If you look at the distortion of most amps it rises sharply at higher frequencies.
Ron’s New System
- Thread starter Ron Resnick
- Start date
They strike me as similar because each starts out with what seems like a fairly primary negative defining quality, the main point of the post, and then tries to ease the impact with a few positive comments after the criticism has been made. I find the tone, structure, and message of the two original posts quite similar.
Mike ends by saying he thinks he will surely get a bit of flack for his comments but it is truly what he thinks is going on. Well, Phoenix Engineering got that very flack from Mike while I suspect that he is very confident that his measurements demonstrate what is going on with the speed of the turntable.
Last edited:
I thought Mike's description of Lamm seemed perfectly accurate, although Peter and Tim would know better as they actually own Lamm amplifiers and have made direct comparisons to other amplifiers.
I truly consider the Lamm "whiff of darkness" to be an important sonic feature, and not a disadvantage. I think it is why my ears hear the high frequency reproduction of Lamm amplifiers as being so natural.
Brad makes an excellent point that maybe numerous SET amplifiers would tame the Wilson metal dome tweeter. I assume Viva Aurora would as well.
I truly consider the Lamm "whiff of darkness" to be an important sonic feature, and not a disadvantage. I think it is why my ears hear the high frequency reproduction of Lamm amplifiers as being so natural.
Brad makes an excellent point that maybe numerous SET amplifiers would tame the Wilson metal dome tweeter. I assume Viva Aurora would as well.
I am surprised no one has mentioned that the tonal balance descriptions of Lamm gear match very nicely the sound of the Dale/Vishay CMF resistors Lamm uses throughout their line. The Dale metal films have a warm low end and slightly soft highs together with very good dynamics and fairly good detail. I use them in several places in my electronics but I would certainly not use them everywhere. If I owned a Lamm phono stage, I doubt I could wait very long before replacing the loading resistors with Audio Note 2w Silver Tantalums.
They also make a 110 watt 845 x 2 Class A push-pull!
GU81 seems to be a Russian version of 833?
Do any of our UK members know this company?
Maybe they will make an 833 amplifier?
GU81 seems to be a Russian version of 833?
Do any of our UK members know this company?
Maybe they will make an 833 amplifier?
Last edited:
Brad, are you saying that it is not that Lamm tames Wilson's tweeter but that most other amps' distortion profiles cause the high frequency presentation from such tweeters or speakers to sound tipped up, or bright, or hot, or fatiguing? It is not so much about Lamm taming something, but alternatives adding to the problem. Is that right?
I suspect those amps would sound quite different from each other paired with those Wilsons. Rather than a listener needing to "tame" that metal dome tweeter, perhaps he should just not pair it with a bright amplifier. You make it sound like these tube amps should be chosen as bandaids to put on a cut. Maybe that cut simply does not need alcohol or salt poured into it.
Please know that I am not suggesting anything objective here. To my ears the Wilson metal dome tweeter always sounded bright and fatiguing; I am saying only that to my ears it needed taming.
Many people had for years Wilson speakers with metal dome tweeters. Think of how many people had WATT/Puppies (including Michael Fremer).
If one doesn't feel a cut, then one doesn't need a Band-Aid.
Maybe. I don't know. But that's a different question.
I think each of those amplifiers likely would tame the fatiguing (to my ears) metal dome tweeter.
I am still curious about why what I heard from your earlier system videos was not reflected in your measurements in regard to the high frequencies. Have you discussed this with your various visitors? I heard your early videos as sounding tipped up while the graph showed a rather pronounced roll off. There seems almost no correlation between the two.
That's my point. Perhaps the tweeter presentation would no longer be fatiguing, but for different reasons because the amps interact with it in different ways. In other words, not simply because all those tube amps are dark sounding or rolled off.
Full Answer: Acoustically-coupled digital recordings of stereo system analog playback of analog recordings don't convey the in-the-room sound of an unfamiliar system in an unfamiliar room.
Simple Answer: Videos suck!
I like this. The simple answer dispenses with what I suspected all along from those who have been carefully crafting qualifications to their position.
So let’s forget the videos that at one point you claimed were representative of what you heard. In the room, do you hear the high frequency roll off shown in your measurements, or are the measurements also no longer representative of what you hear in the room?
I am trying to understand why the written descriptions of the sound differ from what the measurements show. Your stated quest for more midbass to lower midrange energy from the presentation of your system does not seem to be reflected in the measurements that were posted a while ago.
How about no.
Dale resistors are low distortion and don't have magnetic end caps. They're used in Lamm, sure, but they aren't the ones giving the sound in particular. I have an amp that has a Lamm like sound and there isn't 1 single Vishay part in it. I've heard plenty of things with RN's that are harsh - including Pass who offsets any of his nice sound with awful capacitors in many units. They simply are not a make/break component. Some even think they're metalic (not me). Material doesn't equal sound very often on the electronic side.
Tantalums are also described as warm btw, but airy. (warmer than RN by many's standards)
Except they show the headroom issue heard by Don and Phil.
 | Steve Williams Site Founder | Site Owner | Administrator |  | Ron Resnick Site Owner | Administrator |  | Julian (The Fixer) Website Build | Marketing Managersing |