Vladimir Lamm, 1945-2022
e at The Audio Beat were saddened to learn today that Vladimir Lamm, founder and guiding light of Lamm Industries, maker of some of the best-sounding and most distinctive audio electronics, died on April 18 in South Florida. He was 76.
Vladimir Lamm in his element: explaining the fine points of a new Lamm product during CES 2017. I first got to know Vladimir Lamm in the mid-1990s, when I began reviewing audio equipment and music. My first review of a Lamm product was of the venerable, iconic M1.1 mono amp -- Vladimir's original class-A, hybrid monoblock. A series of reviews followed over the years, of nearly every product Vladimir designed and his company manufactured in Brooklyn, NY. I may be the audio writer who covered more Lamm electronics than any other, which gave me opportunity to become acquainted with Vladimir the audio engineer, audiophile and person. I got to know him through the long talks we had about his products, which were background for my reviews. I don't think I've talked with anyone who founded and ran an audio company more often than Vladimir, and seeing him at the CES, which he attended with regularity until a few years ago, was always a highlight. I heard each of his CES systems multiple times, wanting to discover how the sound progressed over the course of the show and to see Vladimir and his wife, Elina. They were always welcoming and proud to be sharing Lamm products with people who loved music. Vladimir was adamant about never listening to his products while he was creating them; he followed a strict process based on a model of human hearing that he also created. In his mind, when that process was followed, the outcome would be correct. Normally, the lack of listening during design would concern me, but with Lamm products, Vladimir's process always led to sound that was utterly natural, which is the word I've used most often to describe Lamm electronics. They always have a sense of unforced resolution and "humanness"; they simply sound correct, and immediately so. I knew some of the back story of Vladimir's life in the former Soviet Union (he was born in Ukraine), before he immigrated to the US, but that information was never any he relished divulging in detail. I do remember vividly his calling me on the day he became a US citizen. Our talks were always focused on sound, the audio industry (which he loved being part of), his products, and music, especially from LPs, which Vladimir considered the best medium for sound. Designing audio equipment was his true calling, something he did with characteristic rigor and zeal. Any Lamm product was serious and often unique. Even 25 years later, I can think of only one amplifier like the Lamm M1.1, and it's the Lamm amp that replaced it, the M1.2. Vladimir was approachable, brilliant and affable, a
common man with uncommon abilities. I will miss him dearly and remember him fondly every
time I listen to any of his products, which I will be doing for the rest of my days. |
