I want to add a bit to my post upthread. Before I started upgrading my equipment several years ago, I owned a Crown Macro Reference amp. 700 watts or more. Industrial strength amp in every way. I can refer you to an article by Sam Telig about the amp:
http://www.stereophile.com/solidpoweramps/1292crown/
My point is that I am familiar with high power amps, and I built my heathy portion of Heaathkit's and Eico's and Dynaco amps and integrateds back in the day, 1960's mostly. So I know what lower powered tubes can do. A friend has a set of 300B jewels we listen to alot. Higher power amps, whether solid state or tube, find finesse and ease difficult. Some systems are hefty, some quick, some tuneful and full of PRAT.
My system always sounded best to me with higher power. I had a Parasound A21 for a while and it was pretty damn good, too. But it lacked an airiness with treble transients that I like. The PS Audio HCA-2 was quick as can be but lacked the strong control my woofers needed. I never really gave my horn a thought about control issues until I got involved with the SE Mk2.
Maybe I am wacked, but every register, whether below my crossover of 1200KHz or above seems more disciplined. The Spectron has achieved something in my system that I just have not experienced before. Accuracy of decay, deep tonality, AND this elusive finesse thing. Transitions are smooth. Quiets are in fact quiet. Transients clear regardless of intensity. This is the unique thing to me, and not unimportant to people who treasure music. It comes through the maze of wires, resistors, capacitors, transistors, diodes and connectors clean and strong.
Yep, Wayne Gretzky is still the best analogy I can come up with, obscure or not. This amp is "The Great One."
