[JoshK]

I owned the Musician II for many years.  I replaced them with UcD 400's (my own DIY solution).  Can't say I missed anything.

[zybar]

George, which model Spectron did you have? I sold my Musician II and replaced it with the CI D200's, which sounded a lot better, in almost every area. I've been curious about the Musician III though, wondering if it would surpass the CI D200's?

The original and Musician II.  Never heard the Musician III.

George

[jbtrio]

First I been lurking this site for a while, so I thought it was time to contribute and share in this hobby.I am not to good at expressing my thoughts into words but I will try my best.
 I had the MusicanII and the MusicanIII is a better all around amp. The bass is deeper and more tuneful,the midrange a little better in texture and rendering female voice and ,the treble less grainy and clearer.
 Sorry to go off topic,but I just recieved my Salk HT-3s yesterday and they are gorgeous! In a few weeks I will compare them to my RM-30s which are excellent speakers also. Upgrade-idis got the best of me.

[PaulFolbrecht]

My $.02.  I've tried several switching amps in the last year:

1) NuForce.  Cold & sterile.  Artificial.  Yuck.
2) Bel Canto.  Better, but still lacking body and harmonic depth.
3) Red Wine Sig 30.  Another category ALTOGETHER.  THIS amp really does sound very akin to SET.  Go figure.  It is sure as heck different, and much much better, than any UcD or other switching impl I've heard.  It's TriPath - full digital (unlike UcD and NuForce) - yet the purest and most 'analog'-like.

In the end, I still preferred the actual glass, but I could have been happy with this amp for a  long time.

[Gvt1911]

Just wanted to take a minute and clarify some things about the Spectron Musician III amplifiers…Upon reading and following this thread about class D amps, I feel it is only fair to advise everyone that Spectron has updated their Musician III to what they now call the Signature Series…After receiving my Spectron amp during the summer, I finally had the time to open up the box and found a few nice changes were made…First and foremost was the power supply caps, they no longer use the 2 large computer grade caps, instead they now have two separate boards with about 50 smaller caps on each board… My amp came with all Hi-Fi Tuning fuses installed and I was advised that other improvements were made to the actual modules themselves… I have been using a pair of CI D200s all summer and was pleased with them, I even had my machine shop make a pair of neat heatsinks that  fit right onto the rear of the D200s since it was a long hot summer…The D200s run real cool now… I installed the Spectron Musician III Sig over the Thanksgiving day weekend and have been listening to it ever since… I must say that the new Sig III is in a different class…Everything about it is spot on…I listen to a variarty of music and the Sig III reproduces every note with such weight and detail…The midrange is full bodied and smooth at the same time, all vocals ( both male and female ) come thru in such a realistic manner…Needless to say the CI D200s are going up for sale shortly, they are great amps and give the most bang for the buck…I did have bad synergy with some tube preamps mating with the D200s, but glad to say that every preamp I connected to the Sig III “worked” well together …Right now I am enjoying a Dodd MLP with the Spectron which I could not get to “work” perfectly with the D200s…Everything was too grainy and a bit bright …Rolled over a dozen ax’s in the pre…My Supratek pre sounded great with all the amps and is now on the bench awaiting the arrival of some Teflon V caps… I strongly feel that the Spectron Musician III Signature is worth a listen, one can always purchase an early III and have it upgraded to the Sig III status and save a lot of green…I wish to thank all the engineers and their companies for bringing us such fine products and giving us the opportunity to find the best equipment that brings us closer to musical truth…

[gme109]

Just wanted to take a minute and clarify some things about the Spectron Musician III amplifiers…Upon reading and following this thread about class D amps, I feel it is only fair to advise everyone that Spectron has updated their Musician III to what they now call the Signature Series…After receiving my Spectron amp during the summer, I finally had the time to open up the box and found a few nice changes were made…First and foremost was the power supply caps, they no longer use the 2 large computer grade caps, instead they now have two separate boards with about 50 smaller caps on each board… My amp came with all Hi-Fi Tuning fuses installed and I was advised that other improvements were made to the actual modules themselves… I have been using a pair of CI D200s all summer and was pleased with them, I even had my machine shop make a pair of neat heatsinks that  fit right onto the rear of the D200s since it was a long hot summer…The D200s run real cool now… I installed the Spectron Musician III Sig over the Thanksgiving day weekend and have been listening to it ever since… I must say that the new Sig III is in a different class…Everything about it is spot on…I listen to a variarty of music and the Sig III reproduces every note with such weight and detail…The midrange is full bodied and smooth at the same time, all vocals ( both male and female ) come thru in such a realistic manner…Needless to say the CI D200s are going up for sale shortly, they are great amps and give the most bang for the buck…I did have bad synergy with some tube preamps mating with the D200s, but glad to say that every preamp I connected to the Sig III “worked” well together …Right now I am enjoying a Dodd MLP with the Spectron which I could not get to “work” perfectly with the D200s…Everything was too grainy and a bit bright …Rolled over a dozen ax’s in the pre…My Supratek pre sounded great with all the amps and is now on the bench awaiting the arrival of some Teflon V caps… I strongly feel that the Spectron Musician III Signature is worth a listen, one can always purchase an early III and have it upgraded to the Sig III status and save a lot of green…I wish to thank all the engineers and their companies for bringing us such fine products and giving us the opportunity to find the best equipment that brings us closer to musical truth…

I'm having a hard time understanding why you would even consider having heat sinks custom built for your D200's? Even when running them for hours, they remain very cool to the touch, even cooler than my Spectorn Musician II. What speakers where you driving them with?

[Gvt1911]

I had the heatsinks made because everything that runs cooler runs longer...I used them in a non AC room along with VSA VR4 GEN III HSE speakers...The speakers LIKE power and the amps ran a bit warm...Heatsinks are attached to back of amps by removing 2 mounting screws and reinstalling 2 longer screws in same holes...They can be removed at any time without anyone knowing they were ever installed...They also look real cool on the amps...

[bowmore17]

I was running Nuforces 9 on Apogee Duetta's feeded by slimdevices. Things weren't to my liking and I suffered numerous problems (at one point the Nuforces had to be shipped back)A few months ago I had the opportunity to buy audiovalves 200 together with the preamp eclipse. I set up the Nuforces with the Tube preamp and although things improved, nothing compares to running the full tube rig. I wouldn't buy Nuforces again. They will be doing their work on subwoofers in the future, which makes it a too expensive buy. I also have doubts about their reliability.

[bummrush]

I could be completely wrong but i thought i read somewhere  that Vinnie said tripath is very good if you dont need lots of power,but if you need power or want more power go with ice aplications,once again i could have read this wrong,so take as it is.

[murphy11]

I have owned or heard almost all of the major "digital" amps (Rowland, NuForce, CI Audio, Bel Canto, Audio Research, H20, Spectron, etc...) and NONE of them sounding like a SET amp!!!  NOT EVEN CLOSE!!!

Whether any of the above would be preferred over a SET amp or a more conventional amp (ss or tube) is a whole different subject.

George

George, can you say how SET sounds different? I haven't heard either and would like to be able to picture the general difference in sound. If this has been answered before, can you please point me to a link? Thanks!

[jhm731]

I wouldn't buy Nuforces again.

Judging from the number of Nuforce amps for sale on audiogon, I'd say you're not alone.

[Rob Babcock]

I wouldn't buy Nuforces again.

Judging from the number of Nuforce amps for sale on audiogon, I'd say you're not alone.

Perhaps, perhaps not.  The things that you see on Agon tend to be things that are popular and sell well.  Obviously we don't just sell stuff because it sucks- we sell things because 1) there's always something else we want and 2) most of us can't buy everything we want without selling something we already have.

I myself have sold several things that I've kicked myself over, and I'm not even close to as bad as most guys here!  I often keep peices for years; for many diehard audiohiles a family heirloom is a peice that's remained in the sytem for six months!

[miklorsmith]

Regarding differences between digital, SS, and SET:

Not Zybar, but proffering opinion - musical qualities comprise many dimensions.  Of them, the least understood and most prized by SETtites is that of space.  SET amps provide expanse and reverb of original venue that other technologies have yet to duplicate.  This can involve large spaces such as halls or small spaces such as the inner workings of a flute or acoustic guitar.  Those intimate will understand, others should intimate and understand.

Truly, all inquisitive audioheads owe it to themselves to acquaint themselves with what SETs do.  Preference is not mandated, but knowledge is preferred.

[murphy11]

thanks

[zybar]

Regarding differences between digital, SS, and SET:

Not Zybar, but proffering opinion - musical qualities comprise many dimensions.  Of them, the least understood and most prized by SETtites is that of space.  SET amps provide expanse and reverb of original venue that other technologies have yet to duplicate.  This can involve large spaces such as halls or small spaces such as the inner workings of a flute or acoustic guitar.  Those intimate will understand, others should intimate and understand.

Truly, all inquisitive audioheads owe it to themselves to acquaint themselves with what SETs do.  Preference is not mandated, but knowledge is preferred.

Well said!

I would also add that SET amps can have a spooky realism and seductiveness to them that can make the hairs on the back of your neck stand up when it comes to female voices.  All other amps (especially the digital ones) can't even come close to doing that. 

A really good SET amp portrays the soul and character of the music not by picking apart the recording in a very clinical way, but by its overall organic presentation.  Music tends to just flow and it is very easy to be seduced into simply listening and enjoying the music.

Not sure if I am doing a good job explaining it. 

If you could listen to a digital amp and SET amp side by side, it is extremely obvious that they are taking very different paths.

George

[murphy11]

Thanks. Sounds like the perfect kind of amp with the right speaker and the right kind of music.

[zybar]

Thanks. Sounds like the perfect kind of amp with the right speaker and the right kind of music.

It is.

Unfortunately, that right speaker and right music combination isn't wide enough to satisfy all my wants and desires.   

George

[miklorsmith]

By themselves, SET amps will never satisfy loud, bass-heavy music.  In order to have a do-it-all SET amp, it has to be relieved of bass duties.  The Horning speakers come to mind, and my Definition Pros fit the bill.  Keeping 45 SET tubes to 65 hz and above, I can play Tool Very Loudly without compression or undue distortion.

So, it can be done, but it has to be a conscious decision and you have to like the speakers which some people don't.  These speakers tend to sound lit-up in the presence band, though that can be very successfully addressed with equalization like a TacT unit, which also can handle crossover duties.  I don't really care for the DACs though, so a suitable outboard unit then becomes necessary . . .

In some ways, this is an anathema to the SET ideal of simplicity.  However, the final result is its own champion.