Equipment Used
TT - Rega Planar 3, RB300, Ortofon 2m Bronze, Moon LP3 preamp
CDP - Minimax with 2 Amperex 6922's
Speakers - Tekton 4.5 Open Baffle
Cables from Black Sand, Zu, and Kimber, but DIY speaker cable
I made a bit of a mistake prior to getting the amp back (I was bored) and had reconfigured my listening room. It took me a week or so to settle on placement of everything. Then, very shortly after the amp arrived the Tekton’s arrived (I was previously using Ling’s from Alegria Audio). So it’s probably fair to say my aural baseline was shot to heck as I settled in with the amp. I’ve gone back to the Ling’s a few times, for a both comparison with the Tekton’s (speaker to speaker), and to hear them back with the 30.2. I say all of this because I think it’s important to disclose anything that may affect my evaluation of the amp before and after the upgrade.
Having said all of that, I’m very comfortable saying that the upgrade was well worth the time and expense. The overall character of the amplifier is not changed (thankfully) with the upgrade, but what you get is more of it. Quiet becomes quieter. Transparency is improved, which allows a you to see deeper into the performance. Performers have more of their own space, instruments are more lifelike, subtleties are better maintained, and things like small timing changes are more apparent. In a word, the music comes more “alive”. This is noticeable in every respect of the music, but percussion and string instruments seem to benefit the most. The Tekton’s provide a VERY honest window into upstream components, so any changes in components or cabling are pretty obvious, as is the quality of a recording. The pairing with the 30.2 is very good, but any amp that is a bit more “lit up” would not be a good match, as things would quickly get too lean and mean for my liking. This pairing works very well……honest, but not too critical of less than stellar recordings. Good recordings sound fantastic.
Separating good systems from REALLY good systems is in the little things. Drum rolls for instance. Sure you can tell it’s a drum roll, but can you hear separation in subtle bounces off the drum skin, and soft rattle of the snare. Is brushwork on a snare or cymbal a blur, or can you make out the slight timing inferences the drummer is making as he works the brush. These little things are the things I notice as I have upgraded my system over the years. As these little things are rendered with more precision, the music really starts to come to life, to breath…..to cease being “reproduced” and to become “performed”.
This is what I noticed a great deal with LFP-V. The audiophile descriptions are nice I suppose, but ultimately the question becomes “ do you enjoy the music more?”. Any for me, the answer is certainly yes. I look forward more to my time listening to music, my head bobs more, my feed tap more, and I listen for longer periods (past bedtime frequently). I even caught myself starting to applaud one night when listening to a live performance. I think that says it all.
This amp will be in my system for a long time. Other things may change, but the LFP-V will be the heart and soul of my system for the foreseeable future. Well done Vinnie, and thanks.
Chris H.
Ps I’m still using the stock tube, but will be experimenting with others very soon. I understand from others there is another gear to be had with the right glowing bottle in place.
