Has anyone been able to audition the Line Magnetic 218 IA ?

I've gotten a lot closer to figuring out what I like the most in audio. One thing I know I like is single ended amps. Tubes, solid state, I really prefer them over most push-pull options. I have heard some of the other LM amps and know they sound good and are pretty high on the quality scale. I think the 219 IA is over my budget, but the LM 218 IA is just at the limit. If you have heard it or own it, can you please give me your opinion on it. There is a dealer in Cleveland that I have visited that carries the Line Magnetic line and audition is by virtue of appointment only. Anyone?

Line Magnetic doesn't make any poor quality amps. Give the dealer a call and make an appt. It may be worth your while. My dealer is by appt only...not to be exclusive but because he works from home and doesn't have a storefront. My guess is that you will be pleasantly surprised. Unless you buy used you will have to buy from that dealer anyway so it may be time to build a relationship with them, if you don't already have one.

I have only heard the 216IA and I loved it although I ended up buying something else because I couldn't have a silver amp in my system with all the other equipment being black. I agree with the previous post that you need to borrow from a dealer. They do have a "sound" and you are going to want to hear it in your system before making the purchase.

I did audition the LM 211IA and the LM 216IA at the same dealer back when I was looking for a new amp. I ended up with a solid state Plinius that I liked but ended up selling because it wasn't quite what I was after. I liked both of the Line Magnetic amps I listened to but they are both push-pull tube amps and I already have one that sounds very similar to the LM 211IA. I really like the sound of single ended amps, both tube and solid state class A. I have a few in mind right now to include the Sugden A21SE, the Almarro A318B SET, and a custom built one from one of our talented AK tube wizards.

I'm pretty sure the first LM amp I heard was the 218 and it was the one that made me fall in love with their sound. I believe that the DeVore 3xl's were on the business end of it.

I believe RCA has a great deal of info on the Line Magnetic amps - he has posted about his own audition experiences on several forums.

http://dagogo.com/forum/amplification/melody-an-211-vs-line-magnetic-219ia-lets-get-ready-to-rumble

Art K. said:

I believe that the DeVore 3xl's were on the business end of it.

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The DeVore 3xl's were the exact speakers that were on the business end of the 211 and 216 when I auditioned them. Beautiful sounding and easy on the eyes. Then Don, the owner, took me into the next room and I had the privilege to hear a Line Magnetic LM-1 amp, 25b pre, and Well Tempered Amadeus TT hooked up to a pair of Tannoy Westminster Royal SE's. I was pretty overwhelmed at that point. I felt like a guy that had just test drove a ZO6 Vette and then steered over to the row of new Ferrari's. Then I bought the Plinius. Go figure.

My friend who goes through lots of gear had the Almarro SEP for a short time before selling it on A'gon. I never heard it but the reviews were very good. He said he didn't care for it paired with his Zu's. He ended up with some Wright 300B's.

Poultrygeist said:

My friend who goes through lots of gear had the Almarro SEP for a short time before selling it on A'gon. I never heard it but the reviews were very good. He said he didn't care for it paired with his Zu's. He ended up with some Wright 300B's.

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I plan on pairing whatever I get with the Hornshoppe Horns, maybe even the Nola Boxers if the power permits. That LM 218 puts out 22 single ended watts. Might work well with the Boxers. I previously read the Almarro reviews and they are as good as you saw them. I wish I could audition that amp.

When my dealer gets back from RMAF (where he will be showing with John DeVore) I will be heading down to his place for a good listen to the 219 and 0/96's. We were going to do it sooner and then life got in the way. I was going to head down today to drop off his demo LM CD player and give the 0/96's a quick listen but then I got stuck waiting for my speakers. Good thing really as I don't want to give the 0/96's a short listen. I want to relax and take my time with them. Dale always has an awesome selection of music to play so we just jam and have a great time.

I know the 219 is a couple rungs up than the 218, but if you get a chance, could you get your dealer to do a quick session with the 218? I would like to hear your impression fresh in your mind.

Art K. said:

When my dealer gets back from RMAF (where he will be showing with John DeVore) I will be heading down to his place for a good listen to the 219 and 0/96's. We were going to do it sooner and then life got in the way. I was going to head down today to drop off his demo LM CD player and give the 0/96's a quick listen but then I got stuck waiting for my speakers. Good thing really as I don't want to give the 0/96's a short listen. I want to relax and take my time with them. Dale always has an awesome selection of music to play so we just jam and have a great time.

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I will be at RMAF next week and the DeVore room is going to be one of the first rooms I am going to hit on Friday after it opens. They are suppose to be in room 1004 in the tower section of the Marriott. I have to hit the tower on Friday because when Saturday comes the elevators start shutting down due to the number of people trying to use them. I will try to take some pictures of their room. Also I am going to search out a room demoing Line Magnetics gear too.

Some great guys and music will be in that room. Dale and Chris Shepherd of Eugene HiFi will be spinning tunes with John DeVore and a whole lot of great sound should be emanating from that room, enjoy!

MWalt said:

I know the 219 is a couple rungs up than the 218, but if you get a chance, could you get your dealer to do a quick session with the 218? I would like to hear your impression fresh in your mind.

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Unless he is running a demo for a paying customer (LOL!) he probably won't want to kill his back (last week a trip to chiropractor and massage therapist, I warned him about those damn tube amps) moving amps around for a short demo. We will really be listening to the 0/96's and want to hear them partnered with the best. I will look for the posts where I discussed my impressions, though. I know I discussed that trip here somewhere. Also discussed the later trip with the 219 and 88's.

Found it. It's in my blog under "One Magnetic Monkey".

Nice read. Your description of the 218 fit spot on with the way good single ended tube amps sound.

That system really sounded great and reinforced what a great value LM amps are.

Their amps sure are some nice eye-candy..and the design philosophy seems right-on from where I'm sitting. Now, if only I could get a chance to audition one. Hasn't happened yet. What do you figure are their direct competitors at the same price-range for a new tube integrated amp?

The 219IA EASILY drives the ATC SCM 150 a notoriously difficult BIG 3 way studio speaker. The 218 uses the same output tube and has pretty much the same power 22 watts versus 24 watts. At home I barely ever get the meter past 1 watt and my AX Two speakers are 90db sensitive. The 219IA is considerably more expensive but IMO is a big jump in sound Q. The problem is it is significantly more expensive and not just in price but the cost of tube replacements. 300Bs are pricey. The 310A is also quite rare - LM makes them but when I go to tube selling sites they are often "out of stock" so they're difficult to find. But not terribly expensive at about $100 a pair. Still 300B are are $300+ a pair. Although WE rated their 300B life expectancy at 40,000 hours which is for most users probably 4 decades worth of listening at 3 hours a day. Even 1/4 of that is pretty darn good.

The 211 is really very good for Push Pull - and for the money one of the best tube amps I've heard - I liked it a lot better than what I heard from Antique Sound Labs and Jolida for around the same money and I liked it better than what I've heard from Rogue Audio at a few hundred more.

I have reviewed the Audio Note I Zero integrated which is $2400 and it is one of the best if not the best push pull integrated amps under $3k around. My review is in editing however so not up yet. I'm a SE guy but there are exceptions when a SET company makes a PP they tend to do it properly.

http://www.techradar.com/reviews/au...-systems/audio-note-zero-system-963545/review

Thanks for the heads up on the I Zero, RGA - clearly a different beast to the pre/power combination AN used in their 2010 'ZERO System'.



Looking forward to the review. :thmbsp: