Why do you never near anything about Spectral

Spectral does not need exposure by the review process. The company produces unique products for the audiophile who wants the highest fidelity from the input signal to the output signal without degradation. Once you experience its pleasures all tubes seem euphonic and all other solid state seem sterile. Spectral is neither euphonic nor sterile. There really is no mix and match: you truly need both their preamp and amp and if you can afford it, their digital playback/DAC. Their components also need MIT/Spectral cables and interconnects to sound their best.
Current setups: Spectral DMC30sl/DMA180.1/SDR3000/SDR2000
for the Avalons; Spectral DMC10/DMA50(2),bridged/SonyDVD/CD
for the Acoustats

The Spectral/MIT/Avalon setup is at their peak of performance for chamber music, the strings are the most realistic I have ever heard; as close to live as you can get. The solo cello is just magic!

Does Spectral show their gear at industry shows like CES?

The last show was late 1990s showing off the introduction of the DMA360, no sound. There is a pair of 360s for sale on this site. There are a couple of reviews on their website. R. Harley when he was at Stereophile reviewed a complete Avalon/Spectal/MIT. I am not sure whether that review is archived.

My Spectral experience was not a good one. I bought the system that Harley reviewed, they marketed it as the "2C3D System": DMA180 amp, DMC20 mkII preamp, MIT/Spectral cables, Avalon Radian HC speakers. It was all purchased from one of the top Spectal/Avalon dealers in the US. They set it up in my home, and chose the placement of speakers, etc. Long story short, the sound was uninvolving, and couldn't hold anyone's attention for more than a few minutes. Long listening sessions became a thing of the past. I was mezmerized by 3D soundstaging during the in-store demo, but after more listening I realized that images had no body. Detail was etched. I heard gobs of everything; everything but music.
While I'm sure Shubertmaniac is happy with what he's hearing, I must respectfully disagree w/the statement that "Once you experience its pleasures all tubes seem euphonic and all other solid state seem sterile. Spectral is neither euphonic nor sterile." My experience was that Spectral was a huge disappointment; boring & lifeless.
After living w/this system for a few months, I was thrilled to unload it and move back to tubes. Even though I took a huge financial loss when I sold it, it was a great relief. It took me a while to find components that give me the things that that system did well, but it was worth it. My only regret is that I didn't get to try the Radians with some good high-powered OTLs such as Atma-Sphere MA1s. Since then, I've heard tremendous sound coming from Avalon Eidolons driven by Atma-Sphere MA2s.
It just goes to show "Be careful what you wish for".
One last point is that most of the time I've seen favorable comments on Spectral, it's from those using digital front ends. As we all have different sonic priorities, let me say, vinyl lovers tread lightly. The things that good vinyl playback does for me is exactly what my Spectral experience didn't do for me. Cheers,
Spencer

Sbank, I agree. I heard Spectral with WP7 at a dealer. The salesman couldn't hold his enthusiasm but for me, after oh 15 sec, had to tell him that the emperor was nude. The sound, although transparent, was etched and hard "...no body..." as you say. I asked him why they didn't carry tube systems in the store and he told me frankly that it was too much trouble to maintain. I was comparing that system to my ARC tubed system. Have since upgraded to NAGRA which has taken my system to a new level