Hyperion HPS 968 or Coincident Total Victory IV

To give everyone a little more history, I had a pair of Coincident Super Eclipse series II and sold them in 2003 and purchased a pair of Cain Single Horn Ben's. I liked the SE but I wanted more low level detail for low volume listening, at that time I was living in an apartment and used a Wavelength 300b with the SE . For 5 years I enjoyed the Cain speakers for low level detail and imageing but I was never satisified with the base. Now that I am out of the apartment and have my own home I can play my music as load as I want. I listen to mostly classic rock but when I had my super Eclipse I would listen to a little classical and I really enjoyed some choir cd's that were recorded in a church but with the Cains, a single driver leaves a lot to be desired for more complex music. I don't know if it was only having 10 watts with the 300b's .
So I sold my Cain speakers and a few weeks ago I came accross a good deal of Cyber mono's with 150 hours that look brand new for less then half price.
I am currently using the 211 amp with a pair of Monitor Audio Studio 20 sec that I purchase new in 2002. I was trying to build up a home theatre system but that never happened. I will admit that the 211 amp's sound good with the Monitor audio's .
and I have to listen to something until I get some speakers. I listen to music most of the time. I watch very little tv.
So what I want from my next set of speakers is the low level detail of the Cain's with the imageing of the Super Eclipse and thats why I was thinking of getting the another set of coincident speakers but then I came accross some reviews on the Hyperion speakers and how good they sound with the 211's and they are a lot less money.
I appreciate any suggestions.

ThankYou

Trelja...What amps are you using and which model Coincident are you using ??

If you can get in touch with Paul F. I would like to get his comments on the 211 amps and the Hyperion's.

thanks for the info.

The Consonance 211 SET amps were an excellent match with Hyperion 938s. Tonally, they were perfectly balanced, and the bass and bass dynamics were better than with 200 watt solid-state monoblocks. Power was never lacking.

John Potis also raved about essentially the same combination (968s) as did Steve R. of Enjoy the Music, who bought both the 938s and the 211s after reviewing both.

Someone who refers to a 211 SET as 'flea-powered' must not have a lot of experience with SETs and/or be familiar with speakers that are truly a bear to drive (usually meaning poorly designed).

[However, choosing speakers first followed by amplifiers that mate with them is the most sensible path.]

16 watts is still 16 watts no matter what planet your from. The speaker dips to 3.8 ohms and requires a min of 50/ch per spec. Small room, chamber works and a tendency to play music softly will help of course. I recall visiting a residence with Avalons and a whole lot of expensive equipment where the owner played his system about as loud as my AM radio...plus, it had more hum than a million kilowatt sub station! It was an interesting glimpse into the mind of some audiophiles. No matter what, certain people are just determined to like less than ideally matched/applied gear:O ) Playing anything full scale at concert level requires balls, er.. I mean watts. If you 'aint got 'em then ya makes do with what ya got. If you have a choice however, choose more power...despite the SET myths and legends that have propagated about the high end community, you can find great sounding amplification without the limitations:O)

Again, Paul definitely knows what he's talking about here. In fact, I think in the myriad iterations of his system, he actually ended up with this permutation (though with the Cyber 845 the first go 'round) twice! And, I hold the opinion of my late dear friend, John Potis, in the highest regard, as we were more often than not on the same page when it comes to tastes and likes/dislikes.

As for me, I believe Coincidents, and most dynamic (please allow me clarify: of the non-single driver type) loudspeakers, sound best with moderately powered transformer coupled, push-pull tube amplification such as my Jadis DA30 and DA60, and the Consonance Cyber 800 6CA7, 15th Anniversary Cyber 100 Signature KT88, and Cyber 100 Signature EL34 models.

My rationale behind this is that a bit of power is needed to get a larger driver going, control it, and have it able to produce the amount of "pop" I consider necessary to do justice to the music. And, I believe a transformer lends a certain "beauty" to the sound that keeps the average dynamic speaker from becoming too forward or lightweight that not having one might.

I've also used the Consonance Cyber 10 Multifunction KT88, Cyber 10 Signature 2A3, Cyber 100 Signature 6550, Cyber 100S Signature 300B, Cyber 300B PSE, and Cyber 845 with the speakers, though I'm less sanguine about those combinations.

My loudspeakers are heavily modified Digital Master/Troubass subwoofers. I would say that in regards to your concern about low level detail, which I believe is a reflection not on the Coincidents per se, as they use drivers produced by the more well established companies out there, but dynamic loudspeakers in general, my way of addressing it was to have my friend Bill Legall of Millersound completely rebuild the cone drivers, making them much faster, much punchier, more detailed, and more efficient (I should capitalize the M in much/more because it was that noticeable). Or, I should say, that he came up with the solution after listening to them, as all of the credit should go to him as the man truly has magic flowing through him.

Regarding your own desires, Abill, I believe you've laid them out very well. Again, in my opinion, it's a very rare dynamic speaker that can match the speed and clarity of the Lowther/Fostex/etc. type of driver used in designs like the Cain and Cain. And, in fact, it may be unobtainable. At least, if I had to put my money on it, I would say it was.

That being the case, from where I'm sitting, knowing you are swinging for the fences, I'd investigate the Hornings which marry the Lowther driver to multiple woofers or look into the companies that offer single driver and subwoofer products designed to go together like CarderSound, Cain & Cain, etc. when it comes to loudspeakers that can satisfy you. I will say the CarderSound Madisons with their larger drivers can certainly produce more than surprising low end, though at the expense of the imaging and detail the smaller driver models excel at.

DISCLAIMER: Jeff Carder of CarderSound and Jeff Catalano of Highwater Sound (Horning importer) I are close personal friends.