I have auditioned the Spectron Musician 3 Signature for several hours at Chang Audio Network (303-470-7077)( owned by Steve Chang (audiogoner SCHANG) in Denver last fall. Words that come to mind when thinking about that wonderful experience with the Spectron are nimbleness, authority, grace, staging, harmonic development, and lack of grain. The only other switching amp that I have enjoyed as much is the Rowland 312. |
iSanchez, I am particularly interested in hearing about your future findings with 2 Spectrons bridged to mono. Also, what is complete break in time for Spectron Musician 3 Sig? |
Chris, your suggestion is somewhat similar to what I suggested to Simon. . . upgraded internal components, bridging to mono via switch (can't degrade sound any more than 'Y' pigtail on speaker wires)(, upgraded metal-work. |
Excellent description of the Spectron soundprint Rafael. . . This is exactly what I heard last fall at Steve Chang's place (Schang) in Denver. Reviews such as this one corroborate my opinion that. . . NOT ALL SWITCHING AMPS ARE DESIGNED/BUILT ALIKE! |
Mdrummer01, put 2 or 3 hundred hrs on the Mus 3 before you start fiddling with tweaks. . . or you will never know if your tweaks are effective or not. Before fiddling with tweaks, it may also be a good idea to check with Simon Thacher at Spectron for advice. |
I am not surprised about your mono findings. . . perhaps some day Spectron will make its amp finally bridgeable to mono via a external switch, or internal jumpers, or reversable factory hot rodding. |
Hi Isanchez, if you think about it, the move to a bridgeable offering may benefit Spectron greatly as well. . . I venture to guess that up to 25% of current owners would be interested in adding a 2nd amp to their stable. . . not to talk about new customers. Simon, what say you? |
Hi Simon, now I understand. Would a board-level topology redesign let you optimize a model for mono operation instead? I am concerned that the addition of a 'Y" splitter may also cause some degradation because of the additional connector. One more solution is to ask the manufacturer of the ICs from Pre to amp to create a long "Y" split wire that would split just at the connector plugged into the pre. . . no extra connectors that way, but this may add some semi-significant cost to the setup. G. |
I agree, XLR for balanced mono and RCA for single ended stereo ops seems an ideal configuration for a flexible monoblock offering. |
Thank you Radicalstuff, excellent info. Please do keep us posted as the sound develops further. I wonder how many hours of break in are required for Spectron to yield its very very best performance? Some other switching amps that I have had the opportunity to test and that -- unlike Spectron -- utilize ICE modules for power conversion, likely take over 1000 hours to break in completely. . . so, be patient and keep posting your listening notes here. |
RKMCV, I am not surprised about very long break in time on Spectron. . . seems switching amps require inordinate amounts of time to yield their very best. . . anyone who has not had the patience of nursing any of these these devices to their ultimate performance point is denying themselves a very wonderful experience. |
And for anyone interested in learning a little more about what's new on the Mus 3 Mk.2, Audiogon has just posted the relevant press release from Spectron:
http://cgim.audiogon.com/cgi-bin/pr.pl?spectron&1211997406&v
Guido |
