Amp advice sought for Coincident Total Victory

If you like the sound of SET, it will be difficult to move away from it. So how about a pair of Cary cad-805c? You can find them used for around $4K. 211 based SET usually has more punch than 300b. It might not be a compromise at all.

You might want to try an OTL by Atmasphere for example. There are other OTL like circuits which combine speed and power . You might find a used 6C33B based one by Joule Electra. I don't know if you be able to find a Berning amp for the money, not the new one, but the older one not the ZTOL the? 70- 60 watt model.

I have auditioned the Coincident Statement linestage using my 8 watt Coincident 300b and achieved the results that you are looking for.Our speakers have very simular characteristics.Head room was no issue but the things of value about low powered DHT was preserved.

Regards,

I tend to agree with both Sidssp and Mechans, either the Cary or AtmaSphere would give you the extra power to get the job done.

The Cary would no doubt be warmer, sweeter and more "romantic" while the AtmaSphere would be way more transparent, faster and more extended in both directions. I'd look for a used pair of A/S M-60 monos(60wpc), change out the stock 6SN7's for some reasonably priced NOS and live happily ever after.

For the life of me, I can't understand how anybody can expect an 8 watt 300b(or 12 watt) to do justice to a speaker with nine drivers(four 8" per box!). I don't care how efficient or how easy the load(impedance).

A while back, I heard a friend's 300b Frankensteins mated to my A/S MP-1 preamp, powering my 2-way sats(part of a larger system) and they sounded wonderful; great midrange as you'd expect. But... we're talking an easy to drive tweeter and 5.5" midrange(good to 50Hz) and even then, to my ears, they(300b's) sounded rolled off at the extremes and not nearly as transparent or detailed as my OTLs.

Just my 2 cents!

Something`s strange here.Your speakers are quite simillar to mine(Coincident Total Eclipse 94 db)but even more sensitive at 97db, and with 14 ohm load. I get drsmatic speed,dynamics and jump factor galore with the 8 watt Coincident Frenkenstein 300b mono blocks. Others on this site report the same with this amp drving the Total Victory4,super Victory and the Pure Reference speaker. Though your amp is rated at 12 watts it may lack the driving capacity due to perhaps lesser power supply,driver tube or transformers. your speakers absolutely sing with effortless dynamics and control when mated to the Frankenstein(very stiff PS,large custom transfomers and 6em7 driver tube). Have you ever considered this amp? I used a very good push-pull amp(100 wattpentode/ 60 watt triode) and with this speakers the Frankenstein is better without question.Power supply and transformers are so critical when it comes to driving speakers sucessfully.