Tenor amp / Coincident Total Victory combo

Welllll, I have had Total Victories for almost a year and I've run a bunch of amps on them. Here's my take.

First off, the speakers are a bit less efficient than Israel claims. I estimate 93 or 94 dB. This doesn't really represent a problem, but it's not a speaker you can run with 45's.

I have a pair of Coincident MP300Bs in boxes in my basement. While Israel designs great speakers, I'm not a fan of either his amps or his wire. I've tried the amps with a couple of different tubes, and never warmed up to the sound all that much.

I have a KR18 BSI integrated running KR 300BXLS tubes that sounds great in comparison - much better resolution, soundstaging and dynamics.

My main amps at this point are Wavelength Tritons - 16 wpc 300B's using the same KR tubes as I use in the KR amp. These amps are very smooth and easy to listen to, but a bit too mellow - not quite enough dynamics, and low gain which I think is causing problems.

I've heard Wyetech's new Sapphire 300B amps on my speakers, and it was a remarkable experience. They had the best bass, dynamics and clarity of any tube amp I've heard - by a country mile. They also have a band of brightness that made violins sound hard, and they don't have as much of the 300B magic as I was expecting. Others who have heard both say they sound much like the Topaz 572's. They were too solid state sounding for my taste.

My favoutite amp so far is the Audion Silver Night PX25. I've auditioned it for the last two weeks, and it has the mojo. No question, this is the best 6 watts I've ever heard - lifelike, relaxing, detailed and very colourful. I'm ordering a pair, with some upgrades that should turn them into teeny weeny little monsters on the Total Victories.

The other amp I'm getting is a pair of deHavilland Aries 845G amps, at 30 wpc. Everything I've read hints to me that they may well be a perfect match for the TVs, so I took a chance even though I haven't heard them.

So, before you decide on high power OTLs or hybrids, think hard about some of the great low power designs out there. I'm convinced you can find the calming effect you're looking for in SETs.

Here's another suggestion. Israel has the new Canary CA-339, and says it's one of the best amps he's heard on the Total Victories. Canary apparently agrees, because they've ordered 4 sets of TVs from him, and have told me this amp/speaker combo is a "perfect match". They're pricey ($13K), and they're push-pull, but they are 300B amps. You may never need their 50 wpc power, but according to Israel the dynamics re superb.

BTW - I agree with your assessment of the KR 300BXLS. My Wavelengths came with new WE's, and I prefer the KR tubes. Any 300B amp I get will eventually wind up tubed with KRs.

Here's an update on my quest for amps to drive the TVs.

I took Israel's word for it and ordered a pair of the Canary CA-339 monos. They came with EH 300B's, and I've retubed with KR 300BXLS. All I can say is wow!. They have really kept all the 300B magic in a p-p topology. They're easily as musical as a good SET, and way more than some! The sound has a completeness in every respect that it utterly beguiling. They have effortless dynamics, very deep realistic bass (not tight, not loose, just fully resolved bass down to the limits of the speakers and room), black backgrounds, super low noise, a very smooth top end with the KR tubes, totally convincing image and staging, and superb unforced resolution right across the spectrum. They have the most realistic sound I've ever heard from an amp.

I've also been using the deHavilland Aries 845G monos, also retubed with KR power tubes. These are lovely amps for acoustic/vocal/small string ensembles. There's a warmth and completeness to the midrange that feels like wrapping up in a blanket with a hot buttered rum on a cold winter day. Just gorgeous. The high end is smooth and very sweet - solo violin is ravishing - but is a touch rolled off. They have higher electrical and mechanical noise levels than the Canaries. They can't match the Canaries' dynamics, transparency, resolution or imaging. The bass is noticeably rolled off, but this may have something to do with an impedance mismatch - the amps I got are wired for 4 ohms, and the speakers are nominally 10 (8 ohm wiring is a factory option). They're really nice amps, especially for that certain class of music, but fuill-range dynamic speakers like the TVs highlight some if their shortcomings.

The Canary CA-339 is the clear winner, easily outdistancing the other amps I've tried. It's the first amp I've found that satisfies both my Dr. Jekyll music-lover and my Mr. Hyde audiophool. People with total Victories should hear these if they can. They're pricey, but IMO they're worth it.