Country of Origin
This review first appeared in April 2025 on HifiKnights.com. By request of the manufacturer and permission of the author, it is hereby syndicated to reach a broader audience. All images contained in this piece are the property of HifiKnights or the manufacturer – Ed.
Reviewer: Dawid Grzyb
Transport: Innuos Statement, fidata HFAS1-S10U
DAC: LampizatOr Horizon360 w. Stradi 5U4G + Psvane Art TIII 4x KT88 / 2x 6SN7
USB components: iFi audio Mercury3.0
Network: Fidelizer EtherStream, Linksys WRT160N
Preamplifier: Trilogy 915R, Thöress DFP
Amplifier: Trilogy 995R, FirstWatt F7, Enleum AMP-23R
Speakers: Boenicke Audio W11 SE+, sound|kaos Vox 3afw
Headphones: HifiMan Susvara
Interconnects: LessLoss Entropic Process C-MARC, Boenicke Audio IC3 CG
Speaker cables: Boenicke Audio S3, LessLoss C-MARC
Speaker signal conditioning: LessLoss Firewall for Loudspeakers, Boenicke ComDev
Anti-vibration conditioning: 12x Carbide Audio Carbide Base under DAC, preamp and speakers
Power delivery: Gigawatt PC-3 SE EVO+/LC-3 EVO, LessLoss C-MARC, LessLoss Entropic Process C-MARC, Boenicke Audio Power Gate, ISOL-8 Prometheus
Equipment rack: Franc Audio Accessories Wood Block Rack 1+3
Music: NativeDSD
Retail price of reviewed component in Poland: €4'000
While LampizatOr's portfolio comprises mainly DACs, it also lists several other models including today's Kraftwerk-10 power distributor. I'm not sure whether it's common knowledge but many performance-driven audio enthusiasts follow a protocol that encourages mixing 'n' matching hardware from manufacturers with clearly defined specializations. No wonder. Spending money on a company's strongest asset class is common sense on many levels. To make it easier for consumers, most audio brands precisely define what their core competence is. In this context, financing an amp or DAC made by a speaker or cable company may seem risky. My experience however tells me something else. A well-respected audio brand that branches out beyond its core still has a reputation to uphold so results must follow no matter what. Otherwise consumers will quickly, uh brand the outcome as nothing more than a portfolio filler. No serious audio biz with established street cred wants that.
My system is largely the result of specialist gear. A LampizatOr DAC, Boenicke and sound|kaos speakers, Innuos server/streamer and Trilogy amplification communicate that. Then again, Boenicke cables and speaker filter, LessLoss outlet multiplier and Trilogy's linear PSU are my reminders to remain curious and look beyond the main line-ups of manufacturers I deem worthy. Stuff beyond their core reputation often packs a surprise punch. While LampizatOr are first and foremost a DAC house, they fit that 'more' profile. The recently reviewed Horizon360 is my fourth converter designed by Lukasz Fikus and team. One look at their site however is all it takes to notice that their scope extends well beyond the digital domain. It is accurate to say that today one could assemble a nearly complete system using just building blocks with the LampizatOr logo.
Their current line-up features eleven DACs, a line stage, two phono preamps, a server/streamer, four amps and many cables. As far as the power subject goes, for about two decades Lukasz was very happy with his now discontinued Silk conditioner that originated as an extension of his diploma project during his student days. While LampizatOr's well-established digital profile suggests that this is the CEO's specialty, it's not. He's always been as much into AC as he is into everything with tubes so inherently analogue matters. Glowing bits are his way of forcing digital to behave as he wants. More importantly, Silk existed long before the LampizatOr brand came to be. This tells us that ever since his early days as an audio engineer, Lukasz took the subject of power serious. Not many people are aware of that simply because the popularity of LampizatOr DACs outshines the company's other efforts by a substantial margin. I can't fault Lukasz for playing it smart to mainly advertise the goods he's most famous for. But the more I learn about him, the more curious I become about his other projects. Maybe among these less popular designs hides a gem that just awaits discovery? One can't know without fishing the pond so let's dip the hook in.
Although I knew of Silk's existence ever since I met its creator, I never got a chance to take it for a spin. Now that's off the table. A while ago the brand's entire line-up underwent some major cosmetic changes. The new styling put many old designs out to pasture. Unsurprisingly, the old-timer Silk retired, too. Good call if you ask me and other LampizatOr fans who argue that the manufacturer's new enclosures look and feel far nicer. As for the Silk platform itself, about a year ago it was replaced by a more elaborate effort dubbed Karftwerk-10. Lukasz asked whether I'd like to try it. As a sucker for all things power, I was in. From its on-site description we learn that the AC and RFI/EMI influence on electronics was the company founder's study subject. The original Silk design was his take on an efficient AC distributor that went about its business without isolation transformers, AC regeneration or deep filtering. Lukasz regarded these means as culprits largely responsible for sucking vividness and involvement from playback. The first Silk was built to filter out mains noise without truncating dynamics particularly of current-hungry amps. Most manufacturers versed in topologically similar devices would approve. They know that stripping noise from our mains power is achievable in many different ways and quite simple unlike executing it without limiting or obstructing current flow. This is precisely why the most effective power boxes I'm aware of shun coils, caps, fuses, breakers, MOV and pretty much anything else that isn't their makers' in-house developed non-resistive passive filtering. That's the common ground for the utilitarian breed purposely designed as purist outlet multipliers rather than filters.
