NAD: Mark Bass LM Tube 800

[mcnach]

I just got a LM Tube 800.

So far, I only had a chance to try it at home, not very loudly.
I like it. But I really have to see how it performs at volume before I'm sure.

It's different from the LMIII in tone, but it does not seem ENORMOUSLY different. It's perhaps a bit brighter, something is different in the midrange... but at low volumes it's hard to tell exactly. Once I get to play loud we will see.

One thing is very different from the LMIII: the gain control. This amp, unlike the LMIII, can distort relatively easily by pushing the gain up. And it's not a pretty distortion. I don't think it's meant to be treated as an overdrive sound, as the clip light flickers when it's distorted. With the gain at about 1-2 o'clock, it distorts clearly with my J-Retro equipped Jazz *without any bass boost at all*. It seems louder than the LMIII at similar positions of the master volume... but that really means nothing as it's a different amp entirely.

The tube/solid state thing... Like all the reviews I read: it seems pretty useless!
I can hear a tiny difference. Maybe at volume it becomes more noticeable, but I doubt it's a big thing. Looks like the tube thing is pretty much a gimmick after all. The tube position seems a bit more open, while the solid state is a bit muffled by comparison, but the best sound is with the knob right in the middle. It's also louder there.

It seems like a nice amp, and although different from the LMIII, I doubt it's a light year away, and you can get that same sort of tone: so it's nice. At least at apartment-friendly volumes. Once I play it loud maybe the character reveals itself to be entirely different. I mean, it's different, a bit more toppy, but it sounds good and I can get the same sort of sounds I was liking on the LMIII. The VLE filter is fantastic. I like those two little filters a lot.

If it's close to the Shuttle 9.2 in terms of volume, I might actually prefer this: I find the controls a lot more intuitive and direct.

I'll have to wait till the weekend...

[Lozz196]

Nice one. I had the 500 version and similarly, I didn`t really notice much of a difference between tube full on of off, however it was the tube on sound that sold the amp to me. I`s gone to look at the LMT, LMIII and RH450. Once I heard the LMT, I didn`t even bother with the other two. If anything, it just seems like the tube set off cleans the sound up, whereas set on it`s a little blurred round the edges - almost like tweeter on/off really, tube set off is like switching a tweeter on full, it sharpens the sound. That was my impression, but I really liked the sound - in fact have been considering getting the LMT 500 and putting it in my CMD121.