Lake People G103-D-4

I’ve looked at several of Lake People’s headphone amps in these pages before, and I have been impressed by their no‑nonsense, engineering‑led design. The G103 and G105 MkII models reviewed back in SOS August 2022 were all‑analogue devices, with inputs on XLRs and RCA phonos, and were designed to be powered directly from a mains supply. But the latest variant to join the range is a bit different.

The ‘D’ in the G103‑D‑4 stands for Dante, and you’ll find neither analogue inputs nor an IEC connector on its rear panel. Instead, there’s an RJ45 connector and a pair of USB sockets. The former is the only option for getting audio into the unit, and if you connect it to something capable of supplying Power over Ethernet (PoE), then a single Cat5 or Cat6 cable is all you’ll need. However, PoE is far from standard on Dante gear, so you also have the option of using either the Type‑B or Type‑C USB socket to deliver the necessary DC voltage. (Neither of these can be used to pass audio, by the way).

The G103‑D‑4 is in effect two...