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LampizatOr- Amber-3  Manual

WARNING: as every of our products comes with a 7 days testing period (please to confirm 
it - ask your dealer first), during this time it is not allowed to open the DAC. The screws are 
protected with a seal. You have to decide, if you like the sound and you want to keep it. 
After the 7 days period expire – your DAC is a keeper, and you may open the hood. This 
does not invalidate the warranty, however – any modifications – no matter how small – 
invalidate the 5 years warranty. Changes, upgrades and mods must be pre-authorized in 
writing, even tube change. DACS returned during the test period with the seal broken will 
not be refunded and will be sent back. 

THE SHORT MANUAL 

1. Plug in 

2. Enjoy 

Remeember - the front panel LED RING button is not a power 
switch but USB input switch.

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Summary of Contents for Amber-3

Page 1: ...Amber 3 Dital to Analog Converter User Manual Version 2 0 Jan 2021...

Page 2: ...er the 7 days period expire your DAC is a keeper and you may open the hood This does not invalidate the warranty however any modifications no matter how small invalidate the 5 years warranty Changes u...

Page 3: ...tage with tubes backed by the tube power supplies etc As a result you get a reference performance of world class fabulous sound Some main characteristics are Elegant timeless chassis and front panel a...

Page 4: ...lly transparent and dynamic True analog sound from Lampizator the tube expert All tube design of maximal purity TrueCopper Lampizator capacitors 2 layer double copper layered PCB Indirectly heated dio...

Page 5: ...d replacement 12 Rectifier Rolling 14 Aging problems 15 Fuse Change 16 Volume control Khozmo Lampizator 17 COOPERATION WITH THE PREAMP 18 Amber 3 as preamp 18 DIGITAL INPUTS 19 The TOSLINK connection...

Page 6: ...voltage zone the DAC can be converted by switching the special switch at the back It is not necessary but advisable that the power cable used is a quality one not simply a computer cable It is also a...

Page 7: ...eeds of mass consumers MP3 Data formats The DAC is capable of automatic recognition of all sampling rates from 32 through 44 1 to 768 kHz and bit rates from 16 to 32 Also DSD is recognised and automat...

Page 8: ...r makes no sense Audio volume level Hi Gain Lo Gain Tube technology allows us to set practically unlimited volume level at the output up to 100 x higher than from a normal CD player We have decided to...

Page 9: ...pizatOr Amber 3 Manual LampizatOr DAC should not be used with opamp based preamp no matter how good Because the op amp feedback loops will remove the whole joy of music as delivered by the tubed DAC o...

Page 10: ...erefore it is forbidden to place the dac on top of the speakers or a sub Choose least vibrating location preferably at least one foot behind the plane of the speakers Power on off cycle The tube lifet...

Page 11: ...rking is not dangerous for the DAC as long as the AC power supply has the GND for all products DAC transport amps Signal cables can be plugged unplugged with the amplifier volume turned fully down XLR...

Page 12: ...by means of an adaptor A good example are ECC40 and 6SN7GT different bases but very close parameters Or ECC88 and 6DJ8 Or 6H8C and 6N1P 2 Other scenario is when the tubes have same base say noval but...

Page 13: ...m legs are Grid and Anode The problem is that these tubes have completely different heater demands Our DACBig7 7 is designed to accept ALL KNOWN dht triodes from this group 101D 45 245 345 6A3 2A3 300...

Page 14: ...h the cathode The heater current does not mix with the cathode current This has several advantages diodes are smaller they live longer they are much more vibration resistant and they can be connected...

Page 15: ...to 400 higher current capability as well as voltage max It al depends on the DEMAND of our circuit Some Lampizator tube stages demand only 2 mA in total some can demand 40mA and more Amber 3 DAC deman...

Page 16: ...actor of 3 Therefore it is impossible for the fuse to blow without a specific reason a failure inside the player Consequently if the fuse burns it is a signal to send the dac for service and NOT chang...

Page 17: ...logarithmic attenuation The overall impedance is held at almost constant 20k and the steps are calibrated in 1 db distances 5 The virtual potentiometer rotary dial with push action called the encoder...

Page 18: ...oo 20 K is kind of on a low side but we can handle that Lower than 10k is bad news But our Amber 3 DAC will handle 10 as well because we configure the DAC with additional cathode follower low impedanc...

Page 19: ...B The TOSLINK connection Is toslink bad or not That is the question Like everything in life it can be bad or it can be good By using own experiments and oscilloscope observations we concluded that Tos...

Page 20: ...secondary winding The USB module requires a driver for Windows to recognize it MAC OS and LINUX work without any need for extra drivers We use one vendor of USB modules For Amber 3 we use LJ Lampizat...

Page 21: ...e screen and choose PREFERENCES and then the loudspeaker icon SOUND Above on that list the Lampi should appear under INTERNAL SPEAKERS Next thing to check is MIDI SETTINGS of the MAC computer We go to...

Page 22: ...l input selector PCM DAC PCM RECEIVER DATA INPUT USB Receiver DSD FILTER engine compu ter Bi Phase signals PCM coding S PDIF AES EBU TOSLINK TTL Block Diagram DAC with Remote Control Tube Output stage...

Page 23: ...3 Manual of 23 36 PCM DAC PCM RECEIVER DATA INPUT USB Receiver DSD FILTER engine compu ter Bi Phase signals PCM coding S PDIF AES EBU TOSLINK TTL Block Diagram DAC without Remote Control Tube Output...

Page 24: ...g RCA cables leading to the amp connected to OUTPUT sockets and NOT the preamp input sockets in Vol CTRL DACs Is the Amplifier powered connected input selected corectly un muted with speakers connecte...

Page 25: ...play great but not as great as a dedicated music computer streamer server MAC OS every version from oldest to newest will play immediately without any problems No drivers are needed LINUX has no prob...

Page 26: ...26 LampizatOr Amber 3 Manual In the preferences choose the SPEAKER SOUND icon of 26 36...

Page 27: ...exit this menu Next go to the top MAC screen right corner and select SPOTLIGHT LOUPE When SPOTLIGHT search opens type MIDI and enter MIDI CONTROL SECTION will open and show you output device COMBO384...

Page 28: ...get go Please choose 44 1 and listen It should work The selection does not require any action like SAVE or APPLY or RESTART just select and listen While you are at it you can listen for yourself mayb...

Page 29: ...are is MUCH MUCH better We tried Audirvana JRiver VLC Foobar Roon and all of them work very nicely JRiver does movies too ROON does Tidal and Qobuz seamlessly etc etc iTunes will not play FLAC or DSD...

Page 30: ...uter and a cheaper version called The Komputer and they both work on Linux with ROON software and HQPlayer too Windows All Windows will play through our DAC although to get stellar performance one nee...

Page 31: ...re around us above below far in front almost close to our face and also behind us This type of imaging is our goal The sound must be able to get detached from the speakers so called disappearing act a...

Page 32: ...of music It is advisable to have rug or carper between listener and speakers but not under the feet 8 It is advisable to put something soft directly on the wall behind the speakers 9 The so called toe...

Page 33: ...33 LampizatOr Amber 3 Manual The whole system reaches operating temperature plateau after circa 20 minutes and it is ready for serious listening ENJOY YOUR MUSIC LIKE NEVER BEFORE of 33 36...

Page 34: ...not that spectacular Next models Baltic 3 and Atlantic have exposed tubes We don t use much ventillation because with three or even five tubes in the box the temperature rises only a few degrees 3 Sho...

Page 35: ...n Extra cost custom fit flight case Warranty 5 years Weight 13 kg net 16 kg shipping gross Size 430 mm W x 140 mm H x 330 mm D Power consumption 30 Watts SPECIFICATION SINGLE ENDED PCM 384 kHz DSD x51...

Page 36: ...panel layout of 36 36 AES EBU input USB input Analog outputs Balanced XLR optional Analog outputs single ended RCA SPDIF inputs input selector Hi Lo gain switch Serial number Power button IEC power in...

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