Spectron amplifier - new black faceplate?

Michael,

Everyone have their taste and if you love the Spectron that is you; I did not and I am entitled to write about my dislike for this product just like you are for your love of it.

I do, however, have an issue with you posting a private email exchange you and I had on this post. What I said in my email to you is to audition the product before you buy and not to take everyone one who post positive reviews on Agon for their word. I never told you not to buy this product.

Please lets be adults who can have fruitful discussions and leave tattle tails to high schoolers.

New great Spectron review - http://positive-feedback.com/Issue44/spectron.htm

Note that "At first listen....I found them a bit dry and uninvolving. Figuring a little run time would help things out, I broke them in by feeding the amps cable radio night and day for about a week....

Forget what you think you know about Class D amplifiers. The Spectrons combined incredible speed with the kind sweetness and musicality usually reserved for good tube amps. They conveyed harmonic colors with incredible precision and rather than blending distinct tonal colors into a “sound” they rendered each color as distinct, bringing it to life, intact and true to the source..."

PATIENCE !!!!

Interesting the units reviewed did not have the bybee caps and other upgrades? What changes would those two upgrades mentioned in the article would have on the sound?

I changed the power fuses from the silver filled Hi-Fi tuning to the Furutech and found it hard to discern any definable improvement. Maybe, the amps sound a little more effortless.

However, I also changed the internal rail fuses to very inexpensive, but cryoed fuses from CryoParts and that made a noticeable gain in clarity and precision. At already outstanding performance levels from these amp, any changes are by definition just minor 'delta' shifts, but I do recommend going the cryo route for the internal fuses (without busting the bank) for a noticeable improvement.

Would be interested to hear anyone else's experiences ......... I love these amps!

Steve

Hello Steve,

You are absolutely right. Furutech fuse brings a bit of "effortless" presentation [ as I observed in my own system] and the degree of it would depends on your speaker impedance behaivor (phase in particular) and if you use one or two amps, obviously.

Your observation is very interesting - I believe you have two monoblocks and thus the most powerful amp in the industry - yet the fact that you can hear a bit more "effortless" show that we are not at the limits!

Indeed, our peak power is 7kW (over period of 0.5 seconds). The measured/estimated peak power to produce creshendo of classical music in B&W 803 requires 7 kW (published work by Keith Howard) and we provide it. However, that means that for more difficult speaker loads like that of B&W 802 and 801 - we do not provide enough power co represent musical peaks WITHOUT DISTORTIONS i.e. effortless.

Thank you very much
Simon