Levinson 20.5 monos - Time for a Refurb?

Good question, Nsgarch. I have not read all of his interviews, but it is not answered in FAQ on his website. An Audiogoner wrote somewhere in the discussions section that he bought the M1.2 hybrids and then had thoughts about selling them and buying one of the all tube Lamm mono block sets. He said he called Vladimir to discuss the matter with him and then said he could not repeat what Vladimir had told him but he did want to say that after the conversation he decided to keep the M1.2 hybrids.

singular or plural regarding the tubes is a matter of definition. If you are talking about just one mono block, it is singular as each mono block has one tube for the second stage.

My own thoughts about hybrids have been to try to get the best of both worlds: SS for the attack and tubes for the extension and decay of the note.

I certainly like the sound of the Lamms in my system and they are going to keep getting better for awhile during the break-in of the PAD Aqueous Anniversary speaker cable.

But if I have not said it already, I'll say it now -- and if I have, then I'll say it again, the difference the SRA Craz racks made is an even bigger difference than the Lamms have made. Who would have thought that isolation racks would make an even bigger difference than a major component upgrade!

Best,

Ed

Sorry, just playing the devil's advocate. I envy the fact you even have a dealer.

I would hold on to the Levinsons for a while and do a long term comparison. What is initially intoxicating can become less so over time.

Nothing to apologize for, Herman. But I must tell you I have a lot of confidence in Lamm's products.

Ed

Dear Ed: I agree with Herman you have to wait a little more time.

I can't see any technical or design advantage between the Lamm and the 20.5, as a fact the 20.5 has some advantages over the Lamm.

I own 20.5 and 20.6 that I modifyed and compare with the best today amps ( almost ).

Btw, which speakers do you have?

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.

Your thoughts are always instructive Raul. As for speakers, I have the original Wilson Sophias.

There's nothing wrong with the 20.5s. The Lamms sound different. Words are a bit more clear, I can hear more low level detail, more air around voices and instruments, etc., etc. In short, the music sounds a bit more real.

Also its not just that they are rated to have 10 more watts, they are discernably more powerful.

In any event, my wife has observed these things also and before she heard the Lamms she wanted to get the new Ayre MX-R mono blocks. Now she says she prefers the Lamms, but I did tell her she has not yet heard the Ayres after they have fully broken in. Ayres take well over a hundred hours to break in. Right now they are faster than the Lamms and as dynamic as the Lamms (which are more dynamic than the 20.5s), but a little dry, which might dissipate with break in. On the other hand, the sound of the 20.5s would surely change some with replacement of the caps and resistors.

I'm not sure where all this Lamm hatred is coming from, but I can assure you that they make music that would satisfy most if not all music lovers and most audiophiles I know.

Best,

Ed

Dear Ed: +++++ " are rated to have 10 more watts, they are discernably more powerful. " +++++

No, it is not more powerful what happen is that the Lamm ones have a high input sensitivity against the 20.5: 0.76 vs 1.41.

+++++ " The Lamms sound different. " +++++, well they are they are a different design.

+++++ " Words are a bit more clear, I can hear more low level detail, more air around voices and instruments .. " +++++, The Lamm output impedance is around 0.26 Ohms and that's mean that against the Sophia electrical impedance ( that goes deep as 3 Ohms ) preclude for a flat frequency response on the overall frequency range and this is what you are percieving, in the other side the 20.5 has a very low output impedance: 0.012 Ohms and its frequency response to the Sophias is dead flat. Somewhere ( Stereophile ) I read that with a constant impedance ( laboratory test ), that is not what happen with your Sophias electrical impedance ( always the amplifier response is worst when tested against a real speaker impedance. ), the Lamm has a tilt at 2kHz and at 80Hz with a deep at 200Hz. Again that's what you are hearing.

Btw, I can help your 20.5s. Please contact by e-mail.

Regards and enjoy the music.
Raul.