Joule Electra LA150 MkII or Lamm LL2 Deluxe?

Curious Mitch, I was under the impression that the Joule was the reigning champ in the "rich presentation, bass detail & weight camp", that the MKII update was how it got there, and the reason I'm interested in it...please keep us posted.

I owned the LL2 and now own the La-150MKII, and matched with the CAT JL2s and Music Refence RM9 MKII amps it is very rich, with great bass weight and detail, yet also quite transparent - this pre is in no way slow and syrypy - it is comparable to my passive TVC (S&B 102 designed by Kevin Carter) in transparency and speed. I actually can't decide which I prefer between the two, which speaks volumes for the quality of the TVC given it is 1/5th the price. There was quite a gap in time between my Lamm and the Joule so I don't trust my audio memory on that.

Hi Jamnesta, I have had the LA150 MkII up and running for about 5 days now. The only thing I can think of is the preamp simply needed a bit of warm-up to sound its best. The bass is killer, just as described by HP in TAS. I am running from the plate direct output instead of from the Mu follower circuit (this is a simple jumper switch) as recommended by Jud Barber, and I am also running the higher 8dB of gain instead of the typical 4dB, also a jumper adjustment. The preamp is supported on its own feet then on a Zoethecus Z-slab sitting on 4 vibrapods then on an air bladder suspension system. I have a HiFi tuning fuse in it and I am using a 9awg PC with special resonance shielding. After more listening, I put the Zoe back in the system to better note the differences and the Joule definitely digs deeper in the bass. The Zoe has good bass and is dynamic, but in comparison the Joule has bass you feel in your chest. For fun, I put on Morph the Cat and was just about blown out of my chair! Midrange clarity is very good also and soundstaging is wide and deep. I am not sure why I thought the copper IC's were necessary to warm up the presentation, but I put my Purist (Gold,Copper,Silver) IC's back in and it sounds even better - with improved bass definition and sonic improvements across the board, although not too surprising since the Purist cables are much better than the Sonoran's. This is a very good preamp, and very nice looking also. I really like the Standby feature, which keeps things warm but saves tube life. Jud Barber says the tubes in this preamp will last 5 to 10 years with normal use. It is also quiet for a tube preamp. I will provide a further update after I play it some more (maybe I should write a review) and I will also report comparisons to the LL2, if one ever becomes available for sale.

Mitch2, you say " I am running from the plate direct output instead of from the Mu follower circuit (this is a simple jumper switch)" - What does that mean? Is it easy to do? What are the improvements? And, if it is better, why is it not the default setting? Thanks.