Originally Posted by
montesquieu
I find the older LFD stuff of great interest and have been quietly waiting for something 'classic' to come up to have a play with (nearly bought an integrated off Jake before he withdrew it)
But for recent and current models prices seem to have ballooned into the stratosphere to the point where the amount asked seems to me to be a bit silly... it's simply impossible for me to believe that £16k for a plain solid state linestage or £23k for class D monoblocks can represent anything like value for money. These may be clever designs but they don't appear to be complex to execute, or that expensively dressed.
Maybe I'm wrong and if I got a decent demo I'd want to sell my Radford and EAR and dip into the premium bonds to make up the difference - but I just can't see it. There was a ton of stuff at Munich High End that seemed similarly overpriced for what it was. Decent I guess (though not all of it was). But who would spend that on it?
And don't get me started on the cable prices.
I understand why you feel the prices I mentioned seem high, I thank you for your response.
I sincerely apologise please forgive me, I should have mentioned Lfd do some amazing amps cheaper down the chain, the mistral Integrated is seriously seriously good performer at its price point at £2600 inc phono stage or £2250 without this is in a different league to the integrated amps previously produced such as the acclaimed LE MK5 and actually offers better value for money, then you can go up the the line to the Ncse MK111 that LFD exports all around the world and then you have top Integrated the LPCD. I have listened to all of these and feel they offer excellent value compared to whats on the market with extensive part selection all hand built, and hand made custom wiring all done by Dr Bews Himself, not much of the competition acheives this. I suppose this end of the market is what LFD are acclaimed for.
The bigger amplifiers are obviously for a certain market where performance is paramount these amplifiers have had years and years of R and D and use very rare un available components, obviously the price may not appeal to everyone that is understandable. Dr Bews was requested to release his higher end offerings that were previously only created for his own R and D purposes.
I have listened and compared the latest amps to some incredibly very very expensive amps from Rowland, Dan D'Agostino, and Solution costing way way more and the LFD gave me much more musical satisfaction with none of the usual solid state traits.
Obviously the £23500 for four monos in two chassis are to be compared amps at this level how many dedicated bi amped power amps are available and i listened against my very own Kondo amps which you could say are super super crazy priced and found these equally satisfying. The Kondo amps are incredible are they value for money most likely not,they certainly do not humiliate the LFD as they show more than a glimpse of such greatness at a more affordable price. As other respected members on here can vouch LFD amps are fuss free and fit and forget and one does not have to worry about expensive valve changes.
So at the end of the day LFD is great value for specific customers and not only appealing to very hi end market there is something for everyone to enjoy hand crafted artisan products. The higher end model are to demonstrate what can be achieved. I am positive that Dr Bews will continue to serve at all the various price points and values all of his customers. I personally like the unassuming nature of the brand and the sound it offers.
Last edited by Vrajbasi; 21-01-2019 at 20:12.
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