Усилители мощности стерео — Lehmann Audio Stamp SE

The Stamp SE is the second generation of the Lehmannaudio Stamp, a compact stereo power amplifier made in Germany by the company from Cologne, which started out in 1988 under the name Entec and produces its devices in small batches. The SE takes its housing design from the Linear SE headphone amplifier, presented in 2011, and the two are sold as a matching pre and power amplifier set. The catalogue calls it the aesthete among the power amps and sets its small size against bulky conventional power amplifiers. Designer Guido Gutenstein created the range of finish options, and buyers can configure the look of their unit during the order process. The German list price is EUR 1,699.

Key specs that matter

Maximum output is 20 W per channel into 4 ohms. Frequency response runs from 12 Hz to 20 kHz within 1 dB, measured into 4 ohms, and the voltage gain is 20 dB. The enclosure is 120 mm wide, 296 mm deep and 59 mm high and weighs 2.75 kg net, which is 0.85 kg more than the first Stamp.

Engineering and use context

For the SE the company revised several parts in and around the signal chain. Mundorf capacitors sit in the signal path, the fuse is an ahp fine-wire type, and the internal wiring comes from Mogami. According to Lehmannaudio these changes are aimed at transient behaviour. The housing walls are thicker than on the original Stamp and the unit rests on SSC feet, both measures intended to damp vibration and microphonic effects. Standard units ship with a silver front, silver SSC feet and a blue LED, while the satin black version has a black front and black feet. Custom orders allow a silver, black or chrome front panel, an LED in blue, red, green, yellow, white or orange, and wood veneers in olive, macassar, zebrano, wild cherry, oak or walnut, with high-gloss piano lacquer also listed among the options. The same set of options applies to the Linear SE and Linear USB SE, so a stack can be ordered in one colour scheme.

Pairing

Lehmannaudio names loudspeakers with a sensitivity of 87 dB at 1 W or higher as the right partners. The gain is fixed, so a 1 V input signal leaves the speaker terminals at about 10 V, and a Linear SE or Linear USB SE can take the role of volume control, the latter adding a USB input for a computer.

Alternatives

The Lehmannaudio Stamp is the original version, a smaller amplifier with the same output rating and a Tripath TA2020 chipset.