DCS Puccini into Lamm M 1.2 w/o preamp?

I agree with Anupmc.

Puccini direct outperformed my Ref-3. The Ref-3 added some nice colorations, but when I compared Puccini vs Ref-3 on some piano passages and some old, Baroque instruments (viola da gamba etc), I concluded that those are just well ... colorations.

To my ears Puccini direct was just cloaser to the real thing.

I have bought yesterday the last TAS ... dCS Puccini & clock are on the front page, follows then a 8 full pages article which ends with these words:

Finall,y you really need to hear the Puccini/U-Clock driving a power amplifier directly to fully apreciate its clarity and resolving power. Even the best preamplifiersshave off some detail and diminish the sense of immediacy and transparency that are the Puccini's hallmarks

I have the Pucini & clock, as soon as I have time I will try to hear if there is a difference ;-)

I think Martin has 2 fundamental comparisons to make with the Lamm hybrid monoblocks:

1) DCS Direct vs. ARC Ref 3.
2) The winner of 1 vs. a Lamm preamp.

I will bet a Coke that the Lamm preamp will win.

@Bjbcab

uinfortunately the Parasound do not play in the same league as your Ayre MX-R. Before getting the Puccini I used a Emmlabs CDSD/DCC2 as my digital source and pre. I always found the sound with my current speakers a bit lean, thats why I added the Ref 3 which added some weight and body to the sound. However, now that I want to change the power amps (the Lamm or a pair of Pass XA 100.5 are on the shortlist) I hope to get a more balanced sound even w/o a pre-amp. I Think your Ayre are just to perfect to need any sonic "adiustment" even if the Ref 3 is said to be a very neutral pre.

@Atmasphere
I wouldn't describe neither the Parasound nor the Isophon Cassiano D as cold or clinical, however, I feel that I wand a more "involving" sound with a bit more body. I guess that my Parasound just isn't the perfect match to the speakers (though most people told me that the currebnt sound is very well balanced).

That's why I want to change my amplifers to Pass XA or Lamm (I understand that the Lamm will have even more the "involving tube-like sound" however, at the expense of loosing some transparency and trebel resolution towards the Pass).