Parasound Halo JC 1 vs Spectron Musician II or III

Hi Sjhall, I owned the Spectron MIII for a few weeks, and now have the JC-1s.

In my system the MIII was impressive sounding initially, especially the powerful, taught bass. However, over time it was clear that the mids and highs never sounded relaxed at spls above 80 db in my system. Soundstage bloom is only fair, and the MIII favors speed over letting notes decay naturally. Its basically a good amp, but a bit pricey now at 4k imo.

I agree totally with Denf's assessment of the JC-1s in comparison. Its a different animal, and worth the price difference if you have the room and can deal with the additional heat the JC-1s produce.

Hello.

I briefly had the Spectron Musician II and Halo's, at the same time. (I still have the Halo's, so that probably tells you something).

While the Spectron certainly does many things well, to my ears at least, and with an electrostatic load (ML Prodigy's) the Spectron always sounded like it was a little "loose at the seams" and about to blow apart and clip like a mad dog, on loud, complex musical passages.

The Halo's have better soundstaging, "inner detail", better timbral balance, etc. Also, they always sound at ease and "relaxed", no matter how insanely loud you play them, or how bombastic the musical selection is.

Keep in mind, you're comparing a $3k amp to a pair of $6k amps... (and all things are always based on component synergy, personal taste, room variables, etc.)

But again, at least to my evaluation, the Halo's are CLEARLY in a whole other leaque than the Spectron.

Having said that, the Spectron is still a very good amp in the $2 - $3k range.