Amp for Coincident Super Eclipse

Pay attention to Atmasphere's(Ralph's) reply.

Hi,
Atmasphere is right regarding ss amps with the Coincident speakers, they can/will sound good but with a quality tube amp good is elevated to a range of very good/great. I`m a long term owner of the Coincident Total Eclipse and have gotten fine sound using a top notch 100 watt push pull amp(Bella Extreme V-cap mono blocks by Bill Baker).I will tell you based on numerous and extended comparisions that the Frankenstein Mark2 amp is superior and drove the Total Eclipse superbly with ONLY 8 watts per channel. More power does`nt always equal better sound.Westborn I hope you get an opprotunity to hear this marvelous amp with your Super Eclipse speakers.

Pay attention to Atmasphere's(Ralph's) reply.

Ralph's amps would be a great candidate for pairing off with Israel's speakers!

Atmasphere is right regarding ss amps with the Coincident speakers, they can/will sound good but with a quality tube amp good is elevated to a range of very good/great.

SS amps can/will sound good?...not necessarily IMO, nor necessarily will any tube amp be ideal IMO. When I spoke with him a few years ago Israel told me he used several different amps, to voice his speakers, including his own, of course. Regardless, I'm sure users will find there are those that do not pair off as well as others, and certainly did not mean to suggest that high-powered SS is the way to go - it's simply what I chose and what sounded best for me (my music, my room, my ears). The two that worked really well to my ears were the KWA150's I use, and the Ayre VX5e. Both are outstanding with the SE III's in every respect, and I would not hesitate recommending either (and I normally prefer tubes, or have for over ten years). My direct experience is relatively limited; I've only tried a few amps over the two years I've had my SEIII's, of the tube amps there were Quicksilver 300B SET's and Mini-Mites, VTL450's, and Cary SLA-70's. SS amps I've tried have been the Ayre V5XE, Bel Canto 1000's, Odyssey Stratos Dual Mono, and Modwright KWA150's. Of all of those, including the tube options, the Ayre and Modwright were my personal favorite combination, followed closely by the 300B's. None of the other combinations floated my boat quite the same. The best advice I can think to give is try them out yourself and see what works for you. Clearly no one can tell you what you will actually prefer when you put these speakers into your system in your room, and listen to your music with your own set of personal preferences. My experience has been that the speakers are very versatile and can work well with a wide variety of amps.

Matching the right amp to the right speaker is by far one of the greatest opportunities for that magic synergy in a Hifi system IMHO. Like the right cartridge to a tonearm it can make or break the reproduction of beautiful music. Being the "best" of the "best" so to speak, but not matching the needs of each other will result in something you see day in and day out here on AudioGon... people who just keep turning over gear with limited satisfaction. Like I referred to it earlier "a marriage" between the two is magic, anything else just tries to play the tune. Neither Jax2 nor AtmaSphere (Ralph) commented that AtmaSphere and Coincident have displayed at shows together in the past with nice review. Also Sue Kraft of Absolute Sound had reviewed AtmaSphere OTL's and Coincident loud speakers together and had them paired in her own reference system with excellent result. I realize a reviewer and magazine should have little to do with us buying, owning, and even loving our gear yet, I mention it because some value of observation may be helpful for you to work up a short list. I have no other connection with these two brands except for the fact that I happily own and thoroughly enjoy the music that they make and Ralph has been very kind and most helpful to me. Happy Listening!