Tube Amps for Coincident Super Eclipse

No ideas on the amp, but did you consider Audio Physic Virgos? I am trying to decide between the two. Conrad

the conrad johnson premier 5 monoblocs and the super eclipse sound incredible.by far one of the best tube-amp and speaker combinations i've heard.treble and midrange to die for. the CJ 5's command about $4000 on the used market.good luck.

Do yourself a favor and listen to the Audio Research VT100 MKII or MKIII. It should be as good as it gets.

Hi Jcidulka, I own super eclipse and have tried many amps from 7 watt SET to 200watt SS. IMO SET amps are the way to go with the Super Eclipse. I use Cary 805c and Viva Sentesi. The Viva is 13 watts and I get caught short on power once in awhile. The 50 watt Cary is more than enough power. The Jota is also an excellent match. I have tried the CJ amps and found them to be musical but too coloured. Jtinn's advice is also good. the ARC is much less coloured than CJ. Feel free to email me if you like. Hi Cradman, the Virgos are not as full or as rich as the SE. they are very transparent and image better than SE. I chose the SE only because it was easier to drive. They are both very good.

Look on this site for a used Bel Canto SET40. 40 wpc of SET. More than enough to drive your speakers. I am currently running the SET40 with a pair of Vonschweikert VR-7's. The sound is wonderful.. all the virtures of low powered SET's but with enough juice to fill the room with wondeful music. The 845 tubes will last a long time.. about 8 years with normal use and they are still in production. The CJ amps that I tried were overly warm with soft bass. SET gives you that fast detailed sound with a mid range that is second to none.. mike

The EAR 534 is a great amp - very versatile in the balanced model with level controls for each channel. Tubes do not have to be perfectly matched and no bias adjustments are necessary. It looks great in chrome and sounds very musical with no fatigue. It retails for 3450 or so but every now and then it is on the used market. If not check with Galen Carol Audio in San Antonio - gcaudio.com.

I use a Jadis Orchestra Reference with Coincident speakers, and the sound is wonderful. The amp is $3500. The combination is synergy itself. And best of all, I can use silver cables, and there is NOT a trace of brightness. The silver allows me to see farther into the music than I have with ANY copper cable I have tried. I would consider an Orchestra, Orchestra Reference, or a used model of one of their more upscale products(be it an integrated or power amp).

I agree with the VT100 Mk II. This is the only way to go in your price range. Hell, man, it's the only way to go, period, with you speakers. The exception would be speakers with a difficult load. Then you'd need a VT 200. But the truth is that the VT 100 Mk II is better SOUNDING than it's big brother. Prices are great right now since Audio Research is shipping the MkIII versions. Right around $3,000.

I would look into an OTL amp by either Atmasphere or Transcendent. I believe the Coincidents have a fairly high impedence which makes it an ideal match for an OTL.

These are all good suggestions and I would add the Pathos twin Towers to this list(a Sam Tellig favorite). It is 35watts and has the most wonderful presence. I have owned several of the amps listed and this is my personal favorite in this price range. You can occasionally find one used in your price range.

I use a set of Rogue 120 with Coincident.Very good match.The Atmasphere Mk 60 are fantastic with the Super Eclipse.

I personally would contact Israel Blume and take his advice. I own the Atma-Sphere M60 Mk. II's and love them but do not own Coincident speakers. My amps are paired with N.E.A.R. 50Me II speakers. God bless.

Israel uses Manley 300 retros.Give him a call i am sure he can help.

Atma-Sphere MA-1's are fabulous with the Super Eclipses. They're way more money than you mentioned as your budget--even used. But, hey, I thought I'd mention them anyway.

To me the 'Super E's' sound better with much more power than lots of folks tend to use. My room and music tastes (large orchestral) seem to demand more power than others need. It's great to see that many people are recommending the ARC VT-100 (100 watts, class A/B1).

The Cary SLAM-100's (95 push/pull triode mode watts, class A/165 tetrode A/B) are also really, really nice with the Super Eclipses.

The Cary SLAM-100's sound big and powerful; yet open, detailed and musical. They can be switched between triode and tetrode mode on the fly, have 8 and 4 ohm switches, and have bias ports and pots for each phase (1 push, 1 pull) per channel to minimize cross-over notch distortion and allows for using four matched pairs instead of two matched quads of output tubes. SLAM-100's can be acquired for $3000 used.