Oh yes, you will experience much the same when you switch from the D115 to the M300 like you heard from the SP-10 to the SP-11. I too owned the SP-10 for 8 years and after hearing the SP-11, I had no desire to change.
The hybrid ARC products are not at all the same character as the all-tubed units the came before them. After the hybrid period, ARC returned to all tubed units with the LS5, VT130 and VT150.
I made the mistake when I went from a VT130 back to the Classic 150 (this followed the M300) hoping for more dynamic headroom when in fact all I got was a more analytical and fatiguing presentation and lost the great bloom of the VT130.
If you like the SP-10/D115 sound, but are tired of the higher noise floor of these older models, and/or having reliability problems, you can either look into the ARC models that followed the hybrids or abandon the ARC ship altogether for something like the BAT line.
John
The hybrid ARC products are not at all the same character as the all-tubed units the came before them. After the hybrid period, ARC returned to all tubed units with the LS5, VT130 and VT150.
I made the mistake when I went from a VT130 back to the Classic 150 (this followed the M300) hoping for more dynamic headroom when in fact all I got was a more analytical and fatiguing presentation and lost the great bloom of the VT130.
If you like the SP-10/D115 sound, but are tired of the higher noise floor of these older models, and/or having reliability problems, you can either look into the ARC models that followed the hybrids or abandon the ARC ship altogether for something like the BAT line.
John