A buddy of mine has a Spectrum titanium and his father owns something like 10 Spectrum customs. Tom Kellog was heavily involved with Merlin (my Merlin's geometry was designed by Kellog) and his bikes are still built by Merlin. I've spoken with him on the phone a few times and he's a heck of a nice guy.

Honestly, unless the Spectrum is custom built for you, it's no different than a Merlin made bike. Actually, I'd argue that a standard Merlin geometry bike is more likely to fit than a custom built for someone else (and it will be a LOT cheaper).

I have the same temptation with having Bilenky 4 miles away. Spectrum is pretty close by and if you like that sort of thing, we also have Harry Havnoonian. It's a good area for customs!