What type of sound characteristics are you after with the new amp?
Amplifier Pairing with Coherent 15s
Hello all,
About to finalize an order for a pair of Coherent 15s (yay!) and now I'm starting to look at possibilities for amplification for them. Since they are very efficient (I believe 106db efficiency), they can work well with flea amps+, so there's a wide range of possibilities.
I have a few criteria though: I would prefer an integrated amplifier vs separates/mono blocks, both for cost and space reasons, so something like AirTight is out (plus, a bit too expensive anyway). Looking around the $10k range at the higher end.
I don't listen to things super loud, and tend to prefer tube amplification. Music tends to lean majority Jazz, with some other things throw in here and there, but Jazz is the most important genre to get right.
Frank (from Coherent) recommended a couple -
Tektron Two 2A3/50S-i
Mastersound Compact 300B
Some others I've looked into:
Tektron Two 211-i
LTA ZOTL Ultralinear Integrated
I do have a few concerns with hand-crafted, more 'custom' made amps, especially by manufacturers overseas (I'm in the US) - mainly inability to demo them and ease of service/warranty. They also tend to be more difficult to sell in the case of deciding to go a different route, though this is of a lesser concern.
Anyone have any experience with any of these, have any other suggestions to explore, or any other comments?
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Wide and deep soundstage, wonderful midrange and vocals, not overly harsh on the top end, full bass without being too sloppy. Overall, I lean toward liking the slightly more lush/musical tube amps I've had in the past vs the hybrids/solid states.
Thanks for the suggestion! I've looked at their amps before, but from what I've read, when tubes are replaced it has to be done by a technician, which I do not like the idea of. I don't want to have to send it off for extended periods of time every few years (and pay) to get tubes replaced when there are plenty of other options where I can just do that myself. |
Leben CS600 with KT66 would be great. the little 300 is great too but I liked it more for guitar and vocals than thumping bass type of music. I've owned the Mastersound 300BPSE, great amps. There's a compact 300B for sale on Audiomart from a well known speaker maker.
Have you heard the Coherents? I got close to ordering the 12 m a few years ago but just needed to hear them and couldn't. Please post some results. |
I'll check that one out. I'm not really a thumping bass music person, so that's not a big concern, but I do wonder how versatile the tiny watt amps are. I'd imagine with speakers of this sensitivity, it should be fine for most things though. I haven't heard the Coherents myself, so I am taking a bit of a leap of faith. However, I've chatted with a few current owners who listen to similar music and have had a similar 'journey' with gear as me and they can't say enough good things about them. I currently use Tannoy speakers (though not any of the Prestige line) so the Coherents are fairly similar in concept at least. I got to hear some Kensingtons when I was considering a few options, and they were good, but they felt a bit too big for me (and the Turnberrys felt a little too small in person, and didn't sound as good). There are some other small 'boutique' speakers I was interested in like Daedalus, but couldn't get a chance to hear them (and the models I was interested in were beyond my budget anyway). Not sure what the lead time will be on these, but I'll circle back once I get them and sit with them a bit! |
Very helpful stuff. Given that I’d look at the Audio Hungary Qualiton X200 or VAC is also worth a good look. If you can entertain a SET amp the Allnic T-1500 Mk2 could be a really nice amp given what you’re looking for. Hope this helps, and best of luck. |
I have to second the recommendation for the Audio Research I-50. It is an amazing, musical, natural sounding integrated amp. I recently auditioned a Luxman, Pass, and the Audio Research integrated. The Luxman had great knobs and flashy faceplate ($10K), the Pass had great power and excellent rhythm and pace ($10k), but the Audio research caused ne to instantly close my eyes and be completely emursed in the music ($6K)… what a deal! |
Good to know! The 15s are even more efficient, so the little fleas will probably do well! How are you liking your 12s? |
Thanks! I'll check them out. I looked into Audio Hungary a while back and there seemed to be some grumblings about availability of warranty service in the US, so I didn't look into them much more at that time. Worth another look though! I did have some VAC things recommended to me when I was initially looking at Turnberry/Kensingtons as an upgrade, so will have to take a look at those again. |
That's great to hear! I've talked with a couple owners of the 15s and they said they outperformed speakers they paid quite a bit more for, and I've heard basically the same about the 12s and he used to make some smaller bookshelf sized ones as well. I'm very much looking forward to them, and Frank has been wonderful to work with - very patient and helpful! |
I hear ya, and in this instance I’d try to buy used at a good price (and from a reputable seller) so if it doesn’t work out you can likely turn around and sell it for little/no loss. Example would be this AH Qualiton X200… Just a thought FWIW. |
Road trip. Sometimes it is well worth doing a really long drive… or even a weekend trip. Schedule listening sessions in advance. Explain what you are looking for in advance. I made it a habit of visiting audio stores all over the country when on business trips as well. Even when not in the market. So, next time an upgrade cycle started I had had a good idea where I wanted to go. |
I heard Coherent 18 in Montreal show. They sound very easy and dynamic. In term of dynamics they more similar to old Altecs or Tannoy Silver and Gold from 50x-60x than to modern Tannoys. Coherent 15 should work well with Aric Audio Super 300B, Allnic Audio T-1500 300B stereo, Coincident Frankenstein 300b monoblocs amplifier. You don't need any of pentode push-pull amplifiers for these speakers. These amplifiers are more powerful but much less transparent and refined. |
Yeah, though many of the amps I am looking at are built to order (like the Triode Labs and Tektron mostly) and the Coherent speakers are the same. So while something may sound great in a shop with certain speakers and gear, it may not have good synergy with the gear I have at home. I've run into this issue a few times with purchases and wound up either having to return them or re-sell since it just didn't work out once I got it home, so I only really find in-home demos relevant for the most part.
Good to know. I've heard both modern Tannoy Prestige speakers and vintage ones and the older ones tend to sound better to me anyway. |
OP, I hope things work out. I am sure you are aware that matching / purchasing unheard is a really difficult way to get an optimal system, one in close alinement to your preferences. If you look at how well a system fits your values as on a ten point scale plus or minus… with zero being perfect, one would probably only return or trade if it is really bad… out at 8 - 10 at either extreme. Meaning you’re likely to randomly fall in the huge area of ok, but not really that close to perfect. It’s hard enough when you intimately know the sound of each component to match them. Anyway, that has been my experience. |
Yeah, I know. It does not help when much of this stuff is made to order or made overseas and US-based dealers often do not feel comfortable sending demo models in the mail (which is fair). I've been leaning toward the amplifiers that Frank @ Coherent recommended since he's tried a lot with the speakers and thinks that those options are the best at the moment. He mentioned that he used Triode Labs amps for some time, but feels that the Tektrons and Mastersound amps are overall better. However, the Tektrons he uses are mono blocks that they no longer make (at least not on their website). They have an integrated version of it now instead (which I listed in my original post). The only way to truly know if something will work perfectly is to demo it at home with the rest of my gear, so it's a bit like shooting blindfolded. Bummer that I'm not an audio gear reviewer who can get demo gear 😛 |
Hi @mmcgill829 , What are your impressions from Coherent 15 speakers? |
@alexberger I actually ended up going with the 18s. They're still being built so stay tuned... |
Hi @mmcgill829 , Why did you decide to go for 18s instead of 15s? |
@alexberger I was originally looking at both the 18 and the 15 models, but the 18 was outside of my price range a bit. I ended up getting a good deal on the 18 that made it work with my budget nicely, so decided to go that way after all. just made more sense to go for the top of the line since the price was right. Either way, I would have been happy getting the 15 as well. If you have a smaller room, the 15 is likely a better match, I'd think, but chat with Frank @ Coherent and he can help you pick the best size for your room. He's very friendly and helpful, though expect somewhat longer response times (which is to be expected - he's busy making speakers!) |
Hi @bjesien , I put a number of videos from the Montreal audio show on YouTube. Just search: "Montréal Audiofest Coherent Audio", "THE EIGHTEEN Coherent Audio - Allnic Audio - Kuzma - Montreal Audio 2023" It can give you some idea about how it sounds. |