Input on Spectral DMC 30SL

ack...i ended up getting a berkeley alpha dac which i run directly to my amp. i cannot say enough good about this dac. outstanding. at present, i still have the krell but i also have a dma 180 which was just rebuilt at spectral. the dma 180 is listed for sale but i am giving serious consideration to keeping it. i believe it is one of the finest amplifiers and is head and shoulders above most of the amps being sold today. this particular dma 180 is pretty special given all the work that was just done so i am really torn. i also did end up getting some pretty solid information confirming that the alpha dac is appropriate to drive spectral amps. by my ears they are a wonderful match too! if things work out well down the road i hope to end up with the same amps you have. i am guessing you are enjoying the 360's!

Excellent choice on the DAC - VERY analog-like sound. If you are interested about my ruminations on it vs. analog, take a look at http://www.martinloganowners.com/forum/showthread.php?t=9365

On the following: "i also did end up getting some pretty solid information confirming that the alpha dac is appropriate to drive spectral amps"... Yes indeed, I have the same solid info and will drive the new 360's likewise directly in balanced mode, while the preamp will go in via SE, so I can A/B the DAC doing directly to the amps vs. through the preamp :-)

Oh that's funny... there is a 30SS here on Agon just 6 months old... Gee am I NOT surprised.

On your DMA-180: keep in mind that the Spectral sound has changed significantly in recent years. Whereas your amp has this very wide but diffuse soundstage, the newer models, including the 250, have an extremely well focus but still wide soundstage. This was the sharpest contrast between the Alpha DAC and the old SDR-2000 I had, as well as the DMC-20 preamp's and the new 30SL's. Essentially, the newer designs offer this walk-around soundstage, and the reason you can "walk around" it is that you can actually feel the instruments due to the sharp focus - that's how palpable the presentation is.

the new amps must be amazing. to call the soundstage diffuse on the 180 is a wild statement! compared to just about any other amps it is super etched and detailed. it makes my krell, which sold for twice what it retailed for 10 years later, it is more than polished. i am a big fan of that krell too. i still think the dma 180 is one of the top 10 amps ever.

email me your issues with the 30ss. i find it interesting that you prefer the 30sl.

i do not recall you having the alpha dac...is it new? i could go on and on about that thing. i have absolutely no desire to change digital sources and i do not think that will fade. this is an unusual state for me to be in.

I got the Alpha in May of 2009 I believe. It took me about 20 mins of A/B testing with the 2000 to discern that the Alpha completely trounces its competitor. The real test was against the analog rig, where the bottom line in my comments is that with RR/HDCD recordings it clearly surpassed it, but this is partly due to the superior RR recordings against anyone else's, and with all other material it came extremely close.

Moreover, I compared it with the Spectral SDR-4000 Pro CD player, and couldn't tell a difference whatsoever - Harley did. What a bargain.