Bel Canto Ref 1000 vs. Spectron Musician III Mk 2

I own the latest Spectron with bybee and V-caps. I also owned the Bel Canto Ref 1000. The Bel Canto Ref 1000 amps would not work with my speakers. My speakers are mainly 8 ohm speakers not 4 so the Bel Canto amps are a weak 500 watts amp not 1000 watts. They did not have enough power or bass. The top end was not there. The mid range was the only good part on my speakers. I tried the Bel Canto amps with 3 different preamps. I do run a pair of Spectrons as mono blocks. I have not run them any other way as mine are bridged internally. The Spectrons are the best amps I have tried with my speakers the Eggleston Savoys. I am sure the big XA Pass amps would also be good but heat is a problem so I have not tried them.

>>07-19-10: Coxhaus
My speakers are mainly 8 ohm speakers not 4 so the Bel Canto amps are a weak 500 watts amp not 1000 watts.<<

A "weak 500 watts".

Very interesting. Reviewing the Savoy specs indicates that should be more than enough power. However........

I have an old Plymouth with a weak 390 horsepower so I can identify with your dilemma.

:-)))

I do have Spectron Musician III Mk 2's with the Bybees and V-Caps. My speakers are separate panels and woofer modules. The lower mid driver does drop down to 3.3 ohm, but the speakers are not otherwise particularly challenging to drive. They do seem to present very favorably with higher level amplification. I originally used a Spectron channel for the panel and a channel for the module for each amp. Sound quality was much better than what I had experienced with ATI, Cinepro, and Gemstone amps on these speakers. I then tried the older legacy Wyred Class monos for the bass modules, and used the Spectrons in mono for the panels. Unfortunately, the woofers sounded muffled and congested. Lots of folks really like Wyred amps, and I wish it had worked for me, but did not. I have since gone fully active with the speakers--4-ways with Cary Cinema amps (Cinema 2 and Cinema 5)and the Spectrons. The gain is slightly higher on the Carys. I can adjust the gain on the woofer modules. I initially had planned on the Carys for the tweeter and woofer module, but the best sound has actually been the Spectrons on tweeter and mid, with Cary on lower mid and woofer. The upper range transparency, not etched, but smoothly detailed, extending into vocal range is very enjoyable.

I have not had the opportunity of auditioning the Cary 500MB's. I have read multiple high praise reports on them. I also have not auditioned the Bel Canto amps. Again, there seem to be many happy owners, especially on the newer models.

I was quite happy with the sound just using the Spectrons alone on the speakers, but curiosity and the quest was upon me. Sound quality is better now, but at considerably more expense and complexity. I'm also sure I will eventually do something different with the system, which may mean changes in amplification as well--so many options, so little time.

Will

What I mean by a weak 500 watts is my Classe CAM 350 amps had a lot better bass and control over the woofers than the Bel Canto amps. Just by hearing them you would think the Classe amps had more power. My wife listened to the Bel Cantos with my speakers and thought they sounded 1 dimension and that was her comment. They just did not match well with my speakers. Of course the Classe amps sounded veiled in the mid range compared to the Bel Cantos.

Coxhaus. I am considering the Spectron monos (bybee, v-cap, etc.) to replace 350's driving Aerial 9s. How do the Classe and Spectron's compare?

Sorry about the hijacking.