Dongiovanni,
Your speakers present a very favable load for an SET amp, this means as much if not more than the sensitivity rating in many cases. How large is your room and at what volume do you listen? I`ve owned the Coincident Frankenstin MK2 for a year and they are peerless in my opinion when matched with an appropriate speaker load, This amp has a premiun power supply and custom- overbuilt transformers.It has excellent drive capacity(driver tube is 6em7 rather rhan the common 6sn7). I would email Coincident owner Israel Blume, he`s yery responsive and quite candid regarding what will and won`t work with his amplifiers.
Best Regards |
Given your preferred listening level and moderate room size I feel the Frankenstein amp will serve you very well. Keep in mind this amp utilizes an interstage transformer in place of coupling capacitors in the signal path, this will provide a pure and natural tone without a mechanical/electronic sonic character. |
Daveyf,
Have you personally heard these amplifiers? I have and forming an opinion based simply based on specs alone is`nt good advice at all.Per the stereophile measurements this speaker has a very favorable load and phase angle(8 ohm nominal and minimum 5.8 ohm0 with it`s 87db sensitivity and the given listening preference of the OP the Frankenstein could work quite well. The Dragon amp would certainly drive these spearkers but the OP expressed an interest in the 300b amp. I`ve experienced a number of times when a lower powered tube amp(with good transformer and PS) have matched or outperformed a higher power rated amp on speakers with a suitable load. Numbers don`t always tell the whole story. |
Daveyf,
We both can agree that listening to the GH/Frankenstein combo would be ideal. I`ve not heard this GH just as you`ve not heard the amp in question. I did place this amp on a friends 89db/8 ohm speaker in a larger room than the OP`s room and they sounded very good and strain free. All 300b SET amps are`nt created equal and yes, power supply and transformers matter greatly. Based on my experience wirh this amp(which the OP specified by the way) I simply feel it could be a good match. Regarding numbers some are more relavant than others. Certainly in this case the known load characteristics of a speaker is critical when considering a match with SET amplifiers as oppose to just knowning the wattage rating without context.Can we also agree that all 10, 50, 200watt etc. amps don`t preform the same despite identical power ratings |
Onemug,
That was a very good post. I agree with the COULD work given the OP stating his listening level is modest and he sits only 8 feet away. Eight quaility watts may very well be enough, with a revealing system 65-80db is plenty of volume. |
Dongiovanni,
As you have noted, many suggestions and points of view. Since the original question was concerning the Frankenstein I`ll just say again this amp is`nt a typical 300b amp, it has been found to have exceptional drive capacity and given your moderate listening demands who really knows the end result. As I say in an earlier post email or call Israel Blume he know both his amps better than all of us posting on this thread and he will certainly be honest and upfront.
Best of luck |
Dongiovanni,
Congratulations, based on my own experience wirh these special amps I felt there was a very good chance for a sucessful match with your SF speakers. Given your listening preferences, the speaker`s load characteristics and the Frankenstein`s very exceptional drive capacity I just believed the chance for failure was rather low. As you now have realized this is`nt an average 300b SET but instead a quite powerful 8 watt amp with great attention paid to it`s transformers and .massive power supplies. The good news is the Franks are going to improve in drive,dynamics and transparency over about the next 100 to 200 hours, you`re going to be extremely impressed. I`m glad you took the chance to buy these amps despite the cautious warnings by other well meaning posters.Enjoy. |
Phaelon,
A keen observation you make, all amps are`nt equals just looking at power ratings. As others have pointed out the Frankenstein is far from a generic 300b SET amp. For sure the`re 300b amps that would fail at driving Don`s speakers(no arguement) but with the knowledge of personal ownership and an understanding of the design priorities and it`s sucessful implementation, plus hearing this amp with several moderately effiecient speakers mate very well I felt Don had a good chance at sucess. I don`t question Daveyf`s experiences with this speaker, he was simply unfamiliar with this particular amplifier.It`s worked out well for Don and that`s all that matters. |
Daveyf,
Well said, personal preference is the key to ultimate satisfaction with one`s audio system. You have to know what sound/music reproduction makes you happy and just try to obtain it to the best of your ability, many roads lead to Rome. It seems we both have sucessfully found our paths. |
Don,
Afc makes a good point regarding the Shuguang Treasure series(black glass) tubes. I use these also, as good as the stock 300b is the treasure tubes are better in every way. They`re more dynamic, open, natural and transparent. They reveal just how low the noise floor of the amp really is. You`ll hear the most subtle nuance and inner details that seem to make the music come alive. the only down side is increased cost, but they`re worth it. |
