Ron’s New System

[pjwd]

NAT preamps have a full bodied muscular sound but not a sweet fuzzy sound. Dynamics on the NAT Plasma I had were huge and soundstage was deep and wide. Great preamp actually. It was also true dual mono including the tube rectification and tube regulation it had in the power supply. One of the few pieces I wish I had kept.
Aries Cerat also has a very robust, bottom up, structural sound that also happens to have explosive dynamics with tons of resolution and detail as well. The sound is so stable that you probably never realized it was not totally stable before you hear it with an AC preamp.

I also had and loved an amazing Silvaweld SWC1000 preamp, which ultimately was on the sweeter end but damn it sounded good.

I would second the impera ... to me it's presentation is exactly what Ron is after.. I have the sig and am a happy camper

 

[tima]

Which line stage preamplifier do you think is the most tonally "dense" and full-bodied?

Lamm LL1.1 Signature ... in a natural way.

It is neither tubey warm nor solid-state dry; if it has a leaning it is just a wee bit toward the sweet, with meat on the bones. Those are audiophile words. If you know the sound of different acoustic instruments -- from the wet breathy grunt of a baritone sax, to the brassy rasp and growl of a lower octave trombone, to the attack of bow on cello string through the duration of its bloom to its dying resonance after lift -- the LL1.1 Sig offers the loudness, pitch and timbre representative of how the instrument is played by its performer.

 

[Ron Resnick]

For many people the lack of a remote control is a dealbreaker. It is not a dealbreaker for me.

For me it is a bit problematic that the Lamm LL1.1 Signature is a single-ended only design, and the Io sounds best using its balanced output. (The LL1.1 Signature has an XLR output connector, but it is "balanced" with only a transformer, and not with a true differential circuit.)

I think the output impedance specification of 16,500 ohms is a typo.

The Jadis, also, is single-ended only, with no remote control.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I would second the impera ... to me it's presentation is exactly what Ron is after.. I have the sig and am a happy camper

One review suggested the Incito S is a bit warmer and fuller-bodied than the Impera?

 

[PeterA]

Microstrip was selling his Lamm LL 1.1 Sig. I do not know if he still has it. I am not aware of anyone using it with a non Lamm amplifier.

 

[Ron Resnick]

Microstrip was selling his Lamm LL 1.1 Sig. I do not know if he still has it. I am not aware of anyone using it with a non Lamm amplifier.

A friend of mine in New Jersey in the 1990s and 2000s used an all-Jadis electronics chain. At some point he switched from the JP200 to the LL1.1.

 

[pjwd]

One review suggested the Incito S is a bit warmer and fuller-bodied than the Impera?

I had the incito in for a demo... it is a great value pre .. a friend has the impera ref .. I would say there is quite a step up at each level .. considering the usual law of diminishing returns.
This is particularly the case for "full bodieness" ... orchestral music has more of that low end power that you hear live
If you have an opportunity to demo them it's worth the effort

 

[tima]

Microstrip was selling his Lamm LL 1.1 Sig. I do not know if he still has it. I am not aware of anyone using it with a non Lamm amplifier.

I thought I saw on a Euro site that he sold it. Might have been the original LL1

 

[tima]

For me it is a bit problematic that the Lamm LL1.1 Signature is a single-ended only design, and the Io sounds best using its balanced output. (The LL1.1 Signature has an XLR output connector, but it is "balanced" with only a transformer, and not with a true differential circuit.)

psuedo balanced XLR out
pin 1 = signal ground
pin 2 = signal output
pin 3 = not connected.

I think the output impedance specification of 16,500 ohms is a typo.

The manual says the input impedance is 16.5 KOhms. Why do you think it is a typo?