VTL 5.5 vs. Lamm LL2?

Thanks Mitch-looks like the LL2 is a good contender especially at its price point.
Do you find the LL2 dark sounding ?

I've had the LL2.1 in-house for several months and tried it with a variety of NOS 6DJ8 family tubes. Along with the expected gain in 'air', timbre, etc., these older tubes (Valvo 7308s, Amperex Orange Globes, Telefunkens) deliver real improvement to image specificity versus the stock tubes.

Wrt 'dark sounding' - I understand how that can be an initial characterization some folks will use, but its not the way I'd describe the LL2.1. What I hear is a slight mid-bass lift (coupled with the preamp's excellent resolution) that yields deeper tonal colors - harmonics, overtones - in the mid-bass frequencies. In lower registers there is more emphasis on the notes' fundamental - deep bass is weighty and distinct but not as tonally nuanced. Its the contrast or difference between the tonal character of the mid-bass and low bass that that may lead to the 'darker' description. It takes a certain analytical cast to hear it this way - definitely not the direction the LL2.1 leads the ear, but that's how I parse it for now.

For its cost I think its a helluva preamp.
 

Kensetsu,
Actually this particular preamp thread has been around much longer than the Audio Horizon thread. See any similarities between the two?

http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1016931418&openusid&Sherod&4&5&st0

Nolitan,
Jtimothya states it very well in his post about the LL2 D. I cannot add much except to say maybe a very small added prominance in the mid-bass adds to the "dark" description some talk about. The effect will be speaker, amp and room dependent. I would also add, everyone has their own listening preferences so you should definitely hear it and make your own conclusions. However, I believe the "risk factor" of trying the LL2 D unheard, would be much lower than most other preamps. There are a zillion reviews of the LL2 out there for additional reading. If you are into neutrality, resolution, clarity, and drive, along with the depth and texture tubes provide, the other preamp to try would be a CAT Ultimate MkII or the newer Renaissance. Both the CAT and the Lamm are quiet and musical, with the CAT having even better bass drive and overall resolution. IMO, the CAT may be subjectively better in an audiophile-neutrality and add-nothing sort of way, and it offers a superior volume control, while I would rate the Lamm to be a subjectively more "friendly" choice in that it sounds good with a wide range of partnering equipment and is a bit kinder to poor recordings - although you hear the flaws, you tend to focus more on the music. You can read about the CAT preamps in the current Stereophile review of the new CAT Renaissance preamp.

thanks guys!! will look into it.