In preparation for some new speakers I have on order I bought a pair of Spectron Musician III MK2 mono amps with V-cap and Bybee filters. These replace the Spectron Musician III MK2 stereo amp with V-cap and Bybee filters I have which is close to 3 years old.
I figured there would be some improvement with the mono amps but I am amazed as to how much. I have had the new amps for about six weeks now and they have around 600-700 hours of playing time on them. After the, to my ears what can be sometimes brutal (100-200 hours the highs can be sometimes harsh and the lows a little mushy), break-in period the new amps are starting to sound spectacular while still improving. The highs are more sweeping and the lows are more rock solid along with the mids which are much more detailed than the stereo Spectron amp. The soundstage is much more spacious while at the same time the imaging more exact and three dimensional.
On a side note has anyone else noticed more companies are offering switching amps. ARC has a couple now and Mark Levinsons new flagship mono amps ($50K/pair) use switching technology. I believe that it was the advent of the Spectron Musician III amps that showed these companies what possibilities switching amps held.
Finally, Simon was very helpful as usual giving me assistance as to how to setup the mono amp configuration.
I figured there would be some improvement with the mono amps but I am amazed as to how much. I have had the new amps for about six weeks now and they have around 600-700 hours of playing time on them. After the, to my ears what can be sometimes brutal (100-200 hours the highs can be sometimes harsh and the lows a little mushy), break-in period the new amps are starting to sound spectacular while still improving. The highs are more sweeping and the lows are more rock solid along with the mids which are much more detailed than the stereo Spectron amp. The soundstage is much more spacious while at the same time the imaging more exact and three dimensional.
On a side note has anyone else noticed more companies are offering switching amps. ARC has a couple now and Mark Levinsons new flagship mono amps ($50K/pair) use switching technology. I believe that it was the advent of the Spectron Musician III amps that showed these companies what possibilities switching amps held.
Finally, Simon was very helpful as usual giving me assistance as to how to setup the mono amp configuration.