Spectron Audio Out Of Business?
"This technician was the one who actually had the idea to create a capacitor bank filled with many capacitors rather than some large ones. He shared his idea with Spectron, and viola, they decided to create amps for the Mk2 versions that way. " The first company I saw that touted multi-capacitor banks as sonically superior was Modular Electronics(known as ME) in Australia during the 1980s.
|
Hi Folks! After speaking with an audiophile who owns a Mk2 stereo Spectron, who’s also a technician, he gave me a rundown on Mr Manh. He’d been in touch with him and he informed me that Manh had gone to work with the military. This technician was the one who actually had the idea to create a capacitor bank filled with many capacitors rather than some large ones. He shared his idea with Spectron, and viola, they decided to create amps for the Mk2 versions that way. But also, he informed me that Manh gave him a wiring diagram (electronic layout) of the Spectron amps since he decided to move on with his career. Would this wiring diagram assist anyone in getting their amp repaired? If so, I’ll be happy to put you in touch with him. |
I, too, have a Spectron with unserviceable channel. I originally bought 2 of the Musician III Mk2 amps with Bybees. One had a channel go out and sent whole amp to Spectron back when. Less than two years later that channel again went out. I was in email contact then, 2015, with Manh, and was going to send in the channel. He had suggested I swap locations, which I did and amp again worked for a time before the problem module again went out. When I tried to reach Manh, Spectron was done. I have kept this "paperweight" in case my other Spectron has a similar problem and could use the working module on the amp not in use. I was reviewing my correspondence with Manh and recall that I had some issues reinstalling the pins from the module back into the amp. I now wonder whether something like Caig DeoxIT cleaner/conditioner might prove helpful for some of these channel problems. I also recall there was a period of time recommended to allow the capacitors to discharge. I remember doubling that period before opening the amp. I did get a significant arc that scared the ++++ out of me. I let the damn thing sit another 30 days before going in again. |
Would like to pick up this conversation again. I had been a very happy owner of the Spectron Musician III Mk2 SE till one channel died on me a few weeks ago. Looks like it is impossible to have the amp repaired and even the used ones are very hard to find nowadays. For replacement, I wonder if the current generation of Class D amps are just as good or better, e.g. Purifi 1ET7040SA or GaN FET based amps. Any thoughts? |
@geordidog Bob, Thank you for running over to Manh's place. I almost went to work for John and wish that I had back then in 2009. I would have preserved his legacy. I remember he was working on that 8000w design. Maybe Manh is using it to launch missiles, lol. I have a near flawless black MIII MKII and one channel works perfectly. Paired with another amp with 1 ch working, and the other disabled it would be an incredible amp because each 1 ch power module would have it's own discreet transformer. So... does anyone out there want to buy my amp? or sell me their 1ch MIII MKII? maybe we can also sell the power modules of the channel that is not functioning for parts to repair other owners amps. I am open to all suggestions. I live in Orange County CA |
Good Luck Sodapop with contacting Manh. A few months ago I actually drove to his house and knocked at his door. I did this after many attempts at contact by email and phone. He has a camera outside his door so I decided to ring the doorbell and knock until someone answered. (There were a couple of vehicles in the driveway and it was a Saturday.) There is a small window (probably bathroom) to the right of the front door. Finally someone answered through this window and it was his wife Cindy. She ended up being very nice. She said he no longer does any servicing and is working for the military. She said he has secret clearance and can't discuss anything with anyone and travels extensively. There are no parts or power modules available to purchase. I told her that he (Manh) could probably arrange with an independent repair facility to repair Spectron amps and just act as a consultant so that all the owners of Spectron amps would have more than paperweights. She said she would let Manh know my ideas but I doubt he will act on it. I believe his power modules were made by a Chinese company to their specs or at least the boards were made by them. Spectron could have then added their "special" parts which are the problem for repairs. The whole situation is very sad considering the technology that John Ulrick developed and patented. I also mentioned to Cindy that Manh should look into selling the patents and designs to someone or some amplifier company. Since he did not do this makes me think that some of the technology might be used now by the military if Cindy's story is correct. . At least to my mind it is the only explanation that makes any sense. I know that John Ulrick manufactured some incredibly powerful subwoofers with what I think were 8000w/ch amps using his technology for a special contract before he passed. Also one other note I emailed Jeff Wells who I believe was sales manager at one time and he said that John was very secretive with his designs and he doubts that anyone else would have any service manuals or schematics available anywhere. I am still using his amps and I am also looking for Spectron Musician amps with at least 1-channel working. I also am looking for Premiere amps with at least one of the modules working. Thanks, Bob (geordidog). |
I knew John and Toni well. Sad that they both passed away. Then Simon took over and kept the business running. Manh is our only hope for repair. I cannot seem to reach him either. So.... It sounds like most of us have MIII MKII amps and I imagine like me, just one channel is out. So let's all connect and see if we can pool together our parts. Maybe we can get 3 good amps out of 6? swsdaryl@outlook.com for anyone interested in buying or selling or we will all just sit with paperweights. Maybe I can leave a message with Manh and mention this idea and he will actually respond and help us. |
I had the musician, the II and the III, they all broke down. Had to ship then to the US (from the Netherlands) for repairs. Twice it failed spectacularly in the sense that it destroyed a tweeter in my Dunlavy's in the process. Another time it took out a woofer. Every time Toni & John were very helpful. I had along phone-call with John where he tried to help me identify the issue with an amp. Great people, but the amps are not very stable. I used to love the sound until I decided I've had it with the breakdowns and heard a Pass Labs. My spectron is now a paperweight as well :-( but the Pass sounds better so I'm happy Maybe (they have a modulair setup) we need to make an inventory of what is broken an try to create a few working amps out of the pile of broken ones ;-) |
UPDATE: Steve Hogan has finally completed my ExactPower unit, and it is now in my possession, and online. In the end, Steve did an absolutely fantastic job. He totally rebuilt it, w/ new display, and custom replacement lens. The unit sounds better than new, and the display is brighter than ever! I'm chalking up the long delay to Steve going through life difficulties, which could happen to anyone; in fact, given the quality of work performed I am sending him my other unit later today. Highly recommended, just make sure to inquire about his workload so as to temper completion time expectations. |
Add me to the list of people who now own a very expensive paper weight. I have the Premiere multi-channel amp. I took it to Mr. Manh about 4-5 years ago for the signature upgrade. Last night, 3 channels stopped working. This morning I found this thread. Very disappointed. I'm in Los Angeles. Will be storing the amp and keeping an eye on this thread. |
@snsmore I think we corresponded about this by PM, regarding Deltronics repairing your Exact Power unit. They have repaired at least two of the EP15-A models I've owned--all for a reasonable price. The last unit they repaired needed some new caps. They will likely bring your unit up to original specifications with original caps. Don't know if there is room for installing beefier, larger caps on the boards. They will likely try to satisfy your needs if you ask them. Good luck! |
do you know someone there George?No sorry, but bjt a 25 poster has the amps and says he knows a bit about them, maybe he knows something about the company. https://forum.audiogon.com/posts/1797196 Cheers George |
I wonder what has become Spectron's inventory of spare parts, tools, testing equipment etc? Their site's still up and working. http://www.spectronaudio.com/contact.htm Cheers George |
@celander trying to get my ExactPower recapped and fixed for 4 months now by a member i found here that's an alleged expert. 4 F'in months and I am still waiting. do you think Deltronics can recap w/ larger caps (over 1000uF)? i need to get my unit back from this shyster and send it to a legit repair shop. |
Hello, Three shops that I have sent one of my Spectrons to are unable to carry out repairs on the power modules. It is now believed that the large black custom IC is defected. There is no info printed on this component and none of the techs knows what it is, apart from hand written sharpie numbers 470 and 465kc / Nat 33c and 464kc, these must be Spectrons coding. A fellow tech at work replaced all 3 Wima caps and the 2 power mos fets and still no go, he also thinks that the unknown black IC is at fault. I am really hoping that we get lucky and some ex-Spectron tech find this forum who may be able to help us. I wonder what has become Spectron's inventory of spare parts, tools, testing equipment etc? Both of Mr Manh's numbers are disconnected and emails bounce back. The amps were assembled in CA so there must be several ex-employees around. |
A bit of the topic, what amps are you considering replacing your Spectrons ? I really love the music out of the Spectrons and really enjoyed for the past 10 years. I came from Pass Labs X350.5s and X600.5s and since then never audition any other amps. Merrill Audio and Nord is on my list so far, but, never seen or heard them. If you have manged to find amps close to Spectrons please post. |
celander Thank you I will be shipping to Deltronics as soon as my amp is returned from the tek shop I sent to. The shop told me that one of my power modules is blown and since this is a Spectron custom built it is very difficult to obtain the correct parts for repairs.This is what I am afraid of. I have 3 amps and for the past 10 years I must returned modules to Mr Manh over 10 times for repairs. |
John Ulrick of Spectron Audio passed away a few years ago. I don’t know if his widow is still alive to inquire about spec design sheets. She ran the front office unit of the business. I think an business partner took over and shuttered the operation. Deltronics (on N. Halsted St. in Chicago) has a solid reputation. They don’t always need an electronic spec if they can identify and replace defective parts. Caps (or FETs) are likely culprits to go out in these designs. They just recapped one of my ExactPower conditioners last week without needing a spec. And that particular item was one that they needed a spec for to resurrect a second, completely dead, ExactPower conditioner I bought from a high-end dealer on EBay for parts about 5 years ago. Luckily, I had that spec sheet from the original design team. |
why can’t someone just share the schematics?Is this the same Spectron Audio as http://www.spectronaudio.com ?? |
My amp is also at George Meyer. They can’t find anyone Spectron related who will repair the amps. i sent Mr Manh a personal letter via snail mail and received no reply. why can’t someone just share the schematics? I had my amp for all of 2 hours before is went into fault mode. Now I have a $2000 paper weight. help. please help. |
Contacted both George Meyers and Deltronics and a few other repair shops about repairs on my MIII MKII without any luck. I was made to understand from these shops that Spectron circuit diagrams are unavailable and their power modules are custom built by Spectron there is no available support. Contacting Mr Manh is a dead end also. No one is slightly interested repairing Spectron amps. So I am asking for any leads. |
I have the same problem. The sad news is that a simple Google search reveals the obituaries of both John and Toni Ulrick, RIP. Fairly safe to assume that the business has been closed down although there was a young technician working in the shop on Os Ave in Chatsworth, CA. Don't know his name though. |
