Demograf Audio Hyperion vs Lampizator Golden Gate II: owners’ comparison

In August 2019 a group of forum members compared two tube-output DACs in the system of a Lampizator Golden Gate II owner: his Lampizator and a Demograf Audio converter on the Cirrus Logic CS4397 chip with an EL8 tube output stage. That unit was an earlier build on the same chip and output tube that the Hyperion offers today. The DACs were heard blind, labelled only No. 1 and No. 2, first on loudspeakers and then on headphones. Below we summarise what two of the listeners wrote, including the limits of the test that they pointed out themselves.

These impressions are summarised and translated from owners’ posts on an audiophile forum. They are the subjective views of their authors, not measurements or claims of Demograf Audio.

How the comparison was set up

• Two DACs, labelled No. 1 (the Demograf Audio unit, as it turned out) and No. 2 (the Lampizator Golden Gate II), switched in turn into the host’s system.
• Loudspeakers: the host’s KEF speakers. Headphones: an Eddie Current headphone amplifier, used with 300B and with PX4 tubes.
• Music included Metallica’s “Nothing Else Matters”, a track with female vocals, a track by Muse and Rebecca Pidgeon’s “Spanish Harlem”.

One listener, Anton, listed the weak points of the test. The volume sometimes jumped when the DACs were switched, and each switch made a loud click. The tracks were not always the same for both DACs, and the two converters used quite different output tubes (PX25 in the Lampizator). He also found the KEF loudspeakers not very revealing: fine for ballads and rock, but struggling with fast music.

Sound on loudspeakers

The first listener, for whom comparing DACs on loudspeakers was a new format, made notes track by track.

Bass

• Clearly better from No. 1, the Demograf Audio DAC: the impact was easy to feel, with more depth and better resolution in the low range.

Midrange and vocals

• No. 1 sounded cooler and more reserved in the midrange than No. 2. Here the Lampizator won on vocals and on what he called soulfulness, while No. 1 conveyed more space. He leaves the choice to taste.

Treble

• No. 1 sounded harder-edged and more detailed in the treble. No. 2 sounded more compact in the treble and midrange, which he felt counted against it on loudspeakers.

Transparency and scale

• No. 1 was ahead in transparency and in the size of the sound.

He also noted an odd turn. On the fourth and fifth tracks his impressions reversed, as if the two DACs had swapped every quality listed above. From the sixth track on they returned to where they had started.

How the two DACs differed, in one listener’s words

Anton heard the Demograf Audio DAC as cleaner, more technical, crisper and more precise, with articulate bass, better-defined extremes of the range and very good speed. The Lampizator sounded calmer and more relaxed to him, with a rich, smooth tube sound. He adds that the Lampizator can take a 300B in place of the PX25, which would make it richer still.

Where he preferred the Lampizator Golden Gate II

• Rock, blues, indie and grunge, where he enjoyed its contemplative character.
• Instruments such as the piano, which sounded deep and heartfelt; on some tracks it even made him like the KEF loudspeakers.
• Warmth: the Lampizator has more of it, whether from its overall presentation or from its tubes. He describes the Demograf Audio DAC as warm too, but less so.

Where he preferred the Demograf Audio DAC

• Decays, which he had already noted in an earlier comparison.
• Metal, and speed in general. Speed was the Lampizator’s weakest point for him, with treble he found less precise, even on these loudspeakers.
• Detail that kept the sound whole, full-bodied and natural in timbre.

On emotional engagement he called it a draw: sometimes the Lampizator was much more involving, sometimes the Demograf Audio DAC.

On headphones

At the end of the session Anton listened to the Demograf Audio DAC through the Eddie Current amplifier and found it his favourite combination of the evening, especially with 300B tubes. He describes the character of the 300B joined to the DAC’s precision and speed, a middle way between warmth and technicality with tubes all the way. Metal sounded much better, above all with PX4 tubes in the amplifier.

Two styles rather than a winner

Despite the flaws of the blind format, Anton writes that the three listeners could tell at once which DAC was which. His conclusion is that the two represent different styles of sound. He sees the Demograf Audio DAC as more technical and more universal. For metal it is just what he would prescribe, unless one prefers an old multibit DAC; for rock it is at times too energetic when one wants calm; on some indie and rock tracks its crisp, technical presentation could be more than the music needed. He found the Lampizator better suited to the host’s own music.

His advice: if you like a bright, precise, at times crisp, festive and detailed presentation, choose the Demograf Audio DAC. If you want to sit back with a calmer, contemplative tube sound, which some might call slightly veiled and he would call relaxed, choose the Lampizator. Anton says he greatly enjoyed the session, and found the host’s system especially charming with grunge and post-grunge.

Summary

In this blind comparison the Demograf Audio CS4397 DAC with EL8 output was heard as the faster, more detailed and more extended of the two, with deeper, better-resolved bass and more space. The Lampizator Golden Gate II was heard as warmer, calmer and more intimate, and stronger on vocals, piano and relaxed rock. The listeners themselves put the difference down to style and taste rather than to a winner.

Which Demograf Audio piece fits

• Hyperion is the current Demograf Audio DAC on the Cirrus Logic CS4397. It takes USB (Amanero) up to 24-bit / 192 kHz and DSD256 as well as S/PDIF coaxial. The stock output stage is solid-state; a tube output stage, EL8 and AL4 among the options, can be fitted to order. More owners’ impressions are in our Hyperion owners’ reviews.
• The Reference Tube DAC is the classic-chip alternative, built in five versions named after their chips: Calliope (TDA1540), Persephone (TDA1541), Aphrodite (TDA1547), Artemis (PCM63) and Katerina (PCM1704). Its Calliope version is voiced as natural and organic, for listeners who lean towards a calmer, denser presentation.
• How these chips compare by ear is the subject of our owners’ comparison of DAC chips by ear.

Every Demograf Audio converter is made by Dmitriy Gubchenko. Each is made to order and covered by a one-year warranty (extra warranty available: +1 or +2 years).