LampizatOr technology 技术

Some history
一些历史

When starting this company we had to decide between me-too strategy and innovation. We chose the latter, much more risky but also more rewarding when successful. Me too leads to mediocre products selling in the crowded market. We choose to be different.
当我们启动这家公司的时候,我们必须选择是稳健还是创新。我们选择了后者。虽然有些冒险,但是成功后的回报更大。在拥挤的市场中,我们努力做出不同的产品。

We did not copy any solutions from anybody. Well, we learned good practices from very old engineers but not from competitors.
我们没有抄袭任何现有的东西。我们从老手那里学到了很好的经验,但是绝不抄袭竞争对手。

One of key factors is that Lukasz Fikus, chief designer – is not electronic educated but electrical engineer. This is a huge difference. Everybody else in this industry is electronic. That means particular style, that is taught at electronic schools. Electrical is different. it is much  more primal and basic and it fits tube technology much better. You may disagree but our products speak for themselves – hi-fi from electrical perspective, not electronic. Everything that Lukasz learned other than his own experience and trial and error – was from his old masters from Ukraine who spent their whole life working with tubes and chokes.
一个关键因素是主设计师Lukasz Fikus,他是一个非科班的电玄学工程师。这里边非常有名堂。这行当里所有其它人都是电子学科班出身,都是从电子学校里得到经验。电玄学是非常基础和根本的接近胆管技术。你也许不同意,但是我们的产品自己证明自己。HIFI是电玄学范畴的东西,而非电子学。Lukasz除了从他自己的经验、实验和失败中学到东西,还从他的乌克兰导师那些学到更多。导师花了一辈子时间用来研究胆管和扼流圈。(译者按:实在找不到更合适的字眼,先用电玄学。这点我本人非常同意,hifi和电子学根本是二回事。学电子的能设计真正好听的hifi?别扯了)

What it implies , is that we don’t use opamps, and we use lots of chokes and transformers. We don’t build things as they are supposed to be built, we do  what makes sense. We break tens of rules that an electronic engineer would never break but this gets us where we want to get.
这就意味着,我们不用运算放大器。我们用很多的扼流圈和变压器。我们不做他们想当然的东西,我们做真正有意义的。我们打破了数十项电子学工程师从来不会破坏的规则,我们得到了我们想要的。


What makes our DAC
什么成就了我们的解码器

The DAC which made us famous can be seen as a combination of four factors:
我们的DAC让我们如此有名,主要因为以下四个重点。

  1. 1.Selection of chipset mix (DAC and RECEIVER) that sounds best
    如何组合使用芯片(DAC和接收器)

  2. 2.Creation of immaculate tube analog stage that is an interface between the chip and the amplifier
    无瑕疵的胆管模拟放大级做为芯片和放大器之间的界面

  3. 3.Creation of power supply which makes a huge difference – for both the analog stage as well as for the chips
    电源如此的重要,包括对于模拟放大级和芯片供电

  4. 4.Selection of high-end parts like NOS tubes, silver wiring, copper foil PIO capacitors, iron core chokes and transformers made to our specs from Polish Copper.
    选择hi-end零件,例如NOS胆管,银线,油浸铜箔PIO电容,铁芯扼流圈和变压器。

Yes. Four main factors. Get every factor perfect and you have a great product. That is so easy that anybody who will spend 6 years times 6 people times 10 hours per day – relentlessly perfecting these issues – will get similar results, providing he has similar music taste.
是的,四个要点。每一点都做到完美,你就得到一个伟大的作品。说来容易,不服试试看,6个人,6年,每天工作10小时,坚韧不懈的追求全部的完美。如果能做到,可能你也行,前题是你也有我们这样的音乐品味。


Our design highlights
设计亮点

 

1. There is a lot of controversy about chips.
1,关于芯片的口水太多

Some people believe in high specs – the chip MUST BE 32 bit and 380 kHz or it is not good. Some people believe in “old = good” and they accept nothing newer than Philips TDA1540. Some people believe that even good chips simply must be multiplied at least paralleling 8 of them per channel to get results. The internet is just full of opinions and testimonies about DAC chips. People simply have that need to pigeon-hole each chip with fast and concrete tags like: dull, fast, detailed, smooth, etc. No one seems to go deeper than skin-deep.  And believe me – there is SO MUCH MORE to it than these tag words.
一些人迷信高指标。芯片必须是32bit/384KHz,否则就不够好。一些人迷信越老越好。他们不接受任何比Philips TDA1540新的东西。一些人认为即使是好芯片也至少需要并联8片/声道才好听。网上充斥了关于芯片的各种说法。人们简单的给芯片帖上直接具体的标签:迟钝、快速、细节丰富、顺滑等等。看上去没有人再深入一点点。但是请相信我,实际情况复杂得多。

What we found is that the chip-set sound is: 10 % DAC chip choice, 50 % receiver chip choice, 20 % receiver-DAC connection interface and 20 % power supply construction. Yes, the DAC chip choice – from worst case to best case scenarios could affect only 10% on the subjective scale of sound quality.
我们认为,对最终声音的影响,DAC芯片占10%,接收芯片占50%,接收芯片和DAC芯片之间的界面占20%,供电结构占20%。是的,DAC芯片最差的选择和最好的选择在最终主观听感上只影响10%。

We took the time and effort to test every chip we could buy or find in old products, it was close to 100 chips that we tested in similar condition and without output stage influence.
我们付出了时间和努力去测试每一颗能买到的芯片。我们把接近100颗芯片置于最直接的方式下测试,排除输出级的影响。

That explains why we don’t disclose the DAC chip name. We simply don’t want to be pigeon-holed by ignorant people, based on our choices.
这就是我们不披露DAC芯片型号的原因。我们不想被愚昧之人简单的帖上标签。

2. ANALOG STAGE
模拟放大级

It is more important than the DAC chip selection. Most DACs sound pretty much the same but it is the analog stage that makes the difference.
这比选择DAC芯片重要得多。大多数DAC芯片听上去没多大区别,是模拟放大级造成了区别。

99 % manufacturers go exactly for the analog stage prescribed by the DAC manufacturer in their data sheet. Thats so embarrassing. They could do better than that. The Data sheet call for two opamps per channel and thats all. Some manufacturers  use higher level own designs of opamps – thats not better, well maybe one small notch better. Some manufacturers go for discrete transistor stage – thats better and sometimes sounds great. The worst case scenario – God forbid – is opamps from data sheet PLUS TUBE BUFFER. Yes, it is so popular these days to stick two tubes just after the opamps. A good example is Shanling CD players, Opera Droplet CD, MHZS, Vincent CD6, and many more. We are definitely not in this camp.
99%的厂家严格按照芯片的规格书画出模拟放大级。这太难堪了。他们明明可以做得更好。规格书给每个声道放二颗运算放大器,然后完了。有些厂家用自己设计的更高级的运放电路, 这也不会更好,当然也有可能有一丢丢进步。一些厂家用分立晶体管设计此级。这就好些了,有时候非常好。最最差的剧情–上帝保佑–按芯片规格书搭好运放,再加上胆管做缓冲。山灵CD机就是这样的例子,Opera Droplet CD, MHZS, Vincent CD6。。。很多。(李总不要打俺,俺就是翻译。。。)。我们绝不跳这个坑。

What we do is we design the tube stage with pure triode single ended action into the DAC output and we perform I/V conversion, analog filtering and amplification in one step. The purest, most elegant way.
我们的做法是,我们设计胆管放大级,用纯三级管单端方式接入DAC的输出,我们在这一级中同时完成I/V转换、模拟滤波和放大。越简单的越优雅。

3.  As we know POWER IS EVERYTHING.
电源就是一切

We effectively listen to power supply modulated by the signal. So the power supply is even more important than the output stage circuit itself. Thats why 70 % of budget of the DAC goes to the power supply. It starts with selection of sections, how many points we need to supply and with what voltage and what amperage. In basic Level 3 DAC there is 10 sections, going up to 20 and more in Level 5. Every section sub-group has separate transformer winding so we must design custom transformers with many specialized windings. This is an expensive way of doing things but we believe it is the only way.
事实上,我们是用信号来听电源供应。所以电源供应比输出级本身更重要。这就是为什么解码器的70%预算用来造电源。从选择节点开始。我们先规划有多少个需要供电的节点,电压和电流参数。在基本款解码器Level 3中,有10个节点。到了Level 5,就变成20个节点。每个节点的地线支线都需要变压器中的独立绕组。所以我们必须订制有很多独立绕组的变压器。这很贵,但是我们相信必须这样。

For filtering we use different techniques, but lets focus on the most important supply – for the tube anodes. We use TUBE RECTIFIER, not silicon, even in the Amber and Level3 and in every higher level as well. after the tube rectifier we install capacitive output, followed by the big iron choke, followed by more capacitance and another choke. Yes, even lowest Level 3 has CLCLC filter per tube. This technique is RIDICULOUSLY EXPENSIVE. Other companies use CRCRC which has three caps for 1 dollar and two resistors for 1 C each. Our approach is to use film capacitors instead of electrolytes and chokes for resistors and it cost 100 times more. That is our way of doing it.
对于滤波器,我们会采用多种技术。但是关注最重要的供电:胆管的阳极。我们用胆管整流,不用硅整流。即使是作为入门款的安伯和Level3也一样用胆管整流。胆管整流后,我们用电容性滤波,然后是是一个大的铁芯扼流圈。后边再电容再扼流圈。即使是入门款Level3,每只胆管也有三级电容/扼流圈滤波,就是LCLCLC结构。其它公司不用扼流圈,他们用电阻。他们的一只电容一美元,一只电阻半美分。我们的方法是用薄膜电容不用电解电容,用扼流圈不用电阻。我们的成本贵100倍!

4. PARTS
零件

In every position where a good mil-spec part does the job, we refuse to use boutique parts. We leave boutique parts for the people who don’t know any better. But in some positions parts do matter. In short – we refuse to spend big money on AC power inlets like Furutech, We don’t use tantalum resistors or god forbid – carbon. We will never use black gates as heater filters.  But for the digital section electrolytes, for output signal caps and the tubes too – we get fanatical. Also all internal wiring is silver in teflon where it is called for.
在每一个优质军规零件工作的地方,我们都拒用补品。我们把补品零件留给无知的人。但是,在某些地方,零件还是管用的。简单说,我们不会把大钱花在古河AC尾座上,也不用钛电阻或碳膜电阻(再次上帝保佑)。我们从来不把black gate电容用在灯丝滤波上。但是对于数字电路节点的电解电容、输出信号电容和胆管,我们狂热的投资。所有的机内线都是特福龙皮的银线。

USB

In all our DACs we offer USB input option. Our module is of a highest level, with 32 bit engine, capable of 384 kHz speed, compatible with all operating systems of all computers. It is asynchronous and uses two internal clocks for re-clocking. It also is self powered from internal power supply which we build into our DACs. No power is taken from the computer and the noisy computer line is PHYSICALLY interrupted and insulated.
我们所有的解码器都有USB输入。我们的USB模块是最高水平的,34/384,兼容所有操作系统。异步方式,二个内部时钟用于时序再生。内部电源供电,不从电脑取电。物理性的阻断和隔离电脑噪声。

Our USB is not converting to SPDIF – it is much better than that – it converts to i2s and it is connected DIRECTLY to the DAC chip, bypassing all input and receiver stages. There is no better USB solution than this. Our USB is also supplying the DSD signal to the DAC which means you have only ONE computer program and one USB cable and one USB port for both PCM and DSD technology.
我们的USB模块不是用来转换成SPDIF,而是转成I2S直接送进DAC芯片。这是最好的方式。我们的USB模块也用来处理DSD。

译者按:所有的Lampizator解码器,从旗舰到入门款,都用同一个USB模块,最好的那种。

BALANCED MODE
平衡模式

Every of our DACS except Level 7 can have balanced output. We mean REAL balanced output, not fake one.
我们的所有解码器(除了Level7)都可以安装平衡输出。我们的平衡模式是真平衡。

What we mean by real is that we run four independent parallel digital conversion processes in the DAC chips. Each of the four signals (Left+, Left-, Right+ and Right- are amplified by four analog stages and four triodes. all the way from chip to output we run it independently. What others do is that they sometimes do single ended process and at the output they add an opamp to create negative phase. Or they do it by output balancing transformer. Yes we do get balanced signal as a result but not the benefits of balancing which are only possible our way.  Our balanced DACs have SE output as well
我们说的真平衡,是指四路独立的DA转换器。这四路信号(左正、左负、右正、右负)后边是四路模拟放大级,四只三级管(胆管)。这四路从芯片到输出都是独立的。别的厂家怎么做呢?很多都是单端结构直到最后用一片运算放大器做出负相位,或者来个输出变压器。我们用真平衡电路结构得到平衡信号输出。我们所有的平衡版解码器都同时有单端输出端子。