Lamm ML 2.1 SET vs ASR Emitter II, DartZel

Wow SirSpeedy! That was the best rant I've seen in a while. Now..tell us how you really feel! And fyi, 'i did get it'.

Henry - Latest version of the CDSD using optical with the latest firmware updates running the DCC2 direct balanced into the ASR with Purist Dominus cabling.

Elberoth and Kops. European Enthusiasm? Seems like folks over there have lost their minds over the ASR, even forming a club to celebrate their enthusiasm : http://groups.msn.com/ASREmitterUniversum/englishsuperemmi.msnw

Check out the links on the left!

Russellrencom,from time to time I like to rant.Like TAS it is just some entertainment.I don't really take myself all that seriously.Seriously!

Jtinn--Since you have come under criticism,and scrutiny,of your own,in the past,I'll be as polite as I can.Also,I kind of like you,from reading past posts.

I don't own a Radia!The Dartzeel could not have been a prototype,as the show attendee offered me a chance to become a dealer,and all I did was show up in a room to hear a nice little amp,upon purchase of something like 5 units.This would have been improper business practice,as to begin marketing a product in prototype form sort of smacks from "not so hot" business practice!You don't have to believe any of this,but that is EXACTLY the way it went down!Though I'm sure the guy IS a nice guy,he was probably trying a bit too hard to get the product off the ground.I totally understand,yet still can't(and won't) get past something like 18 grand for a single chasis 100 watter,hence the Radia comparison(which goes for a 9500 figure).It(the Radia) has gotten great press,and seems to be a stunning design,though STILL not cheap.

I NEVER state,or imply anything in my own set-up is best,as to me,those who do that lose some credibility.Everyone likes their own stuff.It's human nature to rationalize one's own buying decisions,which is just fine with me.I do it too.

The best amp,IMO,that I've ever heard,and I've heard it alot,is the Lamm 1.2(I hope I got the model # correct.The monoblock 22 wpc model).I own a modded ROWLAND,which I love,yet I'm sure it is not the best,and who cares anyway.I have the sound I've been aspiring to get,after being at this perplexing hobby for a bit of time.

As to HP,I have some knowledge of some goings on at Sea Cliff(I DO have SOME friends,still),and all in all I owe alot to HP.To me HP seems played out.Not that I blame him.Also TAS is a shell of what it once was,and that is probably the lions share of my diatribe.Sorry!!

Sorry about the rant,yet I kinda liked it!

Looks like some of the inmates have been over to SeaCliff/HP's: http://www.audioasylum.com/forums/amp/messages/80925.html

sirspeedy: Thanks for the compliment... I think :)

The unit that you spoke of, indeed, was a prototype (AKA. pre-production unit). The reaon for the show was to find US representation and get some press for the product. If you read Wes Phillips'comments below, it will verify what I stated in my earlier post:

Stereophile Excerpt:
It was late May 2002 and I was about to leave the Free Republic of Bay Ridge, Brooklyn, for the high-class hallways of the New York Hilton and Home Entertainment 2002, so I could file daily reports for www.stereophile.com. As he was giving me last-minute instructions, webmaster Jon Iverson said, "I don't know whether or not you followed Hervé Delétraz's articles on building his amplifier, but he's going to have a sample at the Show. You should drop in and check it out. It sounds kind of interesting."

I had seen Delétraz's amp stories, but I'd only skimmed them, so I dropped by the darTZeel room expecting a kludgy DIY project. There wasn't anything remotely like that on display, so I almost moved on, convinced that Delétraz must have been unable to negotiate the shipping hurdles to bring his engineering-school project from Geneva, Switzerland, to New York.

Fortunately, Delétraz spotted my nametag and introduced himself—we'd corresponded by e-mail a time or two but had never met.

"Too bad you couldn't bring your amp to the show," I commiserated.

"But you're listening to it!"

I goggled at the beautiful, beefy power amp sitting on the floor between the speakers. It featured a thick, gold-anodized faceplate and soft, red-anodized casework and heatsinks. A smoked-glass top plate revealed a topology that looked more sculpted than laid out. A pair of domed indicator lights pulsed softly to the music, and a centrally located power switch lent the front panel an overwhelming resemblance—inadvertent, I assumed—to a face.

It was purty—in fact, the amp's fit'n'finish rivaled that of any audio component I had ever seen. This was a DIY project?

Well, Hervé Delétraz is Swiss. And an engineer. And, well, Swiss.

I sat down and listened. And marveled. And lusted.

"You have got to manufacture this amplifier!" I blurted.

"I would like to," said Hervé, "but it will be quite expensive. I used to think that stereo cost so much that I would be better off making it myself. But when you make only one, it really gets expensive—and I don't think it gets much better if you make 50, either."

"Then you're going to need to make a whole lot of these, because people have got to hear what this amp can do."

"I'd like that," Hervé said.

Delétraz has managed to keep the price more or less stable—in Swiss francs. US dollars is another story. The greenback's precipitous dive has driven the amplifier's Stateside price steadily up. It currently hovers just below $18,200.
END Stereophile Excerpt.

I hope this clears things up for you as I also hope you get a chance to hear the amplifier in a system that you are familiar with.

As far as 18k for 100 watts, the amp you seem to really appreciate is the LAMM ML2.1, which is 18 watts in 2 chassis. The Wavac's are 60k+ for 100 watts in 2 chassis and let's not even bother discussing the FM Acoustics. Are these all incredibly expensive? Yes, but price per watt, does not really matter. I hope you see my point.