Spectron Musician III SE Mk.2? What Changed?

Geez, I truly did not want to start a hornets nest of criticism. Mostly I thought this would be just the forum for a discussion of the improvements to an already fantastic product. I felt that the Spectron site had made the point of making a difference and then not getting into the details. A discussion of features and benefits of a product's improvement on their website would only enhance their sales and reduce questions and distractions.

And my answer to to Audiphile1 is unequivocal--YES, I am still interested in Spectron and its products.

Look, Simon is a talented man and obviously is busy. The tone of his first response may be rooted in there somewhere. Spectron's products seem to be in a constant state of improvement and acceptance. I know reviews of their products and discussions about the products both here and at AA are mostly positive and impressive.

Anyway, Spectron and Simon have my admiration for seeing their product development through the eyes of science AND the ears of musicians. They offer upgrades to ttheir amps and thorough support of their products even when difficulties arise, like in the initial release of the Musician II. And I may add that Spectron is not a large company with a PR department. Just a small group of dedicated people, mostly engineers, I think. Uniformly the Spectron product in most any iteration is regarded as a colossal bargain.

They make impressive products. The points Simon makes in his second answer is absolutely on target. Well sorted out sound IS what we are after in the final analysis. And responsive service back up is definitely high on the list.

What kind of amplifier am I looking for, Simon? Just the kind you describe in your second answer. I don't really care how it looks. I care how it sounds. I care if it is efficient in its use of power. I really care if it backed up with service and if the company has made provisions to be around a while. I care that a company cares enough about its product to continually improve it. You all do this in spades, and I care about Spectron. I own one.

this is amazing.

I have found, in my discussions with Simon, that he is scrupulously ethical,honest and fair with a bitingly dry sense of humor.

He does weigh development and upgrading of the amp with
a musical ear and engineering savvy.

There are trade secrets that may need to be interpreted
for public disclosure, I am sure he will be forth coming.

I have asked him what changed to make the newest iteration
of the M3 SE better and he would launch into a monologue of what I could only hear a part of and understand a part of and so I have waited for others to ask too.

A short term wait is all it takes.

"Simon is both an engineer and audiophile, so that makes his position a bit unique among the regular Audiogon forum participators :)"

Really? Don't you think it's likely that other designers of high-end electronics are cut from the same "engineer and audiophile" cloth? I'm sure he is a very talented engineer and from all accounts the current Spectron amps are truly excellent. I'm interested in one myself.

Indulging the pedestrian questions of "tire kickers" is probably not the favorite activity of many engineers. Maybe that's part of the reason relatively few of them participate in online forums. For those designers/engineers who do choose to participate in online discussions of their products I have usually found it to be interesting and informative. A review of Spectron participation history in this forum has show them to be likewise interesting and informative. In this context, perhaps their dismissive response to a perfectly reasonable question was an aberration.

What was interesting to me (or amazing as Audphile 1 stated) was that each poster speaking for on in defense of Spectron seemed to take a more condescending tone than the one before. Rather than answer the original question they dismissed its relevance and echoed the Spectron mantra. Even the original poster of this perfectly reasonable question resorted to an unnecessary apology.

That Spectron mojo must be some strong stuff. :-)

My response was not ment to be condescending (overtly or covertly)
and I am sorry if it was taken in the wrong way.

I cannot answer the original question, but I have asked it too,(per my post above)!

Thus, I echo the relevance of the query, and don't dismiss it.

To paraphrase Marvin Gaye "Why can't we get along together?"