Lamm, Cary and Parsifal Encore - what combo?

Steve, you are correct, swapping tubes is definitely cheaper. I didn't really notice that you were using Mullards throughout, yes this would be a good place to start. I've always been more of an Amperex fan myself, though Siemens will also give you more life up top. Mullards are great if you have a tad too much high end, but not so much so if you seek more sparkle, IMHO.

what amp are you using john w/ your parsifals? the legend triodes are 42w/ch, which is fine for fairly high listening levels, but i definitely am missing some slam and authority on rock. i thought maybe somewhere i saw you were using nagra vpas.... are these 50w enough for you?

i have no expierience with the ll2 directly, however i have owned an Emotive Poeta before my current Lamm L1 preamp, and it was good riddence to the Poeta pre. The bass was out of whack in timing and presentation, but the mids and highs were good. But by no means was the Poeta in any league as the L1. Period.

Not the specific models you are inquiring about, but my first had expierience.

I currently running a pair of Jeff Rowland Model 6 monoblock amps Steve. Plenty of power, and good bass control. I've long been a fan of the tube preamp/SS amp combo, and currently mate a ARC Ref 3 with the Rowlands. It's quite a nice match. I've also previously used a BAT VK-51SE/ VK-600SE combo with much success with the Parsifal's too. I wouldn't say the Rowland's are better, but I do prefer the soundstage created by monoblocks. They also cost a bit less than the BAT VK-600SE. I do like the ARC Ref 3 better than the BAT VK-51SE though.
I wish I could afford to try a darTZeel, but probably not this decade. :)

The Parsifal's are great speakers, it's hard for them not to sound good. I have one friend who swears that they still sounded best when I had a VAC Avatar Super integrated amp driving them. Though it did have plenty of midrange magic, I prefer the slam and authority of SS amps driving them, as it seems you may as well.

Cheers,
John

yo john. got some stereovox cables to replace my purist audio. i'll let u know how they fare. 600ii + LSP. if they don't work, i'll just sell them, hopefully wont take too much of a bath. :P