LAZARUS PREAMPLIFIER (March 1986)

by DO

Stereo tube preamplifier. Inputs: Phono, Tuner. and Tape. Price: $599.

MANUFACTURER: Lazarus Electronics, 15046 Friar St. Van Nuys, Ca. 91411. (818) 242-1215.

In case you're wondering, the Lazarus is not the product of any West Coast religious cult. And, as far as I could determine, none of the folks associated with the company have recently been resurrected from the dead. According to Bob Flanagan, one of the two principals (the other being Greg Miller, the designer, engineer, and production manager), the company was named after a character in a sci-fi novel. As a trivia question bonus, the first reader to correctly identify the novel in question will be re warded by our esteemed publisher with a no-expense-paid tour of the OEM speaker company (you know, the folks who pro duce the Class-A-rated Omnipotent loud speakers, who, according to industry sources, have recently relocated to an island in the Bermuda Triangle). The Lazarus is a basic tubed preamp featuring a classic cascade circuit with two I2AX7 dual-triodes per channel. Polypropylene caps are used throughout the signal path, and to bypass electrolytics in the power supply. Resistors are Resista brand metal films, except for one in the power supply. There are only three inputs: phono, tuner, and tape deck. There isn't enough gain to handle low-output moving coil cartridges, or medium outputs with 0.2 mV signal levels. In keeping with the purist approach. there are no tone controls.

And I haven't been able to find published specifications for this thing, because the manufacturer doesn't publish any. Lazarus advises the prospective buyer to let his or her ears be the final arbiter, which is a reasonable stand, but some specs would seem like a considerate way of warning prospective buyers-about, for example, the preamp's low phono sensitivity.

Instead of the standard balance control, two attenuators are provided-one for each channel. These are normally out of the signal path, to avoid the incremental degradation possible from an additional pot, and are only activated as needed to reduce the right or left volume levels. This is not as convenient as a ganged balance control, but makes quality sound available at a reasonable price.

Not so sensible, in my opinion, is the omission of an On/Off switch. What! No On/Off switch on a tube preamp? That's right. The unit is meant to be left on at all times, which is reasonable for solid-state gear but very questionable for tubes. A 12AX7 should last for two to three years under average conditions in this type of circuit; by Lazarus's own admission, this preamp will need re-tubing every 9-12 months if left on continuously. Lazarus's claim that the preamp will sound better if left on till the cows come home is reason able, but their assertion that the tubes will last longer while awaiting said cows is dubious. Of course, you can always unplug the unit when not in use (though your power amp should have been off for a few minutes before you do). Otherwise, count on spending some $25 or more annually for a new set of tubes. I spent the first listening session evaluating the high-level section of the Preamp, using the Nakamichi OMS-5 CD player feeding the Tuner inputs. The rest of the system consisted of the Rowland Research Model 7 amps and the Martin-Logan Monoliths. I've found that the sonic behavior of the high-level section pretty much tells the whole story; if a manufacturer can't get things right there, what hope is there for a decent phono section? The Lazarus quickly impressed me with its lively and very clean sound. The mid band possesses excellent transparency and focus, with very good resolution of inner detail. In these areas. the Lazarus easily surpasses some of the greats of a few years ago.

1. See "The Audio Cheapskate- in this issue for a different perspective on mulling expense. -LA

The Berning TF- 10, for example, sounds muddy and veiled in comparison. The Lazarus also does something very few preamps, tubed or otherwise, manage to do convincingly: project a soundstage with believable dimensions and almost palpable realism.

The reach-out-and-touch-someone illusion from this preamp is comparable to what you normally only get for three times its asking price.

Unfortunately, the Lazarus is not entirely neutral-sounding. There's a slight glare in the upper midrange that adds a little artificial excitement to the sound. More worrisome in the long run is its tendency to lighten harmonic structures through the midrange. Instruments come through sounding a little threadbare, like a lo-cal salad dressing that has the proper taste, but not the richness of the real thing. The longer I listened, the more aware I became of the lightweight harmonic textures, which principally accounted for my growing irritation with the unit.

The treble is quick, but closed-in and somewhat grainy. The graininess increases when the Lazarus is pushed hard during loud, complex passages; it gives the feeling it's running out of steam, and compresses dynamics when going from loud to very loud.

Low-end extension and pitch definition benefit from a few days' warmup. My first impression was of weak, mushy midbass and lack of bass extension below 30 Hz, but I had to amend this reaction to "fairly good performance in the midbass, quite respectable for a tubed preamp." Still, the bass extension and impact were, to put it diplomatically, in short supply.

For the next phase of the listening tests I had to obtain a decent moving magnet cartridge, finally settling on a modified Grado 8M, courtesy of Alex Petterson of Sound Experience in St. Paul. Minnesota. , The rest of the analog front end consisted of the Sao Win 'table with the Well Tempered Arm, but the speakers this time around were the Martin-Logan CLS full-range electrostatics driven by a bridged pair of Spectrascan amps.

The sound from the Lazarus was again very clean and transparent, with very good focus and resolution of low-level detail.

Reproduction of choral music was impressive, with a convincing portrayal of the soundstage and effortless resolution of individual voices. However, even with the full-bodied Grado, the lean character of this preamp was noticeable. The spatial focus of instruments within the soundstage, while very good, was not in the class of the much more expensive Audio Research SP8.

Neither was the Lazarus as dynamic as the SP8; the swell and bloom of music was noticeably more pinched. Bass extension and impact were very similar to what I had heard from the high-level section alone.

Again, the midbass was definitely not bloated or mushy like on my old Dyna PAS-3X, but the deep bass was shy and overly polite.

Perhaps I'm coming down a little too hard on the Lazarus; in some ways it approaches the performance of the best pre amps money can buy. Its transparency, clarity, focus, and soundstaging are quite remarkable for a unit in the under-S1000 price range. I don't know of any similarly priced preamp that can hold a candle to the Lazarus in these areas. On the other hand, there are preamps like the Conrad Johnson PV-4 and Audible Illusions Modulus, both priced at about $100 less than the Lazarus, 3 which produce what I feel to be a more overall musically natural sound, albeit with less spectacular soundstaging. Maybe I'm overly sensitive to the cavalier treatment af forded harmonic textures by the Lazarus; I would be happier if the designers corrected the lower midrange leanness. On the other hand, I certainly think you should check this unit out: in other systems its performance might be better, and its value for the dollar is undeniable.

[ 2. The mod involves damping the hotly of the Grado to eliminate some of its gratuicius bravado. If you're interested. Alex can he reached at 612-698-8-Lc

3. Actually. the Modulus is priced 5 -5 higher than the Lazarus. hut its still a good deal. The Audio Cheapskate will be making a direct comparison in Md. 9. No 3. -LA ]

--

[based on a March 1986, Stereophile review article]

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THE NEC CD-705E COMPACT DISC PLAYER

THE INFINITY IRS-III AND RS-IB: STILL FURTHER CONSIDERATIONS

THE RAUNA TYR MARK II LOUDSPEAKER

THE SYNTHESIS LM-20 AND LM-250: A NEW LINE OF TOP QUALITY SPEAKERS