Lamm pre amp

I’m interested in this thread, because there is such universal praise for this pre. Can anyone comment on the sonic difference between this and its predecessor, the Lamm LL2 Deluxe? I bought one from a member in Hawaii about 9 years ago, and had it shipped directly to Vladimir in Brooklyn for the once over, after which he sent it to me.
Now you can believe this or not, but the pre I was trying to replace with it was a Morrison ELAD, and within a short time, I realized how disappointed I was. I would never describe it as tonally rich, and other attributes that I was hoping for like bloom, depth and wider soundstage were missing in action. After four months, I gave up and sold it. I should mention that 2 years prior to that I had purchased a second hand Joule Electra (LA 100 MK II ) and was also disappointed in that well praised pre. So my question is, is the LL2.1 a different animal?

kw6,
You just jogged my memory. I knew before I bought it from reading that it had high gain, and my speakers are very efficient, and I also read that the .1 had selectable gain, so I had Vladimir reduce the gain in mine before he returned it. 
I remember it as sounding natural enough, definitely not tubey, but in no way harsh, but lacking the dimensional tube "roundness" that I have experienced before. It was just not exceptional in any way, and that was in direct comparison to a $700.00 solid state op-amp based pre.  

That's interesting phantom_av. You never hear a comparison between those 2 brands, and VAC is so well respected.