Personal amp evolution

Yamaha DSP A-3090 7.1 AC3 Home Theater Receiver
Sunfire Cinema Grand 5 Channel Amp
Bryston 9B-SST 5 Channel Amp
Bryston 14B-SST 2 Channel Amp
Levinson 33H monos
PBN Denali monos
Lamm M1.2

Whew!! What a journey. But I'm staying with Lamm. :)

Saint519,

Just curious...how did the Bryston 14BSST2 compare with the Levinson 33H monos (which I have auditioned briefly once)? And of course to your current Lamms? Thanks for any insight.

Lloydelee21,

I all honesty, I really have no idea how the 14BSST2 compares to the Levinson 33Hs, because they were in two entirely different systems in two entirely different spaces. My apologies. The Bryston, however, was always crisp & clean in its presentation when it drove the Legacy Audio Focus speakers. The Levinsons, on the other hand, always presented a 3D soundstage with the warmth of a wool blanket when it drove the Revel Salons. But they both pale in comparison to the presence of the Lamm M1.2s.

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.