Design Details
The Name
Enström & Engström’s The Lars Type 2 Amplifier is named after its inventor and company founder Lars Engström. Lars was only twelve years old when he began constructing his first amplifiers. His talent for engineering nourished his ambition to create an amplifier that could produce perfectly pure sound. Now, almost 50 years and hundreds of circuit designs later, The Lars Type 2 is the ultimate embodiment if his dream.
When asked what he’d like to do to improve The Lars Type 2, Lars indicated that he had worked all of his life to realize his design ambitions, and right now, he thought he had achieved everything he wanted in an amplifier. Of course, those of who know Lars’ relentless desire for perfection know that he will always be pursuing the edge of the art.
Something Old and Something New
During his exhaustive research, Lars Engström came to realize that not all old technology was obsolete. And not all new technology yielded musically satisfying results.
So his amplifier designs became an interesting blend of art and science. The trick was extracting the best of the old – the tried and true – and applying it to the latest thinking, but only when it resulted in a pure, musical result, rather than a technological triumph with boring sound.
Zero TIM and the sound of music
Influenced by the work of Dr. Matti Otala in Finland, Lars Engström was determined to eliminate the damaging effects (now known as TIM, Transient Inter Modulation distortion) of negative feedback.
Basically TIM is distortion that occurs when negative feedback is applied around a device or a circuit. The problem is that the feedback is always a tiny bit too late (or maybe a lot too late with overall global negative feedback). This a perfect example of modern design engineers embracing a technique that undoubtedly produces lower measured distortion on test signals, but plays havoc with constantly changing musical waveforms.
But prior to Otala’s ground breaking research, most engineers (and marketing departments) fully adopted negative feedback as a technique to reduce measured distortion. Sadly, many still do today.
Lars sought to design a circuit with a linear construction that amplified sound without changing it (as negative feedback always does). All the components in his designs are carefully selcted to support this linear process of amplification. Triodes, for example, are the most linear types of tubes. And tubes – those relics from a bygone era – are still the most linear amplification devices…
Foil capacitors
Engström & Engström use foil capacitors in order to avoid energy loss or undesirable mutual influences. No electrolytic capacitors are used.
Class A balanced coupling
To remedy Total Harmonic Distortion (overtones) Lars employed balanced coupling throughout the amplifier together with Class A operating conditions. Carefully selected tubes and stringent control of component values keep Inter Modulation Distortion (IMD) to a minimum.
Materials
The foil capacitors illustrate one example of the consistent choice of prime components and materials. Silver-plated wiring as well as silvered soldering material is used. Newly constructed high-quality tubes and dependable capacitors are other obvious choices. Not to mention the special C-core transformers which are even used for inter-stage coupling instead of capacitors wherever possible. In summary, every detail and aspect of THE LARS is designed to produce the purest sound.
Design
The appearance of THE LARS, designed by Timo Engström, originates from a desire to match the quality of the sound with an equally elegant form. Timo Engström gathers inspiration from classic Swedish radio and TV furniture and his design pays homage to the Swedish tradition of creating a form to serve the function. THE LARS is available in ten different designs. Choose between palisander, ebony, black, maple and walnut with details plated in either chrome or gold.
The Mantle
The transparent outer mantle serves three purposes. It symbolizes the ability of THE LARS to provide authentic quality to voice. It protects the tubes, while allowing them to be visible. And it completes the esthetic impression by balancing the heavy base with an upward flowing lightness.
Pure sound
The purity of THE LARS’ sound has benefits beyond those of perceived hearing. Research has shown that impurities in the sound waves of music – what scientists call 'gray sound' – irritates the mind and causes stress and fatigue. TIM (Transient Inter Modulation) distortion is a key element of gray sound. There is zero TIM distortion in THE LARS. Ironically, listening to music to relax, can amplify stress caused by gray sound. You will never get tired of listening to the purity of sound which THE LARS amplifies.
Inputs and connectors
THE LARS type 1 has four inputs, two balanced XLR connectors and two unbalanced RCA connectors. The level attenuator and input selector are relay controlled and are maneuvered from one of the two amplifiers.
THE LARS type 2 has two inputs, one balanced XLR connector and one unbalanced RCA connector. A switch on the back of the amplifier is used to select which input connector to use.
Revolutionary system architecture
THE LARS type 1 has a revolutionary system architecture. It comprises two balanced integrated mono amplifiers – one for each channel. The amplifiers have built in volume control with resistors and relays together with input selection relays. All relays are controlled from one of the amplifiers.
In our opinion this is the best way to build an amplifier. We make an optimal match between pre amplifier and power amplifier with as short signal routes and few components as possible. At the same time we make it possible to place the amplifiers closer to the loudspeakers.