Spectral DMA260 vs. other fast amps

[MEM]

Hello All: I am searching for the best amp for my New Vivid B-1 speakers, very transparent and accurate. I listen to mostly Western classical music but in many genre. Few amps can effectively present large-scale orchestral pieces without sonic smearing. I have heard the Spectral DMA260 in a couple of brief auditions and it seems very capable in this regard. Do other members have more experience with the 260, especially relevant to other fast amps such as Burmester, Goldmund, Plinius, Moon, Coda, etc?
Has anyone carefully listened to Vivid B-1's with tubes vs. SS?

 

[Steve williams]

Welcome to WBF

I have heard and love the Spectral amps but to answer your question re amps for Vivid B1's I would suggest speaking to Philip O'Hanlon who is the US Distributor for Vivid

949 488 3004

 

[FrantzM]

I wil vouch for the Burmester.. I hdon't know Mooan and Coda. i would also say that the DMA 260 are the real deal and as good as they get ..

 

[MEM]

Thank you Steve and Frantz. Philip O'Hanlon also imports Luxman, a great product, so he will of course suggest Luxman. I know that Luxman pairs well with the Vivids but not being an audiophile (my last major upgrade was in the 1980's!) I want to carefully survey the options.

To Frantz specifically: May I assume that you are a Burmester owner? What qualities compel you to place the Burmester gear above Spectral? Also note that the 260 is a fairly new product, just debuted in 2010, that culminates what Spectral has learned about amps over the years.

Thanks Guys

 

[FrantzM]

I am/was am about again to be a Burmester owner. I have a long experience with Burmester starting with the little 878 stereo amps back in the ealry 90;s then got to the big league with the superlative 911.. Actually all electronics were Burmester (Preamp, Transport, DAC) ... I have not yet heard SS or otherwise electronics that would push me into changing my high opinion of Burmester and their built quality/reliability and their sonic performance.
what I get from Burmester? If I would allow myself a slide in audiophile lingo, I would say the spectral is drier in sound. Nutral to a fault but not to the point of being clinical. A big, true-to-life sound that doesn't throw itself at you. It did seem expensive then but compared to what I see these days I would say that they seem sanely priced. The 911 is IMHO one of the best amps out there .. And capble of driving most loads .. That did include the very difficult and power-hungry MBL 101 as noted in another post .Spectral is close, IMO
I have heard great things about Vivid speakers, I would love to hear the combination of Burmester and thir speakers. I also am of the opinion that things haven't change that much in electronics and there I like the Burmester philosophy, they simply don't change their product and when they do it is very incremental ... The 911 was introduced in 1991 .. You can upgrade to the Mark III the latest version if you had the 1991 model ... Their top of the line preamp is the 808 it debuted in 1980!!!! You can upgrade your 808 to Mark V, the as well although I believe it is almost a complete rebuilt ...
I don't think you would go wrong if you go with Specral however. Their product are superlative and in this weird hobby, sanely priced. They challenge and routinely surpass amps that cost several times their price. That includes several "biggies".

 

[microstrip]

Frantz,

Do you know what is the value of the input impedance of the 911mk3 and its power at 8ohms? I can not find this information at they site.

 

[FrantzM]

Micro

1 K-ohm on the XLR input
180 Watt/Ch at 8 Ohm
300 Watts/Ch at 4 Ohms ...

 

[MylesBAstor]

Thank you Steve and Frantz. Philip O'Hanlon also imports Luxman, a great product, so he will of course suggest Luxman. I know that Luxman pairs well with the Vivids but not being an audiophile (my last major upgrade was in the 1980's!) I want to carefully survey the options.

To Frantz specifically: May I assume that you are a Burmester owner? What qualities compel you to place the Burmester gear above Spectral? Also note that the 260 is a fairly new product, just debuted in 2010, that culminates what Spectral has learned about amps over the years.

Thanks Guys

The Luxman amps (and evenmoreso the turntable) were very good sounding at RMAF. Since I don't know the rest of the system, it's hard to make specific recommendations but I'd put the new Rowlands amps on your shopping list too.

 

[MEM]

Spectral DMA 260

Thank you, Frantz, for elaborating on the Burmester... I'll have to try to hear one. For my budget, it will likely be the 965 MK II or maybe the 036. I would likely skip the preamp for a DAC (Weiss, Alpha DAC, etc) and Mac Book or maybe the Wadia s7i.

I've tried to pay close attention when I have attended concerts recently. The 'fullness' of some tubes and other 'warm' approaches is often simply not there. I wonder if some of the "nicer" sounding equipment might be a bit saturated sonically.

 

[MEM]

Myles, I assume that you mean the JRDG 625... what I've read about it sounds interesting indeed. Apparently it's great at imaging, also a forte of Spectral, and gives good body to instruments.

Thanks for the tip.

 

[flez007]

The Luxman amps (and evenmoreso the turntable) were very good sounding at RMAF. Since I don't know the rest of the system, it's hard to make specific recommendations but I'd put the new Rowlands amps on your shopping list too.

+1 on the Rowlands, not that familiar with Spectral to endorse.

 

[FrantzM]

Thank you, Frantz, for elaborating on the Burmester... I'll have to try to hear one. For my budget, it will likely be the 965 MK II or maybe the 036. I would likely skip the preamp for a DAC (Weiss, Alpha DAC, etc) and Mac Book or maybe the Wadia s7i.

I've tried to pay close attention when I have attended concerts recently. The 'fullness' of some tubes and other 'warm' approaches is often simply not there. I wonder if some of the "nicer" sounding equipment might be a bit saturated sonically.

My observations too. I for one find violins for example, playing in a real space very strident and almost edgy... Far from the "fullness" and "warmth" imparted to their reproduction by some amps and electronics ... I haven't heard the latest Rowlands but what I remember from the Rowland "sound" was that it was the diametric opposite of Spectral so ...

 

[MylesBAstor]

My observations too. I for one find violins for example, playing in a real space very strident and almost edgy... Far from the "fullness" and "warmth" imparted to their reproduction by some amps and electronics ... I haven't heard the latest Rowlands but what I remember from the Rowland "sound" was that it was the diametric opposite of Spectral so ...

That pretty much sums up the differences

 

[FrantzM]

That pretty much sums up the differences

Not sure I understand ...

 

[MylesBAstor]

Not sure I understand ...

Between the sound of the Rowland v. Spectral

 

[caesar]

Hello All: I am searching for the best amp for my New Vivid B-1 speakers, very transparent and accurate. I listen to mostly Western classical music but in many genre. Few amps can effectively present large-scale orchestral pieces without sonic smearing. I have heard the Spectral DMA260 in a couple of brief auditions and it seems very capable in this regard. Do other members have more experience with the 260, especially relevant to other fast amps such as Burmester, Goldmund, Plinius, Moon, Coda, etc?
Has anyone carefully listened to Vivid B-1's with tubes vs. SS?

MEM, you say you are not an "audiophile". To me that means that you value the music over the sound. If this is true, stay away from Spectral! As Frantz said, Spectral is very clinical sounding. You will pick up the most subtle details in the musical presentation - that audiophiles orgasm over, but unfortunately, you will miss the musical whole.

My recommendation would be to go with tubes over SS. Try Einstein, VTL, CJ, and Convergent (CAT) with your Vivids. Travel, if you have to, to hear them. Any of these maybe the last amp you will ever want to own.

 

[FrantzM]

Caesar

I din't say that .. Not at all. I don't find Spectral "clinical" ..Spectral adds nothing just presents you with the facts and frankly I like that ... Burmester is to me better sounding but I can live with Spectral very well ... What would surprise you is that some people here , Steve, being one of them and a tube-phile would be at ease with a Spectral -Wilson system if he were forced to ... So You read me wrong or I did not express myself in a sufficiently clear fashion.
I am neutral on Rowland, not having heard them for a while ... For the records, I am more SS than tubes but would fall for the occasional high power tubes (VTL, current high power ARC) or OTL, especially the Joule Electa line...

 

[Steve williams]

Caesar

I din't say that .. Not at all. I don't find Spectral "clinical" ..Spectral adds nothing just presents you with the facts and frankly I like that ... Burmester is to me better sounding but I can live with Spectral very well ... What would surprise you is that some people here , Steve, being one of them and a tube-phile would be at ease with a Spectral -Wilson system if he were forced to ... So You read me wrong or I did not express myself in a sufficiently clear fashion.
I am neutral on Rowland, not having heard them for a while ... For the records, I am more SS than tubes but would fall for the occasional high power tubes (VTL, current high power ARC) or OTL, especially the Joule Electa line...

I agree Frantz

I think Spectral makes terrific gear

 

[caesar]

Caesar

I din't say that .. Not at all. I don't find Spectral "clinical" ..Spectral adds nothing just presents you with the facts and frankly I like that ... Burmester is to me better sounding but I can live with Spectral very well ... What would surprise you is that some people here , Steve, being one of them and a tube-phile would be at ease with a Spectral -Wilson system if he were forced to ... So You read me wrong or I did not express myself in a sufficiently clear fashion.
I am neutral on Rowland, not having heard them for a while ... For the records, I am more SS than tubes but would fall for the occasional high power tubes (VTL, current high power ARC) or OTL, especially the Joule Electa line...

Ok, Frantz - sorry, I misunderstood what you said. But if you are auditioning tubes and like a more neutral presentation, ARC, CAT, and now top tier CJ all have the best of what tubes have to offer, while taking out the "toobiness" and other stereotypical tube shortcomings.

As for Steve and Spectral, my guess on that is there is just never "one best." 9/10 times I prefer to drive a car that is fast, has taught handling, and great road and steering feel. But 1/10 times, when I am very tired and I am driving a cranky family at 11 at night, I do not mind setting the cruise control at 65 mph and would prefer a softer feel. Steve's system produces the most beguiling sound, but he probably likes more than one presentation. Spectral could sound great on the finest finest recordings, especially in a contrived demo. Or sometimes we just like to take a break from what we got and hear something a bit different. And Spectral certainly does things that few others can. That could be the case here. Just conjecturing, of course!!!!

 

[KeithR]

Caesar

I din't say that .. Not at all. I don't find Spectral "clinical" ..Spectral adds nothing just presents you with the facts and frankly I like that ... Burmester is to me better sounding but I can live with Spectral very well ... What would surprise you is that some people here , Steve, being one of them and a tube-phile would be at ease with a Spectral -Wilson system if he were forced to ... So You read me wrong or I did not express myself in a sufficiently clear fashion.
I am neutral on Rowland, not having heard them for a while ... For the records, I am more SS than tubes but would fall for the occasional high power tubes (VTL, current high power ARC) or OTL, especially the Joule Electa line...

I'm really surprised Spectral is paired with Magico. I can understand Wilson I guess.