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Power amplifiers

M1.2 Reference       description  specs

M2.2      description  specs

ML1.1      description  specs

ML2.1      description  specs

ML3 Signature      description  specs

Preamplifiers

LL2 (regular/deluxe)      description  specs

L2 Reference      description  specs

LP2 (regular/deluxe)                 phono preamp      description  specs

Prices

M1.1 M1.2 M2.1 M2.2 ML1 ML1.1 ML2 ML2.1 L1 L2 LL2 LP2
BEST SOUND AT THE SHOW

power amplifier

Design and Engineering Innovation'93 Award, CES, Chicago, IL (June'93).
Class A for solid-state power amplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
   STEREOPHILE magazine (April'95-April'2002).
1995-96 & 1997-98 BestBuy component in STEREO SOUND magazine (Japan) 
   (No. 117, winter'96 and No. 125, Winter'98).
Reviewers' Choice'1998, SoundStage! magazine 

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power amplifier

Class A for solid-state power amplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
  STEREOPHILE magazine (April'2005-October'2007).
Winner in the category of "2006 Top  Amplification Components" from 
   Fedelta del Suono magazine (Italy) 
Reference Award from HAUTE FIDELITE magazine (France) (March 2007).
Robinson's Brutus Award, Positive-Feedback.com  -- 
  presented to M1.2 Reference amplifier in the category of Hybrid amplifiers (Dec. 2006) 
  in recognition of significant contributions to the audio arts in 2006

A surprising treat for Ye Olde Editor this year: the Lamm M1.2 Reference Hybrid Power Amplifiers on their nicely synergistic Walker Audio Prologue Amplifier Stands, and sporting Walker Audio tuning discs. Choice stuff!  

This was a surprise for me this year; I wasn't expecting to listen to any hybrid amplifiers, and frankly haven't done so since my days with the 75 watt Blue Circle monoblocks back in the later '90s. But my unindicted audio co-conspirator 
Dr. Sardonicus brought this one to my attention: "You ought to try these out, David; I really think you'll like them."

Sure enough, he was right …so much so that a Brutus Award that I wasn't expecting to give is definitely in order. The Lamm M1.2 Reference Hybrid Power Amplifier is a Pure Class A design rated at 110 watts per monoblock @ 8 ohm (high impedance setting) or 4 ohm (low impedance setting), 220 watts @ 2 ohm, and 400 watts into 1 ohm. While the M1.2 isn't the most powerful design on the planet, it combines musical richness and excellent detail with timbral rightness and surprising dynamics in a most compelling way.

How do I know these qualities? How can I be sure they're worthy of the mighty Brutus Award? Easy. Because I keep listening to the bloody things! In fact, I'm listening to the M1.2s (via the phenomenal Walker Audio Velocitors) being fed by the EMM Labs Signature Edition front end as I complete these awards. (The brand new Jacobs/Freiburger Barockorchester Handel's Messiah on Harmonia Mundi SACD, if you must know …a very fine performance and recording.) They may not do everything in the very best way, and they may not drive the most difficult loads with aplomb, but the M1.2s have a holistic rightness that satisfies at the level of the soul, and make me want to listen to music continually. And that's certainly not true of every amplifier that I've ever had in my listening room. On the contrary…  

So congratulations to the folks at Lamm for a splendid achievement in the M1.2s.  These are monoblocks that I could live with for quite a long time, believe me.

David W. Robinson, Editor-in-Chief, Positive-Feedback.com 

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Reference Award from HAUTE FIDELITE magazine (France) (November'2004).
Class A for solid-state power amplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
  STEREOPHILE magazine (April'2005-April'2007).

 Paul Bolin, The Absolute Sound, #133 (December 2001/January 2002), p.55

                   Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #121 (December/January 2000), p.42

ML2 amplifier, SoundStage! magazine -- 
   a winner of a 1999 Reviewer's Choice "Edge of the Art" award 
   (presented at CES'2000 in Las Vegas, Nevada).

SoundStage! WCES'2000

  Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, reviewed in issue 118.

                                                                               Roy Gregory (reviewed in issue 16)

   Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #145 (December 2003/January 2004), p.60

Reviewers' Choice'2004, SoundStage! magazine
Class A for tube power amplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
   STEREOPHILE magazine (October'2004-October'2007).
ML2.1 is listed in Products of the Year category, as a runner-up in both 
   "2004 Amplification Component" (p. 61) and "2004 Joint Products of the Year" sections of
   STEREOPHILE magazine (December, 2004).
ML2.1 is listed in Products of the Year category, as a runner-up in the
   "2005 Amplification Component" (p. 60) section of STEREOPHILE magazine 
   (December, 2005).

"...Stereophile's "Products of the Year,"...recognizes those rare components that prove capable of giving musical pleasure beyond the formal review period.  These are the components that can be recommended with no ifs or buts, that will grace any system in which they are used."

 Jonathan Valin,  The Absolute Sound, #157 (December 2004), p.48

      

Reviewers' Choice'2001, SoundStage! magazine
Class A for preamplifiers in the Recommended Components section of STEREOPHILE
   magazine (October'2001-April'2004)
Reference Award from HAUTE FIDELITE magazine (France) (March 2007).
Class 1 Preamplifiers and Line Stages of "Recommended Products" feature   

"Class 1 is the state-of-the-art, the best sound currently available regardless of price"

A counterpoint to the great Audio Research Ref 2MkII, the L2 sacrifices a bit of top-end air and midrange bloom for what is, unquestionably, the most detailed sound in a tube preamplifier and the best bass of any tube preamp.  As good a soundstage as the ARC (which means as good as the best), the L2 is marginally lower in noise and grain.  Gorgeous tone color, excellent dynamics.  Be forewarned: this preamp needs a good three months break-in to sound its best.  But its best is worth the wait.    

Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound
issue #138, 2002, page 53
issue #139, 2002, page 43

L2 Reference preamplifier, The Absolute  Sound --
   winner of a 2003 Golden Ear Award  

"...Lamm's tube preamps are a little dark-sounding compared with the Aesthetix (in single-ended mode) and the ARC Ref 2MkII, and somewhat less bloomy than either.  But the two-chassis hybrid (tube power supply, solid-state control unit) Lamm L2 linestage is at least as detailed as its competition, with equally good soundstaging and the best bass of any tube preamp..."

 Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #145 (December 2003/January 2004), p.58

L2 Reference preamplifier, The Absolute  Sound -- 
  winner of a 2004 Golden Ear Award

"...Lamm's preamps are a little darker sounding than my previous Golden Ear Award winners, the Aesthetix Callisto/Io and the ARC Ref 2MkII phono, and less bloomy than either.  But the two-chassis hybrid (tube power supply, solid-state control unit) Lamm L2 Reference linestage and the single-chassis all-tube LP2 Deluxe phonostage are more finely detailed than these others and at least as good at soundstaging, with considerably better transient response and less grain than both, and the best bass of any preamps I've auditioned.  To a greater extent than the Aesthetix or the ARC, the Lamms seem to combine the virtues of solid-state (focus, control, detail, low noise) with those of tubes (rich beautiful tone color, superior dynamic nuance, three-dimensional body, lifelike image size).  N.B., with a superb built-in coupling transformer to handle lower-output moving coils, the LP2 phonostage has the inestimable advantage of being dead quiet, which makes it ideal for folks, like me, who live in RF Valley."

    Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #151 (December 2004/January 2005), p.42

Blue Note 2005 Award, EnjoyTheMusic.com (November, 2005)

The Model L2 Reference's persuasive musical presentation blends tonal neutrality and explosive dynamics with a flowing, almost lyrical reading of musical lines. It dares you to put it under the microscope. Under higher magnification, peering deeply into the musical tapestry – the harmonic, rhythmic, and melodic structure of the music is as lucid and pure as it is from a distance. This is a rare quality for an audio device. In contrast, most preamplifiers come across as electronic devices with obvious distortions that make it difficult to accept their version of the truth. It is undoubtedly a towering achievement that takes the road less traveled by combining a massive tube regulated and tube rectified power supply with a MOS-FET signal path. This is the one, my nominee for line preamplifier of the new millennium!

                                                             Dick Olsher, Senior Editor, EnjoyTheMusic.com

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preamplifier

Best of 2001 Award, EnjoyTheMusic.com

Considering its price point, the LL2 line stage's level of performance is nothing short of sensational. Its blend of tonal neutrality, speed, control, and harmonic purity add up to a sure recipe for musical excellence. It is capable of competing in the highest audiophile arena, while its slight spatial reticence and textural softness are easy to live with.  It should readily integrate with a diverse range of systems.   

                 Dick Olsher, Senior Editor, EnjoyTheMusic.com

Class A for two-channel preamplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
   STEREOPHILE magazine (October’2005-October'2007).

Robinson's Brutus Award, Positive-Feedback.com -- 
  presented to LL2 deluxe preamplifier in the category of Tube Line Preamplifiers (Dec. 2007)
  in recognition of significant contributions to the audio arts in 2007 

...And as to its sound: what a sweet preamp! No, I do not mean "sappy," or "'musical,' as a euphemism for 'colored/syrupy/rolled-off and tubey sounding." No, little brother in the Lamm lineup or not, the LL2 is a collection of real audio virtues: clean, clear, tonally well integrated, quick, and spacious in sonic presentation. Music lives and breathes quite comfortably in the care of the LL2. The level of transparency is superior, but there's just the lightest, blessed touch of warmth, which reaches to the heart. You can listen to it for hours and hours, and never end up with a case of audio alienation—and believe me, I have heard preamps that do give you that "get me outta' here!" feeling. This is a preamp for any audiophile looking for sonic revelation, without wanting to attend a dreary audio autopsy.

At an MSRP of USD $4990, this is also a preamp that is more accessible to the moderately-heeled audiophile, while still delivering exceptional sound.

This is a superior preamp, and fully deserves a "Ye Olde Editor's 'very highly recommended!'" and a Brutus Award for 2007.

SoundStage! magazine's Reviewers' Choice'2003
Class A for phono preamplifiers in the Recommended Components section of
   STEREOPHILE magazine (April'2003-October'2005).
LP2 phono preamplifier, The Absolute  Sound -- 
   winner of a 2003 Golden Ear Award. 

"...the single-chassis LP2 phonostage, with its superb built-in step-up transformer for low-output mc's, is among the finest.  To a greater extent than the Aesthetix or the ARC, the Lamms seem to combine the virtues of solid-state (focus, control, detail, low noise) with those of tubes."

Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #145 (December 2003/January 2004), p.58

LP2 phono preamplifier, The Absolute  Sound -- 
   winner of a 2004 Golden Ear Award.

"...Lamm's preamps are a little darker sounding than my previous Golden Ear Award winners, the Aesthetix Callisto/Io and the ARC Ref 2MkII phono, and less bloomy than either.  But the two-chassis hybrid (tube power supply, solid-state control unit) Lamm L2 Reference linestage and the single-chassis all-tube LP2 Deluxe phonostage are more finely detailed than these others and at least as good at soundstaging, with considerably better transient response and less grain than both, and the best bass of any preamps I've auditioned.  To a greater extent than the Aesthetix or the ARC, the Lamms seem to combine the virtues of solid-state (focus, control, detail, low noise) with those of tubes (rich beautiful tone color, superior dynamic nuance, three-dimensional body, lifelike image size).  N.B., with a superb built-in coupling transformer to handle lower-output moving coils, the LP2 phonostage has the inestimable advantage of being dead quiet, which makes it ideal for folks like me who live in RF Valley."

  Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #151 (December 2004/January 2005), p.42

Editor's Choice Award, The Absolute Sound magazine 

With a superb built-in coupling transformer to handle lower-output moving coils, the all-tube Lamm LP2 phonostage has the inestimable advantage of being dead quiet, which makes it deal for folks like JV who live in RF  Valley.  Though not as "alive" or bloomy as the Aesthetix Io on large-scale dynamics, the Lamm is rich, beautiful, and extraordinarily delicate-sounding on all music, with detail, transient response, and soundstaging that are superior to the competition.  Be forewarned: this preamp takes a good deal of break-in before it sounds its considerable best, but its best is well worth the wait.  One of JV's references.

  Jonathan Valin, The Absolute Sound, #157 (December 2004), p.58