The list of highly successful Polish audio houses is long. However, if I had to name just one that enjoys the greatest global popularity in upper-echelon audio, LampizatOr would be it. Many enthusiasts up to date on the expensive end of this wacky hobby should agree. This company officially established under Lukasz Fikus some 15 years ago. I've known about it for as long and been a faithful customer since 2014. That conversion holds a special place in my memory. I still remember well my first visit to LampizatOr's HQ which back then located in a small house a reasonably short walking distance from my previous work. At the time the entire staff of six worked out of one room with as many assembly stations and one system to evaluate finished products. Long story short, I left that place with a refurbished DHT twin-box Level 7 DAC which irreversibly altered my view of what direct-heated triodes in such designs actually do. Shortly after came a firm understanding of the kind of sound Lukasz had been promoting since his early days. If this voicing turns out to be your thing, odds are you'll stick to DHT DACs for years to come. This is exactly what I did; without looking back for a long time. While the Level 7 was a significantly higher-tiered affair than all ancillary electronics I had back then, I didn't get a chance to upgrade them. In 2015 Lukasz introduced the Golden Gate, the DSD-only next-gen successor to the Level 7 platform. It offered far more sonics, aesthetics and build quality so I transitioned to it. I still recall how impressed I was particularly with the staggering performance gap between the two. As I learned over the years, that's the brand's standard MO. Lukasz & Co. don't do incremental quality wiggles at the very top of their line-up. There they leap – and very high. Their current best DAC always stomps hard on the previous flagship. If we take into account the major price hike to follow, that's as it should be.
Fast forward to 2018 when the Golden Gate was obliterated by the freshly launched Pacific. While the latter inherited the brand's by now signature output/rectifier tube concept, this was a completely new design inside and out. Shortly prior to its release, LampizatOr outgrew their old HQ and moved to a new location with far larger floor space. Lukasz hired additional staff and his catalogue too expanded. More importantly, while the two previous LampizatOr DACs I owned had some DIY qualities to them, the Pacific struck me as their most professional serious effort to date. It was a nice reminder how much Lukasz's company had matured over the years. Just one exception aside, in my listening room the Pacific confidently held its ground against all comers and kept the upgrade itch at bay for six years. In this hobby that's a damn long time. That single incident however was the spark that eventually led to today's story. The next flagship LampizatOr DAC originated as a side project during the Covid era. It changed several times over the course of its development and was unlike anything else its makers had done before. From one iteration to another, this design named Horizon eventually flourished into aspirations significantly beyond the Pacific. Some three months past its official debut in mid 2023, Lukasz called to ask whether I'd like to have a listen in my own room. At that point the man already had stout feedback from customers. That didn't stop him from snatching one unit from the production line and doing rounds among friends. Needless to say, I was game and got the Horizon loaner for two very enjoyable days. While this short period wasn't enough to generate the usual photos and pen a formal review, it sufficed to map the key traits this newcomer had in store. Below I'll shed some light on how it fared against the Pacific. For now let's just say that I hadn't stopped thinking about it since and wanted to host it for longer. Lukasz was aware of this yet unfazed. He had to be. With high-demand hardware such as his Horizon, two rules apply. One, paying customers come first. Two, patience is a virtue. Fair enough. I knew the drill. While I had no clue when my turn would come, I decided to put regular money aside just in case.
Over the next year and a half, I routinely reached out to see whether anything had changed. No dice. In mid August 2024 the original Horizon officially discontinued due to a shortage of the key D/A chip the LampizatOr CEO championed without revealing its identity. Long before that happened, he and his team were able to secure a two-component alternative that resulted in an entirely new digital engine to usher in significant improvements over the original Horizon's digital stage. The PSU developed an extra transformer and Taiko's proprietary XDMI interface designed for their Olympus platform bolted on. The sum of these changes marked the clear progress a new LampizatOr flagship demands. Hello Horizon360. Should previous-gen Horizon owners want to upgrade to the latest version, 15% of the original's MSRP (€6'900) makes it happen. In late 2024 the opportunity to accommodate a Horizon360 under my roof revealed itself. Initially I wasn't fully sold. While it's common sense that audio makers want to market their latest developments, I was thoroughly impressed with the first Horizon. That's where my focus was. Regular shoppers would have been more than happy to pursue the shinier successor. My gut feeling however insisted that I should pursue the 1st-gen DAC I'd already sampled and liked. No matter, I had waited long enough so was willing to adapt. Then the chaps at camp LampizatOr did me a solid. Recently they'd moved to a very nice new facility very close to where I live and suggested coming over. By all means, I'd intended to see the place at some point anyway. Upon arrival both Horizon versions armed with identical tube sets were already packed and ready to move to my listening room. That way I could comfortably compare both side by side, find out how they differ and identify my favorite. Fun and games and a very nice gesture from Lukasz and his salesman Piotr. Thank you!
All previous top-shelf LampizatOr DACs were large and heavy especially for their digital pedigree. The Horizon360 is no different. Without tubes it measures 44 x 55 x 17cm WxDxH and weighs 33kg so is one hefty sucker. It ships in a massive robust flight case reinforced on the sides. A handy remote wand, certificate of authenticity, QC sheet and full tube set from current production are included. The remaining specs list native DSD/PCM data support up to 512/32-768 in auto-sensing fashion and that's all she wrote. The Horizon360 is a purist tube DAC without extra utilities other than volume control. It's worth noting that paying customers rarely get to choose what kind of glowing glass they'll get upon purchase. Should you find that odd, hello real world. Lukasz must constantly adapt to supplier stock, lead times and other factors. The ongoing conflict with Russia severely complicated everything related to tubes. Customers capable of financing a Horizon360 will get the best he's got in his warehouse. The scope of what he has narrows down to tubes available in consistent and sustainable supply so no NOS rarities. Just to give you an idea, each of my two Horizon loaners rocked a quad of Psvane EL34, KR audio 5U4G rectifier and two Shuguang WE6SL7 Plus twin triodes. Three weeks later I would have received Stradi 5U4G and the KT88/6SN7 combo from Psvane's Art TIII range. This also tells us that the Horizon360 project was designed with pentodes in mind, a major change to the brand's previous bests. I imagine that many LampizatOr fans may consider this detour not quite as sexy as the direct-heated route. Lukasz explained that DHTs are getting rapidly harder to obtain in quantities sufficient for his needs and increasingly more expensive while their wide heater span limits rolling ops. Most importantly, over the years he managed to mint a pentode/triode circuit that ultimately sounds much better. Since this is what he cares about the most and pentodes turned out to be the golden ticket, DHT left his flagship tier. Should you want to pursue them still, fret not. The Pacific DAC recently upgraded to its 3rd version. It's visually very much in line with the company's current styling and here to stay. As an enthusiast interested in sound more than specific means to make it, I wouldn't lose sleep over not having DHT in my DAC. Besides, I've learned to trust Lukasz. On the upside, the list of affordable pentodes and small twin triodes remains enormous. Their synergy opens up an ocean of possibilities that tube rollers may see as paradise. The Horizon360 truly spoils us here and I find that a major boon.
