Oh yes forgot to say...the Coherents sound breathtaking with this new amp already.....who needs a website when you got the real thing.....
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I spend a lot of time on speaker-building related sites and I KNOW I've seen that coaxial driver somewhere. (It's not B&C, Faital, Eminence or P.Audio, but ... I'll find it). Of course the work in speaker building is optimizing the crossover and building a furniture grade cabinet, and from the looks of things (and your reports) it seems as though this is done well. The drivers are probably quite expensive, even purchased in bulk, so the price being charged for the speakers seems exceptionally fair to me. Would love to hear them. |
Coherentguy: Here's an example: my personal website: www.steve-fretz.com. It took me a couple of hours, tops. It's for my fine art photography, so not exactly your line of work, but I think it's cohesive and advertises what I do accurately. I did it even though I know nothing about web development. For you, getting really good product photos will be the hardest part. I love speakers and speakerbuilding, and if you'd like advice/help, PM through audiogon and I'll give you IRL contact info. It's probably not as hard a job as you think, if you start with the right framework. I totally get that your "real" work comes first, but as a very perceptive realtor once told me, "people shop with their eyes. |
I hope to hear these speakers some day. They are understated but seem to be very well designed and executed. The fact that they are easily driven with a 3 watt 2A3 SET amplifier confirms the easy speaker load which is always a good attribute in my opinion. I suspect that the sound quality is very natural and high level. Charles |
A long-time Tannoy dual concentric enthusiast, I recently auditioned, at Coherent Audio, a pair of the Model 15s (non-beryllium version). Suffice to say, I put down a deposit and expect to take delivery in the next week or so. Unlike many of you posting on this thread, I've always preferred solid-state—high-power, high-current solid-state—to tubes. However, as with a good pair of Tannoys or Altec/GPA 604s, the high-nineties sensitivity of the Model 15 comes with some seriously high power handling, so one can use virtually any amp, from the 2A3-based tubes amps of 3.5 Wpc that Frank uses to demo the speakers, to the 1500 Wpc amp I'm current enjoying from D-Sonic in Texas. Will endeavour to report in the coming weeks on how I find the Model 15s compared to my trusty Tannoy System 15 DMT II (now 25 years old), |
Unlike many of you posting on this thread, I’ve always preferred solid-state—high-power, high-current solid-state—to tubes. The most amazing speaker demo I’ve ever had was Tannoy Churchills driven by a Krell FPB 300. The night before we’d heard Le Sacre du Printemps live, 5th row center at Avery Fisher. The Tannoys, playing the Reference Recordings version of same, were able to recreate the performance, the sound washing over us like waves breaking on shore. I love tubes as much as the next guy (probably more ... was deeply into horns and SETS for many years), but there’s a lot to be said for big, effortless, grain-free solid state. Except the cost, of course. |
Fraterperdurabo: I believe Frank uses Radian drivers...as I recall....it is of course his crossover and cabinetry that are a key component in this equation. I must say that as much as I enjoy auditioning things sometimes I just take a leap of faith...and mostly that has been rewarded. IN amplifiers, speakers and such....but most importantly in music. At this time I am also using the new Hana SL cartridge, whihc I did hear locally and then had my local shop-Stereotypes-here in PDX install on a Rega p9 with RB2000 arm. While others told me that the newer Rega decks sound even better I have always loved this model/design......after all for me the aesthetics go hand in hand with the music...... I agree great photos make the difference on a website....and like you I am a professional photographer and educator (direct an MFA program) so while Frank would benefit from them he seems doing well on his terms. I have spoken to several people about the speakers and in many cases people have ended up purchasing them.....or coming by to hear them......In the end I think also it is the synergy of a system.....I am still using cables from the mid-1990;s as they were great sounding then and continue to reveal new things to me with new gear... |
hi there. I’m really interested in getting one of these speakers. i am using a MTM transmission line DIY for now which is very nice sounding. but I would go to another route and use class A and SET amps so I want high efficiency speakers. I have read the posts and would like to know more from people who owns it. like how is the bass with low wattage amps? hows imaging and soundstage? Frank told me he has the GR10 ready. thanks |
At the last TAVES I heard the tiny Coherent speakers being played - some sort of prog/jazz thing with heavy slap bass if I remember properly. They were fairly astounding in terms of the size of the sound, imaging, impact and clarity. They were really cool and make me want to hear the larger speakers. |
Well, I've been avoiding posting to this thread because it seems comments made on the Internet stay forever, even when systems and circumstances change. But I'll chime in, in the context of my system today, which of course may change tomorrow. First off, I own the GR10s in walnut -- they are gorgeous and visually beautiful in their simplicity. I heard rwanda's pair at his house, and although they didn't have the incisive detail of my Spendor BC-1s at the time, they didn't seem to do anything wrong (I primarily wanted to be sure they weren't "bright," which they weren't). So I sprung for a pair and knew I could tweak the presentation with front-end components and cables. Fast forward to now -- once I had these speakers in place, I found I could listen to every genre of music, which before was not the case. Now I could pay rock and pop, in addition to adult contemporary (vocals w/guitar) and jazz. I have had so many "wow" moments hearing new details in songs and feeling like the musicians are in the room. However, here is where it gets tricky -- at first I felt the treble was a bit attenuated making songs a little too smooth. This turned out to be my source and cables -- I was using a Magna Hifi modified Sonos into a BorderPatrol DAC at the time. I switched to Roon core running on a Synology NAS and an Allo USBridge as the Roon endpoint (still connected to the BorderPatrol DAC using a Curious USB cable, then a Sablon Audio USB cable). I feel I am missing nothing in the treble now. And, horrors, I have very limited speaker placement options and they are between 1 and 1-1/2 feet off the wall. They have two rear-facing ports so you probably know where this is going -- I've been fighting a little bass muddiness and boom the whole time on certain songs. I'm running a Weston Acoustics KT120 Topaz push pull tube amp, and strangely a boutique SEP amp I purchased to use with these sounded even worse in this department, although the treble was clearer. I've had to be very careful with cable choices to not produce any bass bloat (I'm using Duelund ICs and SCs, and Triode Wire Labs PCs). I inquired about Frank possibly building me a front-ported version because otherwise I enjoy these speakers so much, but at this point I am actually considering trying a Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 solid state amplifier so I can perform room correction. I'm not a purist when it comes to appreciating only tubes. I think my impressions around the bass response are due to the speaker placement against the wall. This is a long post and will just sum up that the speakers are extremely transparent -- I can hear every cable, cord and component change very clearly. This may be a bad thing for some people -- they seem to require very good equipment in front of them (even though I'd say most of mine is mid-tier). At the end of the day, I've heard some of the most realistic, present, intimate, powerful music to scale, I've ever heard in my living room. The speakers handle everything. They are beautiful looking and sold at a fair price (around $3500). I think once Frank gets a better website, his sales will increase. I'd recommend these speakers with the caveats of having decent components and a room they will work in. |
“I am actually considering trying a Lyngdorf TDAI 2170 solid state amplifier so I can perform room correction. I'm not a purist when it comes to appreciating only tubes. I think my impressions around the bass response are due to the speaker placement against the wall.” Yes it will and other possible issues. Kenny. |
Hi All, I wanted to announce to you that I have spoken with Frank at Coherent and will make my system available for people in the PNW who want to hear his speakers if they are considering to order the speakers. I have a real-world listening area and use a SET amplifier with both a digital and analogue source so I think it will be useful if you are considering a pair of these amazing speakers. Currently running my set with a Don Garber FI-X integrated and also a Triode Lab 2a3 si ffx integrated. Please just write me privately if you want to now more about all this.Thanks |
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kdude66 wrote : " Yes,the drivers look like Radian coaxial drivers with a added tweeter waveguide,with possible options for different diaphragm materials. They look fairly well made but with the normal limitations of a compression driver I certainly wouldn’t be interested.Just not my cup of sonic tea. Enjoy, Kenny. " Hi, my name is Marco from Italy. My HiFi dealer told me about the Coherent 15" and I'm very interested. I'd like to understand the Kenny's statement "... the normal limitations of a compression driver I certainly wouldn’t be interested.Just not my cup of sonic tea " : do you think the Coherent speakers have technical limitations related to the Radian driver? What kind of limitations and how would you translate them to sound? I think it won't be possible to test the Coherent's for me and that's why I'm asking. Thank you! Marco |