Bel Canto Ref 1000 vs. Spectron Musician III Mk 2

07-20-10: Mapman
BC ref100mkII is definitely not for those looking for very warm tube sound in an amp.

My experience is it delivers what is fed into it, ie if you use tube pre-amp and/or source, the sound of those will be delivered, but does not deliver any tube-like warmth in of itself.

IMO an amplifier is doing what is it supposed to when it delivers what it is fed - only with gain. That is the definition of accuracy i.e. the degree to which the output signal from a component or system is perceived as replicating the sonic qualities of its input signal

Your experience mirrors mine. Last year i auditioned the BC Ref 1000's with a Lamm Pre-amp. Indeed the character of the Lamm was passed through. By way of comparison I will be looking for the Spectron to do the same with my Cary Pre-amp.

07-20-10: Macdadtexas
the more I read on this sting, the more I think you neeed Sanders Sound amps

Hi Macdadtexas, the Sanders ESL amplifier is purpose built to deliver the high voltage such speakers need and based on an audition i did a while back with some Kingsound ESL speakers it performs well.

07-20-10: Michael_moskowich
Hello Kiwi,
About an year and a half ago, I also posted the same question as you did (my speakers are WATT/Puppy 8 soon to be replaced by Sasha, most power hungry speakers in Wilson line).

The same Ajackson urged me not to buy Spectron, the same Radicalsteve complained on Spectron with his new speakers (Apogee Scintilla and not what he claims today - but who cares, importantly he complained and Plinius 250 he likes is good amp for these who don;t care about its weight and heat).

Thanks Michael. Forums are about opinions and i'm happy to read them all - which is after all the reason for asking. At the end of the day i will form my own opinion. Radicalsteve's Plinius is an excellent amplifier but i'm of the opinion that with recent advances in technology it should be possible to obtain good results without using a class A monster.

Need I say more, the head of the Spectron police has spoken. Which part of my response urged Kiwi not to buy Spectron? Is someone Spectron's payroll?

Just to be clear, my Spectrons were great amps and a major upgrade over my various tube amp iterations, but class A (for me) seems to have the upper hand if you are looking for that emotional connection - but as someone said in the thread it is system dependent and always synergy trumps individual components.

One thing though I want to emphasize; several folks came and listened to my system in its room, including an impartial experienced dealer, and for all the overriding agreement was not in favor of the Spectrons, so it is not personal, for the record, or inconsistent with anything I have said previously! As always life is a journey.

If you can listen to equipment at home, this is always the definitive evaluation; the only problem is that a a quick "weekend of home demo, does not do justice and extended listening is required. 30 day home demos are more effective in evaluation. In general I never compare and contrast between one piece and another. That is like trying to say cabernet is better than pinot - they are different and if you have to make a choice, make a personal connection for your own taste - audio or vinous!

I would be happy to have Spectron amps again, its just that I prefer the Plinius sound, nothing more complex than that. Oh, and by the way, before he became a Spectron consultant, Simon's preferred and owned amps were Plinius - go figure.

Steve