Yes, I have the 3.5 MK II class A monoblocks and the L2 tube hybrid pre-amp. This is some of the best stuff I've ever heard. Delicate, accurate, and it really shines on live performances. My audiophile friends agree.
They are connected to a pair of Wilson Duette speakers. Source is a VPI Traveler turntable (using a Pro-Ject phono amp) and/or an Oppo BD 95 universal cd/DVD player connected via a Cambridge DAC to the L2. HD music is sourced to the Oppo over a LAN providing 24/96 and 24/192 source material.
The Duetts are very fast and the 3.5 MK IIs provide the super fast response they require. The L2 is very simple: no tone controls, only input selector (6 inputs) and volume control. The sound is very neutral, that is, it is very natural. The soundstage is huge and accurate (a singer and his guitar come from same direction). A piano sounds like a piano and you can hear the hammers pound the strings and then the decay that the real instrument portrays. You can hear the imperfections in horns as the musician breathes life into it (eg. Miles Davis) and his finger work on the valves. Frequency response is spot-on and the whole Valvet system is so quiet that the tiniest bit of noise coming from the turntable and phono amp frustrates me.
I have a McIntosh HT with Thiel 3.2s and these sound brutish compared to the delicate, nimble sound of the Wilsons and the Valvets.
The bad part? You can really tell the difference between good and bad production work. Many HD digital and Mobile Fidelity Labs stuff show the poor production work as compared to the good stuff.
The good stuff: Joni Mitchell's "Miles of Aisles" (Tom Scott and the LAExpress shine and you would think you're in the eighth or ninth row center); Stan Getz and Charlie Byrd "Jazz Sambas" is brilliant. Dave Brubeck's "Concord on a Summer Night" makes you want to close your eyes and envision the ensemble on the stage. Many old records (Hotel California) display new sound; the instruments sound different and you can pick out each individually as well as individual voices in the Eagles' harmonies. Anything by Steely Dan is magnificent, but their HD recordings (Gaucho and Two Against the World) are sonically amazing and the Valvets make them shine.
I was at Lisner Auditorium when Little Feat recorded "Waiting for Columbus" and until I heard the MFL recording through the Valvets, nothing approached that performance. Now, I can close my yes and I'm back in DC (and 20 years old again) watching and listening to Lowell George and Bill Payne and the superb Tower of Power Horn Section.
Oh, and contrary to popular belief, the amps get warm, but not hot. The construction is rock solid and it's pretty, too.
