Coincident UHS speakers,,,,,,anyone own a pair?

I had the chance to accompany a friend on Saturday in auditioning a few small speakers, the Coincident Triumph UHS included.

To be fair, we had been looking, along with another friend at many loudspeakers over the past week or so. For the most part, just about none of the loudspeakers were products I could actually buy and live with. The Coincidents were speakers I could definitely buy and live with.

For the record, the speakers I found myself liking the most featured the Vifa P17 midwoofer such as the Coincident Triumph. A really special driver, especially at about $30. No wonder so many highly regarded loudspeakers feature this driver; great sound at a fantastic price.

I was most surprised by the level of detail they presented. The level of refinement at this price point was the best I have come across. Midrange and treble were truly good. But, what really impressed me most was the bass response. Many small speakers "tune" for a bass response in which they appear to go lower and fuller than they actually do. It isn't a bad solution, as the vast majority of people like this. The Coincident did not do this. Instead, in my opinion, the speaker combined its cabinet, crossover, and port to present very clear and coherent low frequency response.

Every loudspeaker represents a series of compromises. This speaker chooses to go with smaller size and fewer drivers. At this price, I am not sure one can do much better.

I should clarify my statements about the Coincident Triumph UHS a bit more regarding the lower frequencies.

In comparing them to another very good speaker, the other speaker used a porting alignment to give the impression of full bass and the ability to go low. The result of which is a bump in the midbass, which most people mistake for bass extension. The test for this is to turn the volume up a bit, and see if the sound becomes congested and the bass "wooly", which it did.

Again, I cannot really complain about this - many, many, many speaker designers go this route, and the public prefers it in most instances.

The Coincident did not do this, and to behold that was a revlation. Not that the speaker was bass shy, to the contrary. The Coincident went lower than the other speaker, with the bass remaining clear and cohesive. Israel did a great job in this design, balancing the cabinet, driver, crossover, and port to obtain this result. Bravo!

Trelja- have you heard any other of the Coincident models? Excellent description by the way- you would be a great reviewer...

Great to see you again, Sutts. Thanks for the compliments, but I think you are much better qualified to be a reviewer than I.

The dealer also had the Partial Eclipse and the Victory. Neither of which did we listen to, which I guess is unfortunate. My friend was looking for a small monitor for his low powered amp to mate with in a second system.

Despite most people's impression, when I came across the Victory, it proved to be the first Coincident speaker I didn't think to much of. In hindsight, I should give it another chance, especially in light of what I heard from the Triumph UHS.

Again, the Triumph UHS simply made a believer out of me. Israel hit a home run on this one. We listened to a lot of speakers, and there were just two I would ever put my hard earned money on. And, the Coincident, in my opinion was the better of the two.

In addition, the sensitivity of the Triumph UHS was a great thing. I know that whatever amplifier I ever had, I could drive the speaker.

I guess I take Coincident for granted, since I own a speaker which was considered a "statement" type product. But, even the lowest product on the totem pole left me impressed to a degree I didn't think possible. The more I go out and listen to other speakers, I realize how fortunate I really was to make my purchase.

Trelja- interesting that you mention the Triumph's- they are the one Coincident speaker I have NOT heard or owned!

I used to have the Victory's in a 10'x16' second-bedroom dedicated listening room- they are fabulous in a smaller room. I also had Coincident Super Eclipses in that room, and they were also excellent, although with the more prodigous bass response vs the Victory's, when pushed on bass heavy material I had to be careful (I live in a condo after all!). The main difference b/w the 2 was detail retrieval- superior with the Victory, and they can be driven with less watts as well, only you will give it up in deeper bass response to the Super E's- there are always tradeoffs as you know so well.

Further on the Victory's, they are a very good speaker in the right application, and unfortunately, I have noticed they have occasionally received short shrift over the years here at the Gon and sometimes have not sold as quickly used as the other models- totally underserved. The thing with the Victory's (and ALL of Izz's speakers) is breakin- crucial- and long, but once complete- look out. Some have accused the Victory of being 'thin' in the mids. I must disagree- once broken in, and with the right amplification (any harsh SS need not apply), they are full-bodied and fleshed out yet still very neutral.

The main reason I moved to the TV's was due to moving the system to the 20'x20' main room in the condo. I tried the Victorys' out here, but way too light on the deep bass considering the room size (I have learned a lot about matching speakers appropriately to the room- since I try to avoid the use of subwoofers if possible). Anyways, the Total Victory's are superb. As soon as they were installed, immediately I noticed the full range sound filling the room and with subsequent breakin I have all the detail retrieval and 'air' of the smaller Victory but with BIG, yet tight and well-damped bass.

The final thing I will add is that Coincident speakers (especially the UHS series) demand the finest upstream components, and you will hear it if they are sub-par. Through the ASL Hurricanes and Israels' VPI HRX table and no-compromise Audion Premiere Quattro 4-box preamp, the TV's are truly a memorable experience. We tried the above combo at Izz's place minus the VPI and with my Accuphase T-101 tuner as front end, and it was still scary good.

As I write this, I am watching the classic 1981 sci-fi flick 'Outland' with Sean Connery- HT is also great through the TV/ASL 1009 combo! Later.