Spectron amplifier - new black faceplate?

Hello Mike,

If you like tube amplifiers then I am sure you will like Spectron. I am also tube lover and I have compared Musician III Signature with VTL Zeigfried and I liked Spectron more.
See - http://forum.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/fr.pl?aamps&1180897750&read&keyw&zzspectron

I am aware that Wayne Donnelley, reviewer of The Enjoy The Music sold his VTL ( Siegfrieds or one level down) and keeps Spectron as well. And its all about older Signature model and stereo configuration. New Mk2 is much better, not to mention monoblocks

So if you need power, have a difficult load (Wilson speakers dip below 2 Ohms as far as I remember) and like tube amplification then Musician III Mk2 should be ideal, particularly if you can afford two units and run them in monoblock configuration

All The Best
Rafael

Michael--

"Tube amps" cover a lot of territory. Some are great; others have been less so. But let me assume that your experience is with the best of the breed. No doubt what you appreciate is the sense of palpability and immediacy that the best tube amps can provide, and the spaciousness they can reproduce from a high caliber recording. That certainly is what I have appreciated.

I've had several of the Spectron amps, including the SE (currently being upgraded to Mk.II) and the Musician III has had the remarkable effect of making me utterly uninterested in searching further for the mythical, holy grail amplifier. My budget had plenty of room for car-priced amps, but the Musician III is so extraordinary that I simply can't drag myself out to compare amps anymore.

As a former symphony musician, I think I have a pretty good idea of what real instruments in real space sound like. The Spectron amp gets me closer to that than anything else I know of. Tube like immediacy and palpability, coupled to absolutely ruthless control of the drivers by the amp, so that the speaker and amp act as one. The delicacy of well-recorded strings is, well, like the delicacy of well-played strings. Voices have heft and presence. Bass is as tight as it was in the recording venue. And if the recording engineer captured the space of the venue, there you are.

Best,

Jonathan

The Spectron amp is utterly indifferent to tricky loads. Its an amp for all seasons.

Get one, and you can go back to listening to the music, which is what this is all about, no.

Michael,

you hearing consisten views from happy Spectron owners and I am in the same camp. Like Jonathan now I have the monoblocks with Byee and V-caps there is no reason to even think about anything else - and there is plenty of nice gear out there to tempt you.

Like others I have replaced tubes (SF Power 3's) with Spectron and I was able to get drawn into the music even more.

I don't think you can go wrong with Spectron - and the communications and service is great as well, if you should need it. I can't compare the Bybee / Vcap mods against the regular version, but I don't regret paying for these upgrades as I know I have the best amp (for me) against anything out there I would compare it with.

Steve

Michael,

All I would say audition it at home B\4 u buy.

It all depends on the type of music u like.
I audition one at the dealers, liked it, bought one and it gave me listening fatigue setup in my system. I could not listen to my system for more than an hour. I ended up with a Cary 500 for half the price of a Spectron and really enjoying it.

The opinion of others is not as important as yours.

TRY B\4 U BUY, simple as that.

Hello Ajackson,

I totally agree with you. If you can try the amp IN YOUR SYSTEM then you must do it. I am not sure how easy it can be done with speakers but with amp - ABSOLUTELY!

The problem, as I see it - when you try to buy used amp or whatever - seller rarely gives you opportunity to return the component if you don;t like it. Right now - there are three Spectron "demos" here at Audiogon and these dealers better will give their amp for trial.

Still, let me share my observation that Spectron appears better and better when you move to more and more difficult load. I have B&W802N and I tried many, many amps and Spectron was the best - may be because my speakers are extremely difficult to drive (correctly that is).

How you said? "TRY B\4 U BUY" - I like it !

All The Best
Rafael