What To Replace A Pair Of Lamm Ml2 Monoblocks With? Need More Power

I know these threads about suggested gear tend to be all over the place, so I’ll ask: Has anyone used the Vandy with Ken Stevens’ amps? He makes a stereo version that isn’t crazy money, probably within the zone of the Lamm’s value used, pricewise, depending on condition and tubes in the latter. I haven’t heard any of his amps, but know a few people that use them whose views I respect. He finally got a website too. At least the OP will stay in the zone of one man operations but you’ll lose the charm of the mad  Russian. :)

I’ve heard The Angstrom el 34 push pull amplifier and the Jadis el 34 (Not the KT 120 based model mono blocks). No question about both of these brands are exceptionally good sounding, very natural. You re getting into a much higher price range and I’m not sure if there’s a budget ceiling. By comparison the very well made Quicksilver is far more affordable and I suspect quite good sounding utilizing KT 150s. There are numerous good tube amplifier possibilities. I have heard flattering comments in regard to the KR Kronzilla amplifier .
Charles

for what it’s worth, i only recommend and fawn over things I have actually...heard..

When I bought my 5a from Randy at Optimal is Santa Monica, he had two demo pair. One plain Jane maple, another in a wild Rosewood at his house in Malibou. H e told me to go listen to the Rosewood. He was using the Quickie 120 at home ;-)

fun, enjoy the journey....

The impedance tailoring device(s) I mentioned are described on this old A'Gon thread (as well as a TNT write up on one).

https://forum.audiogon.com/discussions/autoformers-the-benefits-in-matching-amp-to-speaker

https://www.tnt-audio.com/accessories/zero_autoformer_e.html

Not certain if they would apply to the 5A/Lamm combo, but perhaps Ralph from Atmosphere can chime in.

I've only listened to the 5's (not 5A's) with 100wpc ARC tube amps (Randy @ Optimal Enchantment) and noted that the main speakers ran very low on their own as the powered subs rarely kicked in with a variety of source material.

They were fine with the ARC's in Randy's fairly large listening room (super high ceiling) even @ uncomfortable (to me) SPL's.

The speakers were placed @ least 6' out from the front wall, so little room reinforcement there.

We were going to try them with larger (200wpc?) ARC's, but there was a cabling snafu that voided it.

I preferred the warmer sound of a BAT CD deck and preamp VS an all ARC setup (ARC preamp, CD deck and amp).

An Oracle/SME TT source sounded nice with the all ARC setup though.

DeKay

I think it safe to say that the ML2s are about the finest SETs made.
For many years I used comparable 4 chassis 3 Dimension Audio SETs. That was until I .also changed to a speaker that needed more power.
I learned a lot from my thread “ Is there a SS amp that can satisfy a SET guy?”. The ultimate answer was no. The musicality and warmth of a SET cannot be truly captured in SS. And push pull tube amps also don’t get there. However, if you love SETs, you call it warmth. If you don’t love them it is distortion. And the most significant comment in the thread was “SETs are like a sonic screwdriver that loosen the tone”. But SS amps “tighten” the tone to be somewhat too much. I learned, for me, the answer to my quest. Atma-Sphere OTLs. Simply, Atma amps are like two SETs that function in push pull. The result is a sound that captures the musicality and warmth of a SET with the detail of SS. I got my Atma M-60 amp on trial and knew within the first 30 seconds that I had found an amp that not only satisfies but excels. The 140 watt MA-1 would be the answer for you. But at a much lower price, the 60 watt M-60s would be good. Especially if you use them with Speltz Zero Autoformers which can raise the impedance allowing the amps to better drive your speakers. Talk to Ralph at Atma-Sphere. He is a real straight shooter and a great guy. He is very well known and respected on this forum.