Clarity dynamics and soundstage. Incredible piece of audio engineering I have owned a Rogue 99, AR SP9 ,Audible Illusions 3a,Audio Analogue Maestro,various Classe ETC. The Spectral is just a well balanced preamp with an astounding phono stage.If you listen to vinyl you would have to spend a lot of money to improve on its internal phono stage.The Counterpoint s-3000 I just sold had a fantastic phono stage but the line stage was terrible.Great combination of dynamic range and smoothness.I have a lot of poorly recorded albums that still sound fine through this preamp.I liked the Audible Illusions and Rogue preamps but the Spectral beat them both in dynamics and resolution.No remote but I rarely use one and have always owned older pre remote equipment.

no remote control

Soundstage, circuit design, transparency of sound, but what sets it apart are the Input and output gain selectors switches make it an exceptional design. .

Running my Thinkpad through the Spectral made MP3 files sound like music, okay the sound was a little empty but I can listen to it for hours.

The price to performance ratio.

Lack of a remote control; only recently have I realized how important a remote is.

Summary:
I have had my DMC-12 for over 10 years, and for $3500 (US)it is among the best preamp you can buy. Indeed the longevity of the model is testament to that; Spectral has not had an upgrade to the DMC-12 since they released it. I have only heard glowing reviews regarding the DMC-12, and I have to go along with everyone else praising its sonic qualities.

After I moved to a larger apartment the Spectral DMC 12 & DMA 90 reached new heights. I'm not sure what made my jaw drop, the Spectral or my realization of how good the Martin Logan Aerius are.

Perhaps there is a synergy between the Spectral and electrostatics but my modest system is superior to many dealer's listening rooms costing much much more. The next item I will upgrade are my speakers, and the choice I make may force me to upgrade to a DMC 20 or 30 and a DMA 160. But changing the Spectral simply for the sake of change doesn't make any sense.

Customer Service

Pretty good; easy to get a Spectral engineer on the phone to answer questions. Although they will not upgrade input connections.

Similar Products Used:

Spectral DMA-90

stage, detail, air, dynamics, transparent, very musical

to be careful match with non Spectral components

One of the most best pre-amplifiers. The DMC is connected with a Plinius SA 102 power amplifier. Sources are Levinson 390s CD processor and a Transrotor Fat Bob S analogue-deck. In the past I've tried several pre-amplfiers. The combination with the Plinius is wonderful Music, music, music, music and music!!!

Similar Products Used:

Plinius CD LAD, Levinson 38, 380S and much more

Great build quality, clear open sound

No remote

Quite an amazing product, very detailed and smooth with a huge soundstage. Very accurate imaging and a solid build. If you are a fan of that Wilson Audio sound, ie accuracy and detail above all else, this would be the preamp for you.

Similar Products Used:

Krell KCT & KRC-3, ML-380, CJ PV14

Incredible soundstage

Not enough inputs for me, less detail than DMC-20

It took me a mere 10 minutes of home auditioning of this
masterpiece, to replace my ARC LS-3 preamp. The size
of the soundstage is astounding; this preamp stayed with
me for 18 months and was just replaced by the DMC-20 S2.

The DMC-20 is eventually the most spectacular and
transparent preamp I have listened to, and overpowers the 12
with its diamond-cut precise imaging and detail. The
DMC-12 has got to be the best bargain in the high end
today. Its only weakness is lack of ultimate detail.

Overall it's a spectacular preamp. I compared it
with Jeff Rowland, Krell and ML gear at double the
price and the choice was obvious to me.

I nearly fell out of my chair the first time I heard this preamp in my system. I borrowed one from the local dealer and compared it to the Mark Levinson 38, BAT VK3, and Audible Illusions 3a. Everything about the Spectral was better, but I was floored by the soundstage. I could not believe that the Spectral sounded so much better than the other preamps in my room. Needless to say, I ordered the Spectral (with phono stage) and have not looked back. Now, the only preamps that I consider superior are Spectral's own DMC-20 and the tubed CAT, of course I haven't heard everything.
Spectral's build quality, technical design, and aesthetics are absolutely unsurpassed.

P.S. The only preamp even close in sound quality was the Audible Illusions--it's a hell of a piece for the money.

The one of the best solid pre-amp. to the best of my knowledge(the others that I have ever had include Mark Levindon 26, Audio Research 2b and etc.).Matching with Spectral amp. is must. Otherwise you will get harshness in high.
Also to match with MIT/Spectral cables would help to get more details and
coherence from bottom to top in great deal.