Coincident Dynamo 34SE MKII

Discussion in 'Power Amps' started by luximal, May 13, 2018.

  1. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Besides one comment, I haven’t seen anything about this tube amp on sbaf. Which is a bit of a shame, because despite being 1.5k, it’s a good enough tube amp to play ball with the totl stuff. I pretty much decided to get it due to @k4rstar 's positive comments and the fact that the company is located 20 minutes away from me. After a short demo, I paid the 1800 CAD and brought the amp back home.

    Specifications:
    Output Power : 8 watts per channel
    Tube Compliment : 6SL7 input/driver tube, EL 34 output tube, 5AR4 soft start rectifier
    Output impedance : 4, 8 ohms
    Voltage selectable: 115V/230V - switch located on bottom plate
    Frequency response: 20 hz- 20khz- flat
    Sensitivity: 300 mv full output
    Input impedance : 100K ohms
    S/N Ratio- 92 db
    Weight: 30 lbs
    Dimensions : 9.5” W x 12.5” D x 7” H
    Price : $1499 US

    http://www.coincidentspeaker.com/mpsip_amps.html

    [​IMG]

    Chain Audial Model S mk2 > Dynamo 34SE MKII > he-6 4 screw via speaker taps

    In a nut shell:
    • Very transparent midrange and treble
    • Fantastic resolution
    • Great micro and macro dynamics
    • Fast sounding transients with zero bloom, haze or veil
    • Almost neutral sound without any brightness or harshness
    • Good blackground
    • Slight subbass bump, very textured
    • Mids a tad lean
    • lacking a bit of air
    • Doesn’t have alot of tube magic
    • Bass could be a tad tighter and sound as a whole could have a bit more heft
    • 300 OI Headphone out (in practice doesn’t sound nearly as bassy as it would suggest), you can also change the OI on request
    • SS like, not very tubey sounding

    What makes this amp so good is its combination of dynamics, resolution and transparency. There’s enough inner resolution and with great enough micro dynamics that I can feel the transients (is this what they mean by plankton?). The amp imparts little to none of it's timbre, I hear more of my audial’s nos sound and my he-6’s timbre than the amp’s coloration. There is a slight emphasis on the subbass and I could use more air, but that’s about it.

    The sound of the amp is more akin to a solid state, it’s definitely not for people that wants a warmer stereotypical tube sound but the dynamo still has a lot of what makes tube amps good. Like an accurate and not harsh treble, and overall lack of steeliness or hardness (but is not soft either) you get with a lot of SS amps.

    The fact that it is capable of sounding like this without sounding warm and using cheap Chinese tubes which together will probably cost much less than 100 usd is a feat in and of itself.

    The bass has a lot more authority than many tube amps I’ve heard. Again it’s very SS like, but I feel like it is missing that last bit of slam to compete with the super good SS amps.

    Disclaimer:
    My audial is definitely a bottleneck in terms of staging and bass, so while I felt the bass could be a bit tighter and weightier and have a more airy treble, I could probably fix these issues by changing the dac.
    I also bought some fancier tubes that should be incoming within the next few days

    Compared to my Decware Mini Torii Mk1
    • + better dynamics
    • + better resolution
    • + sharper imaging
    • + better separation and detail
    • + better clarity
    • + more power
    • + way less noisy
    • - shallower stage
    • - less air
    • - leaner sounding
    • - bass sounds a tad less deeper/tighter with dynamic headphones on the hp out

    Overall while the mini torii has a more pleasant colouration and is airier, it sounds more congested and slow in comparison to the Dynamo. Minus tonal balance and air the dynamo is markedly better in pretty much every other aspect.

    Non sound stuff

    I was kinda skeptical about the design but the mirror finish grew on me. It is very pretty at night.

    [​IMG]

    There is usually zero noise and humming. With only a bit on the he-6 in certain times of the day (usually morning) where my power is especially dirty. Even using a much easier to drive headphones like my MA900, there is only a barely noticeable hum. Outside of the high output impedance, you'll get the sound I mentioned above on the hp out. And even then the OI isn’t that bad in practice. None of my dynamic headphones (ma900, porta pro) sounded like farts on it.

    Pot is smooth, not the most buttery but gets the job done. The only flaws I can see is that you can’t switch between hp out and speaker out. It will power both at the same time if you plug a headphone and a speaker into it. It also runs pretty hot, almost as bad as the vintage McIntosh I owned last year.
     
  2. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Elekit Tu8600 vs Cavalli Liquid Crimson vs Coincident dynamo 34SE MkII

    [​IMG]

    Thanks to @Griffon for providing the amp. Picked it up from @k4rstar yesterday and spend that whole day listening to the amps.

    Tubes and info

    I upgraded the tubes on the coincident with Mullard XF2 el34’s, Tung sol 6su7 and Adam/mullard gz34. These nos tubes added body, warmth, upper mids and air to the sound. Improved resolution with only being a tiny more bit laid back and smaller staged.

    The Tu8600 has Psvane 300B T mk2, Psvane 12AX7AT mk2, Shanguang 12AU7S.

    The Crimson uses a Amperex Jan 6922.

    Chain is again Audial model S mk2 and he-6 4 screw.

    Note that the Tu8600's tube choices is deliberately choose to match @Griffon 's tastes.
    He said and I quote "I sacrificed nearly everything for midrange" and it's easy to hear it.
    It doesn't quite do it for me, but I can respect what he's trying to go for.

    The Amperex is also apparently very bright sounding.



    Now on to the comparison:

    Microdynamics/slam
    Liquid crimson >= Coincident > Tu8600

    Coincident has equivalent slam to the Crimson at similar volumes, but the he-6 can go louder on the crimson, and the Crimson's microdynamics scale linearly as the volume goes up.

    Macrodynamics/Blackground
    Coincident(nos) >= Tu8600 >= crimson

    Sometime I feel like coincident does better, but sometimes I feel the elekit is superior here. Crimson is a a little bit worse than both but still quite good.

    Warmest to Brightest
    Coincident (nos) > Coincident (stock) > Tu8600 > Crimson

    Body/Weightiness
    Crimson = Coincident (nos) > Tu8600 > Coincident (stock)

    Timbre/Tonal balance
    Crimson >= Coincident > Tu8600

    Crimson has raised treble, but is raised in an even manner. Not harsh but will bring out the harshness in some tracks. Best timbre of the bunch, with it's slight bloom and liquidity that very pleasant to listen to. It’s good micro dynamics just makes it even more yummy sounding.

    Coincident has slightly raised upper mids, but sounds the most coherent of all the amps. Just loses in terms of timbre to the crimson (and Tu8600), but only slightly.

    Mid tone second only to crimson, but the Tu8600 has a tonal disconnect between the mids and treble.
    It has the Tubey ethereal mids, but the treble is less smooth, sharper had hits a bit harder. Both the mids and treble are good in isolation, but when combined does not produce a coherent sound.

    Resolution/Plankton
    Coincident > Tu8600 > Crimson

    Macrodetail
    Tu8600> Coincident >Crimson

    Transients
    Coincident (nos/stock) > Crimson > Tu8600

    Soundstage/Layering
    Tu8600 >= Crimson > Coincident

    The coincident isn't bad here but it has less depth and layering compared to the other tube amps. It's forward presentation is quite likable however, but not everyone will enjoy it.

    Mids
    Crimson >= Tu8600 >= Coincident

    Crimson has the best timbre, but worst mid detail and macrodynamics (only by a bit).
    Coincident's macrodynamics and resolution makes the mids a very involving listen but it has the worst timbre (only by a bit).

    The tu8600's mids havea laid back, estat like quality to it that makes it very easy to listen to. While t he coincident may get fatiguing due to the upper mid bump.

    Enjoyed the crimson’s mids the most due to having the pleasant timbre and the slam that makes it exciting.

    Bass
    Coincident > crimson >= tu8600

    Coincident’s better transients and resolution offers a more textured and cleaner bass experience. But it still offers punchy bass regardless.

    Crimson has more slam and the most subbass, but its bass is less defined than the other amps.

    Tu8600's bass is similar to the coincident's in cleanness (but still has the smoothed over transients), but lacks weight and slam. Least subbass of the three amps.

    Air
    Tu8600 > Crimson > Coincident

    Treble
    Coincident > Tu8600 >= Crimson.

    Crimson's raised treble can be annoying in some tracks

    Tu8600's treble is good, but not as good as it's mids, which makes it distracting at times since it's slightly more forward. The timbre disconnect just makes it worse.

    Coincident's treble is detailed, dynamic and transitions smoothly to the mids.

    Clarity/transparency
    Coincident >= Tu8600 >= crimson

    Despite the added warmth of the nos tubes, the Coincident still manages to be to most clear and transparent sounding amp to me.

    The Tu8600 comes close due to having more air, but the mids is quite colored to suit the owner's taste.

    The crimson is not really that much more colored than the Tu8600, but it's bloom does hamper it's clarity somewhat.

    Either way all three are very good in this department.



    I'll probably write a more in depth individual review of the Elekit Tu8600 and Liquid Crimson later. I'll be bring the amps down to @SirBashALot for a for a mini meet, who is next in line for the loaner later today. Hopefully the dacs (sfd-1mk2, Soekris 1541) and headphones (hd 800) he has will allow me to discern more differences between the amps. He also has a ton of 6922's, so the crimson can probably be rolled to fix some of it's minor issues.
     
    Last edited: May 20, 2018
  3. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

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    I'd be interested to hear a 2ch speaker out comparison between the Coincident and the Elekit if anyone on this tour has relatively efficient speakers to use.
     
  4. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Unfortunately now no one on the tour has speakers. I myself don't have space for one.

    Oh there's one thing i forgot to mention,
    The elekits's hp out sucks ass. Overly compressed, hazy and causes distortion with easy to drive dynamics like ma900.
     
  5. bobboxbody

    bobboxbody Friend

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    Well, that helps my decision anyway, thanks.
     
  6. direstraitsfan98

    direstraitsfan98 D2Girls v2.0

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    Do you have any plans to test it with a speaker system? I was considering purchasing one of these directly from Isreal himself, he was offering a special promotion back in January for his Conicident Dynamite + Dynamo 34se Mk ii for $3899CAD including taxes and shipping. I passed on the deal in order to go with a complete different setup (horns and solid state, haha)

    I do think this amp would be more at home in a nice 2 channel setup as opposed to be used to drive headphones, and now that I've heard you say that it sounds solid state, I'm wondering that solid state sound translates over to speaker listening? Because I was actually planning to purchase one later this year. But if it sounds more like a solid state, I'm not sure if I want it. Sounds kinda dicey. In any case thanks for the writeup I enjoyed reading your documentation.
     
  7. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Yeah it's definitely better in a 2 channel setup than to drive headphones, even though its hp out is quite good. When I met Isreal, he said that it manages to drive even moderately hard to drive speakers with authority despite it's 8 watt rating, so I'm willing to bet that the SS sound translates to speakers. It's probably the kind of sound he wanted to go for in the first place.

    It's really only SS like with stock tubes and doesn't really any of the metallic timbre and hardness that plagues some SS amps. On the flip side, it's SS like bass means its bass is more tight and slams more than your typical tube amp as well.

    With the NOS tubes I rolled in, the warmth and body I get from it makes it sound more in line with the more typical tube sound. Since, it already sounds super good with cheap Chinese tubes, you can probably roll in some cheap production stuff to get the sound you want. Definitely responds well to tube rolling.
     
  8. direstraitsfan98

    direstraitsfan98 D2Girls v2.0

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    I already own a nice class a solid state pass labs that has a similar sound signature to a tube amp, or at least, does not sound as much of SS compared to my last two amps. Anyway, I do feel like the dynamo 34se would sound a lot like the pass labs. It's encouraging to read that you can adjust the sound signature by swapping out the tubes, maybe I should reconsider purchasing one. How much did you spend on the NOS tubes?
     
  9. luximal

    luximal Made things right

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    Around 300ish for the tubes bought from ebay, but you definitely don't have to spend that much.

    Listening now to the crimson soley with some of my dynamic headphones (k500, ma900), as the tone of this amp makes me come back for more, I can see why k4 grew to like it and why it's loved by alot of people.
     

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