Coincident Dragon MK I vs MK II

Did anyone try or hear New Turbo SE 845 tube amplifier by coincident,how does it sound

Israel has a clear objective in designing and marketing his stereo amps: beat the competition and offers entry products as an introduction to their separates.

He said, Turbo 845SE will sound more powerful than Franks but separates (LineStage/Dragons or Franks) still offers much more superior sound (purity and transparency). He made the stereo amps for the space and budget conscious who still demand good quality sound. I'm impressed by build quality of these stereo amps in the pictures.

He has a clearly focused group of customers he's going after...serious audiophiles who are growing.

Jimmy

I've been listening to the Druids for 4 days now and thought I'd share some quick impressions.

I found them to sound revealing, transparent, neutral, open, fast, lean and sometimes strident on the top end with some cd's. These weren't a synergistic match for my system. Music sounded too hifi and sterile. My Tyler Acoustic Linbrooks system speakers sounded warm in comparison, which is a better match with my electronics. In my friend's rig the same Druids sound totally blissful and amazingly good! It's all about careful system matching and synergy. This was a fun experiment.

Do Coincident speakers have a similar sound to Zu speakers?

Erndog,
Just to be fair, those who are familiar with the Zu line say the DEF MK IV is
a significant improvement. I'm not sure if you can attribute a common
house sound or not (I haven't heard them). Germanboxers found the Zu -
Frankenstein match to sound very well.But as you acknowledged, different
system and ears.
In terms of the Coincident speakers I find them to sound as impressive as
their electronics and as one would anticipate work wonderfully together. Of
course I haven't heard every model but I did I hear the Pure Reference and
my Total Eclipse and can say the match is excellent. I'm not familiar with
the Victory models that utilize a ribbon tweeter.Coincident speakers are
very transparent, open and quite uncolored.For the most part, you will just
hear the character of the source and electronics just as jimmy has
described before in other posts. I'd say the overall sound of my system is
organic and just a bit to the warmer side of dead center neutral.Tone is
adequately saturated with a full bodied sound and much harmonic
preservation if that helps you get a feel for their sound with my particular
components.
Regards,

Ernie,

I'm surprised the Dragons/Zu Druid combo produced an analytical sound. Could it be a synergy issue of your cables/Zu Druid combo?

Coincident gears do have a common characteristic: neutrality (whether speakers or electronics). However, the line of speakers do sound abit different, depending on your liking. My experience with Coincident started in 2003 with owning Triumph Signature bookshelf, then a Conquest in 2004, Triumph Extreme in 2006, Super Eclipse Mk3 in 2008. In 2010, an audiophile friend allowed me to run my then Dragons MK1 (with black faceplate) on his Total Eclipse Mk2. Before my CPRE in 2011, i had the latest Triumph Extreme MK2 in 2010.

None of these speakers i owned were analytical. To my surprise, i didn't like the Super Victory Mk2 after hearing it in a dealer showroom, it could due to the ribbon tweeter but it sounded more airy, extended and detailed than the Triumph Extreme MK2. But the dealer wasn't using coincident cables and amps...so i can't say for sure it was the ribbon tweeter. I didn't read alot of professional reviews on Coincident speakers that their ribbon tweeter sounded bright or analytical..then maybe it's my personal preference. Maybe it's tendency of ribbon tweeter to sound abit shrill?

I personally find Franks to be most easily live with. Dragons are prone to line noise, the brightness of tubes, the heat it generated from the pair of 211 tubes and the size & weight of dragon amps, of course the price difference.

If you ever going to consider used Coincident speakers:
1. Under $3000, you could get yourself a used Total Eclipse. The Dragons/Total Eclipse combo sounded big in scale and ballsier than the polite Franks and even the Cary 805AE. But Dragons sounded darker and prone to line noise, compared to Cary 805AE which is much quieter in background noise.

2. Less than $2000, a used Super Eclipse. I would prefer Super Eclipse for it's midrange liveliness and clarity. I would augment the lower octave with a quality active subwoofer.

3. Lastly, maybe Triumph Extreme MK2 with active subwoofer? The monitors are the champs in imaging.

For most music, Franks should do the job well and if you add the Statement Linestage...Franks will sound more powerful yet retaining the purity and transparency it was known for. Even driving the Total Eclipse which Charles currently owns, is not a problem. Dragons will sound much more powerful than Franks but surprisingly, i felt Franks is not less dynamic than Dragons due to that radio music experience i heard once on the Franks, was unforgettable. So i can't say that the Dragons are more dynamic due to it's higher power. But my thirst for power, eventually lead me to sacrifice purity and transparency for higher power dragons. Now, with Dragons MK2...i don't miss Franks.

Jimmy