Anyone have Coincident Frankenstein amps?

Very true. Also very true about comparing a 300B tube to the output one gets from an 845 tube. But I have been just a bit surprised by the relative headroom the amps seem to have....the MastersounD seems to have a LOT more- more than I had expected. I think a lot of it has to do with the music you listen to as well. Jazz, classical (some of it), seems like the Franks win with their accuracy and detail. You want to crank it up with some rock and roll, or even the 1812 Overture, the MastersounD becomes boss. The 300B's have that delicacy in the mids that is really, really nice....but the 845 tube isn't that inferior to it. I'm fortunate. Have the option of going back and forth between top notch SET amps based on different output tubes. It's a fun trial and error routine. Also need to nab some better IC's to run with the Franks- the old MIT's I'm using don't hold a candle to the Audio Metallurgy GA-0's I have with the MastersounD. Hoping that changes when I add in the Discovery Plus 4 IC's to the Frankenstein circuit. Waiting on some XLR-RCA adapters right now.

Wonder why the Franks are only rated at 8 wpc, while some other SET 300B's are capable of 15-20 wpc? Not complaining, just curious.

Tony,
The type of music and volume level preferences make a difference for sure.The 845 amp will win the grunt/rock and roll/large symphony battle, as the Frankenstein breaks in it will narrow but won`t completely close that gap. The special beauty of the Franks is with acoustic jazz and un amplified music in general. Although the mastersound is very good with this type of music ultimately I think the franks will be subtlely superior as they become increasing more organic,pure and oh so natrural with tonality,timbre and harmonic preservation. No amp can be perfect and excel in every single parameter of sound /music reproduction.The Mastersound will have the power upperhand beyond the Frankenstein`single 300b yet not quite match the transparency and purity. How forunate you are to have both.

Found a cure to some of the issues. Well, not a cure, because it wasn't really a problem....the Discovery cables added more neutrality to the Franks...definitely cleaner. Going to go with some Coincident IC's to clean things up even more. The big thing was setting the gain down on the CD5. It really brought out the clarity in the Franks. Was using high gain- on the medium setting, they're clear as a bell. Not too surprising, as Doug Schroeder mentioned in his CD5 review that the high gain can add some noise into the circuit. The Franks get better with each listening session.

Update: The Frankensteins are really opening up. Very clear, great imaging, dead quiet. Bass is authoratative, not rolled off, and the highs are excellent, with little roll off as well. Think some of the grainy character was due to the MIT cables I was using- they're old and have seen their fair share of abuse. The Coincident Extreme IC's make the amps sound even better. Very neutral. Seem cleaner than the Discovery cables. Thanks to all who helped me out here. These are great amplifiers, and I'm exceptionally pleased with them. Sure as hell don't sound like "only" 8 watts now. New turntable arrives this week. Can't wait to see how it sounds then.

Tony, before I purchased these amps that was my primary concern also, would 8 watts drive my speakers. Israel Bloom promised they would be more than enough, well that was an understatement they are simply fanstatic with my speakers(Coincident Total Eclipse-94db and 14 ohm load). My room is fairly large but the sound completely saturates the entire space, not just in terms of volume, I mean spooky presence and sound projecting seemingly from real performers on a stage. I would think with your Zu speakers your experience will be quite similar. As they continue to breakin your appreciation of the Frankensteins will grow much deeper.
What`s your impression of their performance in terms of tonality/timbre and harmonic overtone preservation?