McIntosh Solid State vs VTL with Sashas

[two dot]

Serge,

What is it about the LAMM that makes them deal with this dip?

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by two dot

Serge,

What is it about the LAMM that makes them deal with this dip?

I can't say anything about the tubed Lamm amps, I seriously doubt they would like it either. What I have is a hybrid/solid state amp that has a tube driving a MOSFET solid state output stage and it has no problems driving speakers with low impedance as it also has a "high" and "low" impedance setting for higher ""Class A biased" power into lower loads. At 1200w peak capability, I don't have much to worry about but never see that kind of output in my room either.

So what makes a tube friendly speaker? It's not so much efficiency as it is the impedance characteristics. If you look around, you will see that truly tube friendly speakers have a much higher impedance that never dips low and is rather stable across the board.

Efficiency rating of a speaker only means you can listen louder with lower power amps, it doesn't mean that your tube amp is not going to run out of current into an impedance dip, especially in the bass where there is much current demand from the woofer.

It has been calculated that up to 75% of power is used up by the bass in a speaker, somewhere around 350Hz if I remember correctly, the rest between the midrange and tweeter.



Having said all that, I also noticed a bit of bloat and loss of grip from Sasha even when driven by solid state Ayre MX-Rs but like I said before, it was a rather large room and we were letting the Sasha's really boogie.

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

Jerome - very insightful question, "What am I missing?" That is always a good place to start when considering a change. Actually, the only thing I think I might be missing is some midrange dimensionality and layering that tubes have given me in other systems. But mainly, I am just curious about having a tube amp to switch back and forth for a different presentation.

Regards,

Dave

Dave, take a Lamm LL2D and a Lamm M1.2 reference, apply to Sasha and get exactly what you are looking for plus stupendous, articulate bass. If you don't believe me, call Peter McGrath, the man who has probably setup and heard Sasha's with more amps than either of us ever will. Ask him what he uses on his Maxx 3s too....

[daveneumann]

Originally Posted by PHC1

Dave, take a Lamm LL2D and a Lamm M1.2 reference, apply to Sasha and get exactly what you are looking for plus stupendous, articulate bass. If you don't believe me, call Peter McGrath, the man who has probably setup and heard Sasha's with more amps than either of us ever will. Ask him what he uses on his Maxx 3s too....

Thanks Serge. I heard a lot of different electronics with the Sashas as I auditioned them in my travels around the country but have yet to hear them with Lamm gear.

Hey...want me to babysit those Lamm amps while you are waiting for your Max 3's?

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by daveneumann

Thanks Serge. I heard a lot of different electronics with the Sashas as I auditioned them in my travels around the country but have yet to hear them with Lamm gear.

Hey...want me to babysit those Lamm amps while you are waiting for your Max 3's?

Sorry Dave, the Lamm's are too busy driving the Cremona Ms right now. I do think you will be happy with Lamm and Sasha. It's a combination that offers best of both worlds, suppleness and harmonic richness of tubes with all the three dimensionality you could ask for from tubes AND the control and dynamic slam from a solid state amp. It is a combination that I among many others who can't seem to find true happiness in either camp, have been looking for a long time and now I for one, am perfectly happy. The only thing you have to ask yourself is if you can live without the remote and don't mind dual volume pots every time you adjust the volume.

[two dot]

Serge,

Thanks for the reminder and explanation.

I had forgotten that your LAMM amps are the Hybirds...

I would really like to hear the Wilson's w/ the LAMMS

[PHC1]

Originally Posted by two dot

Serge,

Thanks for the reminder and explanation.

I had forgotten that your LAMM amps are the Hybirds...

I would really like to hear the Wilson's w/ the LAMMS

Stephen, between the all tubed (including power supply) Lamm preamp and the tubes in the monoblocks, I have all the tubes I could ever want in my system and I don't have to put up with only 18w of power.

Now, if I did want to explore the Lamm tubed amps, I'd certanly look into speakers other than Sasha. My music taste simply varies too much to fit into the performance window of what 18w can do with a speaker like Sasha.

[1KW]

Instead of going tube what about a pair of MC501 monoblocks ? I love mine

[Still-One]

Serge
I think you are overstating the problems Sasha's present to many tube amps. What happens in our listening rooms can be very different from equipment placed under test conditions.
Jim

[1KW]

Jim is the Avatar a picture of your new speakers or old ones ?