Personal amp evolution

Hi Thesaint519,

Thanks and understand. My own impressions of the 33H was that I could see from the first hearing why they are such venerable amps. Really effortless control and full-sound with a very nice balance.

The only part where I felt 'clearly audio design has advanced in the last 10-20 years' was in the treble where I felt compared with the latest and greatest (I suspect like your Lamms)...there seemed like a whisper of treble grain.

I am thinking of Gryphon, D'Agostino, even Boulder 2060...where I feel like those comparably powerful SS amps are even more refined, filigreed (without being dark, smoothed out) in the treble.

I have never heard Lamms...with my Wilson X1s...despite loving my Gryphon, many have told me about the wonderful sound one gets from their ML2 series with these speakers. I nearly went for a second hand pair of ML2.2s once, but without hearing (and knowing I would keep the X1s 'forever'...I was not confident to go for 18 watt monos). I felt the Gryphon at 160 watts pure Class A...I had more flexibility for today and tomorrow.

What about the Lamms makes them better to you than either the Bryston or Levinson? Most curious! Thanks.

Lloydelee21,

I'm not sure the Lamms are any better than Brystons and/or Levinson, because I've never A/B'd them in my current system, although I suspect the Lamms are. I suspect so because of the glowing reviews and the audio community's overwhelming acceptance. But for the sake of full disclosure, having learned that the system is more than the sum of its parts, the system (and system synergy) is more than any one piece of equipment. What the Lamms do with my Sashas is more realistic, more full, well rounded, and weightier than the presentation of the other 2 systems, which included those respective amps.

Thanks Thesaint519,

Yes, that makes sense...Lamm and Wilson go waay back, as they say! Congrats...must be a magic combination.

Finally got a chance to listen to the new set up. There is far more presence with the Meitner MA-1 pulling decoding duty. The sweet spot seemed to grow - wider and deeper. Details are more apparent. This new realism allows me to see deeper into the musical event - and sometimes discover new sounds, accents or other treats that would otherwise remain hidden. It's a refreshing approach to the music that Ive been accustomed to listening to through the dCS Purcell/Delius stack. Although I like the new DAC, and it'll take some aural adjusting to fully engage the new sound, I could've lived with the dCS stack and been happy. What I liked about the dCS combo was the intimacy that was conveyed. This is just the first impression. The MA-1 was a dealer demo, and may take some additional breaking in. I'll continue to update you all as time progresses.

I know this thread was for amp evolution, but I mad the mistake of posting my impressions about a newly acquired MA-1, and felt compelled to update whoever read it. Here goes:

The Meitner MA-1 has forced me to reconsider my former statement, "Although I like the new DAC, and it'll take some aural adjusting to fully engage the new sound, I could've lived with the dCS stack and been happy." The MA-1 is leagues beyond my previous dCS Purcell/Delius stack. The spatial information that I'm experiencing now is unprecedented in my system. The height, width, depth and weight of each item in the soundstage is the closest to "real" that I've had in any of my previous efforts. This feels goooood, and it's getting better each day.