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Spectral
DMC-12 Preamplifier and DMA-100S Power Amplifier Issue 4 - December 1999 |
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The seeds of this review were sown earlier, in the summer, when I had the offer of several days with a Spectral pre/power amplifier. At this stage, my only knowledge of these esoteric electronics was through dealer ads in the American Hi-Fi 'Bible' Stereophile. The company's profile in the U.K was virtually non-existent, due to the fact that they chose not to have an agent here. Many have tried to import it, but Spectral, as I have since discovered, are not a company who supply their wares to just anyone. In the whole of the U.S for instance, they have only 20 dealers and each of those have had to satisfy Spectral of their understanding of their products, and their ability to demonstrate them to the very highest standards. Most, if not all, of these will have a room dedicated to Spectral equipment where the electronics will be demonstrated and sold, as a system, often through Avalon speakers, and always with matching speakers. Each of these dealers though, and they are among the most prestigious in the States, will tell you that Spectral make the best amplifiers on the planet. | |||||||
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All this was completely unknown to me as I unpacked the boxes and got my first taste of what was to come. Somewhat unusually, Spectral amplifiers come supplied with a complete set of cabling. Signal leads, interconnects and speaker cables are from MIT, manufactured to Spectral specifications, and specifically designed to be used with the amplifiers. This made a lot of sense, and I have often wondered why more companies do not do the same. I was a little disappointed that the pre-amp was not remote (laziness really!), and slightly surprised to find that it only offered single-ended outputs to the power amplifier. I could immediately see that externally they were well built; though there was no obviously complex or heavy-duty casework announcing their presence as an expen-sive piece of top-end audio. Normally an amplifier, new and straight from the box as the Spectral was, is going to need running-in and I certainly would not expect it to be giving anywhere near its best for a few days. This, I confess, was my first underestimation of a product that, within an hour, had me dragging my jaw from the floor in admiration, and by the end of the day had me feverishly trying to work out how I could get one into my life. The combination I had tried was the DMC-12 preamplifier and the DMA-100S power amplifier (both solid-state designs), collectively known as the Foundation Series. There is also a Reference Series of products but, for now, only the Foundation is available in the UK. It is not uncommon for a Spectral product to be in production for a decade or more (the company was founded in the 70's) and the DMC-12 has been delighting Americans for around 6 years. It superceded the DMC-10 and though I have not seen one of these I am assured that it looks exactly the same kind of 'retro'. |
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| Available as a line-level unit or equipped with a phono-stage it is externally powered by the DMS-12 power supply and offers 4 or 5 line inputs, including tape, depending on whether the phono module has been supplied. It has a simple uncluttered layout. Three beautifully weighted rotary knobs control stepped volume, balance and source selection, while a row of switches provide tape monitoring, channel reversal, mono and a 20dB mute. The two slightly shrill green lights show power on and that the protection circuitry is in operation. All input connections are by RCA/Phono. |  |
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The DMA-100S power amplifier has been released only recently and draws on aspects of the Reference Series thinking and electronics. Its rated power is 100 watts. If this is the case then it's the mightiest and meatiest 100 watts I have ever heard, and more than enough for the vast majority of situations. Allow me to borrow a phrase from Rolls Royce and say that power is 'adequate'. Once again, a simple, understated appearance with just an on/off rocker switch on the front panel and a single pair of speaker connections, plus inputs for balanced or single-ended leads. There is no standby mode. |
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Both of these products are beautifully constructed and finished, both externally and internally where the craftsmanship is as good as it gets. Spectral has firm views on all aspects of amplifier design, and the more I researched the company the more I realised how much thought and development work have gone into these amplifiers regarding how they respond to real recorded music, and the enormous problems that it's transient nature poses. They are also very hot on time-based distortions, which is a niggling aspect of much Hi-Fi that has bothered me for 20 years. |
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Spectral is high-speed/wide bandwidth amplification with frequency responses from DC to megahertz, and the nature of its operation means that interconnects and speaker cabling must be accurately specified if the amplifier is to work safely and correctly. Such a broad bandwidth can broadcast like a transmitter, producing megahertz oscillations that, in turn introduce distortions. In the boxes, close to the terminations of the Spectral/MIT cables there are tuned networks which function like low-pass filters, making them an ideal match for the amplifier. These cables are supplied at the time of purchase and use of them is mandatory, if you want a valid warranty. |
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Many amplifiers seem to take an age to come up to speed from a cold power-up, sometimes several hours. Often they are left permanently on, or they have a standby switch fitted, which keeps the primary gain stages warm and reduces warm-up times considerably The Spectral though, has been designed to reach optimum performance from switch-on much more quickly and does not need to be left continuously powered. Quite surprisingly it begins to really 'kick-in' after only about 15-20 minutes and grows slowly but progressively better for the next couple of hours. The whole compact package is stamped with the legacy of designer Keith Johnson's experience of suffering the burden of huge or temperamental amplifiers while location monitoring with Reference Recordings. |
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So how does this very different amplifier sound? Well, this is where it gets difficult, as I am not sure that it has any 'sound' of its own at all. Trying to categorise the Spectral, using the usual terms of reference, is impossible. I could not describe it as tonally bright, warm, dull, or in any other way. It is certainly fast, in fact it is the fastest amplifier I have ever used, but this alone is a very small part of the story, as the Spectral is about so much more. So if I cannot describe how it sounds, let me try to explain what it does. Many very fast amplifiers are all about speed and shuddering transients. But they often snatch at the leading edge and make little of the rate of decay length of sustain and eventual release of the note. They can also sound hard and somewhat sterile, as if they do not have time to devote to the tone and colour of the instrument before the next transient. The Spectral makes more each and every note than I have ever heard before. It not only shows you the full attack, volume and leading edge detail, but its sense of transient recovery as it moves into the heart of the note is amazingly controlled and realistic. Notes seem entirely accurate, natural and tonally stunning. Quite how it seems to find the time to shape each note so beauti-fully yet still remain so amazingly fleet of foot is truly remarkable. Remember that we glean an enormous percentage of instrumental recognition from the information contained in the leading edge of each note. If, using a sampler, I recorded a few notes played by both a violin and a guitar, then, using an editor, I manipulated each note by removing the sound of the plectrum and the bow from the front of the waveform, you would be amazed at how difficult it would be to tell the difference between them. So, to me, concise individual control of the whole of the note is one of the keys to the Spectral's brilliance. But do not get the idea that this amplifier is about speed and nothing else, or that this would make the amplifier more suitable for playing rock music than classical. Nothing could be further from the truth. This awesome technical ability has absolutely as much relevance to any music you might ask it to play The Guitar Trio (Verve 533215-2) brings together the mighty talents of Paco De Lucia, Al DiMeola and John McLaughlin. Three musicians, different in style and technique, playing very different guitars, but with a unity of purpose and total sympathy for the compositions they play I thought I knew this CD very well indeed. Back on that first afternoon that I tried the Spectral I was proved wrong as, from the first track, it seemed I was hearing a totally new CD, full of new performances. The purity and character of each individual instrument was what first grabbed me. I had simply never heard the vast tonal differences of each guitar expressed in such a vibrant and realistic way. The verve and dynamics of the playing was equally impressive but the rhythmic elements of the music had me reaching for the cover to confirm I was listening to the right CD. Without a noted timekeeper, like a drummer, the trio create all of their own rhythms, taking turns each to sit below the soloist and, in each of their individual ways, steer the music through time. One of the great beauties of this disc is the contrasting rhythmic colour, flavour and 'feel' that each player conjures up and the Spectral's greatest attribute is that it allows all of this to be savoured by becoming totally subservient to the music itself. |
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Rhythmically also the Spectral is a tour de force. On Lee Ritenours This Is Love CD (i.e. music 314-557-29-2) he does a great version of Sonny Rollins 'Alfies theme'. Whoever said 'It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing' could have been talking about this track. Drummer Sonny Emory was obviously born to swing and it's not just the tempo or the way he rides that cymbal, but the way he just leans off the actual beat that makes the feel so beautiful. There is so much clarity of musical progression to be heard here that the Spectral puts you in direct contact with the music, on an emotional level, and you listen with your heart and not your head. At this pitch of quality it is those small musical hooks that keep drawing you back. Suddenly the walking bass line seems so much more relevant to the cymbal pattern, the stabbing Hammond organ chords make the song sit up with their unique sound, and it is all so easy to enjoy. I don't find the Spectral remotely analytical but I have never heard an amplifier that makes each and every instrument so easy to follow right the way through the track. Nor have I experienced quite the same balance between low frequency power and delicacy This amplifier certainly seems to have it all. |
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Since I first got interested in audio, more than 20 years ago, I have heard much superb Hi-Fi, but there have been only three or four products that have really changed my mind about what is actually possible from an audio system. Unlike the writers on Stereophile I have unfortunately been unable to find a new reference product every month, and when I do I inevitably end up buying it. To me this Spectral amplifier transcends arguments over things like tube versus solid-state. It combines the best of both of these, and other philosophies, into a single amplifier, and though this is something that designers have been claiming for years, the Spectral really does manage it. I have bought one, and having used it for the past few months I can find no down-side whatsoever. I have tried it with many speakers, and played it to many friends, and I recognise the same blank look of astonishment on their faces as I had when I first heard it. I am not claiming it is cheap but, in the real world, when you look at the cost of other quality amplifier combinations, then include the really top quality cabling, I think it is remarkable value. It is, in fact, the best amplifier I have ever heard. What does the Spectral sound like? It is the sound of music. |
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| TECHNICAL SPECIFICATIONS DMC-12
High Resolution Preamplifier and DMS 12 Power Supply DMA-100S
Power Amplifier Distributor:
R.T. Services Manufacturer:
Spectral Audio inc. Back to Last Page | Top | Forward to Next Page | Technical Review index
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