Coincident Frankenstein mk.2 amps

After wanting them for a very long time, I'm now currently awaiting a pair of Coincident Frankenstein MKII's to appear for sale in Audiogon, or one of the other used audio sites online. Sadly, a serious family medical emergency that thankfully ended well, took me out of the loop for a few months (late December through mid March) and I just missed out on at least four that I would have snatched up instantly. Now its just a question of waiting. The only currently available option is is a pair of MKIII's being offered in a forum, whose owner has an extremely overpriced opinion on what they are worth. And while a MKIII would certainly be optimal, given the average prices for the MKII's, it would be hard to pas on one of those. Hopefully a pair in excellent condition appear soon. 

Thanks to everyone who has contributed to this discussion as you have provided invaluable insight into tube options for the Franks, which I was searching for, and truly appreciate. It is good to see some notable online audio forum contributors perspectives, in particular. Thanks especially to Charles1dad for your always well considered, insightful and kind thoughts which I have greatly enjoyed over the years in various discussions. And in this instance, on the Franks, in general, and your extensive tube experiences. I hope to be joining you as an owner soon.

JC

Hi JC,
Thanks for your kind remarks.
I’m pretty confident you will be happy with the Frankensteins in your system. At first listen to my new Franks in August 2009 I knew I’d made the right choice. Now nearly 12 years later that feeling has only grown.
Charles

@nightfall Good luck on the search! I followed Charles' advice as well and loved those amplifiers too. 

Also, I haven't heard a mkIII, but am somewhat sceptical that there's much difference between it and the mkII model.  I suspect the primary difference between the two is the price. 

Hi Cal,
10 years elapsed between the introduction of the Frankenstein MK II and the upgrade to the MK III model. Israel Blume was always very proud of the part quality of the MK II particularly the Japanese made double C core output transformers.

The MK III is said to have even better output transformers, power supply capacitance and other parts improvement. I have no reason to doubt these stated improvements. I can however say the MK II is a marvelous SET amplifier and a tremendous value purchased used.

With money saved buying a used Frankenstein MK II, one could (If so desired) purchase upper tier quality 300b output tubes. With the appropriate speakers, one would have the foundation of a superb sounding audio system.
Charles

What a disappointment. After waiting all this time for a very nice pair of used Frankenstein's, either a Mark II, or Mark III to appear, I finally came across one. I contacted the owner, a very nice guy, and we worked out a negotiated price and I was extremely happy. Even better, these were Mark III's, barely  used, and not even broken in, with far less than a hundred hours on them, in mint condition. And as a very nice bonus, the owner lived four hours away from me, and even suggested that he meet me half way, to avoid shipping concerns, which I always have with tube gear. We were going to meet up next week and I was overjoyed that my search had come to an end, and also that I would finally have these wonderful amps in my hands by next week. 

And then, the owner called me earlier today. He was very sorry to tell me that something had come up, and he wouldn't be able to part with the amps, after all. I understood when he explained the situation, but that was it. How incredibly disappointing. Not to mention that he had several lengthy discussions with Israel about the Mark II vs the Mark III, and, in our first call, carefully described all the improvements to the Mark III's that Israel spoke to him about, in depth. So, even worse, I now feel like I won't be satisfied unless I buy a used mark III, and not only are those quite a bit more expensive than the mark II's that appear for sale, but the Mark III's also appear very seldom at all. :(