DMA-400RS/DMC-30SV on aiding the tuning of a system

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
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Lab instruments?

I've been meaning to write about the DMC-30SV and DMA-400RS combination for some time now, but a few issues have been holding me back. These issues, as it turns out, were primarily my sources, which forced me to implement and write about the recent mods I've made to my arm and DAC (and other things I have not yet documented). The secondary issue has always been the integration of my REL subwoofer; to make a long story short, after numerous adjustments spaning over 9 months, I am now at a point where I always listen with it on, and it's hard to tell it apart from the speakers - it just took about 15 years to get here :)

So, where does the Spectral equipment fit into all of this? Simply, I feel it is the lab instrumentation-level and extreme quality and transparency of these two pieces that have exposed and *magninified* the issues I described, while helping me at the same time to fix them. None of the mods or adjustments that I made were issues I was not aware of, but they were more clearly exposed... most know that unstabilized unipivots have wobbling issues which cause tiny but compounding distortions - yet some on vpiforum.com have told they don't hear any; most know that DACs can carry very high frequency noise - yet some don't find any issues with digital; most know that subs are often hard to integrate - well, at least we probably all agree there. I have to believe everyone who can't hear what I hear, because we just don't have the same systems.

The arrival of the 30SV in my system a year ago, to pair with the 400RS, has been a perpetual and constant eye-opener. With an exceptionally low noise floor and almost unforgiving resolution, it becomes really easy to pick out the good things and the bad; thankfully, the good things vastly outnumber the bad; but again, the bad things are now more evident. Such is the price you pay for very high caliber electronics, and unfortunately, some would come to the conclusion that whatever issues one hears in a Spectral system they must be due to the Spectral electronics. I am sure we've all read some sort of criticism one way or another, as well as praise. For example, a lot of people find their sound sterile. Obviously, I am not sure what others have been hearing, but I've had other criticism of my own of previous offerings. Nonetheless, nothing is perfect, so any criticism has merit to one degree or another.

The obvious consequence of owning these electronics is that the sound can be all over; on bad recordings it's as bad as you would expect, but the good ones reward you really well with realism. So when I started thinking about this thread, the intention was to write the typical glorious things, with all the accolades and biased comments one can imagine... But there's already been plenty of that here, so then I changed my mind, and turned it into this "lab" report on how they've helped me improve my sound.

At the core of it, every small change is really easy to identify, at least to a fairly well trained ear. This is what I would expect from instrumentation-level equipment; yet, others might call this slicing and dicing, overly analytical, etc. Well, I would almost agree, except that when things really align well the results can be extra-ordinary. When you get to a point where really good recordings do sound really good in one's room, you know you are on the right track. Having gone through the Spectral exercise for over 20 years, my confidence that they are on the right track to offering extremely transparent and neutral electronics has never been higher - aided by the excellent MIT Oracle cables.

My excitement the last year or so has not only been over the great sound these electronics render on the right recordings, but the ease with which they've guided me to tune the system elsewhere as well. It is quite easy - and unfortunately haphazard at the same time - to criticize anything that exposes your shortcomings; but once you realize you are really mostly talking about your own shortcomings and stop blaming the messenger, then things take a different turn. Personally, it's getting ever harder to identify shortcomings in these two messengers, apart perhaps from ultimate dynamics. But even there, the exciting news is that 30SV behaves like a headroom control as opposed to a volume control; this was true with the 30SS S2 to a certain degree and I believe I wrote about that years ago, but the 30SV is in a completely different league, offering extreme dynamic constrasts, for much truer dynamic expression. Yet again, though, this reflects back to the sources. If I had a more capable system, it might have been easier to identify other shortcomings, but I don't.

Time now to render some self-criticism, stealing the thunder from those about to hit Reply: one might say I have a "lab" of a system, unappealing to those who think music should be rendered completely differently... yeap, I think I do, and it may not be for you!

Finally, if there is one thing I've learned over the last year is to no longer look at my Spectral amplification as potential room for immediate upgrade - the focus has shifted elsewhere. While I am sure Spectral will bring to market more exciting amps and preamps, to me the 30SV/400RS combination is a classic in solid state amplification, and I don't think I've used this word before.

Eager to hear from other owners on how these or other electronics might have helped them improve their sound elsewhere...
 

Mobiusman

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May 24, 2010
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ACK,

As you know, i have an almost identical combination to you except that I have the DMA 300 RS, which supposedly sounds the same as the 400's. I have had the SV preamp for a year and the 300 for about 10 mos and thus have gotten some time to assess them. I totally agree with you that adding these pieces is both wonderful and confusing because the changes makes it hard to determine whether you are hearing the Spectral piece or uncovering something that was always part of the system, but previously could not be identified..

I have made several other equipment changes since the addition of the two Spectral pieces, but first I should comment on their impact as single replacements for another preamp and amp. The SV replaced a BAT VK32SE, which is a wonderful tube preamp with an amazing balance throughout the spectrum, but does not receive sufficient acclaim. At first I missed the lushness of the BAT And wondered if I had made an expensive mistake, but within no more than five minutes what I had previously thought was lush started by comparison started to sound sloppy with a markedly heightened noise floor. After approximately an hour listening to a wide variety of five-minute clips from my historic favorite music and "go to" test pieces, the BAT was little more than the subject of an Audiogon ad that I needed to create an order to sell it. However, truth be told I expected more from the SV based on having heard it played through a 300 at the store than I was able to realize using my Spectral DMA 260. With time I forgot about the SV because I could not hear it, which was not the case with the BAT.

I had been told repeatedly that I could not fully appreciate the SV until I had a 300 or pair of 400's connected to. When I finally received my 300 and replaced the spectral 260, the first words I was able to utter once the huge grin on my face would allow me to speak was, "oh my God now I know why I spent the money". I must say I don't know whether the 300 was that much better or the 300 allowed what was capable from the SV to finally shine, but I did not care because I had not been so pleased with the sound of my systems at any time previously even when using more expensive amplifiers and preamplifiers. Of course as a true audio addict I now felt that I had to upgrade my already impressive MIT MAX-2 interconnects to MIT SHD interconnects which once again made an major difference. Was it the MIT's, was that the Spectral gear or most likely the combination of each of the components allowing the others in line to reach a new high in my experience. Fortunately within several days I forgot about the outrageous amount of money I had just invested in electronics and cables, essentially the same amount I am now contemplating spending to purchase a 2018 Audi S5 Cabriolet. In fact as I have contemplated buying the most expensive car I have ever purchased my considerations have always come down to how much extra fun will it provide me compared to my already excellent vehicle and will I be a happier person which in my opinion is what dispensable money should be used for.

What I seek from my sound system is the vehicle to not just pleasing me but in many cases the vehicle to help me get out of a less than desirable states of mind that I have drifted into regardless of reason. Therefore, for me to look at my system merely as a vehicle to create the best sound only addresses part of what I use my system for. Since I believe that music it is both a combination of sonic representation and the feeling and state of mind that results, the system must not only be accurate but it must be pleasing to me, which will hopefully facilitate a shift in my mind state to the healthiest possible state.

For me I seek a number of different things from my sound system depending on my current state of mind. When I come home after a long and difficult day of listening to other people's problems and trying to discern what is true and what is not true, what I want from my sound system is to be soothed. Upon arriving home after work one of the first things I do is turn on my sound system and listen to television to either find out what has happened that day or to spend a few minutes shifting my attention to something that I find interesting but has little overall importance to me at that point in time. In these cases I want the system to work without fail, easily, and give me a realistic sense of voice from the person who is speaking. Fortunately my DMC 30 SSS SV and my 300 do extremely well, but then they should for $35,000 not counting the outrageous cost of the cables necessary to achieve that goal. When I put on music my priorities shift considerably. Now I need my system to to disappear and sound as realistic as possible so that I can be solely involved in the music and not be continually reminded that it's coming from a system. Fortunately the SV and the 300 and the MIT SHD cables that interconnect them with the source, and happen to cost as much as the equipment, are more than capable of doing that. The third scenario is an extended listening session either because I am very much in the mood for music or because I need an extended diversion from what is troubling me within my head. Fortunately the Spectral equipment is about as void of generating fatigue as any equipment I've heard, even some that cost many times more and may have some of that lush quality that I frequently desire and associate with high-end tube gear.

I have been in this game for more than 50 years and have bought a frightening amount of equipment over time, only to be thinking about how to improve upon what I just purchased within a frighteningly short amount of time. Fortunately this is not been the case with the Spectral gear. A number of months ago when I essentially lost my hearing in my left ear and was relegated to listening to my system only through my right ear, I contemplated selling the system because I felt I could no longer derive the benefits that drove me to buy it in the first place. I ultimately concluded that even if I only had one ear it deserved to hear the sound that my system was capable of. Fortunately most of my problems past and I can live with the residual severe tinnitus.

However once I was back listening to both channels I did find something, albeit very subtle, that was bothering me. I discovered that as I built up a new analog system after a hiatus of more than 15 years because I had spent so much money on the Spectral cables my Vivid Giya speakers, I rationalized that I needed to make one more change for me to be totally happy. What I needed was a "tube" to slightly color and soften the Spectral sound into my desired sweet spot for sound. I do not know if this need came from residual problems with my hearing or it was just my personal preference. Regardless it was what I wanted and probably therefore needed.

I bought the top-of-the-line Ayon tube DAC to replace my Meitner DAC which added a lushness but cost some of the articulation and low noise floor I so loved about the Spectral equipment. I returned the Ayon at great expense and purchased an Audio Research Reference CD9 because of its tube design and the ability to use its reference to DAC for my music server. While that project is still evolving due to some compatibility issues that are very frustrating but hopefully will be resolved in the near future following a not inexpensive modification to the CD9, I can tell you that although I lost a tiny bit of articulation from the highly articulate Meitner DAC, I absolutely love the sound of slightly smoothing the influence I have heard since the tubes entered the path with the Spectral equipment.

This slightly analog influence in my system naturally got me thinking about reactivating my analog section which laid dormant for 15 years. I bought the VPI prime with a 3D arm, a Benz Micro LPS cartridge and a Pass phono section, not to mention two more expensive interconnects to link this to the rest of the system. Now for the first time the difference in digital sound versus analog sound was relatively minor, although I still preferred the analog sound especially the soundstage. Unfortunately there is a difference between addiction and loving music, so of course upon a stop at the VPI factory not far from my home looking to replace $100 part for the Prime, I ended up leaving with a new Aries 3D with a 12 inch tone arm and an ADS. No doubt it looked way cooler, but would it be worth the additional money I had just spent after proclaiming I was done.

Back to the reason of my responding to ACK's opening comment on this post-- within no more than 15 seconds of listening to my first cut, I could not believe the level of improvement despite the fact that I was using the same cartridge. I do not know if it was the superior Aries suspension the 12 inch 3D tone arm or more likely uncovering the as yet untapped potential of the Spectral SV and 300 or what is most likely, all of the above.

So now that my simple equipment upgrade has soared to a level I don't even want to know from a cost perspective, I believe I can say that at least until there is another major improvement in the Spectral line, I am extremely satisfied with my Spectral preamp and poweramp that thankfully I cannot hear.
 

ack

VIP/Donor & WBF Founding Member
May 6, 2010
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Boston, MA
Great read Russ!
 

LL21

Well-Known Member
Dec 26, 2010
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