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Has anyone heard of LA Audio?

For the past year & a half I have been receiving immense enjoyment from a pair of LA Audio tube monoblocs. I was comfortable in the belief that these were solid, high-end components. The sound they coaxed from my Infinity Epsilons was magical. They are labeled LA Audio P3 Gold Mono Power Tube Amplifier. Cosmetically they appear to be of very high quality and they are certainly very heavy. Each has 4 KT88's and 2 12AX7's. I never saw a manual or any specs on them: for me the sound they produced was enough. Now, following a rather impressive self-destruction action by one of the KT88's, I have received the information that the entire innards of these units consist of ordinary, off-the-shelf electronic parts (as in Radio Shack). And this from someone whose technical competence I consider absolutely reliable. Further research has failed to turn up any information whatsoever on any company or audio component carrying the LA Audio name. Has anyone ever heard of them? Are they really total crap? And if so, how could they have produced such lovely sound?
jimuncle
justlisten's avatar
justlisten
489 posts
 
I have a photocopy of the promo literature of the P3 gold Monos. The info is very limited on the sheet but let me know if you wish a copy. I too am looking into purchasing a pair of those amps. Was your amp repairable?
jimuncle OP
2 posts
 
Thank you! Thank you! Thank you! After looking all over the web and finding nothing, one post on Audiogon brought the answer. Several times even. Audio Design is indeed Lennart Andersen's current company. His web site includes a photo of an amp which looks very much like mine. I am now trying to make contact with him to pursue my research. Thanks again for all your help!
sully's avatar
sully
1 posts
 
I have owned a pair of LA Audio P-3 Golds for many years now. These belong to a friend of mine before I got them. Sonically they're wonderful with the KT88s my friend installed. After a couple years one of the power tubes went down. There's a local guy that installed a new quad set of tubes that sound beautiful still today. I believe them to be Gold Lion KT88s. He thought the build quality was excellent. I try to not use them for much unless I'm going to be listening to jazz or some new music. For home theater I have a couple other SS amps.
My mother in law made a beautiful set of covers for them to keep dust out. If any of you are old enough to remember the covers used on toasters and old appliances...
I figure, very few people have ever heard of them. There was a chinese company who bought the name and made components for a few years after Lars Andersen shut down operations, but they never made stuff that sounded as good as the original LA Audio. They are very well built. I count on these mono blocks working for years to come.
I tried to attach a picture, but didn't work.  Happy listening! Contact me if you'd like to see pics!
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