After hearing them at an audio show, and then in a high end brick and mortar audio shop roughly fifteen years ago, it has always been a dream to own a pair of the brilliant ML series Lamm SET amps. Some weeks back, I missed out, due to a miscommunication, at the other end, on a beautiful pair of ML 2.1's. They were six years old, had been handled with great care, and had just come back from a complete checkup/refurbishing at Lamm. This was the first time I had seen any of this series drop so far down in price to reach the level I could afford, and losing out on them, at the last minute, was a major disappointment, to put it mildly. I didn't honestly ever expect to see a comparable pair again for that cost, or any cost my finances would make possible.
Just yesterday, a pair of ML 2.0's appeared for sale in Canada, just across the border, in a local audio newsletter. They were owned by a gentleman only a bit over an hour and a half from where I live. I immediately contacted the owner and looked at an entire series of pictures that he sent me. These 2.0's are in perfect condition, perform flawlessly, and were manufactured in December of 2002. His price was also reasonable beyond anything I expected at $2,500.00 less than that first set of 2.1's that I so unfortunately lost out on. Granted, they have not been serviced by Lamm, as the others were, but I couldn't pass them up, and closed the deal to purchase them. I'm picking them up on Monday, after he returns from a tip to Montreal with his wife. He is pleased to let me demo them to my hearts content. He is only selling since he has just retired, and he and his wife are moving permanently up to their lake cottage, which cannot accommodate a full sized stereo system.
My only, limited, concern is that they are 2.0's, not 2.1's as I originally hoped for, though a number of people have told me they are so close there is no reason for any anxiety over this. And the second concern was the age, with the 2.1's being eleven years newer than the 2.0's I am purchasing. Again, a few key people have told me not to worry in that regard, given the build quality of the products. And of course, eventually, I will send them back to Lamm for a checkup/refurbishing. Of course, that will cost me, including the expensive shipping each way, somewhere between $3200-3500.00. In the end, after that servicing, down the road, that would bring my total expenditure for the 2.0's up to about $500.00 more than that first pair of ML2.1's. I'm still hoping this was a good deal on these rare and limited amplifiers that I've long dreamed of.
Any thoughts, comments, wisdom, perspectives, and hopefully positive words, would be immensely appreciated. Thanks.
Just yesterday, a pair of ML 2.0's appeared for sale in Canada, just across the border, in a local audio newsletter. They were owned by a gentleman only a bit over an hour and a half from where I live. I immediately contacted the owner and looked at an entire series of pictures that he sent me. These 2.0's are in perfect condition, perform flawlessly, and were manufactured in December of 2002. His price was also reasonable beyond anything I expected at $2,500.00 less than that first set of 2.1's that I so unfortunately lost out on. Granted, they have not been serviced by Lamm, as the others were, but I couldn't pass them up, and closed the deal to purchase them. I'm picking them up on Monday, after he returns from a tip to Montreal with his wife. He is pleased to let me demo them to my hearts content. He is only selling since he has just retired, and he and his wife are moving permanently up to their lake cottage, which cannot accommodate a full sized stereo system.
My only, limited, concern is that they are 2.0's, not 2.1's as I originally hoped for, though a number of people have told me they are so close there is no reason for any anxiety over this. And the second concern was the age, with the 2.1's being eleven years newer than the 2.0's I am purchasing. Again, a few key people have told me not to worry in that regard, given the build quality of the products. And of course, eventually, I will send them back to Lamm for a checkup/refurbishing. Of course, that will cost me, including the expensive shipping each way, somewhere between $3200-3500.00. In the end, after that servicing, down the road, that would bring my total expenditure for the 2.0's up to about $500.00 more than that first pair of ML2.1's. I'm still hoping this was a good deal on these rare and limited amplifiers that I've long dreamed of.
Any thoughts, comments, wisdom, perspectives, and hopefully positive words, would be immensely appreciated. Thanks.
