Product News 211PP Dragon M300B Frankenstein MK II Total Victory IV Super Victory Pure Reference Available Options on Coincident Speakers Technical Notes The Coincident Sound Why Biwire? Cables: What is Important? Mirror Imaged Woofers Amplifier Power: How Much? Loudspeaker Impedance and Amplifier Matching

Super Eclipse III and Total Eclipse II - Have been discontinued as of June 20,2008 due to the commercial and sonic success of the new Super Victory. The Super Victory actually exceeds the performance of the Total Eclipse II at a lower price point. The Super Victory is substantially superior to the Super Eclipse III at almost the same price when the latter is wired with Extreme internal cable ( $600 option) and fitted with the Extender Feet and oversize spikes( $400 extra) both of which are standard on the Super Victory. While both Eclipse models were ground breaking products at their respective prices since their inception in 1999, the new Super Victory represents a seminal achievement in loudspeakers at a sub 5 figure selling price.

VIDEOHIFI interviews Coincident Speaker's Israel Blume

Coincident Speaker Technology is proud to still state that unlike the majority of current speaker companies (i.e. Revel, Aerial, Von Schweikert, Red Rose etc.) all its speaker models are designed and completely manufactured in Canada.

All the crossovers are meticulously hand soldered in Canada, matched to within 1% tolerances using the finest Canadian and American components. Coincident does not use poor quality Asian sourced crossovers that are pre built and cost a couple of dollars. The price of one capacitor used in a Coincident speaker crossover exceeds the cost of these entire crossovers that are finding there way into very expensive competing speakers.

All internal wiring is manufactured in Canada using American 6N copper. Only the finest Canadian dielectrics like polypropylene and air Teflon are used. Our wire sounds the best and is very expensive to manufacture and labor intensive to terminate. Other high end speaker companies use off shore cable that is sonically inferior and costs pennies.

All Coincident speaker enclosures are meticulously CNC and hand crafted at our facilities in Canada. Only the highest quality Canadian made hardwood MDF using furniture grade cherry wood veneer which is pressure applied on both sides of the board is utilized. Having our enclosures made in China, as most other speaker manufacturers, would save 80%-90% of the cost. However, we would not even think of doing this since the quality of workmanship simply does not compare. Inspect a Coincident enclosure with those made in China and the difference is painfully obvious. Coincident will never sacrifice quality for profits.

All the drivers of Coincident speakers are sourced from only state of the art manufacturers such as Scanspeak, Vifa and SEAS. Coincident does not use any Chinese manufactured drive units that are knock offs of the above noted brands. Many high end speaker companies no longer use the expensive, best sounding drive units made by these European companies, instead opting to use inferior sounding and incredibly cheap (costing as little as a couple of dollars) Chinese units that are almost visually identical. The consumer is fooled into believing he is buying an expensive speaker using Scanspeak drivers when in reality the drivers are very cheap poor quality units that only physically resemble those drivers.

Coincident Speaker Technology is committed to providing the high end audiophile the finest value loudspeakers in the world. Coincident, therefore, will NEVER sacrifice quality. No detail is considered too trivial if it enhances the sonics or build quality of our speakers. Coincident will never offer an inferior product in pursuit of greater profits. Therefore, none of our speakers will be made in China nor will any of our models use inferior components because they are inexpensive to purchase and will increase our profit margins at the expense of quality. Coincident speakers exist for only one purpose: to provide the discerning music lover with the finest sounding, best built loudspeakers available anywhere near their selling price.

211PP Dragon Mono Amplifiers

    

The purity, transparency and continuousness of a DHT SET but with the power, explosive dynamics, weight and impact of a huge push pull pentode amplifier - sounds mutually exclusive, not any longer. The 211PP Dragon mono amplifiers are such a creation. These amplifiers are absolute state of the art in terms of components selected, circuit design and execution and construction quality. This is unique among high power, push pull DHT triode amplifiers. There has never been a high power, DHT amplifier built to this standard with sonic performance at this level. The Dragons are capable of driving even the most difficult speaker loads.

Features include:

- The finest 6N copper interstage, output and power transformers
- No coupling caps in the signal path
- Tube compliment- 6EM7 super tube for input- So much current capability it has its own power supply
- 300B Driver Tube for utmost purity ( no pentode tubes used in this DHT design)
- Dual 211 output tubes in a push pull configuration which dramatically lowers distortion and provides huge power reserves. (over 120 watts of peak power- 80 watts continuous- sounds more like 150 watts)
- Teflon caps use in cathode bias circuit
- Power supply caps are all 1500V polypropylenes
- Alps volume control to permit the direct connection of a CD player thereby obviating the need for an expensive line stage
- Binding posts are Coincident 6N copper, .25" solid post
- Auto bias
- All resisters, red metal film, 1% and none less than 2 watts
- All meticulously hard wired

Specs:

Frequency Response: 15 hz - 25 khz
Output Power: 80 watts continuous
120 watts peak power
Input Sensitivity: 1V for full output
Voltage: User selectable - 115V or 230V
Impedance: Choice of 8 or 16 ohms
Dimensions: 11"W x 22"D x 8" H
Weight: 65 lbs. ea.

Price:
$8999 US/pr. includes freight.
$7999 US/pr. when purchased with any Coincident speaker

M300B Frankenstein MK II

    

The M300B Frankenstein MK II mono amplifiers are now in stock. Built to the absolute highest standard-

• All hardwired
• The finest 6N copper output and power transformers
• V caps
• All polyproylene power supply
• Self biasing
• 3 tube configuration (6EM7 input driver, 300B output, 5U4 rectifier) for purest sonics
• Input and rectifier tubes are the best NOS American. Electro Harmonic 300B Gold Grids are standard. Others available at special discount pricing.
• Triangular chassis shape to ensure rigidity

These amps represent a sonic breakthrough. Their transparency and absence of an electronic sound set new standards. Mated to the appropriate speakers, they will prove to be a revelation. They easily drive every Coincident speaker model.

Output Power - 8 watts
Frequency Response - 20hz - 20khz
Input Sensitivity - 1V for full power output
Input Impedance - 100Kohms
S/N Ratio - 90 db
Negative Feedback - 0
Load Impedance - 8 ohms, 16 ohms
AC Voltage - User switchable - 115V or 230V
Power Consumption - 180 watts
Dimensions - 12"D x 15" W x 6" H
Weight - 32 lbs. ea.
Warranty - 1 year parts and labor
Tubes - 14 days.

Price -
$5599 US/pr - includes freight
$4599 US/pr - when purchased with a pr of Coincident speakers.

Total Victory IV

The Total Victory II has been updated to the Total Victory IV as of Oct.1/07. The changes are as follows:

Drivers

Tweeter is now the same unit used in the Total Reference. This is the finest ribbon tweeter we have ever tested or heard. The woofers are now the same as those in the Total Reference as well. These are the best woofers ever made. The 12" Nomex drivers provide true subwoofer bass with flat response to 20 hz and virtually no distortion. Two of these are used per speaker replacing the 4 - 8" woofers used previously.

The midrange is now handled by a pair of remarkable, proprietary 7" paper treated drivers in a D'apolito alignment.

The enclosure is the exact same size as the previous Total Victory and is constructed identically given the different driver compliment.

As good as the Total Victory II was, the Total Victory IV represents a noticeable sonic upgrade. The bass goes lower with more impact and articulation. The mids are more open and immediate and the high frequencies have more extension, air and detail. The soundstage is more expansive and the sound has greater coherency from top to bottom.

Sensitivity is a tad lower at 95db but the Total Victory IV is a very easy speaker to drive being a flat 10 ohm load. Any 300B amp, especially our Frankensteins, will accomplish the task with ease. Since the TV IV can handle tons of power, large tube or solid state amplifiers can be successfully used if one is so inclined.

The Total Victory IV sounds so good, that it has caused us to discontinue the Total Reference since it is difficult to justify the cost discrepancy between them. The Total Victory IV is a true world class speaker that will exceed or at least equal the performance of competing models at many times its price.

Price - $14,999 US/ pr.

Super Victory

Coincident Speaker Technology is very excited to announce the introduction of the Super Victory. What makes this speaker so special is that it offers state of the art design, construction and performance in a compact, aesthetically pleasing form that is priced far below what one would expect to pay for this high level of achievement.

The Super Victory will sound superb in small to moderate size rooms as well being highly capable of easily filling a large space. They can be positioned as close as 18” from a back wall without suffering the deleterious sonic affects of reduced front to back depth. Their high sensitivity, smooth 10 ohm impedance modulus, simple first order crossover, phase coherency both acoustically and electrically all ensure that SET 300B, 211 or even 2A3 tube amplifiers will mate optimally. The Super Victory’s high power handling capability will mean that large power tube and solid state amplifiers will also work beautifully for audiophiles who favor those types of amplifiers. As always with Coincident speakers, amplifier choice is a personal one.

Drivers:

The Super Victory is essentially a smaller scale Total Victory IV. It uses the same enclosure construction and materials, crossover components, Extreme internal wiring, extender feet with oversize spikes and identical drivers, but only a single midrange and a single side - firing woofer.

Tweeter:

The amazing ribbon tweeter will allow the listener to hear all the music present on the source. It does not add any artificial artifacts nor does it perceptibly alter the original signal. It is totally devoid of any resonances; therefore it will never sound bright or edgy.

Midrange:

The single 7” proprietary composite midrange driver used in the SV ensures an open, transparent, and highly detailed presentation yet it is very harmonically complete. There is a total absence of the lean, threadbare sound so prevalent among many of today’s audiophile speakers.

Woofers:

Therefore, the Super Victory will sound highly similar to the TV IV. The main difference between them is one of scale and size. Since the TV IV utilizes dual 12“ woofers in a larger enclosure the bass extends down to 20 hz as opposed to a still very low 25 hz for the Super Victory. Additionally, the TV IV will have a bit more weight and impact in the midbass. That is not to suggest that the Super Victory is lacking in these areas. The extraordinary 12” Nomex cone woofer used in both these speakers exceeds the performance of any separately sold subwoofer. The low end performance of the SV is unmatched by any competing speaker selling at twice its price. The bass of the Super Victory is tight, articulate and possesses tremendous weight and authority. Yet it blends seamlessly with the mids and highs.

The Super Victory will provide the listener with all the benefits of a large, full range state of the art speaker but at a mid fi price in a sensibly sized enclosure that can be driven by any amplification in any size environment. At a sub 5 figure price tag, the Super Victory represents a unique achievement.

• Specifications:
  
• Sensitivity: 92.5 db -1 w @ 1m
• Impedance: 10 ohms (always between 8 – 16 ohms)
• Power Requirements: 3 watts – 500 watts
• Frequency Response: 25 Hz – 35 khz
• Dimensions: 47” H x 9” W x 17” D.
• Weight: 125 lbs. each
• Price: $9499 US / pr.

The Coincident Sound

We are often asked, "What do Coincident Speakers sound like ?" Our answer, "we try our hardest to make them sound like nothing". The theoretically perfect audio component would sound like nothing. It would simply transmit the signal it is being fed with no alteration, enhancement, subtraction or distortion. Our goal with all Coincident models is for them to pass as much musical information with the least possible coloration. Coincident speakers do not editorialize or attempt to glamorize the sound. For example, there is no intentional boosting of the midbass to provide the illusion of more bass, nor the rolling off of the high frequencies to make the resultant sonics more pleasing. Coincident Speakers are designed to be as musically accurate as possible. We attempt to create on open window on the musical event, with nothing interfering between the music and the listener. Consequently, Coincident Speakers are very revealing of the musical source, the room in which they are placed and the ancillary components used. It must be emphasized that high resolution DOES NOT connote low musicality. On the contrary, the better a component is at revealing the information it is sent, the more accurate and by definition, the more natural it will be since it will closer approximate the live music listening experience.

Those seeking to replicate the thrilling experience of listening to live music will greatly appreciate the "Coincident Sound". Our reference standard is live music and our goal is to get as close to the sound of real instruments playing in a real space, as present technology will permit.

Why Biwire?

Biwiring is when a loudspeaker has separate connections to the bass and the treble/midrange. The idea is to use individual speaker cables to each section. Besides being profitable to cable manufacturers, since the user is required to purchase double the amount of speaker wire, are there any sonic benefits to this arrangement?

The answer is yes and no. Yes it is a benefit for loudspeakers that are not properly designed. In speakers where the crossover sections are interdependant and not adequately isolated from one another, biwiring will likely offer a sonic benefit. However, in speakers, (like all Coincident models), that have all the crossover sections, (high pass, low pass etc), completely separated and isolated from one another and are run to the binding posts, (as opposed to being interconnected between sections and wiring all the hots and grounds to the speaker's binding posts), biwiring affords NO sonic advantage and may actually involve a sonic degradation depending upon the speaker cable used.

Coincident recommends biwiring only in those cases where a consumer has the intention of biamping his speakers. A biwiring option will be necessary if one is biamping a system, meaning separate amplifiers will be powering different drivers. Otherwise, biwiring is not only totally unnecessary and a waste of money, but a pain in the derriere.

Mirror Imaged Side Firing Woofers - Advantages

Unlike the majority of other speaker companies that place their woofers on the front of their speakers, Coincident mounts their woofers on the side of the enclosures in a mirror imaged configuration.This is done because there are 3 distinct advantages with NO downside.
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1. Elimination of Diffraction Effects -

Since the largest drivers,(the woofers), are mounted on the side of the enclosure, the front baffle can be made as narrow as the smaller midrange drivers, thereby eliminating diffraction effects, (which are responsible for impairing image width and creating high frequency smearing).

2. Flexibility of Speaker Placement -

Because the side firing woofers are mirror imaged, there are two positions to avoid room standing waves - woofers aiming to the inside or to the outside. In a room devoid of standing waves, (a very rare phenomenon), there would be absolutely no sonic difference whether the woofers were firing inside or outside, (so long as there is sufficient distance to the side wall in the case of outside firing). This is so because the crossover frequency to the woofers is so low, (typically 125 hz), where the wavelengths are very long, (in the range of 9 ft). This means that the woofers can be placed a distance as much as 9 ft away from the midrange units and still achieve seamless driver integration.

The Stereophile Show 2001 provides a dramatic real world illustration of the benefits of mirror imaged side firing woofers. The demonstration rooms were plagued with a standing wave centered at 100 hz ( elevated in amplitude by 12db!). This was the case when the Total Eclipse woofers were firing to the outside and as other exhibitors experienced, when the woofers were front facing . However, when the woofers aimed to fire to the inside, the room standing wave was avoided and flat frequency response to below 30 hz was achieved.

3. Simulation of Steep Crossover Slope-

Since high frequencies are directional, (low frequencies are not), aiming the woofers to the side of the listening position causes out of band high frequency information to be attenuated, thereby simulating an acoustical high pass filter. Therefore, the electrical first order crossover (chosen for reasons of purity and phase coherency- attenuates out of band frequencies at a rate of 6db per octave), of Coincident speakers act more like an acoustical third order slope (with its advantages of steeper attenuation- 18db per octave- of unwanted out of band high frequencies), but with no sonic penalty since no additional electrical components are added to the signal path.

Amplifier Power - How Much Is Enough?

This is a question that is asked almost more frequently than any other.As with most issues in audio,the answer is complex and depends upon the following:

1. Speakers being used- Sensitivity and the impedance curve being critical.

2. Personal preferences of the listener- Type of music listened to and at what output levels.

3. Size of room - To fill a larger room will take proportionally greater amplifier power.

Speakers-
Acoustical output is dependant upon the power of the amplifier used and the efficiency with which the speaker being driven can transform the electrical signal into sound.The term "sensitivity" is a speaker measurement that reveals how much sound (in decibels) is produced at a specified distance, (usually 1 meter), from the speaker when it is fed a specified input signal, (usually 2.83 volts which is equivalent to 1 watt into 8 ohms). Therefore, a more sensitive speaker that has a flat, benign impedance curve (of 8 ohms or more), will produce greater acoustical output with the same specified amplifier power than a less sensitive speaker or an equally sensitive speaker that has a reactive, low impedance modulus. For example, a speaker that is 3 db more sensitive than another will require only half the amplifier power to generate the same sound output.

If an speaker has a sensitivity rating of 85 db @1 watt - 1 meter, to achieve an output of 88 db would require double the amplifier power or 2 watts.91 db output would take 4 watts. For 100 db output of sound, would require 32 watts of power. And if this speaker was rated at 4 ohms, a 64 watt amplifier would be needed to produce 100 db.

By contrast, a 94 db sensitive speaker would require only 4 watts to achieve a 100 db output level. Since most listening in the home environment is undertaken at 85 db or less, it can be clearly seen that only a fraction of a single watt of amplifier power is all that is required for the vast majority of listening. A 100 db output, which is loud, still needs only 4 watts of power to attain. However, it must be emphasized that while listening at an average level of 100 db, during musical passages that are very dynamic with lots of low bass content, many hundreds of watts may be necessary, (albeit for only the duration of a millesecond), to avoid amplifier clipping.

The above example clearly demonstrates how significant the sensitivity and impedance curve of the loudspeaker is upon determining how much amplifier power is necessary.

Personal Preferences of the Listener-

As the above example illustrated, higher listening levels requires greater amplifier power. Therefore, the output levels the listener chooses to listen at, will be critical in determining the amount of power that will be satisfying. The listener who is content at levels of 80 db will need a fraction of a watt while someone who likes to listen at 105 db will be using almost 260 times more power!

Of equal importance is the type of music enjoyed. Full orchestral music, for example, is very demanding on amplifier power in order to reproduce the exceptionally high levels of dynamics coupled with very low bass content (which uses enormous amounts of power). Conversely, chamber music, light folk etc. is usually listened to at lower SPLs and its musical content requires far less amplifier power to accurately reproduce.

Furthermore, some listeners prefer a punchier, gutsier sound presentation than others whose priorities lie more in the area of detail retrieval, imaging etc. For some, visceral impact is mandatory or at least may represent much more of a priority than it is to others. These personal predilections must be factored into the equation of how much power is sufficient.

Room Size -

All things being equal, the larger the room, the more amplifier power required to fill it. The sensitivity rating of a speaker is the measurement of acoustical output at a distance of 1 meter. The further away the listener is from the speaker, the lower the sensitivity. Therefore, a speaker producing 94 db from 1 watt of amplifier power at a distance of 1 meter will produce less sound pressure when the listener is 2 meters away. For a speaker to energize a room of 1000 cubic feet, for example will require significantly less amplifier power than to do the same in a 2000 cubic foot space. As a real world example, at the recent 2001 CES, Coincident demonstrated in a hotel suite of 1872 cubic feet using a 24 watt amplifier. To achieve similiar sound pressure levels and bass impact in another space of 7200 cubic feet, required 3x the amplifier power.With the same 24 watt amplifier in the much larger room, the sound was not as weighty, impactful or as dynamic as it was in the aforementioned smaller environment.

Conclusion-

With easy to drive speakers, like Coincident, many are afforded the opportunity of using low powered amplifiers like SETs with completely satisfying results. For those in a compact room, who listen at moderate levels to jazz , light rock, folk etc, then the inherent superiority of the best SETs will be appreciated. That is not to suggest that SETs are for everyone.They are decidely not. If your musical tastes are focused on big orchestral music, heavy rock, etc., and you listen at high spls in a large listening space, then small tube amplifiers may not be your sonic cup of tea. It would be recommended that a more robust amplifier be used.

Loudspeaker Impedance And Amplifier Matching
06/29/01

Solid State Amplifiers:
With transistor amplifiers ,the amp's output impedance is never matched to the load it drives.The lower the load impedance ,the closer it comes to a true impedance match , because the output impedance of a solid state amp is very low - typically a fraction of an ohm.This helps explain why (all things being equal- and the amplifier has sufficient current capability)4 ohm speakers produce greater acoustical output than 8 ohm speakers.The lower impedance speaker offers less resistance to current from the amp.The transistor amp sees less resistance into 4 ohms , therefore its output stage delivers more current.

Tube Amplifiers:
A tube amplifier's output stage(s) are totally different. A true match between the load impedance and the plate impedance ( or plate - plate impedance of a push - pull tube output stage) is never absolutely possible.The tube's plate impedance is typically exceptionally high
( thousands of ohms.) Therefore ,even a tube output transformer ( which becomes necessary to lower the plate impedance so that a typical speaker can be driven) with a primary impedance of 3K - 8K ohms will not closely approach this match. Therefore, it can be seen that the operation of tube versus solid state outputs is reversed. In the case of transistors, impedances cannot be matched due to the ultra low output impedance of the amp ,while with tubes, the match cannot be achieved because of the very high output impedances.

The output transformer in a tube amp lowers its impedance to a level where speakers can be made to operate and extract power from the driving amplifier. The output transformer is designed with a given ratio between the number of turns of wire in the primary and a nominal secondary impedance. For example, if we connect an 8 ohm loudspeaker to an amplifier with a primary impedance of say, 5,000 ohms and a transformer tap of 8 ohms, the primary impedance remains at 5,000 ohms and the amplifier delivers a given amount of electrical power. But ,if a 4 ohm speaker is connected to this amplifier, the output volume will diminish because the 4 ohm load causes a reduction of the primary winding impedance. This reduction means the amp's output transformer presents a poorer match to the plates of the tube output stage than it previously did.

On the other hand, if a 14 ohm loudspeaker is connected to the same 8 ohm tap, the primary winding's impedance is increased. The transformer represents only a ratio of turns and its impedance is determined by the load connected to it. Because the transformer's impedance has increased, it comes closer to matching that of the plate circuit. The result is greater output volume from the speaker.

In conclusion, a tube amplifier will produce more output ( greater voltage delivery) into higher impedance loads. Therefore , a 14 ohm speaker will be much more efficiently driven by a tube amplifier than will a 8 or 4 ohm speaker. This becomes of critical importance when using OTL or single ended triode tube amplifiers when available output power is low and amplifier output impedance is very high.

Devotees of High Current Solid State Amplifiers- To maximize the power delivery of these amplifiers, the Victory, Super Eclipse and Total Eclipse can be wired for 6 ohm operation (as opposed to the standard 14 ohm load). No extra charge.

Available Options for Coincident Speakers