Coincident vs Silverline vs Ref 3a

The ref 3's have unmatched 'natural' sounding very high resolution and decent bass. I think this is due to their lack of a crossover. The drivers are not the ultimate in resolution, but they are being fed a more pure signal. They are a little rounded on top and have a fairly lightweight presentation. They tend to romanticize the sound a bit and are very soothing to listen too. They are very efficient at 92db. A friend loaned me his for a few weeks. One of my all-time favorite speakers.

Silverline has quite a few models. (note that I sell them) My two favorites are the SR17's and the Sonatina II's.

The SR17's have an extremely detailed/pure upper range due to their Esotar tweeters. They are more Accurate/Teutonic sounding to the Ref 3's Romantic/French sound. They image better than the Ref 3's and have a little more low level detail, but are not as organic sounding nor forgiving. For the guy who wants to hear everything on the record and is willing to give up low end bass.

The Sonatina II is a floorstander that is 93db efficient, and has very good bass. Good if you want bass from your 15 watter. It does not have the upper resolution of the SR17 or the Ref 3a and sits between them on the teutonic/french meter.

Haven't heard the coincidents.

Hi,
Re: de Capos. I'm not sure what you mean by "low powered." I'm sure you could run the de Capos on 8-10 watts, maybe less, and they would sound fine. However, as I posted above in response to another thread, while I find that the de Capos are fine w/ 27W of power (VAC Avatar in PP triode) listening to "small scale" music, I perfer the VAC in ultralinear at 60 watts (now that I have NOS Mullards) when listening to "large scale" music (ie, Beethoven's 5th or 9th). I believe that the de Capos are capable of signficant, clean LF response and energy in a small to medium sized room, w/ the right amp. If that matters to you, you might want more power w/ the de Capos than 8-10 watts.

Terry

I own the Coincident Super Eclipse (original version) and have heard the Ref 3A DeCappos at length (orig and "i" versions) in a couple of set-ups.

John_l described the DeCappo sound pretty well. If I had to pick one descriptor that stuck in my mind about the DeCappo sound, it would be one that John_l also used: lightweight. It's a nice, easy-to-like sound, but it lacks dynamic punch and low-end authority.

The Coincidents, Super Eclipses anyway, are anything but lightweight or lacking in dynamics. They are lively, authorative, and perhaps a bit unrefined on top--in the original version. With the right tube amplification and smooth cabling and upstream electronics, the Coincident Supers can be highly musically engaging speakers. They sort of draw you in and make you participate in the music. Not for polite, background stuff. The upper-end presence in the Supers is nothing like the forwardness of the Merlin floor standers or Chapman T-7's, but it does require careful mating to the rest of the system.

In a small room, with intimate music, maybe in an apartment/condo, I would prefer the Ref 3A DeCappo i. For larger, more demanding music, in a smooth, tube system with about 100 watts, the Supers are tough to beat.

No direct experience with Silverline.

Hi Art,
I own the siverline Sonata MK.ll for close to two years now.
They never fail to please me in every sonic way. Yes, there are better speakers out there but not at this price level. I have heard the Coincident's Victory and was impressed by them but I still would not give up my Silverline's for them. I have not heard the Ref 3's.
Good Luck.

Thank you all for your responses. I have just ordered Silverline Sonatina II. Seemed the best given size of my condo living area (not so intimate) and my desire to use low powered amps. Victory and Ref 3a were very close contendors and I may try them out when given a chance.