2. amps-preamps
  3. 1180897750

Spectron Musician III Signature vs VTL Siegfried?

I have the Musician III Signature two months. In my review, a month ago, I wrote:

"the sound, excellent to begin with, dramatically changed for the better. The highs became something magical, I never heard such in any solid state or tube amplifier. Totally silky and extended to heaven!!!! The "see thru" soundstage became immensely three-dimensional, truly, I feel sometimes that I can touch musician, go around him or her, and soundstage huge to begin with became even more specious! Midrange became "alive" like in the best tube amplifiers I ever owned or even auditioned, its magic feeling!!!! Base have now both: more authority and startling clarity - so different from one-note solid state and mushy tube base. I can play it quietly and I can play it loudly - no slightest strain. Additionally, black background became even blacker again as never in any other amplifier I auditioned in the past. It adds to the overall "magic".

Last week, I got well broken in VTL Siegfried monoblocks for a a few days of auditioning. Spectron cost $$6.5k, Siegfried - $35k. Spectron weight 50 lbs, Siegfried - 360 lbs. Both declare power into 8 Ohms - 600 watts and and into 4 Ohms - 800 watts. Headroom, Spectron 3600 watts over 330 msec, Siegfried - unknown. As a matter of fact, VTL except power and few others does not disclose its specs even such important as bandwidth and distortions.

OK, playing - both show big soundstage and good imaging. Treble is Spectron's domain, VTL sound simply murky and veil. Midrange is warmer in tube amp, very pleasant on ear. Bass - here is my problem. First, I though VTL bass is better - weightier and richer. Next I compare a few discs and to my surprise I am starting to believe that this monster tube amp bass is full of distortions, full of warm rich details which are not present at all in cello which I played and Spectron is accurate and after few days even surprisingly for me, I fall in love with Spectron bass - rich weighty. Perhaps, one detail. I am not sure I can physically hear deep bass but I can feel it, my chest is "shaking" my listening chair leather is vibrating etc. I hear it in Spectron very much and just a little bit with Siegfried.
.
I am eager to know if anybody else have experience with Musician III Signature vs best tube amplifiers? Thank you very much for reply
dob
cytocycle
1,043 posts
 
Thanks for the detailed description but it's hard to get a feel for everything without knowing the rest of your system... Cabling, preamp, speakers, CDP?

I've heard the S400 stereo VTL and the bass was amazing, and the liquid midrange was amazing, and perfect detail in treble without any hardness. This was on my Watt Puppy 7's, Transparent Reference Cabling, and a Casablanca III with a Theta Gen VII DAC and Theta Compli CD player.

I've heard the monoblock VTL's on Wilson Maxx II's with basically the same setup except Transparent Opus Speaker Cable and it wasn't necessary to turn on the Wilson XS sub for any reason the bass was so articulate and low hitting. I use to play the upright bass and the notes with either VTL were spot on in tonal quality and that is one of my key gauges.

Did you have the Spectron control speakers cables on your system? How much of a difference did that make over stock cables?
tweak1
3,561 posts
 
No but a PS Audio GCA or GCC modified by Underwood HiFi, or the guy that PS recommends in their Forum section,will be tough to beat for a lot less $$$$$$$
molly
9 posts
 
It's probably a bit too soon to comment, but Simon asked me if I would and he is such a great guy, how could I say no?

First of all, I have but 330 hours of actual music-time on the Spectron Musician III Signature, and I have been told to hold back on any judgments until I have used the amp for at least 500 hours. That said, I can still make a few comments. Cutting to the chase, I like the amp so much that I ordered a second one to use in a vertical bi-amp mode with my MBL 101Es.

For the past 5 years I have enjoyed a pair of Avantgarde Trios and have run them with a couple of dozen of the finest low-power, mostly single ended tube amplifiers available (including Jadis 845, 300B, several Wavelength models, Audiopax, Kronzilla, Wavac, Lamm 2.1 and finally, the best of the bunch - the Tron 300B amps which are just simply magical on the Trios.)

I had beautiful custom-built woofers specially made for the Trios (their stock woofers are junk!) and bi-amped them and equalized the bass. The sound was about as good as it gets with Trios, and that is very, very good.

Recently, I took delivery on a pair of MBLs and after doing a bit of research, decided to give the Spectron a try. How can you lose with a 30-day money back guaranty. I had my doubts, since I was of the opinion (as are many audiophiles) that class D is great for bass, but not particularly worthy of being used with the finest speakers.

How wrong I was. Remember that my previous reference sound was a magnificent 300B amp that has, to my experience, no equal in the mid-range, and is very extended and sweet on the top end. Bass was great, being run with a dedicated solid state amp and well equalized. The MBLs are being driven, full range, with a single Spectron.

Here are my feelings after two weeks: The treble is clearly the finest I have ever heard. The sound stage is in a class by itself. Depth, height, width, layering - it's all there in abundance. Dynamics rival the big Trio horns. Even micro dynamics are all there, and that is an area that the Trios are very strong in. The mid-range "magic" is not quite up to the Trons, but then I need 800 watts, not 7 watts. And - the amp is not fully broken in yet.

I have definitely come to the conclusion that the Spectron is VERY power cord sensitive. If you like detail, transparency and tight bass, use the Nordost Brahma. If you want more of a "tube-like" sound, warmer, rounder, but very natural, the Top Gun CCCP is a great choice.

The problem I have with this review of the Spectron is that I am really commenting on TWO new products at the same time and it is, as you know, impossible to attribute all of the results to either the speaker or the amp. Still, I think the potential of the Spectron is great enough that I purchased a second one. It's sound is natural and uncolored. Perhaps the 300B sound is a bit euphonic, which I happen to like a lot.

If you need a high powered amp, I can't think of anything else that will do a better job at anywhere near the price. It is a great effort and one that will remain a secret to the vast number of audiophiles who need to spend more or will avoid it because it is class D. Their loss!

This is an amp you can buy with confidence and chances are, you will never return it after the 30 days are up.
dob OP
577 posts
 
To Tweak1
Hello,
You wrote "PS Audio GCA or GCC modified by Underwood HiFi, or the guy that PS recommends in their Forum section,will be tough to beat for a lot less $$$$$$$"

Firstly, you did not answered my question. Secondly, you did not compare (as I understand from your brief comment) your favorite amp with Musician III Signature. Thus, how you can say one is better then other is beyond me.

However, I want to make two comment in response to your post
a) PS Audio, with legion of others, just buy 3d party digital modules (ICE, Hypex etc) and put into chasses without any change whatsoever (like Bel Canto) and glue the label with their name or at best put their own power supply - usually, borrowed from other units. Next, you music lover compare the sound coming from the exactly the same module (i.e. output stage) enclosed in the red box vs one enclosed in green box and judge one to sound better then another.
Its not funny, its really sad. Only two or three US companies make their own digital amps - Spectron, NuForce and one more, I forgot its name...

b) Since your modifier cannot possibly open closed digital module from the 3d party all that they can do is tinker on the edges. At best, they change a few capacitors and few diodes in power supply, binding posts and other simplest possible manial job and, Tweak1, they charge you rather big money - around $1k. All this stuff real manufacturer includes in their Signature Edition(SE) like NuForce and Spectron BUT, BUT, Tweak1 - they also change the heart of digital or class D amplifier - digital module which is responsible, frankly for nearly 100% of the sound (not counting effect of power supplies).

Finally, what I said is not related to modifying CD/DVD/SACD Players - peple like Stan Warren, leave only digital chips and chasses and build their own output stages and re-build power supplies. Depending on the modifier, its the most economical path to get excellent digital front.
Regards,
RD
More to discover