Coincident Dragon MK I vs MK II

Update: I upgraded the tubes on my Dragon to Psvane 300B and Psvane 211's and it was a nice improvement.

The external power supply for my Chord QuteHD dac was also a great improvement. The external power supply added more weight and smoothed out the top end so that it no longer had a bite.

My Fathom F110 sub blew out its amp, so my system has been limping along, until I can get that repaired. Lately I'm noticing that I miss the weight, bass and wallop of my Pass Labs XA30.5. I was thinking about selling the Dragons and buying another XA30.5, or getting the XA60.5 mono blocks, or trying out a Luxman M-600a.

In an effort to improve my situation I bought a Sablon Audio Uber Robusto power cord and I have to say I'm impressed by it. It adds more bass weight and dimensionality.

Here's what I concluded so far: I definitely need to get my sub repaired as this could be a big part of the problem of my recent desire for more weight, bass and wallop. I'd also like to hear what it would sound like to have these Sablons power my Dragons. This could help too. I could test this out easily because my friend has a Sablon and I could ask to try it. Bottom line is that after getting my sub fixed and trying the warm sounding Sablon power cords, if I'm still missing the weight, bass and wallop then I'll have to seriously consider selling the Dragons.

It seems the subwoofer contributes significantly to your system`s performance,so step one is to get that fixed. I`ve haven`t read complaints about the Dragons`s bass before.Could simply be your speaker is better matched with a SS amplifier or you may just prefer the sound of SS to tubes.
Regards,

My sub is in the shop getting repaired. I decided to keep the Dragons and I'm trying a different dac to bring more organic warmth. I've now got an MHDT Stockholm that is delivering this in spades, maybe a little too much. I think I can tweak the MHDT to tailor the sound and will likely be selling the Chord QuteHD soon.

Erdog,
Have you determined the problem you were hearing is more the DAC's sonic character than the Dragons?

Charles,
That's right. When I tried the MHDT Stockholm dac, I came closer to hearing what I was missing. So I decided to keep the Dragons. As mentioned already, the Dragons are true to the source.

The MHDT is still not quite where I want it to be yet. I think the ultimate dac for me would sound in the middle of what the QuteHD offers and the Stockholm.

The QuteHD has this amazing liquidity that is smooth & organic, but also ALIVE sounding, with lots of detail that isn't digital sounding.

The stock Stockholm has more warmth and rounded edges. It also has surprisingly great detail. I could hear mico details that I didn't notice with the QuteHD. It doesn't have that Alive sound that the QuteHD has and instead has a pleasing warmth that makes everything sound good. The down side is that it lacks the clarity and dynamics that the QuteHD has. I call it too wooly.

I hope to get this part nailed down soon.