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The Best Tube Amplifiers vs Spectron ?

Before I bought Spectron stereo amp for my Watt/Puppy 8 I used McIntosh 2202, excellent tube amp and one of the best I ever owned. However, Spectron was better or even much better in all respects, most interesting - harmonic richness of midrange closely approximated the real music. The key is that this amp need very long time to fully break-in.

Today, I have read the latest Spectron's review (see http://spectronaudio.com/reviews.htm) where reviewer preferred Spectrons over state-of-the-art $50k VTL Siegfrieds!!! Amazingly, he wrote "The Musician III Mk II monoblocks have a crystalline purity in the reproduction of every voice and instrument that sounds more to me like the essence of live, unamplified music -- which I attend, on average, more than once a week year-round -- than any other amplifiers -- at any cost, based on any technology-- that I have ever heard."

I must agree with him (plus with Spectron you have no output tube maintenance, no heat, no huge weight) and I wonder if others have similar experience.

Mike.
michael_moskowich
eldartford
4,262 posts
 
Nothing compares with the H2O. Ask Muralman1 :-)
zybar's avatar
zybar
104 posts
 
Eldartford,

That was too funny! :-)

As for the discussion topic...I was lucky enough to get an extended audition of a stock (no upgrades) Spectron Musician 3 MK II SE and compare it to my reference amps (Atma-Sphere MA-1's) on two different sets of speakers:

Vandersteen 5A's

Emerald Physics CS2's

While the Spectron clearly is more green and friendly towards more electricity bill, doesn't have tubes to replace, and can be left on and forgotten, it just didn't click with me in the same way the MA-1's do.

While the Spectron was a very nice amp, I didn't find the top end to be as clean and pure as others have stated. I am not saying that the others are wrong, just that I hear a top end that still is a little grainy and hazzy when compared to the MA-1's.

I agree with what Teejay said...there is no "BEST" amp and I am definitely not replacing my Class A tube mono blocks.

George
ajackson1
156 posts
 
Hence, the adage, to each his own.

I did the same A\B using my Cary MB 500 CAD and the Spectron and the Cary stayed.

If the Spectron works for you, great, enjoy it, that is the whole purpose of this hobby.
psag
518 posts
 
The current Spectron stereo amp without upgrades is no doubt a very nice amp, particularly for difficult loads. However, comparisons with the best amps out there should be against the Spectron monoblocks with both available upgrades.
sogood51
2,157 posts
 
Off topic, but I was just reading one of the reviews from the link at the top, and the reviewer has Apogee Stages.

I was a little surprised that the Spectron mono's can't drive the Apogee Scintilla speakers....(they are rated 1400 watts@.5ohms).

We have had two members of the Apogee forum try them...they went into shutdown both times, with repair needed once?

Of course, most amps can't drive the Scintilla.

Dave
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