Coincident Dragon Amplifier

Great speakers I have the DA-RMAs and power requirements are very similar. I prefer integrated amps and would recommend, as someone has mentioned, the Pathos Inpol2. It is only 50watts, but all Class A and I think it goes very well indeed with Daedalus. Lou was over in the UK recently and he thought it a good match too, unless he was being polite. I like Classical and Opera also and find the power very adequate, though I have a smallish room.

I have now bought an Ayon Spark integrated too, as a change of pace. That is excellent, but different, not such perfect soundstaging, imaging , but a wonderful rich tone.

I am well aware what a good reputation Coincident have, but Ayon to me, seem to be making one of the best range of tube amps out there, with choices at every price level

Al, Congrats on your purchase.

The VAC may have been serendipitous. I have no doubt you would have enjoyed the 211 Dragons but owning/living with an excellent 300b amp (SE or PP) is a great reference point. A 300b amp is at the top of my favoites list.

I also have an SET amp that uses the 211 (Cary 805AE which can also use the 845). It's an experiment to see if I can get an SET to work on my Magnepan 3.6's. For the last year it has worked for me. About a month ago I got a custom 300b push pull and got that AHHHH feeling when I hooked it up to the Maggies. So I can imagine how happy you are.

The Cary still does well in the shootout probably, for me, because it uses a 300b to drive the 211/845 which gives me some of its flavor and it's single ended. I hope one will come out the winner for me, too many amps :-).

Anyway, I'm happy your happy. Enjoy.

David12,
He selected the VAC70/70, believe me he`ll be fine.

Almarg,
Ironically, I have this exact same pairing, having bought a VAC Renaissance 70/70 MkIII a month or so ago (in an auction) to try with my Ulysses speakers. I am trying KR 300B tubes, which I literally lucked into finding at a crazy good price. I believe they are a big improvement over the JJ 300Bs that came with the amp (although they sounded quite good as well). I am still messing around with different 6SN7s. My favorite combo so far is Ken Rad Black Glass and Raytheons, which sound great.

Like you, I am very, very happy with the way the VAC amp sounds on my Daedalus speakers. What a spectacular match!

Enjoy!

Thanks very much for the nice comments, guys.

Waltersalas, you're most probably already aware of the need to make certain that any 300B used in the Renaissance amps conforms to the original Western Electric specifications (which many 300B's that are available do not). But to be sure, let me point out the following statement on page 9 of the manual (which is available at their website), concerning KR tubes:

KR Enterprises: Many versions produced, most deviant from 300B standards. Be certain that the version you use conforms to the WECo 300B standard for filament current (1.5A) or amplifier damage may result.

The email from Kevin that I mentioned in my previous post specifically suggests checking with him when in doubt.

Consistent with your findings, btw, the manual comments somewhat negatively on the sonic performance of the JJ's in the amp.

Thanks for joining the thread and sharing your experiences. As you certainly know, while the Daedalus speakers are very easy to drive and unusually versatile with respect to amplifier selection, at the same time they will make the sonic character of the amplifier that is used very evident, which in this case is clearly something special.

Best regards,
-- Al