Spectral audio today

It sure is but my top 2 contenders are Audionet Heisenberg and Gryphon Mephisto.I would put CH M1.1 in third place in my shortlist.

@carey1110  are you going to get the DMA 300SV ?I talked to someone who auditioned the DMC 30SV DMA 500 Anniversary combo, he said it's pretty good but but also said CH Precision and top of the line Gryphon is much better.

Guys Spectral's most recent SV series is in a complete different league compared to what they've done in the late 90s early 2000.They have made huge progress in the midrange frequency, it is now very organic and natural sounding not thin or analytical like some might say on the older series.As mentioned above Spectral is a system approach, you really need to purchase the linestage, the amp or monoblocks and the MIT cables otherwise it will not sound as it should.Also speaker choice is very important with Spectral.Obviously Spectral will not suit everyone's taste.

@studio1  Yes with Covid the best way is to drive many hours for an audition.For Spectral it will be a 6 hours drive for me same for Audionet audition.I have already done the job for CH Precision, Dartzeel, D'Agostino, Gryphon and Ypsilon.Right now i need to know if the latest Spectral gear is still capable of competing against the above brands.If some of you have heard the latest DMC 30SV DMA 300SV combo please share your experience.

@ebm Did you at least audition recent Spectral gear before saying it's dead last ?

@graystoke I have the same problem here in France, no more Spectral distribution since many years but i can go to Italy for an audition.Spectral pre-power with ATC speakers could be an option for me.

From what i know for Spectral to sound right you need to get the preamp, the poweramp and the matching MIT Spectral cables.You also need to get the right speakers, Wilson Audio does work well with Spectral just like Avalon.Unfortunately many Spectral dealers around the world never managed to setup properly a Spectral system in the past, this gave a bad image to the brand.Today they have very little distribution even in the US.If things get better with COVID i will try to visit Audio Graffiti in Italy for a listen.

Well Spectral is not on my shortlist but who knows if i have a chance to audition in the next few months.My next planned audition in november is Audionet Humboldt and Stern-Heisenberg combo, let’s see how that goes.

@carey1110 Thanks for your feedback, yes the SV series is the one i'm looking at i also hear it's a big step forward compared to the older series.If you paid 15k for the 30SV well i would have to pay 26k for that same preamp here in Europe that's the sad part.The DMA 300SV is 34k here same goes for d'Agostino gear way over priced.

@ebm  Thanks for your suggestion but unfortunately 1 don't have 160k+ budget for amps.The ones i can afford are Mephisto stereo, Audionet Heisenberg, CH M1.1 stereo and Spectral DMA 300SV + DMC 30SV.Speakers are Borresen 03s therefore my guess as best amp match is either Audionet Heisenberg, CH M1.1 or Spectral DMA 300SV.I really don't know about pairing a Mephisto with Borresen speakers.

I'm going to add Spectral DMA 400SV in the battle.

I've heard most Soulution gear even the latest and at the end i much prefer CH Precision sound.I yet have to hear the latest Spectral SV series.

@shubertmaniac I don't think you can compare a Spectral system to the Alsyvox-Koda-Wadax system that you mentioned.This is an ultra high end rig for people with unlimited budget.