Lamm 2L Reference vs CJ GAT

Thanks for your update. I hope my local dealer will get one in soon. I was at Hong Kong Hifi show over the weekend but did not see any CJ on active display there :(

Hi Lloyde

Not yet, my dealer still does not have GAT in for audition yet :(

Thanks everyone for helpful suggestion. I was thinking about BAT for awhile but have not had a chance to audition it yet. A local dealer was trying to get VAC here but supposedly VAC told him that they are already at full capacity in their production line so they are not looking to add another oversea supplier at this time or something to that effect.

Syntax, I hope you read my post a bit more carefully. Remote is certainly a plus for me, but I also could use more than 3 inputs. If you stop being a sarcastic and actually pay attention a bit more, you could be a bit more useful here. If you think warm and tubey sound is inferior, that's your choice, I was not asking for your critique on my preference for sound.

Hi Lloyd,
I had ARC Ref3 in my system for about a year. Heard Ref5 a few times and have 2 friends that have Ref 40. Basically Ref 5 was a tad better than Ref 3. Ref 40 is quite a bit better but in the wrong direction for me. I am not a fan of thick, syrupy, bronze coloration, nice big fat midrange with less extension at both end of spectrum, I do like a bit more warmth and full body sound that tube equipments give in comparison to solid state. I find Ref 5 well extended, excellent detail but left me a bit cold. Ref 40 is more full bodied,smooth, but still a bit on the lean side. Almost like it traded some of the tube virtue for extension,speed, detail and neutrality. In comparison, Lamm is a bit less opened but has the kind of midrange that I like, very full body but not at the sacrifice of detail with good speed, sweet midrange and excellent tonal density but in no way, syrupy.
From sonic standpoint, I have nothing to complain and would gladly settle for it. I never implied that I would trade remote control capability for sound quality as Syntax seemed to suggest. I suppose JV's blog regarding GAT got me interested since it sounded like GAT did not sacrifice as much of the tube's virtue as ARC in order to gain extension, detail, dynamic range or bass capability. Anyhow, my 2nd phono stage will arrive in a couple of months and I will run out of inputs on Lamm. So once my dealer has GAT in, I would definitely give it a listen and see if it might be a good replacement for Lamm.

Lloyde, on average, I would say that the sound at the HK show was quite disappointing. Arrakis setup was with VTL 6.5 pre and MB 450 monoblocks. The first day the sound was aweful. The second day was somewhat better but nowhere near what a smaller Rockport could do when properly setup. Wilson Alexandria/Boulder, Audio Note Kondo setup did not do any better either.

Lloyde, nothing yet. Unfortunately still no GAT at my local dealer. In the meantime, I went ahead with Aesthetix Io Eclipse phono stage so unfortunately I won't have budget for another preamp for quite awhile :(

Lloyde, my speakers right now are Magico Q3. I was using Lamm M2.2 with Usher Be-20 before that. Before Lamm, I was using ASR Basis Exclusive II. I heard Lamm ML2.1 with Be-20 before. Very nice midrange, more delicate and more detail than M2.2 hybrid that I am using but it just was not enough to drive Be-20 and most likely Q3 adequately on big orchestral work or rock. I never heard Gryphon though.

Q3 certainly can use power but Lamm M2.2 is adequate to drive it as long as I use high impedance mode (220 watts into 8 ohms, 440 watts into 4 ohms). Low impedance mode with 220 watts into 4 ohms, 440 watts into 2 ohms with more bias into class A, give a touch better liquidity in the midrange but dynamic and bass suffered quite a bit. Lamm certainly cannot quite compete with high power amp such as Karan, Bryston monoblock, Plinius monoblock that I heard in term and dynamic and bass but its midrange and high frequency are something else and it is a lot of fun to try out various 6922 input tubes to tailor the sound to your liking. I heard Q3 driven by Soulution 710 and personally prefer Lamm over Soulution. However, I am not seeking out the absolute neutrality and transparency sound as I prefer musicality and beautiful sound (to my ears at least) over all else.

US Pinched waist Amperex 6922 is what I am using now. I have been trying to beg/steal Holland pinched waist Amperex from a friend to try to no avail so far. Other that I tried, Blackburn Mullard, Mazda 6922, Gold Aero 7308 and various Telefunken tubes but I have not tried Sieman CCa yet.

Since I have a good selection of 6922, GAT is definitely very tempting. If you can't find pinched waist Amperex, Mazda is pretty good alternative. Kind of a compromise between Mullard and Telefunken, in a way. But Pinched waist Amperex has much better extension at both end than any tube I tried with robust, full body sound not so soft or overly warm and mellow like Mullard.