The Lamm LL2 Deluxe bested the Calypso in my system, but the Calypso is much more user friendly since it has a remote and display. Although I thought the Lamm clearly sounded better (so I sold my Calypso) the Calypso did sound good...it just didn't have the ability to bring me into the music like the Lamm. Now that the LL2.1 Deluxe is released, the former model LL2 Deluxe is a steal on the used market since the design, components, and sonics are the same, with the main differences being knob shape, selectable gain, and remote trigger feature. A used CAT SL-1 Ultimate MkII would be a very good choice and IMO equivalent to the Lamm, although a different sounding presentation. The Lector Zoe was also fun and sounded good. Several TEAD Vibe with Pulse preamps have been listed lately and, for solid state, it is the best I have heard although a bit "hair shirt" in the absence of features. Make sure you get the Lithos 7 model. The Lithos 6 model is still very nice sounding for solid state, but is worth much less on the used market - and you would need to ship it to England if you want to upgrade to Lithos 7. It is my experience that the jump from the Lithos 6 to Lithos 7 Vibe was much greater sonically than from the original two-piece Pulse to the "breadbox" style Pulse II. However, THE PULSE POWER SUPPLY IS MANDATORY if you want to hear what this preamp is capable of.
