Besides Spectral, what else do I try........

Belles 250i Integrated,vacuum tube preamp section [1 tube], separated power supply,sound is what your looking for,I don,t think it has an equal at 5 times the price. The only amp I like better is the $35,000 YBA.

Edge=ugly wedding cake amp. Some of the poorest industrial design I have ever seen. With looks like that, a price tag no sane person would countenance, one would seriously hope that it sounds good. In fact, one would seriously hope that it transcends the laws of physics. Good luck Edge! At least Spectral looks solid and serious. Maybe there is more to blind testing than meets the eye?

From what I have heard, Spectral fans are Rowland fans. I matched my Spectral pre with Rowland power amps...great combo!

I have tried a Spectral preamp/amp, Transparent cable system in a previous system. I have owned 28 different amps in the past 12 years. Give Spectron a look. A digital amp that has quickness ( slew rate, rise time ) and neutrality. It allows you to voice your system however you want to. Power output is tremendous with over 600 wpc. Does things other amps and digital amps cannot. I needed to have a lot of convincing to even try a digital amp. No bits chopped here. It is glorious now that I have tried it. It never went back. Try Galen Carol Audio to take one for a spin and a fair deal, gcaudio.com.

Pbb? They do transcend the laws of physics (as we have known them) as regards to sound - as most people, who have actually heard them, agree. But if you want to talk ergonomics, a superset of industrial design, then we will have to talk about ease of deployment, child/pet safety issues, room temperature impact, as well as visual appearance. Edge does very, very well in these categories compared to other amplifiers.

If you just want to talk about one's personal preferences as regards to the 'most beuatiful amp', which I believe is already a thread somewhere else, (and almost laugh-out-loud funny with all the contrasting points of view) then I personally think that almost all solidstate (and most tubed) amps are just boring looking boxes, with the two notable exceptions being the Edge NL Reference and the Halcros... but who should care what amps someone else thinks look awesome? All amps have their fans who love their appearance, including the Spectral and Edge amps.

Enjoy!
Mike.