-Smooth treble and warm midrange.
-Good bass output for power rating.
-Solid build quality, heavy.
-At maximum output, sound is still tolerable.
-All of the sonic advantages of tubes.
Containing an impressive 10 valves – four 5881 output tubes and two each of 12AX7, 12AU7 and 6922 for preamp and driver duties – the SP3 uses a nifty mix of an easy-to-remove perforated valve cage for the output tubes and six delightfully old-fashioned slip-on sleeves to protect the glassware. It has robust, gold-plated terminals and sockets, the volume control is a proper 24-step switched attenuator, there’s a mix of hard-wiring and PCBs inside and the unit delivers a sensible 36 watts per channel. The quality of the sound from the SP3 MkII has everything that draws aficionados to prize tubes; this is a good sounding piece of gear and while there are better quality examples of tube amplifiers available, they are just not available for this price. The perceived midrange warmth and treble smoothness draws many into the fold even with the tradeoff of decreased control and roll off in the upper treble compared to comparable solid state gear. The tube and solid state camps will continue to argue over perceived harshness verses sonic accuracy. If this approach to musical reproduction sounds appealing, the SP3 MkII is definitely worth considering.