the first post has a link you can click on to see them....

Here is a photo of the unit old-s13 bought (I think).

Congrats on your L-09M purchase. I think your $500 unit came from a Los Angeles area dealer I am familiar with.

I noticed you already have a heavy investment in L-07M's but I hope that another L-09M is in your near future. In pairs and with a variable output CDP, you will have the cleanest, purest sound that solid state can offer. I don't say this lightly because I have owned numerous vintage amps and recievers.

Just a thought, here is another L-09M in better condition than yours: 250463012312

In a 2-channel setup, you are unlikely to ever find the limit. I've read tests where the L-09M makes 380 wpc at 1 kHz! Subs are a different animal and the LF can drain the best amps with ease. Please post the meter readings you are getting (with the range set to 1x).

The L-07C is the matching preamp. (The L-07C II is all black and a different design.) It is also high speed and doesn't get in the way of the L-09M's. The phono section is excellent and has MM/MC settings.

Yes sir, Don Ramon had the amp. I carefully examined the unit, gave it a listen and was on my way. Further test results show that the amp is super clean, inside and out. I took a look inside the unit and it was fairly clean with very little dust accumulation. Fan and power meter/light work fine too... its almost as if this thing sat in storage or a clean-room all its life. No major scratches, dents or imperfections.

With all that said, the L-09 will remain on sub duty and will not be mated to my mainspeakers. Even though I have the opportunity to buy the other amp listed on ebay, I dont feel my system needs the extra power nor do I need to waste the space. I've managed to keep my wife's opinions away from my stereo room, she knows that this is my domain as is my garage. Having more L09's would not only take more space, use more energy, but also be less practical for me. See, the thing I like most about the L07s is that they are efficient, effective, attainable, and cost effective. They dont take a lot of space and dont mind being on 24-7. I dont feel as comfortable leaving the L09 on since it has a light, gauge, and uses more power.. plus if it fails, repairing the beast could be more work/money.

Last, the L07s power my ML Aerius speakers and 150 watts is sufficient at all volumes. I have a feeling the L09's would raise the bar and possibility of me eventually destroying these fine speakers. Like someone on another audio forum said, with the L09s you can have fun powering whatever speaker you chose to destroy, errr.... listen to.

As for pre-amps, I've seen numerous L-07C's go on ebay but have no interest in using a pre-amp that doesnt have a remote and is that old. I currently use a Marantz AV600 to control my 3 channel setup, I'm happy with it.

btw, does anyone have a copy of the L09 manual or schematics?

TIA,
Mike

yep, with the ML's it would seem that the best way to get the full potential from the L-09M would be to have two of them.

The L-09M's extra power provides a greater power reserve and is therefore more clip resistance than the L-07M. The 9 is a safer amp for your ML's and will likely energize them better than the 7.

That being said, your reasons for stopping at one 9 are reasonable. I have a feeling you will want more than just a pair and that is definitely a slippery slope no taken. Regarding the remote, convenience is a reasonable tradeoff for less SQ. I use my variable output CDP to control volume and bypass my L-07C.

The ML Aerius speakers are rated at 200w RMS, and the L07's are conservatively rated at 150w output. I've never ran into a situation where the speakers felt underpowered, and I dont foresee myself taking them to volume levels that surpass the L07's capabilities. So there are a lot of factors that come into play, whether its space savings, cost effectiveness, or in this case... practicality.

Even in terms of quality between the L07 and L09, I havent noticed anything in particular other than the L09 having a greater potential to push the 15" sub further. At the volumes I listen to my music, I dont think the L09 is a necessity and I may end up selling it and sticking with my collective of L07s! hehe

Funny, I just moved into a home a year ago... my L07 amps were always too much power for my previous locations. One neighbor had complained that the bass knocked a few pictures off of her wall. Now that I am in a home, I havent had any complaints (yet) but still feel guilty... 150 watts is still plenty of power to piss off the neighborhood! :-)

Believe it or not, I've had 2 of the 5 L07's for about 15-20 years now. These amps are responsible for blowing up my Dahlquist DQ-10 setup and the matching sub! The crossovers on the mainspeakers would start to overheat and melt. The 13" sub would pop and eventually died.

The L-07M deserves its fine reputation so I understand! If you are in SoCal and you get tired of your L-09M, drop me a line. I have 4 L-09M's so like you, I'm committed to a particular model.

I played a session with my L-09M's driven directly by my CDX-1100 this morning. I'm still stunned by how revealing and open this set is. The bass is tight AND deep, which is a difficult to acheive combination with my NS-1000M's.

I'm also in a house and as long as I keep decent hours, my neighbors never complain. I'm sure they can hear me but since they have teenage kids, they are more tolerant.