Anything as " fast" as SPECTRAL gear?

Can you give an example of an amp that is outstanding in this regard?

"02-09-15: Csontos
Can you give an example of an amp that is outstanding in this regard?"

I bought a Musical Fidelity A3.5 integrated. It had way too much attack, or speed. So much so, that unless you have a really dull sounding system that needs a band aid fix like that, it just wears you down and starts to sound like a gimmick. Its kind of hard to find an example like that any more, because most designers have been trying to get their designs to have more of a balanced sound to them. And for the most part, they've been successful. Tube designers try to get they're gear to have more SS qualities, and SS designers trying to get some tube aspects in their designs. That type of thing.

I once knew this girl who was really fast, very high slew rate, but I don't think as fast as Spectral gear :)

Is "fast" a desirable attribute?

Yes. The human ear/brain system has a tipping point wherein if the reproduction of music is not 'fast' enough, the processing moves from the limbic system (emotional center) to the cerebral cortex (intellectual center).

But by and of itself speed is not the final arbiter- it must occur within an otherwise musical framework.

Zd, I would think the opposite is the case in fact. Deliberately not designing true to life character seems to be the gimmick among tube amp designers especially. Just because of the well known quirky expectations of their market base. From what I gather, tubes sounding closer to ss is more trendy than vise versa. If the sound is 'balanced' as you say, it will display serious speed and attack...like reality does. If that's not what you want, it's okay to be honest and not obfuscate or try to reinvent the English language.

Btw, a soa amp will always display serious speed and attack.