Triad Audio L3
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I got the opportunity to review the updated, slightly smaller version of the Lisa III, which is called the L3. The L3 is a tiny bit smaller than the original Lisa III, but not much. It’s still bigger and heavier than any other amp in this roundup. But a few good things have happened. One is that there are now both RCA inputs and a front mini-jack input. This is good for a portable amp.
It should be noted that what I reviewed is a pre-production unit. While I have been told the circuitry will not change at all, I have been informed that a slightly smaller and lighter chassis will be used in the production version.
Some pics, nonetheless:
Build Quality: A: big and heavy, but well built, for sure. Again, can't comment too much on the case, ans it will change. Having both RCA and mini-jacks is nice. There was only the very slightest turn-on transient.
Treble: A+: The treble is very clean, extended, airy, sweet, detailed…it’s really a pleasure. The trick here is the combination of sweetness, delicacy, and detail. A hard trick to muster, and it’s just special on the L3. It’s one area in which it’s a little better than the Meier Stepdance.
Midrange: A+: Again, the L3 is pretty special here. The midrange is open, lush, inviting, and very transparent. It’s not the least bit grainy, or opaque. It is just slightly lush, and a tiny bit romantic, but not in a way that seems colored. Still, it seems just ever so slightly less neutral, in the strictest sense, than the Meier Stepdance. But you wouldn’t kick it out of bed for eating crackers, I can assure you. The midrange is beguiling. Alison Krauss's ultra-delicate vocals on "It Doesn't Matter" come across in an incredibly lifelike way.
Bass: A+: The incredibly well implemented bass contour control is one of the nicest features of this amp. The user can choose the bass weight. And since the bass quality is excellent - it's well defined, tight, and has outstanding "speed" and attack – you get outstanding performance in just the amount of weight you prefer, or your headphones need. A little extra bass helped the Beyer t50p immensely. And the L3’s bass is as deep as your headphones can go. The flexibility here, married to the outstanding quality, is really something I wish all portable amps had. The ultra-deep synth on The Corrs "The Right Time" is reproduced in full measure, and with a breathtaking robustness.
Neutrality: A: I struggle with the rating here. With the bass contour knob, the slightly sweet treble, the lightly lush mids – is the L3 really “neutral”? Thing is, when you listen, it sounds incredibly natural, and you don’t hear anything you’d ever call a coloration. But I think the Meier Stepdance is slightly more neutral, strictly speaking.
Soundstaging: A+: The soundstage is outstanding, with a depth and definition that I found very addictive. In reading my original Lisa III review, it seems to me that whatever circuitry changes occurred in the L3 (and there were some, according to Phil Larocco) have helped the L3 in this regard. The image realism on the L3 is palpable. I could really get an amazing sense of the hall on"Little Sadie" from the recent Jerry Garcia / John Kahn acoustic release, where you have just acoustic guitar, stand-up bass, and Garcia signing. But the sense of the two of them in a real space was pretty impressive.
Transparency: A+: Absolutely grain and veil free. As transparent as you could hope for.
My original review of the Lisa III is more than 3 years ago. It’s been more than two years since I had heard one. And I was reminded, on auditioning the L3, just how very special this amp is. I gave up on it due to the size and weight, but for people who just want ONE amp, meaning no home amp, the L3 may just be the very best choice there is out there – powerful enough to drive even the LCD-2, and with some authority, I might add, and competitive with some home amps, in a batter powered form factor that is, at the least, highly “transportable”. The L3 really is a special amp. It certainly remains in the top tier of amps on this list.
I am going to compare it to the RSA SR71B next week, and compare the two of them again to the Meier Stepdance, which in a kind of cool way will mean I will end my portable amp review monster with a face-off of true top-tier performers. Lucky me!
