Coincident Dragon MK I vs MK II

Hi Charles And Bill.
Good and bad news.
First the good news .After breaking in the new Extreme CST powercords for only about 72 hours they are already showing how wonderful they are.
I added them to my Frankensteins and Dragons and cd player after auditioning it for a few days on my Coincident Statement linestage. I figured if its impact was that noticeable on the linestage then I had to see what system synergy would provide. In a nutshell , it does everything Coincident does well , but even better. More organic better harmonics ,more natural. I don't think Israel would make a new product like this if he wasn't sure it would be a substantial improvement over the previous one. Substantial it was. The noise floor improvement accounts ,I believe based on what I hear, for the improvement. The background is dead quiet which is why there are so many more ambient and non ambient clues and harmonic information that is now easily heard that together allow for an even more natural real sound. As natural and organic sounding as my system was before, it iseven more so now.
Now the bad. After much excitement and anticipation to hear such highly regarded and sought after AVVT 300b SL tubes, unfortunately ,one tube appeared to be damaged or defective!
They visually appeared perfect but when I remove one of them from the box I heard a rattle, like something was loose inside . There was actually what appeared to be a 1mm round piece of solder or other metal piece floating around inside. These tubes btw look very well built and solid.
I felt it wise not even to try to see if they would work in order to avoid any possible amplifier damage. As I have heard of the possibility of a short occurring I was not willing to risk it. Too bad as I was so excited to hear these tubes.
I contacted the supplier and they were willing to refund my purchase price.
Wow I don't know if I will ever be able to find a set of those tubes again.
I would appreciate if anyone can let me know where to source a pair of AVVT 300b SL or the AVVT 32b SL.

David

Hi Drdavid,
These new Coincident power cords are special if they're significantly
improve over the previous versions (I know how good those sound). I'll be
ordering some eventually. There's a manufacturer who goes by the name
Tube wrangler (Dennis Fraker) on the audio asylum SET forum who may
still have some AVVT 32b SLtubes available. He builds the Serious Stereo
2A3 SET amplifiers.406 -222 -9229. I bought a pair from Dennis last year
and they were in excellent condition and sound the same.
Charles,

Hi Charles
Thanks for the info but I was able to order a matched set of AVVT32b SL from Jac Music. I haven't listened to them yet as my new Coincident AC cables are breaking in and I will wait for that to complete to more accurately assess their impact on my system. I am currently using the Sophia Royal Princess on the Franks and think they are excellent quality 300B tubes. Curious how the AVVT compare. What were your findings; as I believe you have experience with the Royal Princess as well?
BTW I am so overwhelmed by the new Coincident power cords that I have to tell you again how fantastic they are. I see them as a game changer,...... honestly. They have added a sense of organic refinement that I didn't even sense was missing until it appeared. But it’s more dramatic than my limited non "audiophile reviewer lexicon" can describe. It really makes the Statement, Franks, and Dragon sound like they were just upgraded to "newer" generation models from their current "previous" model state. It is really that dramatic. I hear details never heard before emerging from very, very dark background. This in turn adds more harmonics which definitely has increased the "natural" factor to goose bump level. There is so much more depth and image specificity as well, which keeps me saying 'Wow" (out loud!) after each cd I listen to . The bass is so much more well controlled (which I thought it was before), that I hear so much more definition and many more notes rather than bass slam or what way be interpreted as a smear in the bass. I sincerely believe based on your passion and your descriptions of what you like and you search for, in terms audio qualities and characteristics , that you of all people would absolutely adore them .
Sorry for the long rant but I never had such an inexpensive upgrade have such a dramatic impact and haven't been this excited about any changes in my system since I actually first got into Coincident.
Cheers
David

Hi David,
Hey I appreciate your passionate "rant" I can tell you're
genuinely impressed with these new power cords.Again you're right as to
my priorities, the areas you cite as improved, naturaness, organic
character and harmonics are what grab my ears and attention. I'll get these
in the near future, I'm likely a Coincident guy for life. The CSL and Franks
are so sublime and yet you say that they improve with these cords?
Wonderful news.

I didn't have the Sophia RP and AVVT at the same time but both were
superb in the Frankensteins. I look forward to your comparison of these two
fine tubes. The AVVT 32b SL are relatively rare to find so congratulations to
you. With premium 300b tubes and the new cords you must be in a
continual state of music lover's bliss.
Charles,

Hi Charles,
Wow! I must say that these AVVT32b SL tubes really are something special. They are so captivating and draw you in like no other tubes I've tried. I find them very romantic and a tad warm when I compare them directly to the also wonderful Sophia Royal Princess. Not to take anything away from the RP which I also adore, but in direct comparison, I find the RP a bit faster and more extended in the frequency extremes. Lets not forget I am using both of these beautiful 330b tubes in a bi amp mode driving just the Coincident Pure Reference Extreme monitors and not as full range drivers. They are both gorgeous sounding with IMO, the AVVT sounding a bit more romantic and warm and a laid back with a noticeable edge in the midrange creating a listening experience which is truly magical. Having both of these fantastic tubes creates a situation that leaves me in a great dilemma of which to listen to, as they both draw you in to each of them . I guess that's a good problem to have. One day I will create a bigger problem and spring for the Takatsuki's.
David