Fluidity, soundstage, accuracy, incredible detail.

Errm...Nope.

As a long term valve enthusiast, I had been running my Border Patrol 20w monoblocks with an Arcadia preamp. The results were excellent to say the least. Detailed, warm and accurate and exceptionally easy to listen to. A good friend of mine rang me from the Hammersmith HiFi show having just come out of the Lamm room. He was insistent that I should audition their amplifiers, animatedly expostulating their incredible qualities. Knowing that he was not a man to be easily impressed, I followed his advice and auditioned the LL2. To say that this amplifier is a revelation is an understatement. If you are looking for the ''in the room'' quality that is so often bandied about, I have to say that this is the first time I have really experienced anything that comes close to such a boast. Bass is extended and accurate, the Lamm picking out the resonance and wood of the stand up bass or the scratch of the pick against a Fender...Acoustic guitars are unbelievably accurate. Actually, perhaps I should say they are the opposite...Believably accurate. The thing with this preamp is that instruments just sound REAL. Nuances of vocal, breath, catches in the delivery...its all there. The other thing that really hits you about the Lamm is its sense of space. There is an almost ethereal sense of air around the instruments and singers. The sense of the room the music is recorded in is beautifully presented in a magical way. Percussion and fine detail is retrieved in such a natural way, your Cds sound like they''ve been re-recorded! If you''re looking for an amp with power loads of slam and overblown bass, then the Lamm isn''t for you. On the other hand, if you want it to sound like the music was recorded, then at the asking price, I''d have to say this is an outstanding bargain.

Similar Products Used:

I have an Eikos CD player, Voyd turntable with SME arm, moving coil cartridge and phono stage, Border patrol monoblocks and Audionote spx Es.