Quality of our services regarding personal satisfaction, feelings and formal trading standards.
Personal findings about offered equipment sonic qualities, judged by your very own pair of ears, having units on loan or auditioning it in our place or on the display, shows, etc…
We got really pleasant feedback regarding LampizatOr ATLANTIC DAC from our customer Lee, who decided to express and share his thoughts on Audio Shark forum. We are quoting him below and leaving a link active to the dispute for those who wish to follow and find out even more.
” I’ve had the Atlantic in the house for a few weeks and have to say this a very impressive Dac. I’m used to the Lampi sound as I’ve a few friends who have them, GG, L4, Lite 7 and I’ve heard them many times. I was also at Munich this year and heard the GG and the Der Siebener so I guess I’m fully switched onto the house sound that Lukas delivers in his designs.
I use a Mac Mini using Audirvana + upsampling all PCM to DSD 128, I’ve also quite a large library of DSD music. Whilst I’ve had this Dac in the house I’ve played many many genres of music especially Jazz which I have to say is really really very good at presenting the music, the Atlantic gets out of the way and he music just simply flows, the replay of horns and reed instruments is superb which is a real box ticker for me!
Over to rock music, I love Led Zeppelin (ask Bonzo on here) and a Dac has to be able to play LZ. Playing since I’ve been lovin you from Zep 3 is fantastic, the sound of the Les Paul is very creamy and very much in the room and The bass pedals from the Hammond organ never overpowers the room, which it can at times!. I’ve played many rock albums through the Atlantic and as of yet none have disappointed. Back In Black by AC/DC never sounded so bloody good!
The version I’ve got is pretty much standard, no tube recti or superclocks etc, all standard pretty much as it was intended to be, I’ve been that impressed with the Atlantic I went and brought it, like some have said on here at the price point it’s a no brainer!
Rest of my system is Autotech Horn Mummy speakers, Audionote UK Empress Silver mono blocks and Hattor Passive preamp
Any one in the UK living in or around the West Midlands fancies having a listen then feel free to drop me a PM and come round for a listen
Finally many thanks to Greg at G Point Audio the Lampi distributor for the UK for making this happen ”
Very best
Lee
ps:Thank you very much for this excellent feedback Lee. We do appreciate a lot your warm thanks expressed above and we are grateful for your trust in our brands and such a helpful attitude. Enjoy your DAC and see you soon my friend.
Greg
re: Verictum X Fuse
Ok, I say to Greg, im going to try one of these fuses in my Fezz Audio Silver Luna and we will see how things go.
Right, says Greg, you won’t be disappointed and you should hear the difference from the get go.
I wasn’t and I did.
Now for many people this is where things can start to get a bit silly, changing fuses for goodness sake!
I should point out I’ve previously tried this by swapping out the stock fuse supplied (this was with my previous amplifier) and replacing with an AMR gold fuse. I did notice a difference in the sound then, but not to the extent I have when I put the X Fuse in the Silver Luna, more of that shortly.
These little fuses are fairly chunky so a bit of care may be needed when inserting it into the fuse holder on some IEC’s, other than that pop it in and your away, no technical expertise required!!
I was very impressed with what this fuse has done to the sound of the amplifier, but being me, i just couldn’t resist temptation and yesterday afternoon whilst Mr Murray was whacking a ball and breakneck speed toward his 2nd Wimbledon win, in between rallies the fuse was removed from the amp and placed into my Jolida Glass FX Dac.
The Jolida Dac has had a few mods carried out on it including upgrade of the original caps to vCaps and if I say so myself ain’t no slouch in the sound department.
Anyway I could go on at length, but see no point, I was stopped in my tracks, hang on says I, what the hells going on here.
Excuse my ignorance, but this is kinda difficult to explain, there’s an air to the sound, everything has been slightly lifted, there’s more focus and definition to the sound, the sound stage is slightly wider, and oh the detail. There’s also more separation of instruments, i hope this all makes sense.
I listen to a very wide range of music, and like most people I guess, or maybe not, I have a selection of “test tracks” which you know very well and i tend to fall back on when listening to new tweaks or equipment or a valve change, you know what I mean. One I recently added to my list is t’hartic Monkeys Arabella.
Once I calmed down a bit this is what I mailed to my friend yesterday afternoon i think that pretty much covers it.
“Ive went a bit mad with this Arrabella track from t’hartic Monkeys. It has massive punch and bass attack, screaming geetars and drums to die for, there is no muddling of drums and cymbals its tight and focused, lots of background detail is now forward, but not drowned in the mix of the sound. It sounds like there here?”
Summary
Im more than happy with the outcome
I cant say it’s a bargain as you can buy 3 fuses for a £1, but they wont do what these did (so I guess it is)
Would I recommend it – Without hesitation, in fact i already have
Would I buy another – Ive already asked Greg to send one for the amp, the one I have is staying put in the dac.
Oh and im still smiling
Nice one Greg
ps: Thanks for another excellent feedback Rob, much appreciated
Greg
re:#Fezz Audio TITANIA amp
Hi Greg & Chris,
Just a short e-mail to let you know how I am getting on with the amp. It’s terrific, I’m in love with it!
I played music on my old system on Friday to get a reference point and was struck by how competent it was. I was worried that I was expecting too much from the Titania. I needn’t have worried, it’s leagues ahead of my stuff and giving me the sort of sound I was hearing at the Audio show, which was just what I’d hoped for.
What a little star this amp is! That sound stage, separation and clarity are all given to me and there seems to be nothing it can’t do. Diana Krall’s voice and jazz piano were sublime and I’ve never heard the Moody Blues like it. They’ve been released from musical prison! Classical has a new sophistication, too. I’ll stop now as I’m beginning to sound like a dreary HIFI reviewer, but I guess you can tell I’m ever so pleased with it.
Thank you both. If it hadn’t been for you Chris, I wouldn’t have hoped I could get this quality of music and thanks Greg for guiding me on this new path. Also, Lucasz was really helpful in setting up the amp and letting me hear his system. He showed me what his Lampazator can do, too………hmmmm!
Best wishes,
Peter
ps: Thank you very much Peter for your wonderful feedback !
Greg
VERICTUM X fuse trial feedback
I had the B7 (LampizatOr DAC) with the Verictum fuse running over the weekend and noticed a definite improvement, even on Radio 3 streaming. Yesterday I decided to do a direct comparison.
I have a cd of a relatively old recording of the Arthur Grumiaux Trio playing Mozart Duo’s and Trio’s. I’m not a great fan of Mozart but have always enjoyed this music, although the recording quality is not great. With the Verictum fuse it snapped into focus and I could really hear the wonderful full tone of Grumiaux’s violin. I was quite amazed at the change.
So, what do I owe you? . Do you also have a 1.25A slow blow 32mm Ø6 for the First Watt SIT2 and replacement fuse for my Yamamoto A-08S (it’s a Bussmann D 3A 250V) ?
#Fezz Audio Silver Luna Amplifier
Greg
Just thought id drop you a mail to give you a brief updated on my thoughts about the Fezz Audio Silver Luna I purchased from you recently. Firstly, It arrived safe and sound, when I saw the package my 1st thought was ok, where’s the rest of it, when I picked it up, ok right, it all must be in there with that weight. It was.
Build quality, and the finish level is fantastic, the colour, well I liked it when I saw the images, but man it looks even cooler in the flesh or should I say metal. I appreciate that it isn’t really fair to try and provide an accurate assessment of how it sounds so early, coupled with the fact that im no big fan of Electro Harmonix valves as such, so I my feeling was to let it settle in a bit.
I believe it had about 200 hrs on the clock when I purchased it so likely the caps are only starting to open up and the amp itself settle down, never mind the EH EL34s are brand new so many hours before its fair to give an assessment of there performance, so briefly
Build Quality and Finish – Excellent
Value for Money – Staggering
Sound Quality – Excellent
Fantastic top end detail, beautiful mids, great separation of instruments within the sound stage and bass a plenty. I have to say that I had read the it could be a bit bass shy, well in the department I totally disagree, but I guess its what your partnering it with. The output of 35wpc hasn’t even been an issue and it plays plenty loud enough for me.
Ive left the EH EL34s in place to burn in properly, but I have messed around with the 12AX7 valves and have tried Gold Lion Reissue 12AX7s, Sylvania NOS 12AD7s, both with impressive results, but when I dropped in a pair of Raytheon RCV 5755s with adapters I have, my jaw hit the floor. Stunning!
Ive used these valves previously in my other amp along with the Gold Lion Reissues and the Sylvania’s so these are well burned in.
My plan for this amp as I mentioned was to get a pair of Gold Lion KT77s valves in place (again ive used these previously and adore the sound they produce) and my thinking is these coupled with the Raytheon valves will be some combination.
I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend FEZZ to anyone, nor indeed GPoint
Thanks again
All the best Rob
Future tweaking will include fuse upgrade and caps upgrade.
LampizatOr GM70 mono-amplifiers & LampizatOr 211 Balanced TT mono-amplifiers trial report
A brief account of my experiences with Lampizator mono-blocks – first the
GM70, followed by the 211 balanced amplifiers
Putting a Big 7 DAC into my system was a revelation. After six months I
began to wonder if my transistor based amplifier was holding me back. I
should mention my loudspeakers: Quad 2905 electrostatics. They image
well and are great for acoustic recordings, but they are not very
sensitive – 86 dB/2,83V according to the specs (but only 82 dB when the
magazines test them). As I understand it, they are quite easy impedance
wise, nominally 8 ohm.
Lukasz was keen for me to start by trying the GM70 mono-blocks – if they
proved to be powerful enough for my speakers then he thought I would be
rewarded with outstanding tonality. Greg fixed for a pair to be sent
over and I set them up.
My first reaction was just like when I put the Big 7 DAC into my system
– how can anything sound this good? The amps were so much better than
all my previous references so at first it was difficult to describe the
sound. I hadn’t been prepared for just how big and bright the monster
GM70 tubes would be, but the amps didn’t run particularly hot and the
timbres of the various instruments were really lifelike.
The string tone was just right – sweet rather than shrill for the higher
tones. Horns were brassy with loads of overtones. Guitars strings
sounded right (both nylon and steel). Bells and cymbals shimmered just
as in real life. Piano tone was very good too.
Unfortunately after a few days it became apparent that though
outstanding for chamber music, I was lacking power for loud passages in
orchestral and choral music. For example precision was lacking in the
boom from tympani and bass drums. The music lost a bit of the thrill you
get at a concert.
Greg was then able to fix a pair of 211 balanced mono-blocks. As a
temporary solution for the trial I got a pair of Lundahl transformers to
balance the signal from my single ended source. I didn’t want to lose
the outstanding timbres from the GM70s, so Greg recommended trying the
KR Audio 211s.
Swapping to the balanced 211s made my speakers really come alive – I now
had all the power I needed. The GM70s had outstanding tonality, but the
211s are also excellent – maybe just a little bit darker than the GM70s,
but this suits my somewhat bright electrostatic speakers. To my ears and
in my set up the 211s have an even better string tone than the GM70s.
This is important to me as I often listen to string quartets. They are
also really good with cymbals and bells – percussion in jazz now sounds
just right!
To sum up, the balanced 211 amps are really good – substantially better
than anything I have ever heard at home or in demonstrations elsewhere.
I must also say how impressive the KR tubes are in real life – the
pictures on the INTERNET don’t tell you how well made they are, The
thick glass making them really heavy!.
Needles to say to sum up they are now MY NEW AMPS !
My time with the COS D1 Dac
I’ve always been intrigued with trying out new pieces of kit, there’s always that sudden rush of energy when opening a box and pulling out something new for the first time, my mate Greg had been saying to me to try the new Dac he had just taken on, especially has it had got an inbuilt pre as I was looking to reduce the box count at the same time. Prior to the trial with the COS Dac I’d tried quite a few Dacs with in built pre amps but there was always something that didn’t just sound right with the volume attenuation, almost like when the volume was adjusted the sound kind of went flat at the same time, which is why I always had them on bypass mode,and used a separate pre amp for volume duties.
I picked the Dac up from a friend of mine who’d been using it, he said it was very very good especially the in built pre, he also said it would be interesting to see how it works with the Audio Note Empress Silvers which have high gain and can be prone to noise in the signal chain with some pre amps!
Setting the Dac up was quite straight forward, pretty much like any other piece of kit, inputs and outputs, plugs and cables, hooked the USB cable to the Dac with my Mac mini and within seconds Audirvana had recognised it and music was playing, so far so good.
I started to play some of the regular test tracks that I use from time to time, Dhafer Youssef – Electric Suffi (Enja records) album, there’s a particular track on the album I like to use called Yabbay, there was something about this track played on the COS D1 that had me captivated from the start, the presence of the vocals along with the Oud (a type of Lute) were electrifying and very life-like, I’d never heard my Horns Mummies perform in such a way, I actually played the track a few times to make sure I wasn’t hearing things but the more I played it the better it sounded!
I played a few more tracks and moved album to Arild Andersen – If you look far enough on ECM records, I’ve always been a fan of Andersens bass playing, he always seems to accentuate the notes correctly and never really over plays anything, the track I fired up was Svev, this track features Nana Vasconcelous on percussion and Ralph Towner on guitar, at the start of the track there’s a percussion shaker which is quite prominent throughout the track, the way the COS D1 portrayed this shaker was something different to what I’d heard before, you could actually hear the individual beads in the shaker clashing against the body of the instrument also providing an illusion that the shaker was floating in front of you. The tonal balance of Andersens bass was wonderfully layered in the mix with no bloom what so ever and the exquisite delicacy of Towners guitar on the far right of the soundstage was wonderful with beautiful texture
Throughout the time I had the Dac I played all genres of music, Led Zeppelin has always been a tricky one to get right digitally due to the heavy compression on the recordings, I played the high definition 24/96 Led Zeppelin 1 album from start to finish, from the introduction of Bonham’s drums on Good Times Bad Times to the crashing guitars of Jimmy Page on Dazed and Confused the COS appeared to handle it remarkably well, probably the best I’d heard Led Zep digital to date.
Finishing off my time with the COS I played quite a few DSD albums, a favourite of mine is Al DiMeola Elegant Gypsy featuring Paco DeLucia on Mediterranean Sundance, this is a simple track featuring 2 guitarists of the highest caliber, again for me was the way in which the COS seemed to get the acoustic guitar to sound perfect, the tone of the guitar with all the finger slides up and down the neck and the feel of the nylon strings was simply wonderful and a joy to hear in my listening room, simply wonderful.
As you can probably tell I’m a fan of this Dac and if I was in the market for a new Dac then I’d put this right up there with the best I’ve had the pleasure of hearing within this price point, what’s more for me was that the background noise with the high gain amps I have was virtually zero, barely a whisper!
Re: VERICTUM fuses and X Block passive EMI/RFI filter
Having at first been sceptical that changing the fuses in my LampizatOr L4 DAC and Ming Da Dynasty Octet tube amplifier would have any material effect, I was pleasantly surprised to hear a distinct uplift in smoothness, detail and separation when I original upgraded to AMR Audiophile Gold HiFi fuses a year or so ago from the standard glass fuses which were pre-installed. I know that many (most?) people think this is all foo, but I know what my ears heard.
When Greg said that I had to try the new Verictum X-Fuses, again, I was a little sceptical that they could be that much better than the AMRs I had already installed and enjoyed the sonic benefits of. The AMRs are very good, but boy was I wrong about the Verictum X-Fuses. It was immediately apparent that with the Verictum X-Fuses installed, the sense of control came into sharper focus – the entire presentation seemed tighter and more detailed. There was definitely more detail, separation and a greater sense of space around the performers – voices seemed to leap out at me in a much more defined way. The sound-stage also grew significantly in every dimension – width, height and depth. I know it’s a bit of a cliché but the entire presentation really did become more “holographic” and immersive. The timbre of instruments and voices took on an even more natural feel. Of course, fuses alone won’t fix everything – I have systematically tuned my system with careful tube-rolling, power and cable upgrades – but the additional, cumulative effects that the Verictum X-Fuses bring to an already well-balanced system are not insignificant.
OK – so I am very happy with the effect the X-Fuses have had in my system. Then Greg lobs another “grenade” in my direction – the Verictum X-Block. It’s a rectangular, dark-wood covered block about the size of a book with ridged rubber on the bottom. Apparently the wood covers a core of “unobtainium” that was harvested from a fallen meteorite (OK – I made that bit up – whatever it is, it’s a secret), that is meant to defeat EMC/EMI/RFI that ultimately affects the final sound quality. It looks pretty unassuming and again, I wasn’t really expecting too much. You rest this block on your DAC or amp over the top of the transformer. I started by trying it over the top of the transformer of my Lampi. Immediately I could hear an increase in dynamics, a further sharpening of the focus (but most definitely not in an artificial way). However, the sound-stage seemed to shrink just a fraction. Whilst the overall the effect was positive I was mourning the slight loss in immersiveness. I decided then to instead try the X-Block on the input transformer of my Ming Da Octet amp. The effect was immediate and staggering. Sound stage became even bigger, there was a vice-like grip on the deep, extended bass, midrange became even more smooth and lush whilst top-end opened up further in a very lively but never strident way – everything was beautifully natural, with phenomenal detail, separation and space.
Again, I believe it should be stressed that both the X-Fuses and X-Block won’t fix a bad-sounding system on their own, but as a part of an overall improvement strategy, they are most definitely the icing on the cake plus the cherry on top. So, it looks like I’ll be buying the X-Fuses and X-Block – thanks Greg for putting temptation in my way and as a result relieving me of more money! ;o). These components don’t appear on the surface to be particularly cheap (Greg can provide the prices), but when I consider the significant effect that they’ve had on my system, they’re not insanely expensive, and they’re certainly a lot cheaper than the cost of changing my amp or my DAC to get the equivalent sonic uplift.
hORNS Mummy speakers, Albedo Blue cables, Lampizator L4 gen5 DAC + SQB Transport
Greg at G Point Audio has been really helpful in enabling me to upgrade my kit and at sensible prices. It first started when I heard the ‘mummy’ speakers by hORNS at the Windsor hi fi show. I managed to track G Point down and Greg called on me at home and left the speakers with me for a couple of weeks to try them out. He also left speaker cables and a DAC so that we could compare and contrast. To cut a long story short we ended up with the speakers, cables, DAC and streamer which Greg then fitted for us. He has helped and advised along the way, has answered all types of stupid questions and we now have a system with a quality of sound I did not think was possible at the price paid. It is just brilliant and Greg has become a good friend. Thanks for all your help Greg.
Kind Regards
Mark
LampizatOr Level4 gen 5 DSD /VC/balanced
I’ve recently purchased a Lampizator L4 DAC from Greg, which has certainly lived up to all the praise it has received in the online reviews I’ve read. My previous DAC was the Benchmark DAC2 which, although an excellent machine, was easily bettered in areas such as soundstage width, depth, and image focusing. The Lampizator somehow manages to retrieve even more detail, yet presents it in a very unforced and natural manner. It certainly proved to me there’s more to sound reproduction than impressive spec sheets.
Greg’s patient, informative service from my initial enquiry, through the home trial to the eventual purchase has been first class. This is the way expensive audio equipment should be chosen: unhurried, in your own listening room, using your own equipment with no salesman hovering in the background. For me, it’s the only way to make accurate judgements of sound quality and avoid expensive mistakes later on. I would not hesitate to approach Greg at GPoint Audio again in the future.
Regards,
Stuart.
LampizatOr Level 5 DSD DAC
Greg seems to me to be less of a dealer and more of a good friend who happens to have access to some very nice kit !
He gave me a phenomenally good deal on a pre-owned Lampizator and as a result my system sounds like it never has before – transparent, open and warm with a wide soundstage and deep well controlled bass. I have never heard better music in a domestic environment and I really could not be happier. He was there for me when I asked a seemingly endless stream of questions about tube rolling and was quite happy to let me try various tweaks and bits of kit without me ever feeling in any way pressured to buy. As a result I now find myself listening to music and enjoying it more than ever before
I cannot recommend either Greg or Lampizator any higher. A brilliant product and a class dealer and you will not be disappointed if you chose to join the happy band of customers
Neill
PS
I’ve ended up with NOS Siemens Cca output tubes and Mullard rectifiers and it all sound just magical !!
LampizatOr Level 4 DSD DAC
I’ve now listened to the Lampi for about eight hours+ using both USB and SPDIF. I have to say it’s the best thing I’ve heard hifi-wise: the sense of realism, the depth, detail, breadth of soundstage, decaying notes, overall musicality – this has everything anyone could ever want in a dac. I’m sure that your higher-level models are even better, but this more than satisfies my needs. Even my wife, who tends to avoid my hifi obsession, sat down and said that music sounds amazing – so a definitive judgment there.
I need to fine-tune the music player I’m using with it I think (Pure Music) and I will try some DSD soon – but even standard red-book CD sounds fantastic.
Many thanks for all your support again – truly impressed,
Albedo Digital Interconnect : BNC and AES/EBU
Greg (big cheese at Gpoint Audio) and myself have form on the subject of cables. He loves the silver variety, whilst I usually prefer copper ones. That’s not to say he does his best to change my mind. It was therefore with some trepidation that I agreed to listen to the above. He supplied me with both a BNC to BNC and XLR to XLR version of this cable which I understand retails for about £190/ £210. My wife, who was present at the handover, asked Greg if he was sure it was £190 and not £1,900. She is a bit cynical about high end cables. Male jewellery! This is because my existing reference cable is a 1 metre XLR to XLR Virtual Dynamics Master Series 3.0 which retailed about 4 times the price of the Albedo. It looks and feels a bit snake like. I have used this between my TEAC transport and Chord DAC for years. It has always seen off all challengers. Although big in size, the sound is delicate, detailed and very right to my ears.
I try to keep an open mind about cables. I see it simply as whether or not they sound good in my system, and if a new cable betters what is already there. I first replaced the VDR XLR cable with the Albedo XLR. I thought I would be disappointed, but no it was good. Clean, detailed, and dynamic with a very good bass grip. Perhaps not quite so delicate as the VDR in the top end, which given the price difference and the fact it was brand new was not so surprising. I certainly felt overall this cable was as good as my reference, and in some respects better. I was interested. I could see myself wanting it! Several CD,s latter I thought I would switch to the BNC version. Greg had informed me this was even better than the XLR version, but I was skeptical. BNC connection was available on the Chord but required an adapter on the TEAC output! Best gold one was fitted, a hangover from using a BNC cable in the distant past.
Well I must say the difference was not subtle. In every aspect of sound quality there was an improvement. Detail, bass, dynamics, and sound staging improved. I can not see why switching to BNC from XLR should make such a difference, but with this cable, in my system, it does. It is not even burnt in yet! This cable is not going back. It is that good it will have to stay in place. I will try it further against the Virtual Dynamics for as in most things Hi Fi they both bring something positive to the overall sound. To use a wine analogy the VDR is a very fine Pinot Noir, whilst the Albedo is an exceptional Cabinet Sauvignon.
Does Albedo do some matching analogue cables? I hope so. As I have said before life is too short for indifferent wines or cheap valves, but with the Albedo Pure Silver you are getting a top notch digital cable for a very reasonable price. You must give it ago in your own system. I will be surprised if you are not totally impressed, not to say shocked.
re:Albedo Digital Interconnect : Coaxial and USB,
Well, I’ve been giving the two Albedo digital interconnects a good listen this evening (not the speaker cables yet as I only want to change just one thing at a time).
Initially impressions: both absolutely stunning and getting even better as the evening goes on. The level of detail, separation, silkiness and smoothness are a joy to behold. Listening to PCM on both the coax and USB and switching back and forth between them during playback reveals that they are virtually identical sonically.
The other main thing that strikes you is how much more open the top end is. At first I thought it might be too bright and strident, but after running through my standard tracks that sometimes have me wincing a little, not a bit of it. Vocals are often imploring but never strident, just beautifully natural.
Furthermore the sound stage is so wide and deep – the width extends well beyond the speakers and on some tracks even seems to wrap around and almost behind the listener. There is such clarity and space around each instrument and voice that everything can be picked out and placed with precision. Bass is much more controlled with no hint of boom (except occasionally with tracks containing heavy double bass – e.g. Cinematic Orchestra). To some ears the bass may appear to be a little anaemic compared to the Melodica. But it’s not at all – it’s full and present just much more controlled and in its place.
To begin with, I felt that the lead vocals were a little recessed compared to the Melodica. However, it became apparent fairly quickly that the reason for this “illusion” is because everything else is brought to the fore with much greater clarity across the entire soundstage.
On DSD, the Albedo USB is perhaps slightly less “full” than the Chord, but like on PCM, provides much more detail, separation and clarity that’s quite breathtaking. On both PCM and DSD I’m now hearing with complete clarity subtle micro-details that were hinted at and I felt I heard previously, but are now all present and clear with these Albedo digital interconnects.
Of course more burn in and listening are required, but I am definitely an Albedo disciple. I think it’s almost certain that I will buy the coax – it’s a no-brainer. Further down the line I suspect that I will invest in the USB too.
Of course, I still have the Blues speaker cables to try as well, but I want to get fully immersed and familiar with the sound of the digital interconnects with the Kimber Monocles first before I introduce the Blues into the mix.
So all-in-all absolutely stunning levels of detail and openness. The coax particularly is incredible value for money considering the levels of clarity, separation and depth/width/height of soundstage that it’s producing. I shall be very interested to hear what the Blues speaker cables bring to the proceedings but I want to take my time and do things in a controlled fashion.
I will report further observations in due course. It’s hard to believe that these interconnects will sound even better than they do now as they continue to burn in – incredible, just incredible.
LampizatOr Level 4 / gen 5 DAC
Now here is a strange one.
When I heard this on Friday evening I was a bit disappointed with the sound.
Plenty of bottom end but not enough treble for me, and a bit flat in the mid range. Greg used some very expensive cables on the output which I wondered about? Both Greg and John liked the sound, so it might have been me.
He left it with me to run in! This morning I connected it up with a pair of of bog standard Chord Crimson cables. I can’t describe the transformation!
Having played a couple of well know discs I can now say this is the best sound I have ever had from CD. Absolutely stunning sound. I will miss it when it goes back. The balance is about perfect.
The question is how can cables make such a difference to it sound? It can’t be running in, not just on two discs. Greg you might have to advise your customers to experiment with cables, and not necessarily spend big bucks on them. I will try with some Jena cables soon to see if the sound changes again.
Most bizarre thing!
ps: I need to say that this was brand new out of the box DAC, I left with Mike. It needs few days to sing , just as it happened (Greg).
re:hORNS DIY Tractrix
Hello Greg,
I’ve now taken the horns off the pallet and unwrapped them, apart from leaving on the final (transparent) film wrapping protecting the surface of the horn mouths, so that they don’t get scratched.
I had been a bit worried that they could be a bit vulnerable to shipping damage, strapped on the pallet with their ‘necks’ sticking up in the air (although they were well protected with bubble wrap).
Thankfully I needn’t have worried. As far as I can see they have survived the journey to England without any damage.
I have to say, they are absolutely amazing – quite superb. A couple of times in the past I’ve made a somewhat smaller tractrix horn myself, using a hand-turned mould, so I have at least some idea of what’s involved. But I couldn’t in a million years achieve a standard of construction and finish like this.
Please could you pass this feedback on to Lukasz in Poland, who manufactured them? As they say on the other side of the Atlantic, awesome!
I can’t wait to get started soon on the system design and integration work!
Best regards,
Brian
Greg is one of that rare, if not extinct, breed of high-end hi-fi dealers in the UK – someone whose portfolio is derived from a deep love of music, not a desire to take the easy route to earning a living by supplying the well-known and widely reviewed equipment that offers so little to the true music lover.
Although not an inveterate box-swapper, I have been experimenting with high-end audio for over 20 years and in that time have never encountered such an enthusiastic, hard-working dealer. Greg’s e-mails sometimes read like mini-reviews and borrowing equipment for no-obligation audition is always possible (sometimes without pre-payment!) Whilst being technically very knowledgeable, Greg’s overriding concern is that your hi-fi system communicates musically at the very highest level and he allows sufficient time for you to achieve this goal.
My own requirement was for a valve preamplifier to use with my Tektron monoblock power amps (not supplied by Greg) and whilst the Tektron preamp was the obvious choice, I was offered the opportunity to compare it in my system with two other preamps. As might be expected, I ended up buying the Tektron preamp and could not be happier – it lends the music real soul, is incredibly dynamic, tonally precise and, most importantly, allows you to relax into the music, often evoking laughter because music played through it just sounds so right. In short, it seems to offer the speed of a good solid-state design combined with the body/texture and soul that only valves can provide.
I understand that Greg is also a professional photographer who supplies various online music publications with photos of musicians in concert and that he sometimes reviews new jazz releases.
This for me speaks volumes and is just one of the reasons why I expect to become a long-term customer.
Richard W.
I have found my dealings with Greg at G point-audio to be first rate, first and foremost he is concerned with the quality of the products he selects and supplies, he goes to great lengths to make sure this meets the customer needs. His approach is consistent tailored to the individual, from the smaller customer to the much larger.
My personal experience was he is professional and very knowledgeable and a massive enthusiast, This shows in the high value of the advice he is able to offer when asked, clearly has many years of experience and an excellent ear.
Due to the above I will be looking here first for future needs.
Thanks
Jenner T.
“I contacted Greg at G Point Audio to request a home demonstration of the Lampizator Level 3 DAC. Greg was very helpful and quickly arranged to ship the DAC, offering to let me have it for a couple of weeks so I could properly evaluate it in my system. The Lampziator Level 3 represents excellent value for money at its price point and has a detailed but not overly analytical presentation. It is sensitive to the quality of the digital source and I found the best performance was obtained using the USB input from a Windows laptop running JRiver. I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend Greg to anyone that is looking to improve their hi-fi system.”
I recently received some KBL Isolation footers from Greg for which I’d like to say a big thanks! Greg packaged the footers extremely well and it was a pleasure to deal with him and hopefully I’ll have the opportunity to do so again sometime in the near future! Thanks Greg.
I have just purchased a pair of Manley Snappers ex demo amps from Greg & his partner in Poland Roman. From start to finish, the process has been flawless, email inquiries were answered almost immediately, and once I’d agreed to purchase, the delivery process was faultless. I was provided a tracking number for the company shipping from Poland, and was able to follow their journey at each stage. Once they had left Roman’s in Poland, they were with me 4 working days later. I received a perfectly packed small pallet (which is by far the best method of shipping, no chance of that package being tossed about en route!) and all that was left was to unpack & enjoy them. Price paid was extremely good for what are totally unmarked items. All in all, the whole process was a pleasure, and I’ll certainly be doing further business with Greg, and his Polish partners. Highly recommended!!
Contacted Greg a few months ago through HiFiWigwam, as I was looking to purchase a pair of Davone Ray speakers. He had a great price so that was one thing less to worry about – I was more concerned with shipping to France and some finer Hi Fi details as I was trying to put together a fairly unusual “digital” system of Naim SuperUniti and Ibasso DX as input. Greg was kind enough to look through some technical specs for both Naim and Ibasso equipment and gave some good advice on the setup and compatibility of all of the aforementioned equipment. Along with the speakers I got a pair of cables Greg recommended (which was indeed a good recommendation) – a true “one stop shop” in that respect, which is what I wanted as due to work commitments there is only a limited time I can spend on shopping, selecting and reviewing. Deal done and a little wait over, a massive crate arrived at my house! This was clearly a foray into the art of packaging for me… Greg and his trading partner Roman clearly take shipping very seriously, lets just say I needed a big screwdriver and a bit of time to unpack the crate… the rest as they say is history. Speakers are an absolute delight, the whole setup works flawlessly – to my ears at least. Greg, time and time again, showed that not only he is interested in getting the deal done, but also he is all for providing a great after sales support, checking on how the listening experience goes to make sure his customers are satisfied. A truly delighful service and a great, honest and trustworthy individual – Thank You very much!
i have had the Absolutor pre amp for a couple of weeks after greg invited me to try it and compare to 2 really hi end pre amps i have owned recently and still own one still.
this was really interesting given the price of these hi end amps. this is my review.
Having lived and parted with what i consider to be the best pre amp i have ever heard.
( not that i have heard loads) The Hovland HP100. A seriously fantastic bit of hi fi “art” for want of a better word. What that amp did for me was open up a whole new layer i had never heard before and although sadly i had to sell it with its partner the Hovland sapphire (i bought and did not like at all) it will be missed and i am happy i had the pleasure of both listening and owning such a beautiful bit of kit. So that will be my ref point from now on when evaluating any pre amp i have or may have in the future.
So onto what i have now, a stunningly lovely ART dual mono VPS valve pre. and an ART Carissa power amp. 16w of stunning single ended joy.
Happy as i am ( and i am happy) with this set up i wanted to see/hear if any other pre gave me that stunning spooky see through detail and sound the Hovland did and if the ART could be bettered. I had a few quid to experiment with and asked a few dealers if i could borrow a demo pre. Now living in Northern Ireland understanably i was not to be innundated with offers but i got a couple.
Step up Greg from G-point audio who originally hails from poland and sells some cracking gear from that part of the world, his offer to me was to send me a pre amp called the “Absolutor” free of charge, fantastic! send it on mate!
2 days later a big heavy box arrived and the 2 box pre amp was unloaded. First thing is this is a big solidly constructed 2 box amp. Jerry did a review of it on Hi Fi pig, techy details can be found there as i have no expertise in that area LINK: http://hifipig.com/absolutor-pre-amplifier/
This is a nice looking bit of kit, glossy black with only a silver volume knob on front which is as smooth as silk and feels really solid when you move it. At the rear is a pair or RCA outs and a Pair of balanced sockets, these are switchable by a little toggle switch at the rear, also there is a ground switch should you get hum. Jerry stated that he had no noise issues, i had some hum although my speakers are very sensitive with 105db so a little hum can be expected but it was not too bad and did not spoil the sound when playing music. Only 1 set of amp outs which is a pain if you have mono blocks or in my case 2 power amps for speaker duties, ( i have a dsp amp that does the bass drivers and the crossover for my open baffle speakers) so a splitter had to be used. The on off switch is also at the rear via another toggle switch. The front is kept really clean looking with only the volume knob and a subtle green light to tell you both units are on, pre amp and the power supply are connected by a heavy but very flexable umbilical cord, and build quality is solid and well made.
So, slotted in and warm up for an hour before listening, first off i have to state the gain is very high. I dont know what the figures are but i could hardly look at the volume knob without it getting way too loud. I have a hi/low gain switch on the carissa but it made little difference to the control. As i use a streamer and dac i can control the volume with the dac so could hear the pre at sensible levels. Weather this degrades the sound i can’t tell.
The sound? Well this is a seriously good pre, detail is there in spades, seperation of the artists and instruments was very good with a big soundstage left, right and well above, depth was not as good as the Hovland or my ART ( which is actually the best of the lot) midrange was glorious i would be hard pressed to tell the difference with the Hovland from what i remember. Treble was clean & clear but without anything harshness creeping in. The Absolutor is a little leaner than the others but not weak or lacking in spirit. The ART would be a tad warmer with the Hovland fitting snugly in the middle, and that is a fair assesment, I would still put the Hovland above and still remains my REF pre amp.
( again only my opinion)
System synergy probably comes into play but i prefered the ART with the ART amp. Now to put this into some sort of context the ART pre has been modded and updated by Tom Willis with Hovland musicaps et al and with a new price of around £5k and the Hovland when last sold here in the UK was a staggering £6.5k the money spent on these amps shows up against what i consider to be a really close contest with an amp that is £3k with balanced connections or £2800 for rca only, this is quite astonishing! Pound for pound in this company the Absolutor is a steal. If the gain can be controlled a bit better or your equipment likes that gain level and you dont mind the switches on the rear,
( didn’t annoy me, these are easy to reach and rack depending should not hamper most who use it). then i would heartily recommend you get a listen. Greg is about the most accomodating entheusiastic guy you could wish to meet, never pressured me and has not asked for the amp to be returned, cost me nothing bar a few quid to return the amp ( when i finally do) and i really enjoyed the experiance with this fantastic bit of kit.
The web page on G-point has lots of internal pictures of the amp and you can see the selection of components used. I would happily own this amp if i needed a pre amp in this price range and the gain wasn’t an issue for my system. As it is and after a few great weeks with this its a very close run thing with only a very small degree of differences heard, i have tried to communicate these but i don’t really do this amp justice, it sounded dam close to my very good upgraded ART and comparing it in the company of the Hovland is very high praise indeed, it is well deserved.
So a well made, great sounding, different from the norm amp and a dealer that is a pleasure to deal with i urge anyone in the market for such a component to call Greg and get a chat.
Thanks
Fantastic dealer!
Helpful and sent me over £3500 worth of gear to try, no pressure from him at all, in fact I thought he forgot I had his stuff, LOL
Anyway I tried his Absolutor pre – amp and the Blue interconnects(Albedo -Silver).
Stunning kit.
Not finished with the pre yet so won’t write about it just yet but it’s superb!
The Blue case are great value for money and have replaced Chord Anthem and Atlas Equator easily beating both with smooth clean clear presentation that just let’s the music flood through. Greg these are staying so the Chord and Atlas have been sold on.
Superb service from a seriously nice guy.
Cheers mate
Ron
Recently bought a pre-owned chord cd one from Greg, item is as good as described—perfect condition, and the package was one of the best I have ever seen, looks like nothing on the earth can possibly damage the cd player inside.
The communication is enjoyable and the transaction is smooth…I’ve got Greg’s advice to try a pair of albedo cable, the advice is appreciated as I think Greg knows his business..I’m very looking forward to give it a go.
Logitech Squeezebox Touch (upgraded) vs. Lampizator Wi-Fi Transport (also Logitech based)
SBT upgrades include- recommended best power supply, S-Booster, http://www.squeeze-upgrade.com/- recommended best LAN cable from router to SBT, Meicord from http://www.meicord.de
– best software mod available, Soundcheck’s SBT 3.0,
Software mods http://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.ru/2011/11/touch-toolbox-30.html
Hardware and Network mods: http://soundcheck-audio.blogspot.ru/2011/11/touch-toolbox-hw-and-network.html
The week points were SBT’s hardware, especially its SPDIF out and a long digital 75 ohm cable of not the top of the world quality I imagine (the silver cable between Transport and Lampi DAC 4 was better but NOT so much that it made all the difference).
The A-B test
SBT makes beautiful music with Lampi DAC 4.
Switching to Transport, sounds great, clearly better.
Switching back to SBT, bigger losses vs. Transport compared to Satch vs. Lampizator. Almost painful to listen when you know that Transport exists.
Switching back to Transport, oh boy, thank you! it makes divine music.
SBT sounds compressed, less of everything but to the point when you don’t want to listen to it. It sounds flawed after Transport.
Verdict: SBT sounds flawed after Transport. I can’t listen to SBT knowing what Transport does even if the price difference is almost 4 times or almost USD 2000.
I posted my experiences here
http://www.facebook.com/notes/аÑдио-конÑеÑÑ-дома/reviews-satch-dac-max-vs-lampizator-dac-4/324604504323066
Thanks to Greg, a fantastic audiophile, who sells high quality items, like the AutoTech wave guides I bought from him. They are made for my tweeters Raal 140-15D, and all I can say is WOW, what a big improvement, they no more sound thin, they now have body and soul, much more natural sounding, resolution and credibility, it sounds so real. Don’t see it as an upgrade but as a must have ! They are now on my Klipsch Cornwall III (1µF capacitor) and it’s a completely new speaker now, don’t hesitate if you’ve the Raals !
Recently added Albedo Monolith cable in place of Air 1 and Flat 1 cable. The difference is not small – as I am not a reviewer I find putting into words exactly what I hear challenging. However the most noticeable difference is a stronger emotional response to the music. I found hairs on my arm being raised by a track I have listened to many times before without that level reaction. Amazing.
What can I say. An audition with service like no other! I spent several very happy hours in the company of Greg, 2x Altec bass drivers in Onken type cabinets and 2x TAD drivers in seasoned walnut tractrix horns. And guess we spoke about?
Whereas most retailers would sit you down, take your cd, play a few tracks and ask you to lay down your hard earned cash. Not Greg!!
I’d brought several CD’s, from simple close miked folk (Lisa Hannigan Live @ Fingerprints) to baroque monsters, bass riff funk (OCDC by Get The Blessing) to the glorious sounds of Officium.
Greg then opened the floodgates with Classical and Jazz from his exceptional collection. Standouts for me were Charlie Haden – The Montreal Tapes, Charlie Haden & Kenny Baron – Night & The City, Paavo – Conco del Pao (vocal/piano virtuosity), Glen Moore – Nude Bass Ascending, Roswell Rud Trio – The Unheard Herbie Nichols Vol.2, Emma Kirkby & Evelyn Tubb – Sing Montiverdi Duets & Solos (a fabulous vocal work of baroque mirrored harmonies) and last but not least Youn Sun Nah – Same Girl (One of those rare albums where avery song is different and yet none are just ‘filler’ to be skipped over). We even delved into a box Greg hides away. I cant remember exactly the label but its something like ‘music to play while wife is away’! bass flute with a touch throat singing? Not bad actually!
So ‘what the hell did you talk about’ I hear you say? MUSIC! How great music can be ruined by bad recording, how music that may not be to your taste can be enchanting when recorded brilliantly, how that in order to assess ‘hifi’ you should know what real, live music sounds & feels like (both acoustically and emotionally), that music is the key and the goal. Music has been around for as long as man could bash something with something else and repeat a grunt of the same note. It can and does exist outside and away from ‘hifi’ and recording studios. On the other hand ‘hifi’ is worthless without music. It is a means to an end.
Did we talk products? Yes, but Greg is not a dealer in the normal sense of the word. He didn’t present shiny boxes for sale. He presented music reproduced via ‘hifi’. Looking from that end of the telescope you see that ‘hifi’ is important, that components should serve their purpose without needing to be bonkers, in design or cost. That they should do what you want and need them to do, rather than dictating how they are used. Good sense, good sound, good music.
It was something like the experience I shared with friends when I was a teenager, getting every single record & CD off the shelf and revelling in the music, the excitement of finding new artists or styles of music. Heartwarming, uplifting and very very satisfying.
I recently took delivery of a pair of Albedo 1m Flat One RCA cables – I already own the older design Flat one XLR and Air speaker cable. In my opinion Albedo is peerless in any price for price comparison with other brands I’ve used such as VdHul and Nordorst. It is incredible value for money. I am very pleased to see Greg has returned this cable to the UK after a period of absence.
Steve on HiFi Wigwam regarding 600Hz Tractrix horns from Cube Audio:
Tractrix-600 horns by Cube Audio
So, I took delivery of a pair of these made by cube audio, as stated in the title. Thanks to Greg (G-Point) for the fast delivery.
Very well packed and nicely made. The thick walls means no risk of resonance at these frequencies…
They are dinky little things, just 110mm long and 200mm mouth diameter when made to take my 1.5″ JBL 2435Be drivers… Designed to work from min 900Hz.
The 2435’s bolted straight on and are a very easy to mount / deal with package, compared to my larger DIY birch plywood 12 sided conicals.
I’ve not had too much time for hifi lately – the pressures of a new job.
So this first review is confined to the a measure and first listening impressions.
First I compared the Tractrix-600 with my conicals in like for like swapped measurement position. This is with the mic where my ear normally is – that is real world for me.
First up is the comparison of the Tractrix-600 (green line) and my conicals with the rounded mouth (red line).
def more filling in of the sub 850Hz to 1.1 KHz region and the over 7KHz too. In general a little flatter here and there too.
These were done 1/6 octave.
Going to 1/15 oct shows the same thing. Both show a good adherence to the +/- 5dB rule across the freq I am using.
This evening I got the time to plonk the pair down in the system and time align them in using hornresp to measure to the nearest ms
Listening now.
Can I hear any difference then? Well they certainly sound bigger than they look. Sort of weird seeing such small horns in my system after so long looking at the larger conicals…
First impressions – not a lot wrong with that sound. Def no regression in quality/realism or dynamics and speed.
They just sound sort of right too. I need more listening time before further utterances – which will come.
I can see a further benefit – the reduced size means I can pull the rig height down some. More compact focal point for the sound. Could equal better? Perhaps. Need to try it. That will be another time though as I have to work tomorrow too!
I am now tempted to try the Tractrix 200’s with my JBL2482’s as well.
In situ pics to follow.
Had a home demo arranged with Greg.
He’s a friendly and helpful person to do business with; bought around a lot of gear and rove a long way to do it, so I really appreciate that Greg, thank you!
Here’s a link to the review of the equipment he bought to mine:
http://theartofsound.net/forum/showthread.php?t=20199
Will do business again.
Kind regards,
Martin
Earlier this year, I purchased a lovely second hand Shanling CDT-100 CD Player from
Greg.
Was lovely meeting Greg. Greg happily delivered the Shanling to my place in person. I can only describe Greg as an easy going man with a positive attitude. Not pushy, arrogant etc.
Greg also let me borrowed some lovely Albedo ”Beginning” Interconnects. To my ears the Beginning interconnects was very transparent and clean….nothing more or less.
Thanks, Greg and keep up the good work.
S.
Just had an extended listen to the Linear Audio Research AI-30 mkII.
Cracking EL34 amp, beautifully made, and nicely designed (those level meters are a great touch).
The sound of course is the main thing, well EL34 PP amps tend to have a musical quality, which this one has in lovely fashion, but them main thing that strikes the listener is the robust performance in the bass department which suggests good quality transformers.
All in all a cracking performance and a bargain at the asking price.
(Auditioned with 15in Tannoy Monitor Golds in GRF cabinets).