Model L2 Reference represents top of the line in LAMM hybrid and solid-state audio equipment. It is one of the best creations of its designer's professional career--a result of years of intensive research directed at attaining the most accurate reproduction of recorded music. Unique topology and application of the most advanced technological resources and processes bring the L2 near the threshold of excellence in sound reproduction. A main distinction of the L2 from any other comparable type of preamplifiers is its almost inaudible sonic signature. When connected to an appropriate type of power amplifiers, and especially LAMM amplifiers, it assures the extraordinary transparency of perceived sound and recreation of a three-dimensional soundstage in the home, recording studio, etc., without boundaries and limitations.
Meitner MA-1 DAC
Meitner MA-1 DAC
Meridian Sooloos Ensemble
Music Server
Lamm M1.2 Reference Mono Amps
Hybrid (solid state/tube) Amps
Wilson Audio Sasha W/P
Sasha W?P
Silent Running Audio Scuttle 3
Isolation rack.
Silent Running Audio VR Series IsoBases
Vibration & Resonance Control Amp Stands.
Transparent Audio PowerIsolator MM
Power Conditioner. I have one per mono amp
Transparent Audio PowerIsolator 8
Power Conditioner
Transparent Audio Reference XLMM2 RCA IC
This IC connects the Meitner MA-1 to the Lamm L2.
Transparent Audio Reference Balanced ICs
Interconnects - 25' run. This IC connects the Lamm L2 to the Lamm M1.2 Ref Monos.
Transparent Audio Reference XLMM2 Spkr Cable
Spkr cable - 8 foot run.
Transparent Audio PowerLink Premium Power Cords
Power Cord. I have a full suite of them, one for each component.
Nice...I have found it responds well to isolation. Both under and on top. I use hrs Nimubs with ultra 5s under and 2 big HRS damping plates on top. Enjoy!
I do hope you get a chance to listen to it. Again YMMV but also I would say I do not know Lamm and would want to make sure those two work together well. Good luck and let me know if you have any questions!
As for Purist Audio Cables, I can say they are: - extremely quiet...super dark background - detailed but perhaps not the most detailed - extremely 'solid sounding' presentation - some say warm, I say 'organic' - As you go higher, the clarity improves and the organic qualities remains but those who say 'warm' might say...'now more neutral' (ie, better)
I preferred the PAD clarity to TA (in my system) and the powerful presentation (strong, 'dense' signal).
They were enough of an impact that I discovered them 'by accident'. I walked into my local store...heard a mid-fi system and realized 'this cannot be the quality of sound coming from such 'mid-fi'...I was stunned and changed the CD thinking it must be an audiophile recording. No such thing...I switched to a 'regular CD' and the sound was still remarkable...full, solid, dark background. The Manager had no idea what could have been different until I made him come in and go thru the system one piece at a time. Eventually, I asked 'what is THAT thing going into the wall?'. It was the PAD Dominus PC...we took it out, and 'bingo' the sound was mid-fi again.
I came back the next weekend and bought the cable...and over the years now have Dominus, Canorus (flagship from few years ago) and 25th Anniversary (their current flagship).
YMMV! Particularly with Lamm which may work better with other cables...I know Oneobgyn (Lamm owner) is going to try Shunyata and I think he is using Nordost maybe? Cannot recall.
I also like where you are going in the future. Only question is: have you heard/auditioned Transparent power cables? I ask only because I have been a huge fan and continuous owner of Transparent Cables (from old Ref to today's RefMM (MM2)...just below Opus and XL (MM2) speaker cables.
Somehow, I did not love their powercables as much. Just my two cents. I like PAD 25th Ann/Canorus/Dominus power cables. I also like/have Sablon Audio Q-Gran Corona PC.
Nice one Thesaint519!!! Really great to hear of a well known 'great audio sign'...'I could not get to sleep!'
Enjoy! and look forward to further comments. I have auditioned the old DCS Elgar Plus several times and came T-H-I-S close to buying the set on 2 occasions for a great price. I know how good that digital is/was, and there is one super sota system where he used that digital until only the last year or so...something like 12 years he had that DCS!
Not particularly good at the e-stuff. My CJ GAT sits on top of HRS nimbus/couplers on top of an HRS M3x rack...and there are 2 extra-thick, long HRS damping plates, an Artesania damping plate on top of specific areas of the top of the unit. on top of each tube guard sits a Finite Elemente vibration absorber (had them 2nd hand)...a teeny bit of improvement.
Each component is 'sandwiched' in a slightly different configuration depending on how I wanted it to sound. Some have Ultra 5s underneath, others HRS M3X.
The cost!!! ;) Plus having invested in the isolation I have so far, and discovered from speaking with people how important isolation sandwiches are (because they are directly around each unit itself)...I thought (for now) lets keep the big purchase of an HRS rack on hold. But make no mistake, a full HRS M3 rack is on the 'ultimate list' of mine...;)
I use HRS M3x shelves with HRS nimbus/couplers and HRS dampers on top. On other components, I preferred Ultra 5s with HRS nimbus couplers underneath and a combination of HRS dampers/Artesania dampers on top.
The actual rack is a custom-made 4" thick birch ply shelving that is bolted and glued together...and then sits on top of a 2" thick slab of slate. Completely covered in black African sapele butterfly veneer and polished to piano-gloss finish. So looks like furniture and weighs well over 400lbs. But it is not vibration free...hence why the 'isolation sandwiches' for each individual component have worked really well.
You're going to be busy next week!!! ;) By placement I mean that I have found that my components sounded different on different shelves...probably because my floorboards vibrate with bass. With the quality of your isolation you probably wont have this. In my case, I ended putting each component in an 'isolation sandwich'...HRS or Ultra 5s under plus different mass damping for each component on top.
Look forward to reading about the Sooloos/Meitner when they arrive!
Congrats! Looks like your intention was to make a step up in each category: server, digital and isolation. Am I reading right? Good luck! Remember this - setup is important, very important, when you are putting servers and digital on isolation. Take your time.
I get the feeling if you plunk them down, they will sound GREAT in any event...but with focus on placement, (potentially) a bit of damping on top here or there, or cables, etc...you surely have the potential to make even more magic with such august components.
Thesaint519 - are you at TA Ref MM2 right now? Just curious as to what generation cable you are using at the moment. My upgrade comments are based on moving from 13 year old TA Ref (the XL generation from 2000). That's a big step up for me relative to where you are.
I stand by my comments about RefMM (MM2) being phenomenal...but just want to make sure i am helping you 'calibrate' the uplift between your current cables and XLMM2 since the cost is significant.
Good luck with both. Have you spoken with Steve Williams (Oneobgyn) who is here and also founder of Whatsbestforum.com? He is both a serious audiophile and has a dealer's license with Lamm.
As for HRS...I like them. Period. From nimbus couplers to dampers...the extra thick ones are truly better...and now the M3 isolation shelf. I am told their racks are the ones to beat. I have no doubt Finite Elemente and Stillpoints racks are also great. That said, for me, if i owned any one of them...i am confident i would stop looking for anything else.
If you get the rack...you might still find direct isolation on each item could provide further improvements. Are stillpoints ultras better per price than their HRS nimbus/couplers? maybe...have not done the math. both are excellent. but give it a careful listen and look at the math...just a thought.
Actually, quite a bit fortuantely...all second hand or just about. Finally, after 5 years of using a $60 DVD player or an Oppo (after the dvd player broke) as my transport to my Zanden DAC...i finally got a 2nd hand Zanden Transport...and also the latest version of the Zanden Sig DAC as well (also 2nd hand).
I then put it on top of an HRS M3 platform, and added a whole bunch of Stillpoints Ultra 5s under my Wilson X1s and on top of my Velodyne DD18.
My 'list' of over 8 years is now fulfilled other than 1 cable upgrade between pre and amp (supposedly the least important IC).
I went to TA Ref XL MM2 on speaker cables...but i also found 2nd hand TA RefMM (MM2) (just below Opus MM2) IC for Zanden to CJ GAT...smokes!
Those 2 cable upgrades were transformational. I could go on and on...but in a few words: the treble is where most of the improvement lay. Far more detail, power and full treble notes without any stridency or veiling. The TAMM2 IC made a bigger difference than the TA Ref XLMM2 SCs...that was a real shock to me. I thought the SC was the most important...perhaps going up yet another level above XL on the IC made a bigger difference?
Goot news for you on DCS...just heard DCS with Kondo this past weekend...sublime. Absolutely sublime. And this owner also has Zanden 4box as well in another system...and he felt that both were equally great digital systems...as long as the system matching was right.
Enjoy yours!!! And let us know if you end up getting either Lamm Ref preamp or HRS racks...;)
Wow! Some big changes! Congrats! I just upgraded my 10-yr old Transp Ref speaker cables to Reference XLMM2...still burning in...about another 100 hours to go per Transparent. Big improvement! Enjoy yours and pls post when you do your upgrade!
I have heard the wp8s. i have heard them with ARC, Krell, Pathos, MBL but never with Lamm. IMHO, i never heard the wp8s sound as good as when we had ARC Ref 3 and MBL REf monos...frankly, it was stunning...and a surprise. No one was looking to pair these together...it just happened in the store because they were setting up an audition.
The naturalness and tonality of the wp8 improved dramatically over the Krells which were more crystalline...transparent...but almost in a ghostly way as compared to the mbl monos. All the guys working there (seasoned veterans) were equally surprised.
STill...in the scheme of things, the word on the street is that Lamm and Wilson have a particularly good synergy, along with ARC REf monos.
I suspect the very clean, very high quality sound from your dcs will match well with lamm/wilson or arc/wilson. good luck and pls keep up us posted.
I do not have experience with Halcro, but i have read that Spectral does need to be used with Spectral...so i understand why you made your decision. The DCS stuff is very good...which unit(s)?
As for ARC, yes i have heard ARC with Wilson...a very strong combination. Depends on your tastes. i find it very natural...though with the big, big wilsons, i will say that power is something they like, and perhaps the older ARC 210 could have delivered more...like the ARC 610 apparently does (for obvious reasons).
The preamps (Ref 3 and 5) work really, really well in the systems i have heard with ARC and Wilson. Worth a listen.
nice system!!! If you are still considering amps (you may not be by the sounds of it), then you may also wish to try Spectral if you are looking for great resolution and very good synergy with Wilson. you will often find Wilson demonstrates their products with spectral, ARC, Lamm. I believe all are great...for detailing and your mention of Halcro, i would have guessed Spectral might be interesting to you. good luck and pls keep us posted! nice system!
