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

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

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

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

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

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

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

I haven't heard the Frey in my system yet, though I expect to within the next month or so. When I heard the Nordost demo at RMAF, I thought the Frey seemed to be the best deal in the line. To my ears, the jump from Heimdall to Frey ($200ish jump for interconnects) was much bigger than Frey to Tyr ($1000ish jump), and this was confirmed by one other person I've heard from. I expect the Frey to be much better than Valkyrja, and Valkyrja would have been a huge upgrade from the SPM and QF for me.

Right now I'm trying to decide between keeping the King Cobra V2 on my Capitole, or switching to the Python VX. I have both here right now, but haven't had a whole lot of time for comparisons yet. My initial impression is that the KC has more weight and body, but may be a bit euphonic... the Python, on the other hand, is more open, maybe a little faster, maybe a little more detailed, but at this point kind of feels like it's a little light... I think that's just because I've been listening to the King cobra for about 6 months in this system.

steve01s4 November 15, 2005 14:49

Hal123:

Thanks for the advice on cables. I'll keep my eyes oen for those, especially the VDH. I'm still leaning towards the new Nordost stuff It seems that it will be the best short term solution for me, based on what I've heard. As long as they're better than the Quattro Fil and SPM I'll be happy for long enough to get my analog setup started. Having heard them compared to Valkyrja in the Nordost demo at RMAF05, I think that's a pretty safe bet. If everything goes according to schedule, I should be adding a line stage next Spring. I need to take care of cables and a rack first. For the rack, I'll definitely be using a Rix Rax, and fine tuning it with HRS products. IMO, there's not a rack made that is in the same league, visually, as the Rix. As for their sound, they're very well built and provide a solid platform for any vibration control. I can visualize the rack I'm going to have built already, and it will be worth every penny.

Elberoth2:

I've heard a fully burned in SE, but not in my system. I'm pretty happy with the current state of the player, and if I upgrade I'll probably just make the jump to a Prestige or the emmLabs stuff. I almost purchased an SE isntead of the player I bought, but I decided I didn't have any need for analog inputs at the time (oops). I hadn't heard any reports on the sound quality yet, so I thought it best to assume it would be the same and just make my decision based on the features.

steve01s4 November 03, 2005 23:03

Elberoth -

Thanks for the suggestion. I'm hesitant to mod te player, especially since it's still under warranty. If the upgrade is really significant, though, I may have to consider doing it next year.

steve01s4 October 23, 2005 16:13

Islandear,

Thanks for your compliment. I didn't have the chance to compare the 1.1s and 2.1s. My dealer only had the 2.1s, and they're definitely good enough for me. If I had to replace these, I'd most likely go with 1.2s, but the 2.1s sound so good that they're the last thing on my list to upgrade.

steve01s4 October 22, 2005 22:43

I've decided to make some changes in the direction I'm taking the system recently. When I got this whole thing started, I was going to stick with digital... it seemed to make more sense at the time. The only problem with that is that I've listened to some good analog since then. I'm now planning on devoting my resources to moving towards adding a turntable as soon as possible. Rather than go with Valhalla/Indra/Anaconda or whatever top end cable is out there, I'm going to go for some more reasonably priced stuff... most likely the new Nordost Frey with Shunyata Pythons to get me by. Next step is a rack, then preamp(s), then finally a turntable. It should be an interesting journey.

steve01s4 October 20, 2005 04:16

Thesaint519,

I haven't heard Valhalla in my system yet, only comparisons at my dealer's so far. Sometime within the next month or so I'm doing a big cable audition here, with all of the current contenders for interconnects, cables, and power cords, in my own system. I'm leaning heavily towards Valhalla speaker cable as my next step, followed by Indra interconnect, then Shunyata Anaconda VX for the Capitole, and Anaconda Alpha for the Lamms, but of course will wait to make my final decision until I hear that combination.

The Valkyrja certainly took the sound of my system up a level. There was a naturalness that was missing with the SPM/QF I'm using now. Vocals improved to such a degree that I was able to finally understand the lyrics on some songs I'd been listening to for quite a while. The improvement was greatest during more complex passages. The parts of instruments became more apparent. For example, when listening to an acoustic guitar, it became easier to distinguish the contribution to the sound from the strings from the contribution from the wooden body and the air resonating in it. These parts never sounded disconnected from each other, but gave the impression of a much more accurate portrayal of the instrument.

In comparison (but not in my system), the Valhalla makes the Valkyrja sound "hi-fi". The Valhalla is much more natural and relaxed than the Valkyrja. Valkyrja sounded incredible on its own, but Valhalla improved on just about every aspect, and showed a few weaknesses in Valkyrja that I hadn't noticed before.

As for Nordost with your Levinson stuff, I'm not sure it would be the right way to go for my ears... but then, if you do like the way the Levinson stuff sounds, Nordost might be perfect for you. I think the Nordost cables are very neutral, so they're going to show you exactly how your gear sounds. This can either be a really, really good thing (I've found it to be great in my system) or a really, really bad thing. The only way to know is to try it out.

Just another note... I haven't heard the top end $30k Transparent stuff, but any networked cables I've heard have bugged me. I don't like the concept of them, so it's possible that my dislike of their sound is psychoacoustic, I don't know. If the Nordost isn't to your taste, you might want to look for some cables that are more "musical" (AKA euphonic) than the Valkyrja. I haven't looked into cables like that, but the Dominus Artg recommends would be a place I'd certainly start.

steve01s4 August 21, 2005 03:55

David,

I've heard lots of amps with the Revels over the years. Mark Levinson 33, 33H, 333, 336... Krell FPB700CX, KAV-300IL, Aragon 2007, Music Reference RM-9, Linn Klimax, and a few more I can't think of right now. The Lamms are unquestionably the best match I've heard yet. I have no problems with bass response, though I've found that Shunyata powercords on the Lamms improve things significantly. I like the big Krells with the Studios, but felt that they were lacking some soul. The Lamms, on the other hand, have an amazing organic quality that really shows through with the Studios.

To make a long story short, my amp search is over for the forseeable future. I am not aware of anything at any price I'd choose over my Lamms, except newer Lamms. If you do get the chance to listen to the combination, I think you'll be as impressed as I am.

steve01s4 August 12, 2005 05:34

Last week's update... did some vibration tweaking on the Capitole. I had HRS Nimbus, Couplers, and a Damping plate, in addition to the Capitole's stock BDR cones, and the Aurios (and, of course, the duck...) A non-audiophile friend and I went through just about every possible combination, and agreed that the Capitole with the BDRs on it sitting on top of the HRS Nimbus setup was the best sounding. The Aurios, which were spectacular under my old tube amp, had a couple of tradeoffs with the Capitole that the HRS stuff didn't have.

This week's update... I'm auditioning some Shunyata power cords on the amps... Python Alphas at the moment. Wow. The improvement was stunning... dynamics increased significantly, bass gained weight and slam, upper midrange to treble opened up totally... I can't wait to hear the Anacondas. I'm also interested in trying the Valhalla power cords.

I did a comparison at my dealer (Audio Federation) yesterday, starting with Valkyrja, and moving up to Valhalla, then Stealth Indra... As much as I really didn't want to like it, the Indra seemed to be the clear winner there, and I think it was even good enough to justify its price. I wonder if it will be that good in my system too, or if I can "go cheap" and get Valhalla. The Valhalla was as big of a step up from the Valkyrja as the Valkyrja was from my current cables. Also looking forward to hearing those here. And then there are the Jormas....

I can't even imagine how good the system is going to sound once I buy all these things I'm auditioning and put them all together.

steve01s4 July 04, 2005 17:54

I'm currently experimenting with cables and vibration control.

I'm auditioning Nordost Valkyrja this week, though I definitely don't need the full week to know my opinion of them. The Valkyrja is significantly better than the Quatro Fil/SPM combo, in all aspects. Soundstage increased in all dimensions and became more focused, and things sound much more natural. I'm also planning on checking out Valhalla, but looking at the price tag I'm not sure I want it to be as big of a step up from Valkyrja as Valkyrja was from QF/SPM. I also plan on checking out Jorma speaker cables.

I'm messing around with a pair of Aurios 1.0s that I've had for a few years. They do make a big difference under the Capitole, but I'm still undecided whether that difference is actually an improvement. I don't think it's a step backwards in sound quality either... just a change. The sound became much more detailed with the Aurios in, but I feel like I lost some soundstage depth, and the soundstage has been shifted up a few feet... it may be slightly compressed vertically, but the strange thing is sounds that used to come from very low (floor or below) come from ~2-3 feet off the ground, and the soundstage goes up from there. I'm not sure if I like this perspective or not, so I'm going to keep messing with it.

My dedicated lines should be here before too long. Any recommendations for AC outlets? I may just go with the Hubbell hospital grade outlets for now, and experiment with cryo treated stuff later.

steve01s4 June 22, 2005 03:14

System edited: Hung the painting, which significantly reduced the slap echo I was hearing in the room.

steve01s4 June 15, 2005 04:41