Wait pays off - Hit the Spectral jackpot

[edorr]

Just scooped up a DMA 360 series 2 and 30SS series 2 combo at a very good price on audiogon. Let the shootout fun begin!

Incumbent are ARC Ref 5SE + Jungson JA-200 Class A monos.

Expect very different sonic signature - ONLY way to decide which I prefer is line up the contenders in my own system.

 

[jazdoc]

Congrats...hope the new gear exceeds your expectations. Please keep us posted on your progress and impressions.

 

[edorr]

Not the sharpest pic, but here is proof. I got spectral DMA 360 series II + 30SS series II lined up against ARC Ref 5SE and Jungson Class A monos. Warming up now. Will do some listening this evening, and post the combo I decide to sell on audiogon tomorrow! Patience has never been a virtue of mine.

 

[PeterA]

Did you need to get new MIT cables to use with the Spectrals? If so, then what cables did you have before and are the MIT's broken in? Will you be comparing the old cables with the ARC gear to the MIT cables with the new gear or MIT cables with both sets of electronics?

With new cables and electronics, are you sure just one evening will be enough to know which combination is better?

Lots of questions for what should be a very intense evening of listening. Good luck.

 

[jtinn]

Not the sharpest pic, but here is proof. I got spectral DMA 360 series II + 30SS series II lined up against ARC Ref 5SE and Jungson Class A monos. Warming up now. Will do some listening this evening, and post the combo I decide to sell on audiogon tomorrow! Patience has never been a virtue of mine.

Very exciting!

 

[rockitman]

I'm surprised you haven't tried SET amps given the light load your speakers are with the self powered woofers.

 

[edorr]

Did you need to get new MIT cables to use with the Spectrals? If so, then what cables did you have before and are the MIT's broken in? Will you be comparing the old cables with the ARC gear to the MIT cables with the new gear or MIT cables with both sets of electronics?

With new cables and electronics, are you sure just one evening will be enough to know which combination is better?

Lots of questions for what should be a very intense evening of listening. Good luck.

I have the HD90 SCs and Oracle 1.3 ICs. I used them with the incumbent ARC and Class As so they are fully broken in. On my current amp combo I preferred the Transparent Reference they replaced. If I decide to stay with ARC / Class A, I will sell the MITs along with the Spectral amps and go back to transparent.

 

[edorr]

I'm surprised you haven't tried SET amps given to light load your speakers are with the self powered woofers.

I promised never to get tubes poweramps again after plenty fireworks with somem OTL spaceheaters. Also, the MM3s need plenty juice to sing.

 

[PeterA]

I have the HD90 SCs and Oracle 1.3 ICs. I used them with the incumbent ARC and Class As so they are fully broken in. On my current amp combo I preferred the Transparent Reference they replaced. If I decide to stay with ARC / Class A, I will sell the MITs along with the Spectral amps and go back to transparent.

That's interesting. I preferred my Transparent Ref XL to the MIT Matrix HD90 that I tried, but plenty of people prefer it the other way around. With the Sprectral, you don't have a choice. Thanks and I'm looking forward to reading your report tomorrow.

 

[rockitman]

I promised never to get tubes poweramps again after plenty fireworks with somem OTL spaceheaters. Also, the MM3s need plenty juice to sing.

I agree if you need the amps to power bass. In your situation, I would be interested, although at 94dB sensitivity for my speakers I could work with Lamm, ARC, VTL. I run tube phono now...still considering it for the main pre upgrade. Sticking with Pass XS for power. Congrats...even though you run no analog, I would love to hear your system. Actually you are the perfect victim to try analog.

 

[MylesBAstor]

That's interesting. I preferred my Transparent Ref XL to the MIT Matrix HD90 that I tried, but plenty of people prefer it the other way around. With the Sprectral, you don't have a choice. Thanks and I'm looking forward to reading your report tomorrow.

They're different but both good.

 

[edorr]

Actually you are the perfect victim to try analog.

Forget analog. SQ aside - I don't have the patience for it. In addition to 2 channel digital, my system does very competent multi channel, including concert blue rays. I'm sure I'm compromising somewhere on the 2 channel, but I love to be able to switch between watching Nadal - Djokoivc, Coldplay Live in concert, MCH Classic SACD rip, and all my reference 2 channel recording. versatility is the name of the game in my basement.

 

[MadFloyd]

I look forward to the results of your listening tonight.

 

[edorr]

The verdict is in - Spectral win on KO. While comparing gear, I usually flip through my library of the standard set of "auditioning" tracks pretty quickly. Listening to the Spectral setup, I found myself so immersed in the music, I was listening to whole tracks and simply forgot about "switching" between tracks. This was a very early indication I had a winner / keeper in my hands. So what stood out most relative to the incumbent tube preamp / class A power amps?

Better timing and mid bass - the more "rhythm" section was involved the bigger the performance gap. The differences were most pronounced in mid bass (not low base). This is interesting since the MM3s have powered bass modules (I believe they cross over at 100hz). I have to believe the Spectrals integrate better with the on board class D amps of the MM3s in terms of speed resulting in better timing across the entire frequency range. The Spectral bases system did a phenomenal rendition of the opening tracks of the phenomenal Charles Lloyd album "Sangam" - I found myself listening 20 minutes to the album, before switching to other material. I'd be very interested to hear the amps on a full range speaker without powered bass modules - timing may improve even more.

Second hugely important area the Spectrals trumped was note decay and overtones. This was most evident on piano music, where notes were just hanging in the air longer, with more richness.

The differences on female vocals (another listening benchmark) were less pronounced, but this is where I was expecting the class A + tubes to potentially beat the Spectrals (with its reputation for being analytical, lacking warmth). Did not happen - Spectral easily held its own and was very organic / natural sounding.

In conclusion, the improvement in "pace and timing" and "timbre' simply took the system to a higher level, with no apparent trade-offs. I may spend a bit more time this evening to confirm my initial impressions (may be switch back to the other system one final time), but probability I'll keep the Spectral gear is >95% at this point.

 

[KeithR]

not to say anything about your preference, but you might want to hold off more than a day to sell the "loser"

 

[edorr]

not to say anything about your preference, but you might want to hold off more than a day to sell the "loser"

Yes, I will give it a day or two to confirm my initial impressions, and then make my next move.

 

[MadFloyd]

Yes, I will give it a day or two to confirm my initial impressions, and then make my next move.

Smart. We often react positively to a change, recognizing the pros and only discover some of the cons a little afterwards.

 

[scouter]

Yes, but easy on the Spectral accolades. We don't want everyone knowing about the best deal in audio

 

[Mike Lavigne]

Eric, congrats on the Spectral amps, and based on my tastes and knowledge of the MM3's () i'm not surprised that you prefer them. i don't really know the Jungson JA-200 at all, but the neutrality and transparency of the Spectral's should work well with the MM3's.

i would recommend that you do consider how you 'feel' about the music after listening as well as what your ears tell you. are you as anxious to keep listening with the Spectral amps over extended times as with the Jungson's?

sometimes additional transparency is entertaining in the short term, but wears on you over the longer term. it is a fine line of enjoyment verses information i'm referring to.

just something to consider. i have no dog in the fight and am only trying to help you make the best long term choice for your listening pleasure. and my expectation is that you will actually enjoy the music more with the Spectral as well as enjoy more detail/information from it.

 

[edorr]

Eric, congrats on the Spectral amps, and based on my tastes and knowledge of the MM3's () i'm not surprised that you prefer them. i don't really know the Jungson JA-200 at all, but the neutrality and transparency of the Spectral's should work well with the MM3's.

i would recommend that you do consider how you 'feel' about the music after listening as well as what your ears tell you. are you as anxious to keep listening with the Spectral amps over extended times as with the Jungson's?

sometimes additional transparency is entertaining in the short term, but wears on you over the longer term. it is a fine line of enjoyment verses information i'm referring to.

just something to consider. i have no dog in the fight and am only trying to help you make the best long term choice for your listening pleasure.

Thanks Mike, I think the fact that I was listening to my demo tracks much longer (usually the entire track), than I normally do when auditioning stuff, is a promising indication these amps make me "feel right". To be honest, yesterday was also the first time I felt the MM3s were realizing their full potential. They are big speakers in a relatively small room, but they totally disappeared on the Charles Lloyd Sangam album, unlike I had ever experienced before.