What's the greatest bargain in SET these days?

Was, not gas, Heaven forbid...

Thanks Mikirob, Yes, please keep me posted on your tube rolling exploits with the dynamo.

As for me, I just got the Mullard CV378s from Coincident and stuck them in the Franks. Very nice tubes right out of the box. Definitely an improvement over the GE5U4GBs that came with the Franks. I noticed right off that the CV378s "rectified" a bit of a persistent problem with harshness at some frequencies in French Horns. I was beginning to think this was a room problem.

I know exactly what you mean about the timbre being on the mark. I am hyper sensitive to anything being slightly off in that area, which is one of the things that draws me to Coincident gear. The coincident stuff just gets out of the way and lets the music happen.

I'm engrossed in the Bach Cello suites now. My brothers, this is why we work so hard! What profound music, so well played, so well reproduced, right there in my own living room.

I am sorely tempted to ask Israel if he has a stray single to give a whirl in the dynamo after I get moved. Clearly, the amp deserves better than the stock tubes.

As I think you have discovered, the dynamo is just stupid good for the money. But you haven't lived until you have heard the Franks.

Bill,
I nodded my head in agreement and smiled while reading your comments about true timbre reproduction. Tone,timbre,harmonics and overtones are exactly my litmus test for the truly excellent components. Coincident does nail this crucial area.The Frankenstein MK II on my very first listen exceeded all previous amplifiers I'd heard up to that point. It's interesting when you listen in rooms at CES that many highly touted components don't get this right IMO.There's is a real difference between naturalness, realism and pure musicality vs the ultra detailed hifi "accurate" sound.I have no desire for the latter approach.They really are two different worlds.
Charles,

Charles, well said. As I have grown, matured, and become more experienced in the world of music reproduction in the home -- isn't that better terminology than audio? I have noticed that I tended to agree with certain reviewers, tended to like certain "house sounds" and found myself tending to "nod my head and smile in agreement" with certain audiogon posters. I hear as these people hear and I value what they value. These are the people whose ears I trust.

I'd love to get together with about a half dozen or dozen of you guys and do a Cleveleand Orchestra concert in Severence Hall, then do a night in a Jazz venue of similar stature. I would expect extraordinary insight with respect to performance, but I might be most interested in your take on the sound. Stage, timbre, decay etc, as compared to what you hear in your home systems. I'd expect that you and I might find similar attributes of a particular performance notable.

I had a long, long, discussion with a member of my local orchestra once. He was trying to convince me that I should buy tickets in the dress circle, and forget about the main floor 5th row center seats I have loved for so many years. I tried to explain to him that while the dress circle might make sense from the perspective of the composer, a professional musician, or a professor of music theory, I was looking for a different experience. I wanted the upper harmonics of the cello, I wanted to hear the conductor instruct the principle cellist "non troppo, non troppo!" I wanted to watch the drops of sweat fly from the conductors face and see the fatigue in the faces of the violinists as they labored through LvBs unreasonable demands. I explained to him that I could get the dress circle experience at home.

My point is that even amongst those of us that favor acoustical instruments, there is a fairly wide range of preference as to what music reproduction in the home should sound like. It does not surprise me that a jazz aficionado should share a great deal with a lover of chamber music/5th row center guy like me. Accuracy of timbre is essential for lovers of acoustical music, but that is just the first layer. As you peel the onion, the dress circle guys will differentiate from the main floor folks, the main floor front folks from the main floor rear folks, etc. For those who are fans of electronically amplified genres of music, I'm sure the same is true.

The coincident line is going to appeal to a certain value system. As an owner of the Franks, dynamo, CSL, Triumph Extreme IIs, and having auditioned the PREs, I find a remarkable consistency running throughout. As I added more pieces, I got increasingly closer to the listening experience I sought.

Like you, I have walked away from some pretty well regarded and very expensive gear that just didn't do it for me. I could hear far too much that wasn't going to wear well. I'm in a very agreeable place with my system right now, finally, at long last.

Bill,
That's the beauty of High End audio, variety. Within this small niche there's an abundance of choice among audio equipment to suit many tastes and goals. I know you're as happy to have found yours as I am. The key is you have to know what type of music reproduction you want.
Charles,