I have not heard the Ovation speakers, but I do use the Andra II speakers with the hybrid Lamm M2.1 monoblock amplifiers, the predecessor to your M2.2s. I have now found the speakers that I plan on living with for a very long time. :-)
(Much like I plan on living with the Lamm M2.1 amps as well as my Ayre K-1xe preamplifier.)
The Lamms provide perfect bass control for these speakers, (as these speakers do require a fair amount of power as Fjn04 stated above). I am very happy with the synergy between them.
The Andra II speakers have a great ability to disappear and just let the music appear before you. The soundstaging is great, and the center image is rock solid too. The treble response is well extended and highly refined, and the mid-range is fantastic as well. (My dream speaker is the Rockport Antares, (my friend owns them, btw), and while there is no way I could afford those speakers, the Andra II speakers come very close to that pinnacle of sound reproduction, IMHO. In case your wondering, the Antares have a absolutely flat frequency response, whereas the Andra II appears to have a slight mid-bass hump, which requires some work to rectify - see below.)
I will state that these speakers do have quite a bit of bass energy, particularly in the mid-bass region, so be prepared to play around both with the speaker positioning, to obtain the best and most neutral bass response, as well as doing some room treatments. (I am looking into doing some room treatment myself, as I still think there is a slight amount of a mid-bass hump to the sound.) FYI, I am being nit-picky about the mid-bass hump, as it is not a big deal now that I have worked out my speaker positioning issues, but I want to give you all the information that I have found, as our situations are very similar.
Also, in case you are interested, the Jena Labs Pathfinder (bi-wired) speaker cables work fantastic between the Lamms and the Andra IIs! (Again, I have found the speaker cables that I will be living with for a very long time!)
If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to contact me.
FYI, about six months ago, I too was researching speakers, and the Ovation was on my short list too. I eventually rejected it because of the (recommended) positioning of the rear firing woofer, and because it only has an eight inch woofer, and my current speakers at the time had eight inch woofers, (two eight inch woofers actually, as I used the Revel Studios), and I wanted to have truly deep bass response. The Andra II speakers have great lower bass response, which can, and will, provide you with that chest thump that only a large woofer can provide. (IMHO anyway.) If you have a small room, the Ovation might be a better choice, but if you have a larger room, the Andra II will fill it with sound very nicely.
(Much like I plan on living with the Lamm M2.1 amps as well as my Ayre K-1xe preamplifier.)
The Lamms provide perfect bass control for these speakers, (as these speakers do require a fair amount of power as Fjn04 stated above). I am very happy with the synergy between them.
The Andra II speakers have a great ability to disappear and just let the music appear before you. The soundstaging is great, and the center image is rock solid too. The treble response is well extended and highly refined, and the mid-range is fantastic as well. (My dream speaker is the Rockport Antares, (my friend owns them, btw), and while there is no way I could afford those speakers, the Andra II speakers come very close to that pinnacle of sound reproduction, IMHO. In case your wondering, the Antares have a absolutely flat frequency response, whereas the Andra II appears to have a slight mid-bass hump, which requires some work to rectify - see below.)
I will state that these speakers do have quite a bit of bass energy, particularly in the mid-bass region, so be prepared to play around both with the speaker positioning, to obtain the best and most neutral bass response, as well as doing some room treatments. (I am looking into doing some room treatment myself, as I still think there is a slight amount of a mid-bass hump to the sound.) FYI, I am being nit-picky about the mid-bass hump, as it is not a big deal now that I have worked out my speaker positioning issues, but I want to give you all the information that I have found, as our situations are very similar.
Also, in case you are interested, the Jena Labs Pathfinder (bi-wired) speaker cables work fantastic between the Lamms and the Andra IIs! (Again, I have found the speaker cables that I will be living with for a very long time!)
If you have any additional questions or comments, feel free to contact me.
FYI, about six months ago, I too was researching speakers, and the Ovation was on my short list too. I eventually rejected it because of the (recommended) positioning of the rear firing woofer, and because it only has an eight inch woofer, and my current speakers at the time had eight inch woofers, (two eight inch woofers actually, as I used the Revel Studios), and I wanted to have truly deep bass response. The Andra II speakers have great lower bass response, which can, and will, provide you with that chest thump that only a large woofer can provide. (IMHO anyway.) If you have a small room, the Ovation might be a better choice, but if you have a larger room, the Andra II will fill it with sound very nicely.