D’Agostino amp with Spectral preamp


Is trying to run a D’Agostino amp with a Spectral totally not doable?  The reason I ask is that I was thinking of adding the amp in my system first then getting the Dag preamp or a tube pre later. Later is much later like a year. Do you think this would sound terrible?
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Personally we can't think there would be any reason why these two couldn't work together. 

However in our opinion you can get better sound for less money than the Dagastino gear with the T+A electronics they make an extraordinary 300 watt per channel power amp which competes with the much more expensive Dag amp. 

As per sonic flavors these are two totally different sounds, the Spectral is super clean and fast, the Dagastino is more traditionally a warmer more laid back sounding product. 

If you like the sound of Spectral go with Spectral if you like Dag go with Dag gear.

Hope that helps.

Dave and Troy
Audio Doctor NJ


Spectral recommends that its amps and preamps be utilized together. i agree with Audiotroy in that mixing Dag and Spectral will get you the worst of both worlds. Go all Dag or Dag amp with tube pre, a combo I have heard in my home which I thought was fabulous. Spectral is fast and clean. If you like that, go all Spectral. Anything else will ruin its presentation, not complement it.
1++ Spectral has a weird or rather very different way of designing its stuff and should only be used together. Although it is not death to use a Spectral preamp with a Dag amp you will need another preamp in time as you plan. It is death to use a Spectral amp with most other preamps. A friend fried his amp this way. He returned it to Spectral for repair and they asked him if he had used it with another preamp. He had not told them what had happened. Consequently I do not bother with Spectral Gear. It is great sounding stuff used correctly and very well made but I also lean to the warmer side of things.
Daniel D'Agostino is not someone you want to buy anything from. When a potentiometer in a 7 year old Krell preamp (this was way before he left Krell,) went south he personally informed me face to face at the NY show that the potentiometer was a custom device and he does not stock them and he is not going to have another batch made. He recommended getting one from Radio Shack and mount it to the top of the preamp which was a very slender unit thus the need for a custom pot. The marketing literature said "Built to last a lifetime." My ass, gold screws and all. Most people buy his stuff because they are impressed by the looks. I personally think his stuff looks silly. Don't waste money on gold screws. It is the stuff inside you want to spend money on. 
If you like the warm sound go with PassLabs. If you like the sterile, clean sound go with Boulder. I'm sure there are others that are fine also but I have experience with these two and I can vouch for them. Both have great service and back up their stuff even after the warranty is up. 
When one of my Krell KMA 100s finally toasted its output stage at around 20 years of age I gave them to the friend of a friend who though he might be able to fix it for himself. They were wonderful amps and the very last D'Agostino products I will ever purchase.