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Review: Spectral DMC-30SL

Category: Preamps

The Spectral DMC-30SL is not for everyone.
Unless you have very revealing speakers
with excellent transient response and
a very high resolution CD player with
balanced topology, then you will be pulling
your hair out with this one. And not to have
the very best cabling going, you will not
get the best out of this beast. However, if
you do have the above prerequisites then you
are in for a treat. The soundstage is now
wall to wall and deep, the images are absolutely
rock solid. Not the least bit grainy nor any high
frequency fatigue. It has the typical liquid
sound of Spectral. However its coup de main
is its unprecedented low level resolution.
Whatever is on a cd WILL be transmitted to
the speakers and I mean everything. A foot
tapping, a very light slap on the body of
of a cello, and much to my chagrin the grunge
of digital audio. The Resolution CD50, in its
day was a fine CD player, not now!! Every
imperfection shines through and is magnified;
its like looking through a microscope. Cabling
is sometimes an important issue with Spectral,
in particular, their amplifiers, but now with
their preamplifier too. Just changing interconnects,
will alter the character of the soundstage and
imaging. It looks like until I have the finest
interconnects, this preamplifier has not reached
its highest level of performance. And until I
upgrade the CD playback system, this system will
play music and play digital grunge, too.
So do I recommend this preamplifer, only if
are willing to go the extra mile and ensure the system
has the finest interconnects, speakers, and cd
playback system. Then it will be a keeper for
a very long time. Reference quality for a reference
musical system.
shubertmaniac

Showing 3 responses by shubertmaniac

shubertmaniac OP
350 posts
 
After 6 months of critical listening to the whole system, I replaced the DMC30SL with both a DMC10 and and an ARC SP8; switching back and forth between the two. Then the following day going back to the DMC30SL. There is just no comparison! The DMC30SL has a much larger soundstage and better control of the image, the bass impact is stronger.
But the two most breathtaking aspects of the DMC30sl is resolution and tonal balance and correctness. My favorite instrument is the cello and the Spectral preamp gets this right,from top to bottom of the musical scale;just amazing. The woodiness of the cello is not muted or plastic, just natural. But its ability to get into the CD bitstream and glean what is there is something to behold. It is enchanting. So many old CDs, become more vibrate with the ambient resolution that this preamp produces. Honestly, I cannot wait to get home and turn my system on and just get enraptured with the music. They say solid state is cold
and heartless, Spectral puts the heart and soul back in.
shubertmaniac OP
350 posts
 
Bombaywalla: I started out with an ARC SP8 and ARC D115.2 with the Acoustat 2+2 and enjoyed the system for years. I also had a DMC10 and a pair of DMA50s also. I would mix and match various combos to see which would work. However about three years ago (place blame on Audiogon!) I got worked up about buying a new system, I was in near sticker shock at first, but also because of Audiogon I was fortunate enough to put together a very decent system. The center piece of the electronics was the DMC30sl. I think it serves its purpose quite well. In regards to the ARC preamps, I still like them, in particular their very seductive midrange, and upper bass regions. Everybody seems to think that ss preamps
get shrill in the treble region or at least grainy. In most cases they are correct in that assumption, however, the Spectral seems to be lacking in this aspect; it is smooth all the way to the top of the frequency range. I just think in general it is harder to make a very good ss preamp( ditto ss amps) than tube (pre)amps. I have no plans to change or get up tight about my system with a ss preamp or ss amp. I just enjoy it for what it is: a window to sound reproduction.
shubertmaniac OP
350 posts
 
The preamp is passively shielded with nu metal. It helps eliminate stray magnetic fields. If you ever have an MRI done, with their tremendously high stray magnetic fields, the walls, floor, and ceiling have some kind of passive shielding, usually something other than iron because of saturation effects; nu metal is one type. Of course one way around this is by having an actively shielded magnet system, which is now becoming more common, expensive but much better than passive shielding.
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