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Amp advice sought for Coincident Total Victory

I had driven my Coincident Total Victory II's with 100 W el34's. Now It's a 12 W 300b. I like the tonal accuracy and low level detail much more but do miss two things about the higher powered amp. One is the ability to occasionally turn it up. The other is the headroom needed to to accurately reproduce the fast rise of, for example, a piano or drum. For me, the TV II's are just below the efficiency needed for 300b amplification. Does anyone have experience with a sub $4k used tube amp or amplifier topology that would be a good compromise?

Thanks in advance,

Dave
dbrewer12345
allchemie
118 posts
 
I can see no reason why the Coincident Technology Frankensteins wouldn't be great. If you feel you need more power I would go with the Coicident Technology Dragon. At 75 watts per channel, they might almost be overkill.

If you want, you should also call Mr. Israel Blume, as he is the designer of all things "Coincident".

In my mind, he is the best designer in the high-end and gives the best bang for the buck. Both of his amps are the best in their price range and his linestage is easily the best at, or even much over its price range. One would probably have to go up to the Einstein The Tube Mark II to either meet or possibly exceed its performance. And it is over 3 timnes the price.

Greg
almarg's avatar
almarg
9,670 posts
 
02-13-11: Dbrewer12345
After the above post, it dawned on me that I should be taking the electrical data while playing a 60 Hz test tone. The results with MAX GAIN FROM THE PREAMP (emphasis added):

Voltage across the amp inputs- 3.7 V AC.
Voltage across the speaker terminals - 8.5 V AC
Current through the speaker cable - 0.7 mA AC or 0.0007 A AC
Not a good idea. You're probably clipping the amplifier severely, which if the amp were more powerful could destroy your tweeters. A severely clipped 60Hz (or other) waveform contains high frequency spectral components at significant energy levels, that would be routed by the crossover network to the tweeters.

The voltage reading at the amp input would appear to confirm that is happening, the reading being about 14db higher than the amp's 0.7V sensitivity rating that you indicated above. I have no idea what to make of the very low current measurement, assuming it is not a mistake. What did you hear while you were doing this?

Greg (Allchemie), could you elaborate on your experience with and impressions of the Dragon? I have been considering that amp myself, as I indicated in this thread. Thanks!

Regards,
-- Al
franks
151 posts
 
Hi Dave. Glad your enjoying my former speakers. Regarding amps I used an an Atmasphere S30 for years. Its 30 watts/ch OTL and produced spectacular sound. Alot of what you like about the 300b SET amp but much greater speed and transparency. Also the 30 watts/ch gives the headroom power you miss. I agree with your comments using low power amps. I think you need around 20 watts/ch to really hear everything these speakers are capable of IMHO. In my setup the S30 was capable playing very loud in a large room.
I have heard the Cary 805B's and they sound terrifc as well although I thought the S30 was more transparent and faster. But if you love that SET "inner glow" well...
I would also think that many of the 845 based SET amps might also provide the sound and power your looking for.
One amp that is truly spectacular in general and specifically with the TV's is the Lamm 2.1's, 18 watts/ch SET. The best imaging I have ever heard. The price is very high $30,000 new, around 15,000 used. The S30 was shocking close considering the large price difference. I've since upgraded the S30 to the latest 3.1 version and I suspect the difference would be even smaller still.
Good luck
mmike84
309 posts
 
I have owned two models of Coincident speakers (and many others used w/ Coincident gear), Frankensteins, Dragons, and the line stage. Their speakers are usually very synergistic w/ lower power, and also sound good with higher power. Personally I highly recommend the Frankensteins as they seem to perform well above their 8wpc rating. I owned the Dragons and I would definitely lean to the Franks.

I'm wondering if when your speakers were made Israel was still using Manley gear that was much higher power. I think I'd just call him and ask him. Israel is a very approachable guy, and I'm sure he will steer you in the right direction.

One final thought is to try an EML 300B xls if your amps can take them. That will give you a bit more power than a standard 300b, and of course the sound quality is top notch.
charles1dad's avatar
charles1dad
10,250 posts
 
Mmike84,
I agree Israel is quite approachable and refreshing candid. Dave See if you could arrange an in home audition.I`d hate to see you judge 300b amps based on your Cary. As a number of posters have stated the Frankenstein amp is of a diefferent caliber.I don`t believe the issue is simply more watts(you`re using less than 1 watt at most listening levels most often) but probably higher quality.
Best Regards,
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