But i can't help but think there is a special synergy happening with your amplification. Would you say more about your amps if you have a bead on why they work so wonderfully with the Lumina L2's
Hi knodrog,
I would say that the L2 Signature Preamplifier (and Clayton was using the stock EH 300B Gold Grid tubes in it) with L2 Dac had the most influence over the sound (in terms of the electronics). The L2 Dac in the preamp was running in non-oversampling mode, has a top-notch reclocking circuit, dual mono, Class A discrete output stages, and a whole lot of other tricks that make it a killer source (fed from an Innuos music server).
The L2 Preamp contains a unique circuit that truly sounds like no other (and with better quality DHT tubes, it gets even better)! You are hearing the Directly Heated Triode (DHT) tubes do their thing, without being taxed by an output transformer or the load of a speaker (which is a
significant load compared to driving the input of an amplifier). Class A, No feedback, and a very easy load to drive... so you are hearing the DHTs in all their glory! And it is a very low-noise circuit (incredibly low noise for a DHT Preamp).
The L2 Signature Monoblocks deliver lots of clean, high-current power... more on tap than I'm guessing the Luminas ever needed since their bass drivers are self-powered. It's MOSFET circuit is very high bandwidth and by far my best sounding amplifier to date. Highly resolving, fast, musical - with only one pair of MOSFETs on the output. The amplifier board itself is very small, with low parts sound, short signal paths, and fed from very "good iron" (an excellent, custom-made transformer).
So I believe, simply stated, you just liked the sound of the L2 components (dac +preamp, and monos) driving the Luminas. There is no other special reason why it all worked so well other than this, since you are already familiar with the speakers.
One other factor (also a significant one) was the room itself, but that hotel demo room was nothing special (nearly a square, not treated and somewhat 'splashy'), but like all rooms, it contributed to the sound... for better or worse. Luckily Clayton's OB designs (dipole) do not suffer in squarish rooms to the extent that most box speaker do, and the active bass amps have adjustments that allow you a lot of flexibility.
If you have more questions about the L2 components, feel free to ask on my forum.
If you have more questions about the Lumina L2 speakers, feel free to ask on Claytons forum.
And all cabling was by Paul Speltz' Anticables, which is no doubt solid stuff!
And thanks again for listening and posting your impressions!
Cheers,
Vinnie
