Each and every source I known plays to its own trump cards. For the D1, those major Arcana were coherence, balance and calm. The Golden Gate recalibrated. It cast extremely realistic, pinpoint-accurate imaging in front of the listener and meat on top of that. It gave me the notion of being in a different place filled with music. That physiological presentation embraced me completely with a liveliness unheard in any other DAC I’ve met. No other under my roof has touched my heart to that degree. The Level 7 was close but the Golden Gate even better. The LampizatOr flagship isn't about a greatly elevated colouring scheme. It's a bit pushed up but in the vast majority of cases, that’s connected directly to the software. Paired with fantastic saturation comes excellent resolution for superb detailing. After listening to some fairly dense PCM files, it was a pity that I didn’t have their equivalents in better quality. The Golden Gate exposes all recorded wrongs. If something is off, enthusiasts will learn about it in an often brutally ruthless way. It doesn't matter whether vocalists are too big, placed too deep, too close or sing from a metaphorical cellar; whether certain instruments sound louder than they should or discombobulated, often the case with compressed PCM. The Golden Gate shows everything despite being such a marvelously musical device. The D1 is more forgiving. It’s not as rich and less meaty. It has bigger imaging with longer distances to the musicians but at the same time shows less scale and impact and isn’t as vivid. Those aspects alone showed that this fight was between two different classes, with the hefty €9'000 price difference the clincher. Case closed.  

Next in line was my Level 7. The main build differences between it and the Golden Gate include capacitors, rectifier tubes, PCBs and the power supply. Subconsciously I knew that the Golden Gate should and would be better but I wasn't expecting big changes. After all, how much better could it get? In this price range, it's safer not to expect big upgrades, never mind that the Level 7's topology is very similar to the Golden Gate’s. Yet several long comparisons later showed me a big gap. Both decks were organic, saturated, quite spacious and over-the-top big, multi layered, dynamic, exceptionally resolving and rich. Dryness, loose bass or response aberrations were absent. Just so, the Golden Gate was even smoother and more refined. It also was punchier and more to the point. Lower frequencies had a bit more contour, speed and definition with greater momentum to noticeably differentiate the flagship. Both were meaty and shortened the distance between listener and first row, making intimate recordings really intimate. Here the Golden Gate divides and conquers. It captures vocalists in a more present realistic way. It sounds even airier and the soundstage is dead-on accurate. Various distances between instruments and listener are a touch easier to discern. Those aspects made my music with the Golden Gate smoother and even more vivid to give me more satisfaction. This latest LampizatOr was even more euphonic, therefore even more pleasing than my Level 7. To me this was a surprise because my own DAC is nothing but excellent and I really wasn't suspecting to hear it bested quite so soon. Damn!

The Golden Gate paired with the Boenicke Audio W5 or Trenner&Friedl Art monitors and driven with the Trilogy three-piece set was nothing short of amazing. Everything added up. I could listen effortlessly, details happened without the slightest focus on my part. Returning to some older recordings which I supposedly knew in and out after hundreds of times, the electric guitars in Vienna by Ultravox but covered by Clawfinger have quite a warm tint with great sense of presence and body and I’d never heard those better. Queen's Invisible Man stuns with spaciousness. On “I Want To Break Free”, there's a gorgeous amount of air, excellent imaging, lifelike vocals and an extremely effortless presentation. My Level 7 handled Queen's DSD material in proper fashion but the Golden Gate took things to a higher still more enjoyable level. Shivers aren't something I'm getting with music I'm more than familiar with. But the Polish flagship DAC got to me on Wardruna's Algir Stien Klarnar, especially during the part where Einar ‘Kvitrafn’ Selvik wails in the end. I was there with him in that gloomy, dark and deep Scandinavian forest and he was singing just for me.

Such immersion is something I rarely encounter. Yet when it happens, I have proof positive that I'm dealing with something extraordinary. This kind of emotional intensity is what top audio is all on about. Such rewarding moments are exactly what define this hobby and make it worth our while. The practical upshot was that instead of heading home after finishing work, a quick fifteen minutes of casual listening turned into two or three hours. After two weeks with the Golden Gate, my attitude toward it shifted from purely professional distance to something deeply personal and emotional. Native PCM playback without DSD conversion was another and very short story. The vast majority of magic vanished and did so to such a degree that on many levels, the COS Engineering D1 was superior - more coherent, informative and transparent (not always but often). Therefore LampizatOr's PCM module should be considered only in more casual situations, for media other than music. DSD really is what LampizatOr specialize in.

Summary. On many levels, the Golden Gate is an exceptional product. It easily was the best DAC I'd heard thus far and very prominent at that. Most shocking personally was the delta to my not-that-old Level 7. Far from long ago, it was LampizatOr's best. But the Golden Gate was a big step up from it. As certain as death and taxes, with LampizatOr products, happy listeners quickly forget about the price. Despite being very expensive, the Golden Gate is no exception. It's plainly addictive like that final golden shot. With DSD material, this DAC delivers musical realism on a level unheard of. That's why I can confidently state that it is the best I’ve come across, despite the obvious fact that it is unusual, quite limited on some levels and surely not for everyone. The steep price merely adds to that.

The Golden Gate aims squarely at DSD diehards and those who are willing to leave their prejudice about file-based playback behind; and to learn at least Foobar2000. It's highly probable that such a person will quickly get along with music stored on hard drives and in effect fall deeply in love not only with the Golden Gate but computer transports, too. It's worth the journey. Plus, LampizatOr's latest has fantastic tube rolling options. The amount of types this device can take is generous. Experimenting is more than recommended and special treatment and attention are things the Golden Gate surely deserves and appreciates. One can read various opinions about Łukasz Fikus products. Some pigeon hole his work, others are not too enthusiastic about his DIY roots which remain evident. Having personal experience with four different LampizatOr machines now, progress in build quality has been steep. The company and its products are on a different and undoubtedly far safer level today than they were just two or three years ago. Consumers should appreciate that LampizatOr continue to evolve in the right direction without selling out.

Aesthetically, I thought the deck gorgeous even under the hood. It’s a really luxurious thing to have and distinctive to boot. Łukasz Fikus isn't into the copy-cat game or flashy CNC machine work. LampizatOr’s main man picks carefully, divines his own path and practice shows that he doesn't get lost. On the contrary, he knows exactly where he's headed. The Golden Gate is proof of said self-awareness. If an audio enthusiast can afford this machine and is willing to join the DSD-über-alles wagon, LampizatOr’s flagship deserves very serious consideration. This marvelous ear-opening DAC is a truly mature product on many levels. In fact, many DACs would very much like to be it. Highly recommended. Turn the virtual page for a factory tour and designer interview.