LampizatOr Baltic 4 DAC Review

After finally getting a decent record cleaning machine (Degritter Mark II - highly recommended!) a couple months ago and then the Wayne's Audio clamp and peripheral ring (also recommended, just maybe not quite as "highly" lol) and playing pretty much only vinyl for a couple weeks on end, I came to the quick realization that my digital side left quite a bit to be desired when I finally went back to it. Digital sources just did not have the frequency range extension or midrange openness and expanded soundstage that I'd grown used to with the vinyl I'd been listening to.

Already being aware that my digital side was "behind" my analog one in terms of sound quality, I had already been looking at some "one box" streamer/DAC combinations, researching options off and on for quite some time during my listening sessions. I came very close to pulling the trigger on a couple different units, new and used, but could never quite get to where I felt comfortable. @treitz3 (Tom) had said something in response to one of my posts about whether or not I'd be able to utilize an outboard DAC with what I was looking at that stuck in my head and made me think about going with a higher-end, DAC-only upgrade, first.

The more I read and looked around, the more I decided I'd focus on tube-based DACs to complement my Rogue Audio tube integrated amp, which I'm beyond happy with, especially after rolling some tubes. I found myself gravitating to the PrimaLuna EVO 100 Tube DAC. It is compact, unique-looking and what reviews I was able to find were positive.

But, somewhere along the way I remembered reading about the LampizatOr brand here, so I went searching old threads and ran across @Mike Reeter's Amber 3 review from about three years ago. As I researched the brand, I found LampizatOr has a very similar product development philosophy and management approach to Rogue Audio and REL Acoustics where the man at the top (in this case Lukasz Fikus) pretty much makes all the calls. They also have an upgrade path to keep your purchase current with technology improvements that are released with newer models over the years, same as Rogue Audio, which I like. Just send the unit back to the factory at some point and get it upgraded to the latest and greatest, for a cost, of course.

So, long story short, I reached out to Mike and asked if he still had his Amber and what his current thoughts were about it, and after telling me how happy he still was with it, he suggested I talk to @GlennDog. One thing lead to another and Glenn recommend I pursue the unit I eventually purchased.

I wanted to wait a bit and let the new sound marinate for a while before I posted any comments about it, but this thing is amazing! The bass detail, extension and punch is like nothing I've heard before from my system. Not boomy in any way, just very fast, full, tight and accurate! But, as impressive as the bass is, the midrange is where the LampizatOr really shines. Vocals are so much more realistic. Lyrics have become clearer and more understandable. Female voices are filled with more of that wonderful timbre that makes them such great rig-testing material in the first place. I'm hearing guitar string plucks I've never heard before. Drum rim shots have more authority. Piano has a clean, clear and lifelike resonance. Soundstage and instrument separation is also more well-defined and very stable, especially as the volume increases. In short, the entire listening experience is just more realistic, natural-sounding and submersive. And it's soooo easy to listen to. Hours fly by in pure bliss. Listening fatigue, what's that? How about listening anticipation?!

One of the most interesting things I've noticed about this piece is how well it handles less-than-perfect recordings. I sent what I considered previously shrill-sounding discs thru it via the toslink output of my vintage Sony CDP-508ESD only to be rewarded with the same qualities I described above. Similarly, lower-quality, lossy mp3s and BT-streamed content is still lush and detailed. This is a very impressive aspect of this DAC.

It's also been interesting to find just how different my CD player sounds vs. my BT streamer. My el cheapo BT streamer holds its own better than one might think and for ease of use when not really paying attention (i.e., for background music), it easily wins. There's not quite as much overall detail, but interestingly it has a little more top-end bias than my CD player has. The CD player is noticeably warmer. For some genres and recordings, that's great, but for others, I would prefer just a tad bit more emphasis on top. It's pretty much the one area where my Technics SL-1210G and Ortofon 2M Black LVB 250 combo still retain an edge. I may have more to say about this after the USB cable I ordered gets here next weekend and I can compare the CD player to my MacBook and Apple Music lossless streaming, including ripped CD content. There's always tube rolling as an option to search for a little more high end with this DAC. It is not by any means a show-stopper or something I'm at all unhappy with, more just the slightest nuance at the highest frequencies and something that the LampizatOr is revealing between the different inputs that I did not notice with my previous DAC.

I want to say "thanks" to our fellow Club Polk LampizatOr owners who encouraged me to spend my hard-earned money er, uh, I mean ... read up on some other forums about the brand and model and to reach out to the North American LampizatOr distributor on this particular demo unit they had for sale. Robert Reich who I worked with there was phenomenal to deal with. The Baltic 4 was a bigger jump than I needed to make at one time, but by the time I ordered an Amber 4 new, it would've been around the same price I paid for this Baltic and I wouldn't have had the remote, volume control or the display (all of which I've already become spoiled with).

I also got to know @marvda1 a little better during all of this, as the Swisscables PC I purchased from him and which spent numerous days in transit and was the star of its own separate thread, was bought for this unit. I enjoyed getting to know all these folks a little better and they all gave me great advice and things to think about.

Another thing ... I continue to be impressed with how my 30+ year-old RTA 15TLs perform. I was really wondering if I would end up outrunning their headlights with this purchase, but that was not the case at all. Guess all the attention that @pitdogg2 gave them still keeps them relevant and providing a very rewarding listening experience. Probably to a fault, I get a lot of enjoyment out of throwing new things at them and seeing how they handle it. Sometimes I wonder what I would ever replace them with? I guess I'll know it when it's time.

If you are considering elevating your digital game and think a DAC might be your next step, I think you owe it to yourself to consider something in the LampizatOr line. They are built by a perfectionist, for perfectionists. The great reviews that are out there for the brand are legitimate.

This purchase created a rack space issue that I still need to address due to the 10" height of the Baltic 4 with the tubes installed. I'll update this thread with more pics at a later date once it's in a more permanent location, but for now, here are some pics from the listing and of the tube glow/display in its current, far from ideal, somewhat embarrassing, but temporary, position on the floor in my listening area.