Spectron Musician III SE Mk.2? What Changed?


I see at the Spectron site that they have released a Mark 2 edition of the Musician III SE. But there isn't any discussion of what has actually changed in the amp besides the price, which is now $7195 up from $6495. If anyone knows what the new changes are, I would really love to know.
oofer
I have spoken with Simon on several occasions about many issues.
I have considered upgrading my MusicianII among other things.

His response has been uniform that he is not a technician nor a customer service person really and that he just must wear all of the hats in the company right now.

I find this to be somewhat hard to accept based upon his responses in this Forum and throughout our other conversations.

His general answer seems to be that the Amp I own is so old and "Over the hill" that it is not really even worth discussing with me.
I realize they are one of only a few manufacturers who will provide an upgrade path in the first place but I look for a lot more detail before blindly going down that path.

When I have had other technical questions I have been told the amp is so before his time there with Spectron that he can not give any help whatsoever and that if I want to I can email a question to Mr Ulrick for a possible( but unlikely) answer but so far I have not ever received a reply to one of these.

I have even asked abbout certain features of my amp that are unknown to him and there is no attempt at all to get the information and no apology either.

Now I realize upon many telephone conversations with Simon that a certain amount is getting "lost in translation" but this is all the more reason to be careful with Spectron not an endorsement to send them business.

When I have asked about the marketing plans and whether they are considering adding to their staff to better serve customer inquiry it seems like an abstract notion that I am suggesting.

I also think that the OEM projects they are working on are taking a lot of company resources and the Consumer product side suffers.

Please don't get me wrong,I really like Simon and have learned to have a productive conversation with him,it has just taken some geting to know him first.

None of this would matter at all of course if the product were not so enticing and I have to say that I like it enough to remain interested despite any customer relations issues.

I also am amazed at how defensive some here can be when someone asks legitimate questons and is merely dismissed and wants more detail.

The attacks on Kabir as being anything less than sincere seem unfounded and childish here and who the heck decided that we are not engineers or concerned with the technical aspects of the hobby if we are audiophiles?

Give me a break.

Ed
"I have no question that Spectron can handle the technical issues involved."

I agree completely. Virtually all comments from individuals who have dealt directly with Spectron are very positive. Quirky and puzzling forum posts do not equate to poor support and should not reflect on anything about the company other than perhaps their possible uncomfortable online personna. Did I raise my eyebrows and scratch my head a bit? Yeah, but I would not hesitate to purchase their product based upon any information contained in this thread.
I am more likely to purchase products from those companies whose owners and those who communicate with audiophiles demonstrate good judgment, the ability to communicate effectively, offer support for older products in the companies' history, and aren't dismissive of reasonable customer inquiries.

Modwright, Pass Labs, VAC, Atma-Sphere , Merlin, Belles, and Lamm Industries are all good examples with whom I have done business.
Enough with these ruffeled feathers and
rabid wolf attacks from all sides.

Is there really any side but what changed for the Mark 2?
How does it sound?
What is the upgrade path?
Is the flippant remark really characteristic of customer service experience?
Answers given.

More questions?

Do what works;
e-mail Simon or call him regarding more questions or needs,
if that is what you want, but let's return to the topic;
if I may say so.
Audvidsvs, you been told by Simon that he joint company only after original Musician III was designed. (He designed, probably nearly 100% of the Signature and did a lot for Mk2 along with John and others in company). He DOES NOT KNOW Musician II - except design which when compared to Signature is indeed in stone age.

I am sure he told you, as he told me that Musician II has order of magnitude more distortions then Musician III and one of the reasons many lovers of this amplifier love it because its euphonic (due to very high degree of 2nd harmonics). Musician II has tremendous control, exceptional bass etc. Its "tube amp in steroids". While very pleasant for your ears it has no fidelity to the true acoustic music. He is professional musician (and so am I ) and he is right.

Instead of being thankful for his time and his willingness to answer phone even during weekends or late evenings and explaining all of these and surely your alternatives - you are ...complaining.

Musician II is fully supported and if you will have a problem it will be fixed in no time so this product is fully supported

Yet, Tvad's states, here in this thread, in writing that Spectron shows no support for older products!

Most interesting is that company looks after its customers and Musician II can be brought to 80% - 85% percent of Musician III SE Mk2 performance for very reasonable $1,295 (as of few minutes ago when I spoke with him). Considering that original Musician cost $3k - $3.5k and Musician III Mk2 $7.2k - its a BARGAIN !!! .

No, Rkmcv - these are not wolves, these are jackals, hyenas and vultures - they smell and see dying and decaying flesh and here they are with all these outrageous lies.

Regarding complain that they are busy with OEM - its preposterous: Let me quote from their web site:

"Spectron is one of very few companies that develop their own class D proprietary modules, digital and analog. John Ulrick has been awarded 6 patents in class D amplification, including a digital input/all digital implementation. Other team members have also multiple patents, awards and more then 300 peer-review publications.

...Spectron designs....a highly reliable continuous output 8000 watt power compact digital amplifier... The highly innovative design includes very high level power factor corrected switching power supplies using the latest PFC conversion technology and resonant mode DC:DC converters.

Spectron has found one its major strengths to be the cross-pollenization of audiophile and professional audio designs. The design under development will, potentially, revolutionize audiophile sound reproduction"

You don't like it? - buy amplifier with mass produced ICE modules and inferior switching power supplies, ask modifier to " to refresh colors" for a thousand dollars or more and enjoy!

A while ago, this country was.... you what it was. Today, only Spectron and NuForce do original R&D in digital amplification.

SHAME!!!!

Rafael
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