Where No Low Powered Amps Have Gone Before
I really like the low-powered Lamm ML2.1 18 watt SET amps on the Marten Design Coltrane 89dB sensitive full-range speakers.
Coltrane speakers, ML2.1 amps, Lamm L2 preamp, Audio Note CDT2 and DAC 4.1x Balanced, Nordost Thor and Valhalla cables, Shunyata power cords
I really liked the Audio Aero Prestige 40 watt amps and the Audio Note Kegon 22 watt amps on the Coltranes before that.
No, they don’t generate that adrenaline rush of a really loud presentation with chest thumping bass.
The Coltranes can do this with the right amplification. And it is really fun. In a Homeresque Whoo Hoo! kind of way.
But the little tube amps on these speakers can hold me…..
SPELLBOUNDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDDD
The little amps are able to grip the speakers pretty darn well. They also show off immense amounts of harmonic detail. etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.etc. etc. etc. etc. etc.
But it is not about all this analytical crap at all.
It is all, everything, completely, about the fact that the …Sound… Grips… Me.
Yeah, It helps that the speaker has a very high resolution, a speaker with all ceramic drivers and diamond tweeters has a tendency to do this. It helps that the speakers are full range, so that whatever bass the amps put out, the listener gets to hear. And they put out a lot of bass – make no mistake – but it is analog bass, like bass in the real world, and not electronic bass (which some ever larger percentage of our music these days likes to use and here is where the little tube amps on hard to drive speakers really do take a back seat to solidstate amps).
But this is not about how the speaker or system sounds.
It is not.
This is about how the sounds affects the listener.
In the end why should I care about the sound, beyond a certain minimum standard, any more than I care about the minute contruction details of the chair I sit in, or the the type of weaving and glue the carpet underneath my feat uses? What we CARE about REALLY is how comfortable the chair is; about how pleasant the carpet is to look at and feel underneath our feet.
What if all reviews and all show reports paid attention to nothing except how the sounds …made …them …feel.
I bet the Stereophile list of Class A components would look a lot different than they do now.
Mike,
I would leave aside your infatuation with 18W SET driving the sub 90db speakers that use funny drivers. I would like to ask something else. You, as the Lamm dealer, how do you find the sound of the new Lamm ML2.1 compare to the older Lamm ML2?
Rgs,
Romy the Cat
Hi Romy,
Thank you for leaving aside my infatuations 🙂
To tell you the truth, we have not heard the old ML2 outside of show conditions. We are, though, aware that a number of people, including you on your site:
http://www.goodsoundclub.com/Forums/ShowPost.aspx?PostID=1096
think that the differences were extensive enough between the ML2 and ML2.1 that people might prefer the older flavor over the new one. That the differences may be so large that some might be consider them to be two different amps is unfortunate, and will cause a little confusion in the marketplace, but, hey, what is a little more confusion in the swirling chaos of audipophiledom?
That said, as you mention might be the case in the referenced thread or somewhere on your site, whatever the differences between the old and new versions may be, the new ML2.1 still smokes the competition at their price point. We are very happy with it here.
BTW, We did seriously consider getting your ML2s that you had up on your site way back when – but could not afford it at the time. Not that we can afford it now either, but someday we will have some extra cash when one of the plastic-binding-post ML2’s become available and then we can have a lengthy shootout and see what we hear – or is it: hear what we see?
Thanks again for your post,
Mike
Hello,
How would you compare the sound of 22W Kegons driving AN/E SEC Signatures vs. driving Marten Coltranes?
Hello Mike,
Could I please get an answer from you? I am very curious.
Hi mb,
Assuming you are referring to the high-gain Kegons, and not the low-gain Kegons or the Kegon Balanced, and the newer high-efficiency [hemp driver] AN/E SEC Signatures then… well… maybe this is true for all the Kegon and all the AN/E speakers…
The AN/E sound will be more dynamic and somewhat less resolution and, if in corners, will sound like they have a wider range of frequencies
The Coltrane sound will be the opposite: less dynamic, more resolution and somewhat more reticent on the lower end.
In a small room, the Coltrane will be very intimate, the AN/E very enjoyable. In a larger room the Kegons will run out of steam on the Coltranes, but really just be kicking in on the AN.
Hope this helps,
-Mike