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| LAMM :: L2 deluxe Preamplifier : Reference Line-Stage |
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| When
it come to high-end slectronics, and pre-amps in particular, their emergence
into the UK market will always be indivisible from the products of the Audio
Research Corporation. In fact, for a long time it seemed that every serious pre-amp came from America, with silver rack mounted front panels and grab handles derigeur. Of course it wasn't really like that, but it's a legacy that lives on to the extent that if you crossed an ARC SP10 with a CAT SL1 and anodised the offspring black it would be indistinguishable from Lamm's latest line-level only offering, the L2 Reference. The slab fronted casework and handles, those irritatingly long and vulnerable chrome switches, even the CAT clone rotary volume controls are pure tradition. But appearances can be deceptive and this is after all, a Lamm product, wich virtually guarantees that its plain and functional exterior will shield some considerable surprises. By now you'll be thinking along the lines of this being the tradition two box valve alternative to the solod-state options offered by Naim and Gryphon. Tube and transistor, UK, US and European : that just about covers all the bases in nice neat package. Well, yes ot would if that's what we were planing. But like I said, appearances can be deceptive, and my intentions aren't quite that obvious. You see, the Lamm isn't a valve unit at all, at least when it comes to passing the audio signal. This is a solid-state design based around selected Mos-fet devices, fed by a choke filtered, valve regulated, valve rectified, external power supply. It's an unusual approach to say the least, and one for which the term 'hybrid' is inappropriate, even misleading. The stated aim is to provide a combination of the overall tonal and harmonic accuracy long pursued by solid-state designs, with the capability of matching the kind of massive output voltage swings that have characterised the presence and sheer musical energy of the best valve units. So, no more pale but interesting, no more voluptuous but gushing, and like all the best pitches, it promises the best of both worlds. Whether it succeeds or not we'll get to in a moment, but first we'd better look at the facilities on offer, because there too, appearances are deceptive. The L2 Reference arrives in a pair of large wooden grates. When you've undone the last of the many, many screws you'll release the two four square black chassises. As you tilt them up for a first look the thing that hits you is the sheer number of controls and switches. Spread across the two large fascias are pair of left and right channel volume controls and a full dozen of those oh so familiar chrome finger switches. But look round the back and there's but a single row of input and output sockets - something doesn't compute. Fortunately it's nothing sinister. Starting with the power supply its four toggle switches control the operation of a pair of remote 13 Amp outlets. It's a bit of an anachronism in this day and age, more at home on the kind than on a modern, state of the art unit. But it certainly does no harm. Moving onto the control unit proper, the crisply detented left/right volume controls are flanked by a furtherfour toggle switches a side, which makes quite a visual impact. The large number of switches is necessitated by the unit's totally dual-mono status. Three of each set allow the user to select between Direct and Line, Line 1 and Line 2 and Tape and Source. The extra switches are a Mute / Operate on the left and a 0/180 Phase switch on the right. Which all told has to be just about the most intricate method available for controlling three line inputs and atape loop! So, despite appearances to the contrary, the L2 Reference is about as straight line as it gets, the multiple switches meaning that your primary source will only have to pass through a single set of contacts and a stepped attenuator. True to its hair-shirt approach, there's no remote control. The back panel offers phonos for the various connections and a choice of single-ended or balanced XLR outputs. The connection to the outboard power supply is via a flexible umbilical terminated with multi-pin XLRs. Which gives you the bare facts of the situation, but is far from the whole story. Just like the ML2 that it is designed to partner, the L2 Reference is remorselessly, almost flagrantly under-stated. Its appearance is an extension of its musical function and nothing more. There are no styling features or fancy finish, no ostentatious casework or real wood trim to distract attention from the LAMM'S functional purity. This is a product that you buy for one reason and one reason only : is performance. Having said that, once you've figured out that you're dealing with two of everything, actual operation is a snap, those long, long switches acting as immediate status indicators and the 41 discrete steps on each volume control making the setting of precise level and balance simplicity itself (even for those allergic to dual volume controls). Internally, the construction is exemplary, with beautifully laid out boards populated with carefully selected premium parts. The lack of valves in the controls unit still surprices me every time I look inside, but as far as the L2 Reference is concerned that type of visual discontinuity is actually the norm. I listened to the LAMM with both Hovland's Sapphire hybrid amplifier and its own matching ML2 mono-blocks. Sources were the Kuzma Stabi Reference turntable paried with either the VPI JMW 12.5 tonearm or (to spectacular effect) the latest version of the Tri-planar, reviewed elsewhere in this issue: Cartridges were the Clearaudio Accurate, Koetsu Red K Signature and Lyra Helikon. Phono amplification was provided by the Groove, cabling by Nordost or Hovland and speakers by Living Voice and Audioplan. The Levinson No 390S CD player offered the necessary balanced and single-ended outputs to ring the changes. As well as all the listening to the various line stages, it's a set up that has served for a host of other projects too, never failing to deliver exceptionally enjoyable and informative sound that goes quite beyond the ordinary. That is in itself a compliment to the quality of these pre-amps, arguable the hardest bit of electronics to get right. And make no mistake : designer Vladimir LAMM has definitely got the sound of the L2 Reference right. Which isn't the same as saying that it's devoid of its own particular character. It's just that the character is intensely musical in nature. Fortunately, the presence of the outstandingly natural ML2 mono-blocks makes it reasonably easy to put your finger on exactly what's going on. The L2 Reference offers the listener a sound that's full of movement and energy, propelling the musical performance along. There's none of the pinched dryness that afflics so many of the high-definition designs that have come to typify 'High-End' sound. Indeed, it's almost as if the LAMM consciously eschews the absolute transparency, focus and resolution of the competition, preferring to ensure that the music is allowed to breath, swell, ebb and flow more naturally. How can I be so certain? Because the ML2 offers the best of both worlds, so LAMM clearly know all about transparency: they're just not prepared to sacrifice musicality in order to achieve it. Listening to a familiar track like 'At Seventeen' (Janis Ian Between The Lines Grapevine GRALP 303) it's easy to get lost in the rolling rhythmic progression of the song and the bitter sweet lyrics, the LAMM doing an especially fine job of conveying the subtle vocal inflexions and emphases that make this such a beautiful performance. So much so that I found myself forgetting to listen to the influence that the L2 Reference was having on proceedings. But dragging myself back to the job in hand all became (fascinatingly) clear. Whilst the appealing musical momentum was both obvious and effective, it also conceals some subtle shaping of the sound, most obviously at low frequencies. The LAMM is lighter in the deepest bass than a lot of the competition and slightly lighter than reality. It's a careful tailoring that removes minimal wetght or impact (compensated for by the greater sense of mid-bass speed and attack) but adds signaficant pace and clarity to the sound as a whole : a clarity that comes from the lack of drag or clogging rather than superior resolution. It creates an aural conundrum by at once sounding less cluttered but also less obviously detailed than the other units under test. Which brings us to separation and the really interesting part. Normally, superior separation comes with greater resolution and transparency. Yet the Gryphon (which is superior to the LAMM in both respects) offers inferior instrumental separation. On 'At Seventeen' lan employs a beautifully understated brass break, played on the unusal combination of a trombonium and flugelhorn. Not only does the LAMM identify the specific instruments far more readily, it also gets their interaction and interplay just right. The Gryphon sound more like a trumpet and a euphonium, and although the instruments are more clearly positioned in space, their actual relationship is far harder to decipher. |
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| It all comes
down to tonality, harmonics and energy spectrums. Although the LAMM doesn't
possess the Gryphon's transparency and inky black background, it has an
almost uncanny grasp of the sound an instrument makes and the way that its
notes expand into the soundstage. It a chieves tonal separation where the
Gryphon attemps the same goal spatially. It's an interesting revelation
and one with profound implication for the way in which we understand reproduced
music. It's especially interesting in the context of the Naim, a company
that has always ignored spatial considerations, but prioritisede the rhythmic
and organisational at the expense of the tonal. All of which means that
what we have here are three very different approches indeed. The LAMM's portrayal of the performance makes for riveting listening : it's so easy to understand the inter-relationships within the music. Its ability to grasp the energy spectrum of individual instruments makes for superb overall dynamic coherence, even if dynamic tracking and leading edge definition aren't as obvious as they are with other line-stages. And that's the whole point. What the LAMM isn't is obvious. It's subtly correct, almost insidiously seductive, without ever drawing attention to itself or its performance, It never steps up and introduces itself. It just quietly charms you. Overall dynamic range is merely good rather than outstanding : its soundstage is adequate rather than expansive. It's a competent performer when it comes to the hi-fi attributes. But where it really shines is in its overall musical coherence : the wholeness of the picture it paints. And bear in mind the extrenely revealing nature of the system being used. It's not every day that you hold a magnifying glass as explicit as this to the performance of equipment. Less systems that don't open the window quite so wide (which means pretty much all those not using the Nordost Valhallas and ML2s) are going to have a lot more trouble making out the shortsomings. You might well read this as a critical reviews.Let me assure you that it isn't. I'm full of admiration for both the L2 Reference's musical achievements, and the method by which they achieve them. The real issue in assessing a product like this is whether I'd choose to live with it, and the answer to that is definitely affirmative - assuming that I ever noticed its presence enough to make a conscious decision! Music at home is seldom this good. |
| Technical Specifications | |
| Type | Solid-stage Line-stage with sophisticated valve power supply |
| Tube Complement | 1 x ECC8iers3
voltage regulator 1 x 6C19P voltage reference 1 x 5651A voltage reference 2 x 12AX3 rectifiers |
| Inputs | Three single-ended line + tape |
| Input Impedance | 41 K Ohms |
| Input Sensitivity | 0-135V |
| Outputs | Single-endd
main (phonos) Balanced main (XLRs) Tape (phonos) |
| Output Impedance | 130 Ohms |
| Gain | 15dB |
| Dimensions (WxHxD) | 482 x 115 x 387 mm each |
| Weight | |
| Control Unit | 7 kg |
| PSU | 8.6 kg |
| Finish | Black |
| Manufacture | LAMM Industries |
| www.lammindustries.com | |
|
Audiocom
Group Co., Ltd. E-Mail : audiocom@loxinfo.co.th
729 / 40 Rama 3 Rd., Yannawa Bangkok Tel. (662) 295-4772, (662) 255-7983 Fax. (662) 295-4771 |
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