Lamm ML 2.1 SET vs ASR Emitter II, DartZel

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.

I was able to compare the ASR and Lamm amps yesterday. The ASR is very impressive and definitely should be auditioned.

The one downside to all the latest craze about these Solid State amps is the ability to tube roll and tailor a set of amps to your particular system and room. Also the ability to improve your system over time with cost effective tube upgrades.

The unfairness of most reviewers on insisting on using the Manufacturer’s supplied tubes (usually inferior "cheap" tubes), when they toss out the "cheap" power cords supplied with most solid state amps and replace them with $2000 cords reeks of Hypocrisy. Tubed amps should be reviewed and compared using the best NOS tubes available. In my experience there is no comparision in the sound between the same amps using a fine set of NOS tubes and the stock ones. If we are trying to achieve the "Absolute Sound" wouldn't this make sense?

What ever happened to all the tube fans and "the way they process signal like a waterfall" and all those dirty junctions in a SS amp. This business is so full of cr***.

Remember when you buy a darTZeel or ASR they will always sound the same, and if your system changes to bad (i.e. speaker or source upgrades) your "stuck" with it.

Sorry for the rant of a bottlehead.

RB99

I agree with you completely.

I run my Lamm ML 2.1's with Wilson X-2's and I have personally heard no better sound ever. People told me before I bought them that my sound would be anemic and lifeless. Quite the contrary as they drive the X-2's with plenty of head room all at only 18wpc.

Marc Mickelson at soundstage runs his Maxx ll's with ML 2.1's and they too sound dramatic. If you are interested in Marc's review of the Maxx ll with the Lamm ML 2.1 you can find it in the archive section of http://www.soundstage.com

You can see photos of mine if you link to my system. They are the most musical amps that I have ever owned.

Oneobgn: The Lamms are great amps, which brings me to the whole essence of tubed amplifiers - they produce sound in halographic way. The initial sources which produced the sound are reproduced in full three demensional way, not like staggered layers of cardboard cutouts.

I have not heard the ASRs or the DartZel, but I have owned some very good SS amps and pre-amps. They initially sounded very good, but as the months wore on, they lost their "effect". I have never gotten bored of my tubed amps, if I want to make things interesting out comes the box of NOSs and a little rolling "freshes" the sound. Humans adapt to the sound of their system, and after a while get bored.

Let's see what people are saying about these amps in three years. If they keep their value or get tossed for the latest and greatest. If as I expect happens, you'll be able to buy these for a fraction of what the "waiting list" folks are paying. Track the price of a pair of Tungsol 6SN7 roundplates over the last three years - they've doubled!

Enjoy your Lamms