I'm a long time Spectron user. I've had the Digital One and the Musician II (not to mention a flirtation with the Musician II Hybrid, which- btw - is an incredible value) as well as a plethora of other amplifiers - both tube and solid state. About a month ago I took delivery of my Musician III SE Plus (capacitor upgrade). I was a very restrained and immediately plugged the new amp into my computer system to break in. Well, I finally put the amp into the main system. I must say, it's quite a piece of work.
I believe Simon has a lot to do with this new direction that Spectron has taken. When I got my first Digital One, I approached John (Ulrick) about possibly changing some of the parts in the circuit to higher quality "boutique" components because of my experience with rebuilding tube amps and speaker crossovers etc. __My__ ears heard a difference. Well, he wasn't to open to the idea at the time. Well times change, and it's obvious that along with a brilliant design, now Spectron has taken that next step in to creating something truly superlative. Again, I think Simon has been instrumental in this final stage. Bravo!
Most of the professional reviews I read of the amplifier sound a little milquetoast to me. What's funny is that - as far as I know- at least 2 of these professional reviewers have purchased an MIII. After hearing the amp for myself, I can better understand why the reviews read the way that they did.
This amplifier is soooo even handed about how balances its attributes that it might come off as sounding non distinctive. It's not juicy, it's not obviously airy (although it's certainly not lacking), it's not weighty/meaty (like some Krells can sound in the nether regions) but it's bass is probably the best I've ever heard. Although I've heard a more glamorous midrange with some tube amps (my dabbling with a VAC Renaissance 30/30 comes to mind), I've never heard anything that got the midrange this __incredibly__ good without drastically messing up something else (soggy bass, rolled off highs etc etc.) The dynamics of the amp are truly amazing. I've never ever heard a solid state amp this dynamic, especially the micro. I've heard some tube amps that were maybe a little bit more suave (colored?) with the small gestures, but nowhere near as able to track complex orchestral micro dynamics. The bass has really taken me a while to wrap my head around. At first I could see where someone might think it was lean. It's not. After listening to things with complex bass lines I've come to the realization that I'm used to hearing the bass with more distortion. Even complex lines come across with appropriate (and plenty of it!) weight, but without any of the bloat, blurring, or overhang I'd gotten used to hearing.
I could go on, but this post is already rediculously long. Let's just say that despite having good expectations of the MIII SE Plus, I'm still pleasantly surprised with just how good it is.
Enjoy!
