Rerurn to Romy the Cat's Site
In the Forum: Audio Discussions
In the Thread: Initial thoughts about new/old Lamm ML2s
Post Subject: Maintenance and the Life of PartsPosted by Paul S on: 11/1/2009
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Romy's recent post on the trials of 12-channel DSET hi-fi made me feel a little better, but his point about maintaining performance is well taken, none the less. One simply must have an aural reference and some rigorous methods for keeping things sonically up to snuff.
It has been obvious to me for some time that the clock was ticking on the cheap-o tube sockets Lamm installed in his "ultimate" amps. In fact, the alarm went off some time back, and my subsequent "remediation" with dielectric grease was actually too late, realistically speaking. Although it did lower the paper-y sound of micro-arcing, it has not eliminated it, and it has been a matter of laziness on my part rather than satisfaction with the grease in this case that has gotten me this far with the same old crappy sockets.
So, does anyone know anything about "good" sockets for the ML-2s? I forget when and where I saw some sort of boutique Teflon jobbies that are pretty darned expensive. Maybe DIY Hi-Fi, in Hong Kong? Also, although Teflon is a great di-electric it cold forms pretty readily, too. Does anyone have long-term experience with the Teflon sockets?
It is hard for me to picture myself with the ML-2s cracked open and gutted on the project table, with no music until i finally get them sorted out. I suppose if I ever get them open I will also change out the cheaper Electro Cube caps that Lamm had inserted by the time my pair got built. Also, if Onix makes a copper female IEC socket, then i will do that, as well.
Otherwise, the amps seem to be solid, and certainly the workmanship - whether Lamm's or some carefully-chosen jobber's - is the best I have ever seen.
Sigh...
Paul SRerurn to Romy the Cat's Site