Belles 350A or Spectron Musician II


Considering these two amps to pair with my Proac D15's and Cary 303/200 cd player. I've enjoyed my Bel Canto Evo 200.2, but I have the itch to change. I am intrigued by comments about Spectron perhaps outdoing Bel Canto, and also the great reviews of the Belles, particularly with the midrange, where Bel Canto seems sometimes a bit too analytical. Any experienced comments are appreciated.
128x128hifimatt
My experiences with Belles are not good. No exerience with Spectron. Belles were reveiwed highly so I decided to try; the 150A wasn't happening at all, & the 350A wasn't really any better. Dark dark darkest I've ever heard at my house. Even a silver AC cord couldn't brighten them up. I was very dissapointed; they simply didn't synergize with my rig. Your results may vary however, & surely they must perform well in some systems or they wouldn't have been so well reviewed. Try before you buy.
Denf,

These are some of the amps I have owned.

NAD 218
NAD S-200
PS Audio Delta 250 Mono Blocks
Rotel RB 1090
Jeff Rowland Model 5 B
Jeff Rowland Model 7 Mono Blocks
Classe CA 300
Krell KSA 200s
Spectron Digital 1

And probably more amps I cannot think of at the moment,
including several integrated amps, but the Spectron
is the only one that has the staying power.
Plus it runs cool as a cucumber and is not that large & heavy.

Also not included are the amps I auditioned in my home
& took back. (cannot remember all)

So based on what I have "heard" myself with the Spectron
D-1, and what I have read about the Musician II, I have
ordered one.
It should be here next week and will give initial report
when I get my system up & running. (Waiting on speakers &
Cables as well)

Spectron got a bad (maybe well deserved "bad" reputation)
in the early day's of there existence as they had many
parts outsourced and did not have much control on quality. But nowaday's it is different and I think
digital amps are the wave of the future.

If you have not read the latest review on the Musician II
please check it out @ stereotimes.com.

Of coarse it is just "another review" but the review was
very similiar on the D-1 and I agreed 100% with that
review compared to what I heard, which almost never
happens with me.

Others agree!!

Good luck,
Bob
Telescope_trade,

I am considering a purchase of the Spectron, what other amps have you owned/used in comparision to it?
I'v not heard the Belles. I'm using the Spectron Musician 11 on the Dunlavy Aletha speakers. The Spectron sounds so smooth and liquid. Its one of the best sounding solid state amps i'v heard.
My experience is a little different than BigKidz as I
have found the Spectron D-1 (Musician II on order) to be very musical (and powerful)
compared to the many other amps I have owned in the past.
It has been like a veil (I know we all have heard that before) lifted but has to be heard to
know what I mean.

Like he say's, it is very very clear,(you can almost "see" fingers & pick plucking a guitar) but I also get great depth.
The review is one of the very few reviews I have read (D-1)
that had me going yea I hear that and I agree with that
and so on and so on and have no doubt I will agree with
the review of the M II when I get it.
It has been the best amp I have ever heard & owned to date (D-1) and
I heard the Musician II is 10% better than the Digital 1
so I will know in a week or so when it get's here along
with my new Green Mountain Continuum 3's.
I was using the D-1 with Maggies and it was the best I have
heard any of my Maggies sound in the past.

Again it could all boil down to system synergy I guess.
I have only heard the Belles 150 and I had the Spectron in my home system about two months ago. I preferred my Kinergetics KBA-75 to the spectron beacuse it sounded more musical. The specton was very very clear but did not really sound like 500 wpc. The music seemed to come from the speakers forward but no depth the the sound. The Belles is also very musical and you need to know what will match with your speakers. I have B&Ws and they need a high current amp so I ended up with the Pass X-250 out of all the amps I auditioned.