Salon 2's & Lamm M1.2 Reference Match ?

default -- Wed, 03/18/2009 - 08:27

Elsewhere , I have been quizzing JV on an appropriate speaker match to the Lamm M1.2 Reference hybrid Class A monoblocs. JV thought the Quad 2905's might be a good match. In that general territory , I know that the Wilson Sophia 2's would be a good match Could RH comment on an appropriate range of speakers he would feel confident about suggesting ? I was thinking of the Salon 2's but do not know whether the Lamm's have enough get up and go for the power-hungry Salon 2's. Pre amp is Esoteric's C-03 .

Thanks

Kinara

Robert Harley -- Wed, 03/18/2009 - 12:11

The Salon2 is a stunningly great speaker in absolute terms, and a tremendous value as well. It needs, however, a hefty power amplifier behind it. I had a 200Wpc stereo amplifier overheat and trip the amplifier's thermal protection circuitry when driving the Salon2s at a high level for an extended period. How much power does the Lamm deliver into 8 ohms and into 4 ohms?

An amplifier's ability to increase its power as the impedance is reduced is a good indicator of how well it can drive current-hungry speakers. An amplifier that can double its output power into 4 ohms compared with its 8-ohm rating indicates high-current delivery when the speaker demands it.

Kinara -- Wed, 03/18/2009 - 17:02

Thanks Robert,

This is what the Lamm website tells us :
"The M1.2 Reference is conservatively rated to deliver 110 Watts into 8 and 4 Ohms in pure class A operation (high and low impedance settings, respectively); 220 Watts into 2 Ohms, and 400 Watts into 1 Ohm (low impedance setting), continuous."
I think the assumption amongst many audiophiles is that Class A watts are somehow more powerful & deliver more current to speakers than Class A/B . They certainly use enough juice !! In his recent review of this amp ,(December 2008) , Dick Olsher goes so far as to call it a Universal amp, compatible with different speaker loads. This he attributes to it's complex circuitry & the ability to optimise performance based on a low/high impedance switching capability built into the amp. Does this help ?
Thanks
Kinara

ignatz (not verified) -- Sun, 08/30/2009 - 22:11

Anyone have experience or thoughts on how well the Lamm hybrids will drive either the Magico V3 or Salon2 ?

Specs from Lamm:

M1.2 Reference
110 Watts into 4 Ohms (Class A operation).
220 Watts into 2 Ohms (55 Watts Class A operation).
400 Watts into 1 Ohm (27.55 Watts Class A operation).

M2.2
220 Watts into 4 Ohms (41 Watts Class A operation).
440 Watts into 2 Ohms (20.5 Watts Class A operation).
600 Watts into 1 Ohm (10.25 Watts Class A operation).

Thanks!