Who has Luv for the Lyngdorf 2170 and is thinking about the 3400.

I'm not going to lie.  I've been listening more and more to my Lyngdorf TDAI 3400 and less and less to my Art Audio Diavolo 300b SET amplifier!  Maybe I'm too lazy to power up my tube amplifier and turn a knob on my Luxman AS-55 amplifier switcher, but I find the Lyngdorf sounds unlike any solid-state amplifier I've ever heard on my Tekton Design Encore speakers.  It's very neutral, natural, detailed, but not overbearingly so, and with Room Perfect properly setup the sound improvements between using it or bypassing it can't be overstated.  It's just sounds so right to me and just as, and at times even more, emotionally engaging than my tube amp; especially on larger music pieces that appreciate the extra power output that the Lyngdorf affords me.  

It's also an absolute joy to use.  You can open Spotify or Roon/Tidal on your phone, cue a piece of music and the Lyngdorf will wake up from standby, change to the appropriate input and begin playing music immediately.  I also love the WebGUI interface which makes setting it up fast and painless. The dedicated Android App is so polished, well thought out, and executed flawlessly. 

I have been touting the greatness of Steinway Lyngdorf Room Correction for several years now . People just tend not to believe how good it really is .Most won't believe it until they hear it. But, the biggest  problem is .....convincing them to try it ! All other room correction pales in comparison.

The above dialogue illustrates the beauty of an open audio forum. Cal3713 (Chris) and Jcarcopo (Jonathan) are both experienced and respected posters who express themselves quite well. I do not find it surprising that they respectively have come to different outcomes regarding the Lyngdorf versus their SET amplifiers.

Different ears, taste, desires and systems will result in varying preferences in such an intrinsic subjective undertaking as listening to music via electronic devices/audio components. The inevitability of different outcomes just makes perfect sense to me.

I haven’t the slightest doubt that Chris and Jonathan are very satisfied with their individual choices. In all my years of High End audio involment I can’t recall a single audio product that has ever received 100% consensus as the’best’ regardless of price or pedigree. Too many variables exist.
Charles

Maybe there is some special synergy with the Lyngdorf and Tekton Encores--I think there are at least three of us now running the combo with overwhelmingly satisfactory results--but the one thing that this discussion demonstrates (as has been demonstrated in so many of these threads over the years) is that there is just no substitute for trying something in your own system.

I do not doubt for one moment cal3717's impressions of the Lyngdorf in his system. To be completely candid, I had concerns about getting exactly the kind of sound he is describing when I dropped the TDAI-3400 in my system in place of my much-loved Line Magnetic 508ia integrated. After all, I have been down this road before when I replaced some very nice VAC Renaissance separates with a Devialet D200--and eventually came to the same conclusion that cal3717 came to with the Lyngdorf--not so much the phasing issues, as the lack of texture and body in the music. It sounded "good," but just not as engaging or alive. I chalked it up to my apparent preference for tubes, sold the Devialet, and rebuilt my system.

I was perfectly happy with my LM 508ia, but when I upgraded my speakers to the Tekton Encores, I wanted to see what room correction and more muscle could do--and, of course, I was curious about the enthusiastic reviews for the Lyngdorf. 

Once I received it, I was impressed right away, but also missed the "goosebump factor" that a good SET amp brings. However, I also felt that with the room correction, I was getting the fullest, most complete, and most authentic sound I had ever had in my room. With time, it has only improved. Believe me, I have been hyper-vigilant about whether the music sounds natural to me with the Lyngdorf. It does.

I think there is no getting around trade-offs with any kind of high end gear. The Lyngdorf is not a tube amp and doesn't sound one, though I have been very pleasantly surprised how holographic and natural it sounds. It does not, however, sound like a good SET amp in the mids. On the other hand, it compensates in my system with a fuller sound top to bottom, while also sounding "right" with any music I throw its way. In its way, it is just as beguiling as any tube amp I have owned.

Take-away number one: the only way to know is to try it in your own system.

Take-away number two: I guess I will be selling my Line Magnetic 508ia, and whoever gets it will get one honey of an integrated amplifier!

Hi Waltersalas,
 I completely agree in regard to actually hearing a component in your own audio system.  Chris and Jonathan both did this and it adds notable value to their comments. BTW congratulations on your very successful outcome.
Charles