LAMM LL2 vs. Hovland preamp

The Hovland gear sure looks pretty, but every time I auditioned Hovland it was underwhelming. I heard the Saphire amp with their original preamp/phono stage and it did not leave me with any desire to pursue Hovland.

On the other hand, when I heard the Lamm LL2/LP2/ML2 combination, my audio life changed literally. The Lamm gear will get you off the merry-go-round of upgrading and searching for better gear.

Hey Kublakhan.

I have not heard these, but I've been also researching preamps similar in some ways to the LL2.
Apart from the LL2, my short list is made of (in no particular order): First Sound Presence, Atmasphere MP3, Joule Electra LA150, Conrad-Johnson ET2, Aesthetix Calypso. There's a Herron too.

Some are balanced, some only SE, some have remote, some have 2 volume pots...but all seem to focus on a rather purist design and 100% on sonics.

I hope this helps. Let us know how you move forward. As mentioned above, I'm interested in this too.

Horacio

Hello,

The Hovland is much lighter and brighter than the LAMM which is darker and fuller. The LAMM also has greater depth than Hovland equipment which paints a flatter soundstage. It would pick the one that would nudge my system in the direction I wanted to go - they do not sound alike.