Do you still have the Aesthetix IO going thru the Coincident Statement Linestage? Have you ever tried the IO direct to your amps? If so what did the Coincident add/ subtract?
I have a couple questions for you. I recently changed out my Coincident Dragons to a Border Patrol SE300B EXD to drive my Coincident speakers and found it to be a significant upgrade in every way possible. I'm now an SET convert and there is no going back.
I wanted get your opinion about the differences you heard when you demoed the BP SE300B vs your current BP S10 EXD? I'm sure it was a significant upgrade because of the EXD upgrade plus getting another power supply added to the mix. I'd like to hear more about the details of this upgrade.
Also the difference you heard when you use the Star Sound amp stands for you BP?
I spent one week comparing 4 sets of different RCA cables: Sablon Reserva + Kondo KSL-LPz vs Nordost Valhalla 2 vs Kubala Sosna Elation vs Arkana Animus. Arkana cables were brand new and very strange sounding. I think they changed the sound and not in a good way. Valhalla sounded very detailed, but too analytical for my taste. In the end, I was choosing between Sablon + Kondo and Kubala. Kubala won, although Kondo and Sablon were really close. Kubala sound was just beautiful, the tembers were so rich and musical, Kondo/Sablon combo sounded too dry in comparison.
Since my last post, I've received and setup the Star Sound Rhythm racks. The pre and power amplifier power supplies are placed on the Apprentice platforms.
Charles, I have not compared Coincident to Sablon. And I now I can't do it as I've got only one coincident cord left. Previously, I compared Sablon to other brands and could only hear difference on my integrated amplifier. But it was before BP and Total Victories. Aziz
Aziz, If you're "quite happy" that is saying a lot! You have a system that will certainly reveal the truth of any audio product. The Coincident AC cord is said to be very good. It's much less cost than the Sablon. How do they directly compare(sonic character) when used with your BP amplfiers? Charles,
Aziz, If you're "quite happy" that is saying a lot! You have a system that will certainly reveal the truth of any audio product. The Coincident AC cord is said to be very good. It's much less cost than the Sablon. How do they directly compare(sonic character) when used with your BP amplfiers? Charles,
Guys, I need your advice again. I need 2 new power cords for the Border Patrol amplifier. I currently have 1 Shunyata Sigma for the Triton and 3 Sablon Quantum Grand Coronas, which I normally use for the server, DAC and the Line Stage. I had 2 Coincident Statement ST-10 on loan, but now only 1 is left and I will have to return it soon. Anyway, I was very happy with the 2 Coincident cables, they seem like a safe choice and are relatively inexpensive (under $1K). Any other safe choices? I do not want to spend days and nights comparing different power cables. I know there are better power cables out there, but is it really worth it? By the way, I now have Coincident on the line stage, 2 Sablons on the amplifier, one on DAC and a stock computer cord on the server. And I am quite happy with the sound I get! Yesterday, I put the stock cable on the DAC and Sablon on the server. I could not hear a difference:)) Thanks, Aziz
Charlesdad and Brownsfan, thank you for your responses. They just confirmed what I thought and hear. For now, I will leave my amplifiers plugged in into the Triton. This is just another advantage of a SET gear.
Bill, What's really interesting is you probably gave up very little(or no loss) dynamics going from Maggie/1000 watt amp to efficient speaker/8 watt amp! Yet you surely gained in other sonic and musical aspects. The beauty of utilizing higher efficiency physics. So much sound from so few amps of current. Charles,
Charles, the Franks have 1.5 A fuses. My 1000WPC Cary SS amps had 8 amp fuses. The difference in current demand is huge. Some of the guys who have big pure Class A SS amps have to take out a second mortgage to pay the power bill.
I agree with Bill. These terrific 8 watt SET amplifiers we use probably only draw 1 or 2 amps of current(if that). Excellent sound quality with very modest current demand. Not a bad deal at all. Charles.
When I bought the BPT I was using at that time a push pull amp that used 6550 or KT 88s. This was a 100 watt/channel amp class AB design. It also was better sounding via the BPT compared to my dedicated wall outlet. Perhaps a powerful transistor amp could be the exception. Charles,
Abedirov, I have my Coincident Frankensteins plugged into a PS Audio P10 conditioner. The P10 tells me that the quality of AC coming in through my dedicated 20 A circuits is pretty good, and it also tells me that the power consumed by my entire system consumes only 22% of the P10 power capacity. I would say in my case, improvement in sound vs. having the amps plugged into the wall is subtle. I am more interested in surge protection and regulation of the incoming voltage which can run a bit on the high side here.
I think you are correct. The relatively low current draw of SET amps makes the use of power conditioners much more feasible.
The power consumption of the Coincident Frankenstein is 180 watts I believe(I think this is per channel). Mine are plugged into my BPT 3.5 Signature plus. This conditioner uses a balanced AC transformer (2000 VA ccapacity rated, 70 pound weight). The Frankenstein sounds fine plugged into my wall outlet(dedicated 20 amp service) but they without question improve further when plugged into the BPT unit. Balanced AC power improves the sound of "every" component in my system.
Hi everyone, I have a question about the use of Shunyata Triton or similar power conditioner with a SET amplifier. Shunyata normally does not recommend plugging in a power amplifier into Triton. Strangely, so far I prefer the sound of the BP when it is plugged in into the conditioner. Maybe, this recommendation is only valid for high power transistor amplifiers? What is the power consumption of a typical SET? Thanks.
Charles, I just moved into a new home a month ago so my rig is in a state of transition right now. I'm just now putting more energy into getting things dialed back in by adjusting tubes, IC's, and I have not even started with speaker positioning yet. I use Jim Smith's technique in his book for speaker positioning.
Generally speaking, the dragons and TE II's are a match made in heaven. I've never heard bass this tuneful before. I'm a bass connoisseur, and plan on getting a pair of subs (JL Audio E-12's) to really flesh out the lowest bass octaves.
I'm also interested in hearing how the TE II's sound with a VAC Phi 200 and a Pass Labs XA30.8 amp. I used to have the XA30.5 but I always heard an exaggerated bass with them so I sold them. I've had my Dragons for 2 years now and will see how it holds up with these other two excellent amps. For a pre, I'm using the Melody 101d, which is my last pre I'll ever need to buy. The source is a Salk streamer and MHDT Stockholm tube dac, which I'm also happy with. I would love to hear a Yamamoto dac and hear how it compares to my modded Stockholm.
