Spectral Phono Section vs. External one!

I've heard the spectral gear before with the quicksilver,the lehman, and this really cool titianium grey PH-3. Of the three, the PH-3 was head and shoulders the best. That's the one I'd get.

You may want to chk with your dealer; I don't believe spectral gear is spec'd to be used with tube gear. I owned some spectral monoblocks in the past, and was told by my dealer (progressive audio) that a tube linestage wouldn't work with them. Not saying you shouldn't do it, just recommending you do a little homework before chunking down a bunch of $.

Jade- The phono section of the Spectral 20 is outstanding! You would be hard pressed to do better without spending big bucks (aesthetix io). As for external tube phono stages, they should be fine with a Spectral pre-amp though certainly not what Spectral would recommend. Spectral amps typically have a low input impedance (10K ohm) which could give many tube pre-amps difficulty, but not all tube pre-amps. You'd need to know the output impedance of the tube pre-amp in question (prefer < 500 ohm) to determine it's compatibility and keep the interconnects relatively short to ensure good results. Goodluck.

Jcbtubes is dead right ! If you covet a slightly warmer, fuller presentation, do as he suggests. If you like the Spectral sound however, you would need to spend big bucks to do better. The Spectral phono section, as far as resolution, delicacy, soundstaging, the presentation of voices and instruments in space ,the bottom end and sweet, extended highs are concerend, seems truly excellent to these here ears.