Looking for advice on these speakers

Stereo Mojo were very enthusiastic in their review of the Coincident Super Victory. Speaker of the Year 2008

"The Coincident Super Victory’s are extraordinary in some areas such as their ability to play at significant levels with very low output amplifiers such as SET’s and their uncanny ability to sound very good with many types of amplification without being “forgiving” or compromising the sound quality."

http://www.stereomojo.com/CoincidentSuperVictorySpeakerReview/CoincidentSuperVictorySpeakerReview.htm

A few months later they reviewed the Total Victory but were more reserved in their review, and James Darby actually thought that the cheaper speakers ($5k cheaper) had more magic.

You can't hear them as I understand, so you may as well listen to what Darby says. Unless you have a huge room, the Supers would be better.

Some have said that Coincident efficiency ratings may be slightly overstated. I own Super Eclipses and got quite an appreciable improvement changing from 8w SETs to 18w SETs.

The Daedalus line have their supporters, and they are very nicely made. They received plaudits at the RMAF last year, and were rated by some as one of the best rooms at the show. But I tend to agree with Charles1dad that they may be slightly more demanding and suited to amps of more than 8w (300B).

I don't know the DeVore range at all, but 96dB/w/m is impressive. The DeVore Orangutan 0/96 could be the one if you are going with a SET with lower power than the 300B.

Back to Stereo Mojo - Darby wrote "I’d buy the Super Vic’s, the Frankenstein monoblocks and the new Coincident Statement Linestage we just reviewed. For about $20k, you’d have a system that takes a back seat to nothing in terms of pure musically and supreme satisfaction."

Regards,

Room size will determine the appropriate speaker choice as Metralla points
out. The Super Victory is said to work well in small to moderately large
rooms. The Total Victory V better for substantial sized spaces. Devore has
an Orangutan 0/93 for smaller rooms. In the mentioned price range is the
Austrian made Trenner-Friedl Pharoah which is considered SET friendly. A
lot depends on which type of SET will be used and room size. There are
very respected folks on this site who love their Zu Definitions IV speakers,
though they may need some space to sound their best.Many fine choices/
combinations are possible.
Charles,

Hi Marek,

Excellent comments by the others, as might be expected, including the reference by Charles to your good taste. Those are all fine speakers. Some additional miscellaneous comments:

I would rule out the Silverback Reference, as John Atkinson's measurements in Stereophile indicated a sensitivity of only 89.5 db/2.83 volts/1 meter, which is equivalent to 89.5 db/1 watt/1 meter for its nominally 8 ohm impedance.

The Daedalus Argos is designed to have stable imaging and consistent sonics across a wide range of listening angles, making it particularly suitable for large rooms, rooms with open floor plans, and home theatre applications. If your critical listening would be primarily from a centered position, the Ulysses and the Athena would probably be better choices.

I believe that the present cost of the Ulysses slightly exceeds your budget.

As you may be aware, Daedalus offers 30 day return privileges, less two-way shipping and $300.

Although the 6 to 8 ohm impedances of the Daedalus models are lower than those of some of the other speakers, their impedances are extremely flat, with no dips to low values at any frequency, and they have very benign phase angle characteristics. Particularly since the introduction of the "all poly" crossover a few years ago. Nevertheless, I would be hesitant to pair them with a 300B or lower powered SET, even one as robustly made as the Frankensteins which Charles uses. Unless, that is, the room is small, your listening distance is relatively close, and (most importantly) your critical listening does not include recordings having particularly wide dynamic range (e.g., well engineered minimally compressed classical symphonic recordings).

Physical factors may also be relevant, for practical and/or aesthetic reasons. In particular, the O/96 is 18 inches wide, so you would be placing 36 inches of speakers across the front wall. And the TV V weighs 200 pounds, and is 22 inches deep.

Best of luck as you proceed.

-- Al

The Orangs are also designed to be way out into the room and not against the wall like the Audio Notes.

Al,
Thanks for the further clarification on the Daedalus speakers. 6-8 ohm flat
impedance could work out pretty well with a "robust" 300b SET
but would probably be a safer bet with a good 845 SET amplifier.
Sometimes it is hard to predict an amplifier and speaker pairing. Al your
caution regarding the Devore Silverbacks is well reasoned. Yet when Jules
Coleman reviewed this speaker for 6 Moons he eventually preferred his 8
watt Shindo W.E. 300b amp over higher power amplifiers he had tried, so
who knows? Jules listens to a lot of larger scale classical music and jazz.
In an ideal world we'd be able to audition everything in our homes prior to
buying them. In reality we're often limited to relying on rational speculation
and the experiences of component owners with their individual
perspectives. Actusreus how large is your room? What particular SET amps
are you interested in?
Charles,