LampizatOr are known for their fine DACs. Very deservedly, those placed Łukasz Fikus on the road map of hifi. He also does things differently which people know and admire. Yet not many are aware that during his very early audio days, Mr. Fikus actually worked on loudspeakers. That early subject took time to re-emerge commercially. And it just happened under a new brand. Welcome Fikus Electric and their model P-17. Let's first take a look at LampizatOr's portfolio for an overview. There are five different DACs, each exceptionally customizable by being literally tailor-made to the customer. The platforms go by Amber 2, Big 7, Atlantic, Golden Gate and Golden Atlantic. Both the Big 7 and Atlantic can be had in much costlier Golden Gate versions whereas for Amber 2 there's no room in this luxurious group. LampizatOr DACs start at €1'800 and top out at ten times that: €18'000. Let's skip the endless possible upgrades as one article wouldn't be enough to cover all the options.

Moving on, there are the GM70 monos, 211 SET and push-pull versions and the Amber integrated amp. Several different preamplifier models sit on top of this already crowded offering which is still complemented by a digital SuperKomputer transport that not very long ago was known as the maxed-out Komputer. There's even the Silk AC filter box and a number of cables for a front-to-back one-brand approach. Until now speakers were simply the missing link but no more.

I tend to think that Łukasz Fikus enjoys what Nelson Pass does. There's the official Pass Labs company, then the world-famous kitchen table effort of FirstWatt [which only recently was absorbed into the mothership to free Nelson from personal assembly and dedicate his time instead to pure circuit design – Ed.].Łukasz wants to do a similar thing - run LampizatOr to be fiscally viable yet simultaneously appease his inner engineer whose aim it is to create unusual, sometimes very crazy niche products that don't quite fit the LampizatOr portfolio. Enter Fikus Electric. It's really hard to predict what kind of fruits we shall see appear under this tree in the future. Transistor affairs, DACs even more twisted than now, kit with vintage roots executed in very modern fashion? Strange affairs of the heart are to be expected, presumably very affordable and awfully expensive depending. Yet this is all guess work unlike the Fikus Electric P-17 speakers which are very real already. Come to think of it, those really make perfect sense, being 100% complementary to LampizatOr amplifiers.

Łukasz started his audio adventures many years ago. Back then, CD players were his focus. Giving them new and improved life became the foundation of his knowledge and the starting point for the type machines which LampizatOr are most known for today: DACs. About a decade earlier however, he'd gotten into DIY speakers. Back then he never cared about looks, just sound. To achieve his subjective, the OB topology became key. Open baffles deliver very direct, big, powerful and uncoloured sound. If one pays attention to drivers and crossovers, even gravity and smoothness can be achieved. The P-17 developed along those lines. The name itself stands for 'Project 17'. This implies that 16 others came before it. Long story short, P-1 to P-16 had nothing to do with open baffles. They all were classic bass-reflex floorstanders. Łukasz had investigated that breed extensively. The P-17 then became a major course correction. It changed our constructor's mind to turn into an unrepentant OB admirer. Łukasz had thought of making this vintage concept commercially available for years. His sweet seventeen became the missing link. Naturally it complements the glass-heavy LampizatOr portfolio. But according to the man himself, this personal project is about something else as well: to show people just how great an affordable speaker can be. But Łukasz still likes to do things differently and his latest effort embodies that attitude emphatically. If one wonders why it was the P-17 which became commercial reality and not some even later effort, this design became the most recognizable of his. It's the one that made him famous.