Anything as " fast" as SPECTRAL gear?

If things are going well you will not hear 'speed' in an amplifier. If you do seem to recognize such based simply on highs and transient response, IMO/IME that is likely due to a coloration and not anything else (and often caused by trace amounts of higher ordered harmonic distortion).

Real speed is evident if the soundstage is deep and wide but not unnaturally so (this is because with speed comes correct phase response); the amp will be relaxed at high frequencies but obviously able to play them with a black background. I hesitate to say any more as so many other factors are involved/so many variables can exist...

To me, "Speed" seems more of a real issue with various transducers than with amplifiers.

Speed when it is incorrect can also be perceived as a slowing down, a lethargy as it were, of the music overall, as if something is a little wrong with the timing. Thus, a piece that would normally take 3:50 to play is perceived as taking say 3:57 to play.

I agree and the opposite is also true ime. Those Meridian 105s will fool you into perceiving a faster than normal pace.

But there's another question that hasn't come up and that's 'how much of an influence does a pre amp have in perceived speed'?