I love them! I replaced my Martin Logan Spires with them. Prior to that, I thought nothing could out-perform the Spires (in that price range). I was very wrong.
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?
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- 51 posts total
That's great to hear! I've talked with a couple owners of the 15s and they said they outperformed speakers they paid quite a bit more for, and I've heard basically the same about the 12s and he used to make some smaller bookshelf sized ones as well. I'm very much looking forward to them, and Frank has been wonderful to work with - very patient and helpful! |
I hear ya, and in this instance I’d try to buy used at a good price (and from a reputable seller) so if it doesn’t work out you can likely turn around and sell it for little/no loss. Example would be this AH Qualiton X200… Just a thought FWIW. |
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. |
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. |
- 51 posts total