Ron’s New System

[Kingrex]

I can get you a nice Wavac 833 Clone for $340k. Save $10K.

 

[morricab]

Or...I just lack the audiophile vocabulary. I absolutely love Lamm products and think they can be a base of a phenomenal sounding system.

I have found the same level of joy with low wattage simple circuit SET however.

How low can you go?

 

[jeff1225]

How low can you go?

2 watts can drive the Hartsfields quite nicely. My current favorite amp on my system is a PX25 SET.

 

[jeff1225]

I want to thank the participants on the thread for indulging me in these endless amplifier options musings, and for brainstorming about possibilities with me!

I do really think that Dartzeel is a brand you should try on your system Ron.

 

[Another Johnson]

@Ron Resnick
Did you consider the CJ ART series amps at all? Or were they ruled out for some reason?
Although they don’t have a strong dealer network for demos, Jeff Fischel is often willing to let a nearby dealer bring a pair out for an in home demo. Just curious.
In my case, he was willing to send a dealer with a demo pair about 600 miles to let me hear them. I did not take advantage of this, but it was offered.

 

[PeterA]

I do really think that Dartzeel is a brand you should try on your system Ron.

You make me want to go back to reading Ron’s commentary on his visit to Mike where he compared the three amplifiers in Mike’s system. I think he preferred the big VAC.

 

[AudioHR]

Back to our regular programming . . .

Is anyone familiar with this 100 watt SET amplifier:

View attachment 119107

So no I have not heard this amplifier but wanted to comment based on my experience with the company.

I did have the Icon LA 4 Mk ii preamplifier in my system for close to a year and I was extremely impressed with the build quality and sound. The preamp is truly a value proposition and punched way above its $$$ class in my system. In a direct comparison with a Jadis preamp it conceded nothing. Had I not already ordered my exotic Monbrison preamp I would have been happy with the Icon.

I also had the pleasure of communicating with the designer David Shaw who was knowledgeable, forthright and quick to personally respond to my inquiry. It's nice when you get this type of service. The Canadian distributor Warren at Audioarcan is also a pleasure to deal with.

So based on my experience I would recommend you give the amp a listen. It probably doesn't compare to others that you are looking at price wise and it may not be what you are seeking but I would bet that you don't find it disappointing.

 

[Ron Resnick]

So no I have not heard this amplifier but wanted to comment based on my experience with the company.

I did have the Icon LA 4 Mk ii preamplifier in my system for close to a year and I was extremely impressed with the build quality and sound. The preamp is truly a value proposition and punched way above its $$$ class in my system. In a direct comparison with a Jadis preamp it conceded nothing. Had I not already ordered my exotic Monbrison preamp I would have been happy with the Icon.

I also had the pleasure of communicating with the designer David Shaw who was knowledgeable, forthright and quick to personally respond to my inquiry. It's nice when you get this type of service. The Canadian distributor Warren at Audioarcan is also a pleasure to deal with.

So based on my experience I would recommend you give the amp a listen. It probably doesn't compare to others that you are looking at price wise and it may not be what you are seeking but I would bet that you don't find it disappointing.

Thank you very much for this first-hand report!

That it doesn't compare to other amplifiers I am looking at price-wise is a good thing!

 

[Ron Resnick]

I do really think that Dartzeel is a brand you should try on your system Ron.

Thank you for the suggestion.

On Keith's system I preferred the LTA to the darTZeel he was auditioning on tube wetness and "breath of life" grounds.

I want to move closer to SET, not away from tube.

 

[rob]

Hi Ron although you are probably sick of amp recommendations by now another one to maybe consider is EAR890.
In mono block form you get 140 W/PCh in class A using KT90 tubes.
I made an effort to listen to many pre and power amps at home some time a go and remember being particularly fond of the EAR.

It sounded like a tube amp, duh, without being overly warm or lush with no high frequency roll off i could tell.
A very punchy tight bass with pop recordings(lots of drive) and just the slightest hint of extra weight/warmth in the upper bass and lower mids.

There is also the 509 but i feel it may be a little on the neutral/dry side for what you are wanting.

A review from Art Dudley seemed pretty accurate to me.

https://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/404ear/index.html

 

[jeff1225]

Thank you for the suggestion.

On Keith's system I preferred the LTA to the darTZeel he was auditioning on tube wetness and "breath of life" grounds.

I want to move closer to SET, not away from tube.

I wish I still had those Lamm M2.2’s to let you borrow. They were special.

 

[PeterA]

Thank you for the suggestion.

On Keith's system I preferred the LTA to the darTZeel he was auditioning on tube wetness and "breath of life" grounds.

I want to move closer to SET, not away from tube.

And on Mike’s system, which is also a four tower SOTA assault system? As I recall there was the Lamm SET, a high-powered tube and Mike’s reference Dartzeel.

 

[PeterA]

I wish I still had those Lamm M2.2’s to let you borrow. They were special.

I had the M1.1 for about a month. They were fantastic on my Magicos. It was the best combination I had ever heard in my room. Those hybrids are really good, but if you have speakers for the SETs, there’s more magic. Putting the ML2s on those same Magico‘s caused me to change my approach and prioritize amplifier then speaker.

 

[Ron Resnick]

I wish I still had those Lamm M2.2’s to let you borrow. They were special.

Thank you for the thought! I am trying to stay all-tube on the amps.

 

[jeff1225]

Thank you for the thought! I am trying to stay all-tube on the amps.

Try not buy!

 

[Ron Resnick]

Hi Ron although you are probably sick of amp recommendations by now another one to maybe consider is EAR890.
In mono block form you get 140 W/PCh in class A using KT90 tubes.
I made an effort to listen to many pre and power amps at home some time a go and remember being particularly fond of the EAR.

It sounded like a tube amp, duh, without being overly warm or lush with no high frequency roll off i could tell.
A very punchy tight bass with pop recordings(lots of drive) and just the slightest hint of extra weight/warmth in the upper bass and lower mids.

There is also the 509 but i feel it may be a little on the neutral/dry side for what you are wanting.

A review from Art Dudley seemed pretty accurate to me.

https://www.stereophile.com/tubepoweramps/404ear/index.html

Thank you for the thought, Rob!

The EAR890 is actually quite similar to the JA100: four KT90s, push-pull. In the Class A, push-pull, massed tubes genre I am very happy with Jadis. In other words I'm not looking for a JA100 alternative.

 

[Ron Resnick]

And on Mike’s system, which is also a four tower SOTA assault system? As I recall there was the Lamm SET, a high-powered tube and Mike’s reference Dartzeel.

On Mike's system I loved the ML3 only for simple music.

In view of my recent experience with 80 watts on the 89dB Pendragons, I am actually now not sure why the ML3s did not work with a broader range of music on Mike's 96dB speakers. I guess it is because even at 96dB Mike's midrange/tweeter tower has a lot of surface area to drive?

 

[Mike Lavigne]

On Mike's system I loved the ML3 only for simple music.

In view of my recent experience with 80 watts on the 89dB Pendragons, I am actually now not sure why the ML3s did not work with a broader range of music on Mike's 96dB speakers. I guess it is because even at 96dB Mike's midrange/tweeter tower has a lot of surface area to drive?

32 watts and 89 watts are quite different. and the ML3's push things to get their 32 watts, not a ton of headroom in the design. compared to the 22 watts of the ML2's. i admit this is something i have read explained to me, and i am out of my depth making that claim.

maybe a Lamm expert can comment and correct me if i am wrong. or explain it more properly.

 

[PeterA]

32 watts and 89 watts are quite different. and the ML3's push things to get their 32 watts, not a ton of headroom in the design. compared to the 22 watts of the ML2's. i admit this is something i have read explained to me, and i am out of my depth making that claim.

maybe a Lamm expert can comment and correct me if i am wrong. or explain it more properly.

I don’t know about any of that, but the ML2 is rated at 18 W per channel.

 

[christoph]

I wish I still had those Lamm M2.2’s to let you borrow. They were special.

Why did you get rid of them?
There is a pair available in Switzerland and as far as I have kept my eyes open the 90 Watt version is extremely rare

Edit: Sorry, I confused the hybrid M2.2 with the ML1.x