Coincident Dragon MK I vs MK II

Thanks for both of your observations and experience about this. It is giving more to think about for sure.

This whole experience has led me to the conclusion that my Overdrive SE dac leans more on the detailed side of the spectrum. I prefer an organic sound. So when I paired up the Druids with the Dragons with the Overdrive dac, there was nothing in the chain giving it any warmth. So I'm taking a different approach. I ordered a Chord QuteHD dac along with a fully loaded Off-Ramp 4 usb converter. This dac is known to produce a more organic tone while still maintaining detail. We'll see which dac is a better fit for my rig.

It feels important for me to really get my source nailed down, so that I absolutely love it and that it produces the most realistic music. I don't like an overly warm, euphonic presentation either. I prefer the warm side of neutral. This whole business of component matching is such a delicate matter to get it right.

On a side note, I was able to get on a Power conditioner tour on Audiocircle website which should be coming next week: http://www.audiocircle.com/index.php?topic=114616.0. Right now I'm using a Running Springs Haley, which I'm very satisfied with. I used a PS Audio Quintet before that and had mixed feelings about it. The Haley was a no brainer right when I plugged it in.

Erndog,
Your approach to get the source nailed down is right.If you go the Coincident route you`ll hear the essential character of the source component very clearly.Jimmy is right, the Coincident electronics and speakers are quite neutral(relatively speaking).My DAC is the Yamamoto YDA and it is rather organic and full tone/body but also transparent and very nuanced.The Coincident chain of equitment doesn`t alter that fundamental character as the signal travels downstream.So your plan is correct,choose your front end source carefully to achieve the overall sound you want.
Regards,

I agree.
My source components are the most expensive in my system.
We have a physical relationship with these.
The other stuff you just turn on.

I'm really enjoying the QuteHD DSD dac paired with the Off Ramp 4. Sounds very full, robust and organic with excellent imaging. The OR4 adds more weight and clarity. Everything sounds more focused and I didn't know there was so much smearing going on. I'm convinced that a high quality USB converter is a necessity for computer audio. This combination is closer to what I'm looking for versus what I was hearing with the Overdrive alone.

My only complaint is that on some recording with female vocalists, the treble sounds a bit hot. I'm hoping to address this by adding an external power supply to the QuteHD. It comes with a cheap wall wart. I ordered a decent one from MCRU here: http://www.mains-cables-r-us.co.uk/power-supplies/514-chord-qutehd-linear-power-supply.html
It's coming from the UK and I'm in the USA, so it'll arrive next week. More to come then....

Another solution might be warming up the sound from the Dragons. If I wanted a warm sounding 300b tube, which would you recommend?

Thanks,
Ernie

Hi Ernie,
The best 300's (Best value for sure) that I used in my Franks were the original Shuguang Black Treasures and I found them to be warm and very engaging. They were fantastic and for the price a very good tube. To better it, I needed the EML Mesh 300's.