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I got surprising amount of emails form visitors of my site asking is I will be going to CES-2008. Nope, I am not. My days and interests with CES are over, I closed down that show and I hope the rest of the industry would follow me on it. In fact I have heard that many companies have chosen to sabotage CES-2008 – good for them and my hat off to those companies. I hope in 5 years all that will be left from High-End audio section of CES will be just a dozen of industry writing pimps sitting in a room, licking popsicles and taking each other pictures…

The last TAS I bought published an ad where Lamm advertised the demonstration of ML3 at CES 2008 promising that it will be a result that no one experienced yet. OK, I wish him and to everyone else good luck and I keep laughing as I know very well what exactly it will be. Unquestionably the demonstration of Lamm ML3 should be an interesting experience. Still, let set the expectations of this experience at a level of ordinary sanity.

Lamm ML3 is no different from Lamm ML2 (beside the fact that when Lamm made ML2 he had way better demands to himself and the demands to results). ML2 and ML3 are the same amps (conceptually) with one major difference – the type of output tube (GM70). That difference that might be described in 3 sections:

1)      It is a  very linear DHT

2)      Because it is DHT it works well in A2 (in ML2, as well as in Milq the 6C33C in dead in A2)

3)      Because GM70 can work in A2 class the ML3 has a very powerful high current-capable second stage (I do not know it they are 4 parallel 6H30 of some kind of composite follower) to be able to handle the GM70’s grid current.

So, the ML3 is the A2-capable ML2, hopefully the ML3 will be the ML2.0 not the ML2.1, if you know what I mean… Certainly, it would be absolutely magnificent if the highly inelegant sound of Lamm ML2.0 would have more of the A2 power. Still, was the ML2 power-limited?  Not really, although the 99% of all audio Moans use it with 90dB sensitive speakers and claimed that it “sounded good” for them. Well, can we propose that ML3 will be for 90dB sensitive speakers what ML2 was for 110dB sensitive speakers? I do not know answer but I have very many reasons and rationales to doubt.

OK, what kind expectation a “sane person of my caliber” :-) might expect from the CES’ Lamm demos?

I expect that at CES 2008 Lamm room will demonstrate the very same extremely mediocre sound as it has been demonstrating for years. In any CES that I attended Lamm room never sound interesting. I know it, Lamm know it, and anyone who does not make leaving kissing other asses knows it. The problems with Sound in Lamm rooms was not related to Lamm amplifiers – there was always many other reason – I will go into them at this point. Still if in past Lamm used his nightly capable ML2 and M1.1 amps and had bad sound then why should I feel that a change of power amp will make any difference. I do not think it will and it will not.

However, I do anticipate an extremely positive reaction from a number writing cretins about this demo, partially if Lamm will kiss the necessary asses. The sad part is that any positive of negative outcome form his CES demo will not shade any lights about the Lamm ML3’s Reality.  I know it because the very same as the army of the audio writers that paid their idiotic writing glory to Lamm ML2 never got any truly understanding what they deal with while they used ML2.0.

Sure, sure a new Lamm amp will require for industry a new array of selling adjectives and stolen metaphors – the ceremony where the true performance of ML3, whatever it is, will be diluted and basically vanished. Lamm might not even connect the out tube to the anode voltage and to use a cheap op-amp intently – the result of the “demonstration” will be the same...

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