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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?

 

128x128mmcgill829
mmcgill829's avatar
mmcgill829 OP
154 posts
 

@ghdprentice :

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.

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. 

@alexberger :

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.

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.

ghdprentice
6,957 posts
 

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.

mmcgill829's avatar
mmcgill829 OP
154 posts
 

@ghdprentice : 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 😛

ghdprentice
6,957 posts
 

@mmcgill829 

 

Yes, being an audio gear reviewer or working in a high end store would be a real advantage.

alexberger
904 posts
 

Hi @mmcgill829 ,

What are your impressions from Coherent 15 speakers?

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