Hey Steve01s4, it's been awhile for me, too. That was then...

11-17-03: Thesaint519
The best system that I ever built is still very much under construction. But, listed below is my current system w/ the future upgrade list in tow:

- Levinson 390S
www.marklevinson.com

- Levinson 33H
www.marklevinson.com

- PS Audio P1000 Power Regenerator w/ 20A High Current Ultimate Outlet
www.psaudio.com

- Revel Ultima Salons - Piano Gloss Black w/ Aluminum Sides
www.revelspeakers.com

- Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Rack w/ Apex footers (4 shelf version)
www.grandprixaudio.com

- Grand Prix Audio F1 Carbon Shelf
www.grandprixaudio.com

- Synergistic Research Resolution Reference X-Series XLR w/ active shielding - Interconnects
www.synergisticresearch.com

- Synergistic Research Resolution Reference X-Series w/ active shielding - Speaker Cables
www.synergisticresearch.com

- Kimber SC-VU s-video cable
www.kimber.com

- Spike Spotters - spike/floor interface
www.spikespotters.com

Future upgrades:

- Levinson 40 Audio/Video console
- Levinson 433 (3 channel amp for center & surrounds)
- 46" - 60" LCD HDTV
- Revel Ultima Voice Center Channel Speaker
- Revel Ultima Embrace Surround Speakers
- Revel Ultima Subwoofer
- PS Audio Ultimate Xstream Power Cable (for the 433)
- Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Rack w/ Apex footers (two shelf base)
- Richard Gray Substation (for the 33H's)
- Synergistic Research Master Control Center

This is now...

- Wilson Audio Sashas

- Lamm M1.2 Reference Mono amps

- dCS Delius

- dCS Purcell

- Richard Gray Power Company 1200S

- Transparent Audio Reference XLR ICs (MM1)

- Transparent Audio Reference Spkr Cable (MM1)

- Grand Prix Audio Monaco Modular Rack w/ Apex footers (4 shelf version)

- ReQuest Media Server (5,000 songs & 300 Movies)

- SRA VR-series IsoBase for each Lamm mono

- Spike Spotters - spike/floor interface by Cerimax
www.spikespotters.com

Future upgrades:

- Lamm L2 Reference Preamp
- HRS SXR isolation rack
- Transparent Audio Reference upgrade for all cables to XLMM2
- Transparent Audio Reference XLMM2 RCA IC for the Lamm L2 (already purchased in preparation for the L2 arrival)

Looks like we've got similar tastes.

thesaint519 April 27, 2013 20:05

System edited: It's been a while since I stopped by Audiogon, and I'd almost forgotten about having my system on here. Over the last year, I've been so happy with the sound that I haven't bothered to keep up with any gear other than my own. As happy as I've been, I did finally manage to pick up the Valhalla power cords I've wanted.for a while. My other big change has been the addition of video. I'm far from being a videophile, so I couldn't justify the current price of 1080p projectors. The Mitsubishi has an amazing picture for the price, and I'm blown away by Blu-Ray on the PS3. I'd feel like I was wasting the PS3 if I didn't at least play a few games on it, and I have to say a good audio system and giant screen completely changes the experience.

steve01s4 May 21, 2007 05:15

Lovely system, the Revel make a extraordinary good sound and nice looking too, The Salon and the Studio are very beautiful and extraordinary speakers. The rest of your system is all first class.

shade_of_pale January 28, 2007 02:04

Steve,

I would be grateful if you would describe briefly how Frey is better than the Valkyrja's in your system. I am actually shortlisting the Quattrofils and Valkyrja's as I need the speed and transparency of the Nordost to balance out the warmth of my system. Would like to avoid warmth at all cost.

Will the Frey have a bigger or wider soundstage than the Valkyrja? Will the Frey be more dynamic and upfront with higher energy at the top and bottom?

Thanks.

ryder June 03, 2006 17:17

David,

Unfortunately, this is the only amp I have tried. I got this amp in quite weird circumstances (that I do not want to discuss here in public).

Anyway, at first I thought that it brought a significant improvement, but now I'm not quite shure. It may lack the ultimate transparency. I will have to do some more testing to pin everything down. I'm also planning to borrow friends JRDG Synergy II by Cytocycle sugestion.

The gain of Lamm amps is not really a problem, unless you use a preamp with an unusually high gain (like VTL 7.5). Lamm's own preamps have a gain of 20dB, which is an industry standard. All preamps of similar gain should work without problems.

Conrad Johnson amps have even higher gain - 35dB in 350SA - and yet, I never heard anyone complaining about that.

If you have any more specific questions about my setup, pls ask them in my system thread. I do not want to hi-jack Steve's thread !

elberoth2 April 03, 2006 10:32

Elberoth2,

What's about the BAT51SE and the Lamm ?
Do you use the BAT before between the Lamm and AudioAréro ?
Do you have any problem of gain with the Lamm ?
What other preamp have you tried ?

Thanks

David

davidri March 29, 2006 21:17

David,

I live in Warsaw, Poland. AQ Sky directly replaced in my system Transparent Audio Reference w/MM balanced cable. There was really no contest between the two.

Valhalla was a closer call. It had slightly better resolution, HF air and microdynamics, at the expense of leaner lower midrange/upper bass.

I prefered the more natural/balanced presentation of the Sky, so that is why I went with AQ.

elberoth2 March 28, 2006 14:52

Hi Elberoth2,

Where are you living in Europe ?

IO've seen that you used Audioquest interconnects - Have you heard the Nordost & Transparent to compare ?

I'm looking for a preamp to go with the Lamm's.
It seems that because of the important gain of Lamm amps (31.5 dB), some preamp have problems with :
In a review of Stereophile, the reviewer made a test with the VTL7.5 and had to change the tubes to have -10db of gain. But with those new tubes, the sound was softer.

Fo info, I've heard the Lamm M1.2 with a digital preamp form Goldmund, and compared to the Lamm L2 Ref, it was far better (and also cheaper) : the image was large and deep, very transparent and detailed, and the sound was holographic and very natural.

Thanks

David

davidri March 28, 2006 13:06

David - I have a similar system to the one you are trying to assemble - Audio Aero, BAT 51SE, Lamm 1.2 and Eidolons. If you do not mind spending a day and 150 EUR on air tickets - feel free to come to my place and listen.

BTW Steve - I have just borrowed 3 Valhalla power cords. You were 100% correct about the synergy with Lamms !

elberoth2 March 24, 2006 17:48

Hi John,

So your Audiogon name is "Avkmusic" !!
Yes, I really think, whereas you have a better (very very...) source (full DCS in DSD) and cable (Nordost Valhall) that, I think, on music I'm earing (most voices) - Revel Studio are a better match than the Avalon with a Lamm M1.1.

Revel Studio are a little bright in treble, so the Lamm correct this with the "dark'" sound.

Revel bass is very good, but difficult to work with most amp - here also, Lamm are wonderfull.

Only the medium is a little bit "bizarre", with some no natural colors on some recordings - Ceramic Medium speaker from Thiel / Accuton (like in Kharma, Avalon, Lumen White....) are far better - if not the best.

Eventhough, I will probably sell my Studio to find a speaker with nicer timber.
I will try to test Verity Audio - Wilson & Kharma

davidri March 24, 2006 15:31

Hey David,

Glad you like the Lamms in your system, even more so than in mine!! But remember my system was just quickly set up to allow listening with very little attempt at any kind of tweaking, including proper speaker positioning and equipment support/stands, and almost no damping of the giant mirror on one side of the room.

As to your cable question, perhaps NBS speaker cables would work well with the M1.1 and the Revel. I had been meaning to try that with the M1.1 and the Eidolon but never had the time to do so. As to power cables, I'd also recommened Shunyata, and a model higher up in their line than the Taipan which were connected to the amps when you heard them at my place.

Separately, please email me your address as I was at the post today to mail you the manual for the M1.1 when I realized I had lost the slip of paper I had written it on.

Ciao.
John.

avkmusic March 22, 2006 11:19

Hi Steve,

Thanks for your advices.
You don't tell me about le line cable : Nordost Valhall or Frey also ?

Some shows of Lamm were made also with Stereovox line and speaker cables ? It could be a good choice.

When I read discussions about very good cable, it seems there is 3 that are far better, giving different earing :

- Nordost Valhall : the most precise and clear, but some times too thin

- high price Transparent Cable : more thickness, but less precise and transparent

- Audioquest Sky : just between those.

Some people also use for speakers Audience AU 24 in bi-wire with good results for money.

In France, I know that Audio Aero advice to use only cooper cable with Capitole, with Nirvana SX Ltd.

I hope to test the AudioAero Capitol in my system soon, to compare it with my DCS system.
I think my system as not enough "tube" sound - and if i do not buy a preamp like the Lamm L2 - BAT VK 51SE or VTL 7.5 - it could be a good idea to have this sound from the CD player like the Audioaero.

david

davidri March 22, 2006 10:08

David,

Congratulations on your new amps. I think you'll be happy with them for a long time.

The Lamms really benefit from power cords. Among the power cords I tried, the Nordost Valhalla was clearly the best. They're clean and very fast. The Lamms really benefit from the speed. It can be startling at times. At a much lower price, the Shunyata Python Alphas were very, very good. Not as fast as the Valhalla, but with more bass. They were very open, and did improve everything.

I haven't tried a whole lot of speaker cables so far. I had planned on Nordost Valkyrja or Valhalla originally, and I listened to the Valkyrja in my system. It was very good. When I heard the new line of Nordost cables, I was impressed. The Frey was much better than Valkyrja for a much lower price, so I bought the Frey. Valhalla is better, but the Frey is a very good value.

I don't plan on using any kind of power filters on them. I'll probably get a Shunyata Hydra 8 for my front end gear once I add more components, but I think I'll keep the amps plugged straight in.

I'm pretty sure the Lamms aren't symmetrical. I think the balanced inputs are only there for convenience.

Steve

steve01s4 March 22, 2006 03:31

Hi Steve,

I've just bought a used Lamm M1.1 for my Revel Studio and it's really wonderfull !

For info, it's really better on Studios than on Avalon Eidolon - speakers the seller have, includding better source (full DCS) and better cable (all Nordost RCA & speaker & Shunyata power cable) than I have.

I need some of advice about cable speaker and power cable for the Lamms, because here in France it's really difficult to test high end cable !

What are the best speaker cable you used in your system ?
What are the best power cable you used for the Lamms ?

Has you I've got huge problem of electricity - have you tried some filters on the Lamms - I know that Lamm advice not used them, but ...
Do you know if Lamms are symetrical built or not ?

Thanks

David - France

davidri March 21, 2006 10:45

Michael,

When I bought the Capitole, I didn't do extensive comparisons. My budget and system plan at the time made a CD player that could function without a preamp necessary, and there aren't a whole lot of those. I've never been particularly impressed with Wadia or Levinson. The first time I heard the Capitole was with Lamm M2.1s and I loved the sound. Having heard them work so well together, I decided it was best to just buy both rather than spending a lot of time, money, and energy trying to find a better player, and probably not succeeding.

I bought my Capitole from Audio Federation in Boulder, CO (www.audiofederation.com) and couldn't be happier with them.

David,

I haven't tried any of the other Lamm amps with Revel. The ML1.1 is a beautiful sounding amp, but I'm not sure it would be what I would personally want on the Revels. They tend to be power hungry, and the music I listen to does seem to sound better with an amp that can really drive the speaker. I think you're probably right about transparency in the midrange and the bass, but I have absolutely no issues with soundstage size. I wouldn't want it to be any bigger. It already stretches more than 10 feet past the speakers on each side.

I've only heard the Kharma 3.2s twice, and I wasn't terribly impressed either time. One was with the Kharma amps and some DCS player. I don't love DCS, and don't think the Kharma amps are in the same league as the Lamms. Put a Capitole and any Lamm amp on some 3.2s and you'd have some magic, I think. I don't remember what the equipment was the other time I heard them. I remember liking the midrange, but not being blown away overall. Let's be realistic, for a $20k+ 2-way, I'd better be blown away.

I do plan on hearing the Kharmas again sometime with equipment I feel is better suited to them, but I'm not sure when that will happen. I doubt they're the right speaker for me with their lack of bass, and a $10k subwoofer just isn't something I want to think about.

steve01s4 March 03, 2006 15:20

Hi,

I own Revel Studio and I'm looking for a Lamm amp.
I've heard the M1.2 hybrid and the ML 2.2 valve 18 watts

I would like to know if you have tried the ML 1.1 - 90 watts valve with the Revel ?

The M1.2 seems to have a small image and less transparency on medium than the ML 1.1 - but with a wide band and better bass : firm and lower.

All my hearing were on Kharma 3.2 speakers. Have you compared the Revel with the Kharma ?

In my opinion, the Revel are a little colored in the medium - less transparent in the medium - with a more metalic treble.
The bass are better on Revel than Kharma.

[email protected] February 15, 2006 13:52

Nice system, I appreciate the simplicity. I am curious about the Audio Aero Capitole...how does it sound when you compared it to others and do they have dealer in the states?

michaeltran647 February 12, 2006 08:31

I just did a quick comparison between the King Cobra V2 and the Anaconda Helix VX. The Anaconda seemed to give me everything the King Cobra did, and it seemed a little more dynamic, maybe a little more textured. I heard better definition in the soundstage with the Anaconda, especially the depth. I don't feel like I got a very good picture of the real differences between the two cables, since I had to go back to the stock power cords on the Lamms to do the comparison. I'm pretty sure I'm going to stick with the King Cobra for now, and try to demo the Anaconda again once the Valhalla power cords are in.

I haven't read up a whole lot on the Prestige, though I've listened to it quite a bit. I was under the impression that all Prestiges had the tweaks that the Capitole SE had, but I could be wrong on that. It seems to me that the Prestige has a similar character to the Capitole, but is just better all around. I think anyone who likes the Capitole will like the Prestige better. I don't plan on bringing one home for quite a while. I need analog first, and they need to make the Prestige in black!

steve01s4 February 04, 2006 19:35

No surprise you like the King Cobra V2 on AA - I haven't heard this cable, but from what I read, it has somehow similar sonic signature to The One PC.

I'm considering SACD Prestige player too. My dealer has one (with SE mod), so I will probably borrow one from him to see if it is any better than my Capitole mk II SE. First I have to get may Lamms though.

If you decide to get SACD Prestige before I do, make sure that you get one with SE mod - it is worth every penny.

elberoth2 February 04, 2006 10:40

Elberoth,

The Capitole and Lamm combo really seems to work. I heard it and bought both pieces before I'd even made my final speaker decision. The SE mod should make things interesting, but I'm still thinking I'll move to a Prestige at some point rather than have my Capitole modded... you'll love the combination. Combined with the Eidolons (and your new room) you should have a pretty stunning system. I haven't heard the Eidolons yet with electronics that I think are worthy of them, but I've heard very good thigns about the M2.2s and Eidolons.

The Valhalla power cords really blew my mind on the Lamms. I found myself spending 4 hours a day in front of the stereo with the Valhalla in the system. Anything I could possibly do in my listening chair, I did. Normally, I listen to 1 album a day. That's quite a difference, especially considering I didn't buy any new music while the Valhalla was here. Maybe it isn't the most scientific way to do things, but I tend to base my decisions on how much time I spend in front of the system during the demo.

On my Capitole, the winner so far is the Shunyata King Cobra V2. I haven't tried anything from Tara, but I'm going to try the Anaconda Helix VX tomorrow, and then make up my mind. I think the Shunyata VX cords are a less than ideal match for the Lamms, and the Alphas might be better, but I haven't tried them yet.

I've thought a bit about tube rolling the Lamms, but I haven't gotten around to it yet. I guess I feel like I don't really know enough about how certain tubes will affect the sound, or how I want them to affect it. I may play with it a bit after I feel like I've taken the amps as far as I can with the stock tubes.

steve01s4 February 04, 2006 09:45

Steve,

It seems that we well have almost identical gear - I just ordered a pair of Lamm M1.2 Reference monos to partner my AA Capitole mk II SE :-)

Your expirience with Valhalla PC makes me wanna try them again - this time with Lamms. I have had them on loan when I had Plinius SA102 and they were really something special ... much better than my Tara The One and Shunyata Anaconda VX (non Helix).

Interestingly, I didn't like Valhallas at all on AA Capitole. Here I much preferred The One over both Valhalla and Anaconda.

I will try the Valhallas again when I heal my financial wounds (the Lamms were a heavy hit for me).

BTW - did you try tube rolling your Lamms ?

elberoth2 February 03, 2006 22:08

Cable auditions are finally coming to an end. I ordered my Nordost Frey yesterday. I'd wanted Valhalla, and still want Valhalla, but I found the Frey to be an exceptional value and a significant upgrade over the Quattro Fil and SPM in my system. Also, going with the Frey right now left me money to take care of power cords. I'm faily sure that I'm going to stick with the King Cobra on the Capitole, but I do have the new Shunyata Anaconda Helix VX here, and am going to compare them this week. For the Lamms, it seems that the Nordost Valhalla power cords are the winner, and not by a small amount. With the Valhallas in the system, I found myself sitting in front of the stereo more than twice as much as I normally did... that's usually a good sign.

I can only speculate, but I think power cords may have more of an effect in my system than most because I live in a high rise, and have to deal with 90 other people's electrical noise. It seemed important to get the best power cords I could get. I'll probably audition the Anaconda Helix Alpha, and maybe something from Elrod, but I'm almost certain I'll end up with Valhalla on the amps.

steve01s4 January 26, 2006 18:49

Elberoth,

That's interesting to hear. It seems the one I heard may not have been completely broken in. I've read that it takes an excessively long time for the SE to break in, so it wouldn't surprise me if that's the case. I'll keep that upgrade in mind. I'm also considering moving to the Prestige once I add a turntable to the system... having had the chance to listen to the Prestige a bit lately, I'm very impressed. It seems that it may be competitive with the Meitner stuff at a lower price, though I need a chance to hear both in the same system again. I've actually had the chance to compare them in two different systems so far, both using components I'm familiar with, but in both cases the Prestige was not broken in.

I haven't had the chance to hear the Brahma yet. In my system, the Shunyata Pythons made the Nordost Vishnu sound broken, so I kind of just assumed that I would prefer Shunyata across the board. If things go well today (*crosses fingers*) I may be buying all of my cables next week, so I'm going to have to get some quick, last minute auditioning in.

steve01s4 November 30, 2005 15:39

Steve,

I have had a chance to compare in my system the regular Capitole to the SE version (borrowed the regular one). The difference (in sound quality; the analog inputs are just a bonus) is night and day. The SE version is oh so much more transparent sounding, the microdynamics is spectacular. You should really try it. You will not look back.

I have also tried the Shunyata Anaconda and Nordost Valhalla. I much preferred the later, although I can't afford it right now. In the next coming weeks I will try the Nordost Brahma, which according to my dealer is almost as good as Valhalla, at 50% the price.

elberoth2 November 30, 2005 08:46

After a few weeks comparing the King Cobra with the Python VX, the King Cobra is still here. While the Python is a great cord, the KC just had body and life that made me want to listen to it more. My typical acomparison session went something like this: Listen to a cut with the King Cobra, switch to the Python, listen to the same cut. Switch CDs, listen to a cut with the Python, switch back to the King Cobra, listen to the entire album on the King Cobra, listen to another album on the King Cobra, then go to sleep. I don't want to sound like I'm knocking the Python, but the King Cobra just seems to have real synergy with the Capitole, at least in my system. I may have to try the Anaconda VX, but I don't really want to spend that much until after I've added analog to the system.

I've just unpacked the demo Frey interconnects and speaker cables. They've been burned in on the Nordost cable cooker, but haven't been played yet. I'm going to give them a shot tonight and see how they compare to the SPM/QF, even given their lack of use.

Thesaint519: I've never heard the Kinber Select in any system that I was familiar with.

steve01s4 November 30, 2005 03:12