Ideas re Spectron mated to Joule-Electra

Hello Drubin,

" Dob -- yes, it was a Mk II." Well, you have very good ears - you describe the sound like it was detaiuled photograph.

With your very fair demands you need to have either LA-150SE and if you can afford LA-300ME. The LA-450ME of course is the best but I cannot afford it ...now (and frankly extremely happy with what I have and not planning to change anything anytime soon)

All The Best

Thanks for all the help. The Ayer is beyond my budget (upper limit roughly about 5k for a preamp). For those with the mono blocks, are you just using 2 Musician III Mk2's? Or is there some other model I'm not familiar with? Did you ever set up your system with just 1 Musician III Mk2? (Two is more than I can afford.) Is there that big a difference?

You could always start with one Spectron and if and when you want add another. My amps are the latest Musician III Mk2's with all the upgrades, v-cap, bybee and fuses. Two monoblocks brings you to the next level, but start with one and go from there.

I have the LA-150 MKII and find the above to be true. It's a seductive and clean preamp with a touch of sweetness and very good extension on both ends. I agree that the highs are not the most extended but I tend to sell the ones that I want to turn down and keep the ones that I play louder.

Highly recommended in the used $2500 range. You are looking to spend twice this amount? Never heard of Spectron.

I have sold my LA-300ME to friend of mine and ordered LA-450ME. I am not sure why I did it but I did it - may be for the same reason I sold my Watt/Puppy 8 and bought Sasha. Still keeping my Spectrons. If they outperformed Pass Lab XA-200.5 then I don;t know what should I investigate next... may be source.

Mike