Spectron
Musician III Signature Amplifier
 

The latest thinking from digital guru John Ulrick is the Musician III. His previous creations, Musician and Musician II, gained status in the world of digital amplification as the best of the best. That statement has been supported by my experience over the years. in working with I’ve sold a good number of Spectron amps. Over that time I’ve had clients who have compared the Spectron to every other make and model of digital amps available. Time and time again the Spectron has been the winner.

            So what is it about the Spectron amp that makes it so good? Maybe it’s what it doesn’t do that makes it special. The Musician III Signature has so few artifacts that it is difficult to find fault. Most amps have a describable fingerprint they imprint upon the music that defines its character. That isn’t necessarily bad mind you, especially if you seek to tune the system in a specific direction. The Spectron just seems to be about as evenhanded as it gets. And that’s good, if you are looking just to pass the signal unfettered.
            One of the first reviews out on the Spectron amp described is as neither tubes nor solid state, suggesting it had the best of both worlds; the lack of grain and harshness that accompanies many solid state designs, and yet possessing the dynamics and control so valued in the genre. I would agree with that assessment.

            The evolution from the Musician to the Musician II, Musician III and now the Musician III Signature has been a fun one to watch, or hear, as the case may be. Without a doubt, the Musician II is certainly one of the World’s great amplifiers, regardless of genre.

"I now consider the Musician III the most musically accurate and well balanced solid-state amplifier I have reviewed to date. Furthermore, only a small handful of tube amplifiers come close to equaling its musicality. Its audible subtlety, along with massive power and headroom, fine-grained articulation of musical detail, and sheer speed add up to a very special instrument for reproducing music of every kind. At $4995, this remarkable amplifier is a consummate bargain that belongs on the must-hear short list of every serious audiophile." —Wayne Donnelly

A Matter of Balance Review by Greg Weaver: "Using the latest realization of John Ulrick's near quarter century dream has brought me substantially closer to the magic of the music I love so dearly. This is the second milestone product I've had the pleasure of reviewing this year… The Spectron Musician II is a remarkable achievement, truly pushing the state of the art.
            I don't know of a single amplifier, at any price, that would embarrass the Spectron Musician II. It has more successfully achieved that delicate balance between brute force and artistic expression than any amplifier I've had the pleasure of hearing. And at $3500, that makes it possibly the best value in amplification available today. Run, don't walk, to your nearest Spectron dealer and hear what you've been missing."

"Anyone looking for powerful yet highly refined amplification would be foolish to ignore the Spectron Musician III. I believe it will serve me well as a standard against which to measure other amplifiers. So I'm keeping this one. Superior audio indeed!" Wayne Donnelly, Enjoy The Music, Superior Audio

"Tonally, the Musician III is as neutral as they come—smooth across the octaves, and with top-notch interconnects and a good warm-up, not a whiff of spotlighting in the upper octaves. Treble is pristine and displays none of the whitish grain or transient blur that plagues many amps, Class D or otherwise. I have to admit that regardless of 'Class' the Spectron Musician III punched my time clock like few other amps I've heard." The Absolute Sound

Absolute Sound Editor's Choice Award winner 2005, 2007

Click here for technical details concerning digital amplifier design and the Spectron philosophy.

Remote Sense Speaker Cables

       A totally unique concept, the Spectron Remote Sense Speakers Cables seek to do something no other cable design has ever attempted; include the speaker cable in the feedback loop of the amplifier.

        Feedback in an amplifier sends some of the output signal back to the input to corrects for any nonlinearities created in the amplification process. Since no amplifier circuit is perfect, feedback can help to improve linearity and reduce distortion.

        Remote sense is a special purpose speaker cable to be used with Spectron amplifiers. These literally extend the feedback loop of the amplifier all the way to the speakers. It is implemented by use of Spectron's special four conductor speaker cable with a Neutrik connector that mates to a Neutrik receiver on the rear of the Musician II. Two of the wires connect the amplifier to the speaker just like a conventional system. The second pair senses the actual voltage at the speaker end of the cable. Spectron's exclusive remote sense technology is an important step in compensating for the otherwise unavoidable loss in fidelity caused by even the best speaker cables. By comparison conventional amplifiers can only sense the signal at the output of the amplifier. All wire has resistance, inductance and capacitance. Even if there was a perfect metal, (no resistance) the effects of inductance and capacitance would still be there. Remote sense compensates for these effects. Spectron's remote makes corrections for errors in both the amplifier and the cable together, not just the amplifier. While this is the most advance speaker cable technology available, the cost for remote sense cables is actually less than using the high end cables with exotic materials.

       Length: 3, 5, and 8 meters standard with any length available on special order.

       Termination: A 4 cm x 4 cm x 10 cm metal box with two connectors with two 6-32 threaded holes on inch centers to allow male banana plugs to be screwed in. These two banana plugs can be plugged directly into a speaker with female banana plugs on centers or two wires can be mounted with spades.

        Price: $549 per pair for any length up to 5 meters. $649 per pair for 8 meter length. Longer lengths available by custom order at $20 per meter per cable beyond 8 meters.