One year after launching the Horizon360 DAC, the local company LampizatOr has unveiled the new flagship model named Aphrodite. Larger, heavier, and more expensive, it takes the brand’s ambitions to a new level and is our subject this time around. Enjoy!

Beauty beyond horizon

Each time LampizatOr releases a new flagship DAC, on sheer sonic competence it outperforms its predecessor by a wide margin. Over the past 12 years, I’ve experienced this four times. Before acquiring the thoroughly impressive LampizatOr Horizon360 several months back, I owned the Pacific, Golden Gate, and twin-box Level 7 models—all of which, at the time, represented the company’s pinnacle. It’s fair to say I’ve been faithful to the brand. I also can’t see myself using a DAC in my main system that isn’t designed by Łukasz Fikus and his team. More importantly, as a reviewer, I’ve witnessed firsthand how much his company has progressed and evolved with each top-level DAC released since 2014. LampizatOr of today is not the same audio house it was in its early days; it has grown into a well-established business with worldwide reach, catering to clients in pursuit of the very best DACs money can buy.The word “best” carries a particular weight in LampizatOr’s world. It’s always a hot title, destined to change hands sooner or later. On that note, while I’ve been thoroughly satisfied with the Horizon360 as the centerpiece of my system, a higher-tier model had been on the drawing board long before I purchased it. True to form, LampizatOr’s skunkworks chose to keep that intel under wraps, as they usually do. I can’t blame them. Even a whisper of such a design in the company’s pipeline would have upset current Horizon360 owners. While this is a very expensive DAC already, and shoppers who can swing it rarely settle for second best, the wheel of progress inevitably turns. In this hobby, the sky truly is the limit—and Łukasz knows it. While his top-shelf DACs significantly climb in price from one platform to the next, the performance gains always register boldly enough to justify the extra coin, making his customers—including yours truly—very happy.When it comes to LampizatOr DACs, I’ve learned that there’s always something brewing above the current top dog. Always. It might take six months before it officially debuts—or two years. We simply won’t know until it unveils. That’s why spending money on hardware that’s currently available in this roster and enjoying it immediately beats waiting for the next best thing. When it finally does appear, LampizatOr’s trade-in program is generous enough to make the transition painless. In early September we got some info about the company’s newcomer top-shelf DAC. Priced at € 88’000 before VAT, Aphrodite clearly positions itself above the Horizon360 model. Just so we’re clear on the financial front, this is the introductory sticker. The manufacturer’s upcoming Q1 2026 price list may push it even higher. First come, first served, then? Not exactly. The official sale of the Aphrodite DAC was scheduled for December 2025, yet according to the on-site announcement, the first batch had already sold out two months earlier, which I think speaks volume about the brand’s strength. Knowing this, the odds of me hosting the new flagship were slim to none, so I didn’t even ask. As per usual, I was willing to patiently wait for my turn, perhaps a year or more. Then in early October Łukasz called, asking whether I’d be any interested in accommodating the Aphrodite loaner for several days somewhere post the local AVS show. But of course I was. Apparently the Christmas season arrived early this year.LampizatOr’s sales director, Piotr, was the Santa who clearly needed my assistance. His “gift” arrived in a flight case tipping the scales at 80kg — large enough to fit a pair of speakers inside. Though equipped with side handles and two small wheels, this was unmistakably a two-person job. Inside, dense foam liners secured the main component, while a smaller compartment on the side housed two KR Audio 5U4G rectifiers, a remote control, QC sheet, certificate of authenticity and twin KT88 quads from KR Audio and Psvane’s premium ACME line. Yes, that’s ten vacuum tubes in total and all are necessary. The custom-made remote was easily the largest and heaviest I’ve ever handled. CNC-milled from solid aluminium billet, it featured optionally backlit buttons for muting playback, powering the device on and off, dimming the display, selecting digital inputs, reversing phase, accessing settings, and cycling through filters and modulators. Łukasz clearly went the extra mile here — and succeeded. That said, operating this one-kilogram brick requires both hands, not only because of its heft but also because certain functions demand pressing two buttons simultaneously. All in all, it’s a beautifully executed, luxurious remote — just an unapologetically massive one.Let’s first explore the Aphrodite’s origin and concept. This machine was conceived without financial constraints. The team began by designing a circuit that embodied the very best they knew how to create — unrestricted by cost or convention. Once that foundation was perfected, they stripped away every remaining compromise and refined it further with the best components they could get their hands on in sufficient quantities. Only then did they design a chassis large enough to house it all — and finally, they calculated the price. In its early stages, the Aphrodite project had no defined place within LampizatOr’s lineup; Łukasz and his team simply didn’t know where it would ultimately land. But when the first working prototype decisively outperformed the Horizon360 in their listening tests, they realized they had reached a new summit. That’s how the Aphrodite emerged as LampizatOr’s new reference-grade DAC.At first glance, the Aphrodite might appear to be a higher-tier evolution of the Horizon360 platform, and to some extent, that’s true. The newcomer sports a distinctly Horizon-inspired enclosure whose build quality easily rivals the industry’s finest. The design language established by the first-generation Horizon remains instantly recognizable — visually striking, purposeful, and full of character. Utilitarian yet elegant, industrial yet refined, robust and clearly substantial, with its exposed tubes proudly on display, it embodies everything I personally enjoy having on my rack. The Aphrodite’s housing is built around an internal skeletal frame clad in thick, solid panels that are bolted to it from within. The uniformly deep gaps that outline the entire structure make the exterior look both clever and intriguingly intricate. Without knowing how it’s assembled, one might wonder how those panels hold together without visible fasteners. They do — because this DAC is built like a tank. Tight tolerances and the absence of any visible screws give it an exceptionally clean, cohesive appearance that radiates precision craftsmanship. While the Aphrodite comes exclusively in matte black, its concaved top plate with openings for the tubes can be customized in several finishes: matte black, engraved black copper, real copper, or a “faux” copper coat.While the Aphrodite and my daily driver are visual siblings, the former measures 43 × 22 × 50 cm and weighs 48 kg, so is considerably larger and heavier. So much so, in fact, that the manufacturer equipped it with two thick nylon straps to make removing it from the flight case and carrying it around more manageable. In all my years reviewing audio gear, I’ve never encountered an amplifier — let alone a DAC — with such thoughtful support. The remaining specifications list native DSD and PCM data support up to DSD512 and 32-bit/768 kHz respectively, with automatic format sensing. Power draw is approximately 190W, output impedance is 600Ω, and the signal output at 0dB (PCM) reaches 3V pp. Like the Horizon360 before it, the Aphrodite also forgoes DHTs in favor of pentodes, beam tetrodes, and similar tube types. Łukasz explained that directly-heated triodes are increasingly difficult to source in the quantities he requires. More importantly, he and his team have developed a pentode-based circuit that not only meets but exceeds their sonic expectations. Beyond that, the abundance of affordable pentodes and double triodes available on today’s market opens up an ocean of possibilities for tube rollers — a veritable paradise for those who enjoy fine-tuning their sound. On this front, the Aphrodite indulges its users just as generously as the Horizon360, and I see that as a major advantage in its own right.Now let’s clarify what the Aphrodite is — and isn’t — in the context of the Horizon360. The latter was a purist DAC equipped with an internal resistor-ladder volume control. However, it turned out that most owners of that model already had standalone, upper-echelon preamps, so they typically bypassed its built-in regulator. In practice, that feature proved largely redundant — which is why the Aphrodite omits it altogether. The list of differences between the two doesn’t end there. While the newcomer is physically larger, its internal architecture is actually simpler, built around a single amplification stage and one series capacitor instead of the Horizon360’s two-stage, dual-cap circuitry. The Aphrodite also employs far more precise femto clocks, uses only EI transformers, and incorporates a mains filtering circuit derived from LampizatOr’s own Kraftwerk power conditioner. Most interestingly, the Aphrodite features an entirely new tube stage with a significantly lower amplification ratio (×4) compared to the Horizon360’s (×10) and it eliminates the need for an L-pad resistor trimmer. This new resistorless tube circuit includes active anode loading, a triode-mode SET amplifier, and an auto-biasing reference point courtesy of Schottky diodes. The anode high voltage is supplied by LampizatOr’s own PSU, built around an EI transformer, dual-diode directly-heated tube rectifier, choke, passive filtering capacitor, and energy storage stage. True to LampizatOr tradition, the Aphrodite is a fully dual-mono design, essentially packing four mono amplifiers under the hood and each with its own output and active anode load tubes. This time around, each channel also enjoys its own tube rectifier. As for the digital section, today’s design runs on the same core engine as the Horizon360, but enhanced with a superior clocking system.Considering all the above, it appears that the Horizon360 and Aphrodite share only their digital stage and pentode-driven outputs. Although they look similar, the Aphrodite’s front panel has undergone significant changes. The two-digit Nixie display has been replaced with a dual OLED screen positioned behind an acrylic window, accompanied by four embedded pushbuttons for input selection, playback muting, and power control. One of the Aphrodite’s displays shows the currently selected digital input and, during playback, the sample rate — otherwise, it remains muted by 90% and that’s by design. The other screen can display either the Greek goddess logo or a stream of technical data reminiscent of a service terminal that normally is off-limits to regular users. From left to right, this display shows the currently selected setting bundle (1–8), digital filter (1–6), modulator (1–6), and phase (N or P). For example, “135N” indicates the first saved setting group, followed by the third filter, fifth modulator, and negative phase. Because the tubes in the output stage reverse phase, the negative setting is effectively positive. The smaller display in that area shows clock counters for the tubes and DAC, as well as the internal temperatures of the PSU and mains transformer. Once I selected my preferred digital filter (4) and modulator (4), I haven’t touched these settings since, and I also kept the entire OLED section fully dim most of the time. I’m sure some Aphrodite owners will appreciate the wealth of information and options this machine provides, though personally, Nixie digits on the Horizon360’s forehead appeal to me far more.On the back, the Aphrodite features a fused Furutech IEC inlet positioned next to a grounding terminal, along with analog RCA and dual XLR outputs. The digital input section located further to the right combines the usual USB, AES/EBU, and coaxial/optical SPDIF with Taiko’s proprietary XDMI on a 5-pin XLR, I²S on HDMI (PS Audio pinout), RJ45 (based on Logitech SlimDevices Squeeze) and a second I²S on three BNC connectors that does not require a master clock. The LAN input is handled by a tiny computer inside the Aphrodite that runs its own software and outputs I²S data directly to the DAC chip. This feature essentially turns the DAC into a network endpoint capable of communicating with a streamer from another room, though that’s not its primary purpose. Łukasz explained that he and most of his team consider the Aphrodite’s RJ45 input as audibly better than most other digital connections this machine features. With all that out of the way, we can move onto sonics.Naturally, the Aphrodite loaner had to go head-to-head with the Horizon360. To ensure a level playing field, both DACs were powered by the captive Boenicke M2 power cords and linked to the Innuos Statement server/streamer via the same USB cable. Switching between the two required manually reconnecting the USB and twin XLR cables—a minor inconvenience at most. During the first listening session, I relied exclusively on the DACs’ USB inputs. Later, I tried the Aphrodite’s LAN connection—and never looked back. While the improvement over USB wasn’t night-and-day, it was clearly audible and highly rewarding nonetheless. More on that shortly.Prior to getting to the Aphrodite, let me first get back to the Horizon360 review where I wrote that: *“**The LampizatOr core voicing as I’ve known it up to this point emphasized effortlessness, power, gargantuan imaging, firmness, articulation, wide dynamic contrast, clarity, directness, radiance, and vivid, textural detail—often prioritizing these traits over substance, density, warmth, and roundness. No wonder. Łukasz has always liked dipole and high-efficiency speakers. The combination of their inherent traits produces sound that is predominantly big, bold, quick, and dynamically expansive. Many of his DACs have followed this exact tuning, with the Pacific sitting closest to it, as far as I could tell. Exciting and spectacular as it was, the first-gen Horizon loaner quickly rendered it noticeably hollow, thin, nervous, spatially shallower and narrower, texturally matte, dynamically constrained, and effectively quite innocent. The Pacific couldn’t hold its position in any regard, let alone come out on top. This wasn’t a case of the DAC having an off day—the pentode-infused sibling was simply this much better. While my first encounter with **it **was brief, it fully sufficed to identify **it **as the next obvious target rather than a potential prospect. To add insult to injury, even when connected to the 915R preamp via RCAs—just to give the single-ended Pacific a fair chance—the Horizon remained clearly superior. Using its balanced output only widened the audible gap between the products.” *“With that stage set, the comparison of the two Horizon versions was next in line. Perhaps my bias toward the first-gen Horizon got the better of me, but right away I preferred it over its younger sibling. Early on, the former seemed quicker, more articulated, and more specific in instrumental and vocal outlines, which appeared closer to the listening seat and naturally larger. In that sense, the original Horizon felt spicier and very much in line with the manufacturer’s usual house sound. At that time, I thought of it as the Pacific on an ungodly amount of steroids. Meanwhile, the Horizon360 felt less flashy and mechanical but more tangible, grounded, collected, fuller, and slightly darker. It didn’t reveal all its aces immediately; rather, it grew on me gradually, one song at a time. The original Horizon emphasized freshness and excitement, focusing mainly on speed and directness. Once I fully accommodated to the newer sibling’s profile, the same kind of intensity and zesty aroma were present—but with so much more. Atop exceptional dynamic potency, imaging prowess, and effortlessness, the Horizon360 dug deeper, hit harder, added heft and textural richness, sounded gutsier, and eventually emerged as the more mature, higher-tier model of the two.„„While the first-gen Horizon was very listenable, in comparison to the newer sibling it produced sound that was frostier, leaner, shinier, slightly pointier, and more incisive. It also framed sound sources more narrowly, resulting in a perspective aimed primarily at those in pursuit of ultimate speed, directness, articulation, openness, and immediacy. The Horizon360 approached its task without any bias. The longer it played, the more competent and polished it proved across every aspect I cared about. On agile, radiant tracks, it easily matched the first Horizon’s quickness, clarity, articulation, detail retrieval, background blackness, and electric demeanor—yet added bolder tone, wider dynamic span, deeper bass, higher energy, and overall might. On intimate acoustic fare featuring a single vocal line, it was just as smooth and delicate while upping the ante on juiciness, expressiveness, immediacy, seductiveness, and color. On spatially complex music, it was more organic, moving, and vivid, and also significantly better at revealing contents behind the closest plane.”„*The Horizon360 brilliantly handled the most dynamically challenging music on my playlist, but that doesn’t fully capture how fiendishly capable it truly was in such tasks. The level of elasticity, control, composure, energy, fullness, and sheer aural freedom it offered during very loud playback was prohibitively high. Most importantly, the second-gen Horizon delivered all this effortlessly, as if this rare skill were simply another menu item rather than something remarkable. Elegant, casual, yet enormously powerful and spacious—that is the best way to convey it. I have never experienced a DAC that sounded this intense, gravitational, spatially liberated, meticulous, resolute, and complete all at once. If the first-gen Horizon were a speaker, I’d consider it a purist full-range driver inside a large folded horn, mindfully curated within a stereo system. The successor would share the same topology, but with a far better amplifier and intelligently crossed RiPol support on the side. While both would perform similarly, the latter simply does more—and does it with far greater ease.”*While the overview above may seem a bit broad, it’s essential for understanding where exactly the Aphrodite stands in relation to the Horizon360 as far as its sound quality is concerned. Without proper context, it’s easy—and tempting—to gush over the former all the way to the conclusion. Done well, that kind of storytelling can be entertaining, but it doesn’t really help anyone. The Aphrodite deserves specifics. Fortunately, that’s not a tall order given how it performed. On that note, there are only a few key aspects to unpack. Naturally, Horizon360 owners who decide to transition to the latest model will have expectations as high as its price tag—and rightly so. Listeners fortunate enough to make that leap aren’t looking for a minor sonic twist or detour, but meaningful progress that leaves a strong impression. By that, I mean an immediate, undeniable step up in sound quality that has to hit hard. Even compared to the extraordinary Horizon360, the Aphrodite delivered that feeling pronto. Just two quick swaps between the two were enough to reveal the latter as the clearly more gifted design. As a proud Horizon360 owner, I’d very much like to report that this was a close call—but it wasn’t, and for perfectly clear reasons. With this DAC in my system I was smiling from ear to ear. With the Aphrodite I was laughing in disbelief, with eyes wide open and head tilted to the back.As mentioned earlier, the core LampizatOr voicing is deeply rooted in exceptional dynamic range, energy delivery, and spatial expansiveness. Every DAC from the brand that I’ve owned has clearly surpassed its predecessor, particularly in these lively, adrenaline-charged aspects. Music that behaves like an espresso shot rather than a sedative benefits the most from this character—but not exclusively. Many acoustic instruments and, for instance, baritone vocals can project energy as abundantly as massive Taiko drums or quick yet very deep artificial synth pulses. I’m referring to that majestic yet effortless sense of airflow—rapid, dynamically charged, and intensely alive. The Horizon360 was already a powerhouse in this regard. Even with the most demanding music material, it felt utterly unrestrained, bold, immediate, and seemingly limitless. Prior to the Aphrodite’s arrival, I was convinced that, in my room and with my speakers, this thrilling sense of motion, ease, flow and intensity couldn’t possibly go any further. Then it did.The Aphrodite asserted its clear superiority over the Horizon360 by expanding spatial dimensions and dramatically intensifying the system’s liveliness and vigor. In doing so, it transformed my setup into a far more muscular and imaging-wise fiendish rig than it had ever been. The scale of this change was disturbingly large. When landscape size and dynamic potency increase to such an extent, the entire listening experience is inevitably reshaped, regardless of the track at hand. With the Aphrodite in play, every familiar reference track in my library sounded noticeably fresher, bolder and more engaging. Rock and metal pieces grew more visceral and ferocious, while acoustic and tribal material gained illumination, volume, and expressive clarity. Let me stress that the sheer magnitude of improvement when moving from one DAC to the other was precisely what elevated the Aphrodite into an unmistakably higher league.In retrospect, the outcome of their clash made perfect sense given how the latest LampizatOr has been engineered. A simplified output stage, tube-based anode loading, upgraded digital clocks, and the omission of any signal trimmers are all crucial elements that likely contributed to its performance leap. If I were to identify a single key factor behind this dramatic improvement however, it would be the EI transformers. Earlier this year, I reviewed both the TotalDAC d1-biunity and the Audio Reveal Hercules DAC—each exceptionally spirited performers in their own right—and the Aphrodite, packed exclusively with EIs just like them, clearly follows that same athletic, high-energy path. This LampizatOr also stands as further evidence that the transformer topology it employs is the right path forward in DAC design.Branding the Aphrodite as the best LampizatOr to date and concluding the report there wouldn’t be a mistake. However, the loaner, equipped with the tube arsenal listed earlier, sounded more mechanical and less inviting than the Horizon360. The latter, while not slow, syrupy, or veiled in any way, presented music with a denser, mellower, and calmer demeanor. That’s an amusing observation considering how unhinged the Horizon360 already is in the adrenaline-fueled department. Yet, we don’t know what we don’t know—until we do. Without my exposure to the Aphrodite’s greater authority, explosiveness, and spatial extravagance, I wouldn’t have realized there was still a higher ceiling to reach. A somewhat stiffer suspension is the price to pay for that significantly higher horsepower, but that’s hardly a deal-breaker. Those wanting to preserve the Aphrodite’s insane 0–60 time while securing a comfier ride have options. First, proper anti-vibration isolators make a remarkable difference. I enjoyed it equally atop sound|kaos Vibra30 and the diamond-tiered, TwinDamp-infused Carbide Base Micros. The latter’s lossy ViscoRings nudged the Aphrodite’s voicing toward a touch more playful, polite, and thicker direction. Secondly, its LAN input, meanwhile, produces a noticeably more organic, flowing, and tonally rich sound than USB. Lastly, since tubes shape the Horizon360’s profile so profoundly, I imagine the Aphrodite will respond much the same. While this beast needs ten of them to work, that won’t be a concern for those who can afford it. Now we can wrap.

In theory, the LampizatOr Aphrodite shouldn’t exist as a commercial effort, let alone survive on the market. It’s prohibitively large, heavy, and expensive, with tubes alone costing four figures and beyond. A typical $100 desktop DAC often packs more features than this single-purpose creation. Even so, the Aphrodite demonstrates what happens when practicality is irrelevant and sound quality alone governs every design choice, no matter how extreme. Put simply, it shows us how brilliantly a DAC can perform when engineered to excel at this one task—everything else be damned. Part proof of concept, part oligarch-fi, part unorthodox DAC unlike any other, this is the finest sounding LampizatOr ever made. The only reason it leaves without our red badge is because the Horizon360 already claimed that honor earlier this year. That aside, my sincere congratulations to Łukasz and his team for pushing their craft this far above their previous best. That’s a monumental achievement on its own two legs!

Associated Equipment:

• Amplifier: Trilogy 995R, FirstWatt F7, Enleum AMP-23R
• DAC: LampizatOr Horizon360 (Stradi 5U4G + Psvane Summit 4x KT88 / 2x 6SN7)
• Speakers: Boenicke Audio W11 SE+, sound|kaos Vox 3afw
• Transport: Innuos Statement, fidata HFAS1-S10U
• Preamplifier: Trilogy 915R, Thöress DFP
• Speaker cables: Boenicke Audio S3, LessLoss C-MARC
• Headphones: HifiMan Susvara
• Speaker signal conditioning: LessLoss Firewall for Loudspeakers, Boenicke ComDev
• Anti-vibration conditioning: 6x Carbide Base Diamond (under streamer), 6x Carbide Base Micro Diamond with TwinDamp inserts and spikes (under DAC and pre), Vibra 68 (under speakers), 12x LessLoss Giant Steps (under streamer, DAC and pre)
• **Interconnects: **LessLoss Entropic Process C-MARC, Boenicke Audio IC3 CG
• Power components: Gigawatt PC-3 SE EVO+/LC-3 EVO, LessLoss C-MARC, LessLoss Entropic C-MARC, LessLoss Stellar C-MARC, LessLoss Power Distributor into Boenicke Audio Power Gate, ISOL-8 Prometheus
• USB components: AudioPhonique Desire USB
• Rack: Franc Audio Accesories Wood Block Rack 1+3
• Network: Fidelizer EtherStream, Linksys WRT160N
• **Music: **NativeDSD

Retail prices of reviewed components in EU (excl. VAT):

• **LampizatOr Aphrodite: **€88’000

Manufacturer: LampizatOr