Just got fedex tracking email that my pre was delivered to my office 12 minutes ago! On my way to pick her up and bring her home. http://smiley.nowdararpour.ir/party/40.gif


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Here she is! Ain't she purty? I have some rearranging of setup to do before listening. I need to have the balanced outputs from my streamer go to the AVR rather than the preamp (now going to SLP05) so I can move the RCAs between the two preamps.

Tonight is season two finale night for House of Cards with my wife, so it looks like I may be able to do a bit late this evening but listening will probably be tomorrow. As Coltrane1 says, anticipation!

http://img593.imageshack.us/img593/3332/wr72.jpg

I now have a five year supply of bubble wrap - Go Dennis! http://smiley.nowdararpour.ir/happy/27.gif

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WOW, that looks awesome. Love to know how it sounds compared to his Cary designs. Keep us posted................

I sure love that finish. WHEW!

I look forward to hearing your impressions. Did Dennis relate the approximate break-in time to you?

btw...I've seen both series of HOC via Netflix...I viewed series 1 in an all nighter marathon...couldn't walk away from it. Series 2 left me a bit disappointed, but only as it compared to the first series. Am I correct in thinking that's now the end of the series?

So JL2, is it the SET KT88 you own, and all that's necessary for a change from the KT88 to the 6V6's is to drop them in? No change of the rectifier or anything?

I just asked him about break in time. I've got things set up now and will do some listening this evening. Ihave to run out for errands and will leave it playing for a few hours.

Season Two of HOC is much more intense with Frank going sociopathic, so I'd say they are different rather than either is better. The first season had a somewhat slower pace. I'm reading that there will be a season three. Season two ended up so it could go either way, IMO. End it there or new chapter (I'm trying not to give any spoilers).

http://img27.imageshack.us/img27/4468/o0f2.jpg

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Here's what Dennis says about breaking in the LP-2:

Interesting that it can break in without the amp on! Certainly makes the process easier without concern for music playing at inconvenient times.

Yes, mine is the KT88 model. The rectifier tube has to be changed as well when changing to 6V6 tubes. The KT88's use a 5AR4 rectifier while the 6V6's use a 5Y3 rectifier. :thumbsup:

Now that's funny. My dad had a '67 silver blue E-type XKE. I can still hear the growl of its 4.2 litre six in my head.

The newer '73 V-12 model with its flared fenders and grilled nose sold brand new for a mere $7500 on the showroom floor. I remember thinking at the time, how does anyone ever afford $7500 for a car? I was the envy of my high school driving my dad's Jag' through campus in '72...those Weber's were a bear to keep tuned, although, that was in California heat.

Okay, thanks for the confirmation. So, does the 6V6G work as well? I prefer the look of those over the smaller 6V6 tubes...I noticed DH has two different types of 6V6 tube amps. One with the short stubby tubes, and the other with the taller coke bottle type 6V6G's.

I don't know, you'd have to ask The Man that question.

Gorgeous side by side shot. What rectifier is that mated with the KT150's?

Thanks! I since switched positions with the preamp on the outside and amp in the center. Seems more natural with its bigger tubes. That big beautiful rectifier is the 274B. Dennis thought it had a bit more midrange quality and I agree. Brings it down to 10wpc from 12wpc I'd get with the 5AR4.

Still waiting on my green 6V6. Cleared customs this morning, unfortunately I am off to work for three weeks.... Anticipation right! I've order a pair of KT88SC penta tubes as well as a pair of SED Winged C EL34's and a SED Winged C 5U4 Black plate. I'll be trying out a few different input tubes as well, EH 6SN7 Gold pin and a Shuguang Treasure CV-181Z tube. I'll let you know how the rolling pan's out. Not sure what tube compliment Dennis ended up shipping out, I explained my current setup and ask him to tune it to his tastes..... Three weeks is going to be a long wait.
Look forward to hearing a few of your thoughts and comparisons of your new babies.

Just to clarify, the kt-88sc and the 5u4 tube are the only new ones, the others will be coming from my existing collection.....

Just a quick update on my LP-2 pre and KT150 amp combo. I've been pretty quiet since the LP-2 arrived.

I am definitely enjoying it. This weekend, I will do a switch back to the SLP-05 to see what I notice moving in that direction, then likely back again.

The difficulty is that my speakers are not ideal. They are 87db sensitive AR2ax'. They are powered well at about 80db, but somehow it seems to me that I really need more sensitive speakers to do justice to the Inspires in my assessment as volume is at 2:00 for my typical listening level. I have Omega Super 7 XRS' on order (93db single drivers). They are custom made and will probably be two to three weeks before I have them.

Peter - will guess that you are correct in your thinking on the AR2ax. IIRC they are a sealed box, which is also generally somewhat less easy to drive than a ported design. With my 20wpc SET amps am driving 88db 8ohm speakers, but listening in the 'near field' at about 6ft, which is a real advantage.

Maybe this is the next logical step......:yes:

http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/0/3992/Speaker.jpeg

Yup. I'm listening at 10ft in an ~600sf room.

Tease!

What do you know?

I saw that speaker in the background in one of Dennis' photos, but didn't know it was his design. Looks like MTM OB.

Dennis sold speakers under the Cary name early on and then spun out the Soliloquy line of speakers, which were notably easy to drive as well as notably good sounding. Especially liked the 5.0i. Is he selling the Inspire speakers on eBay?

All I know is that Dennis sent me a few pics of these speakers the other night.
He didn't answer my question when I asked him if new speakers were on the way. So........Dennis is the tease. :D

Yes, I know, I'm currently using Soliloquy 6.3i speakers. Granted, they were towards the end of the Soliloquy run, after Dennis' involvement was done, but....

His speakers are not on Ebay yet, that I know of. When he sent me the pics the other night I asked him if he were going to start selling speakers now. He hasn't responded to that question in his follow up e-mails. I did find out he's not working alone though. The gent who is doing all of his metal work is another retired guy who also likes to stay up all night long. :music:

A long-lived speaker company is more the exception than the rule, unfortunately. Was sad to see Soliloquy go. Though was some number of years ago.

What do you mean by "doing all his metal work"? Dennis was kind enough to give me the contact info for the folks who make his raw chassis and they are in Ohio.

Glenn, he didn't specify where the guy worked. I was just razzing him for sending me middle of the night e-mails and he sent me one more e-mail with photos of more raw chassis' and said that his metal guy was another retired gent who was working at 1:30 am. I assumed he was local to Dennis, but that was not actually stated that he was local. His 'retired metal guy' who works through the night just like Dennis could live anywhere I suppose.

Understand. Another fun thing about getting old is poorer sleep habits (along with aches & pains). Better than the alternative. ;) An upside is we get to listen in the early morning when it is very quiet.

Hey all...Dennis has produced an open baffle speaker? Really? :)

Does anyone know the sensitivity rating for that speaker?

Thanks to a local builder I've owned several pairs of his solid wood open baffle designs that if memory serves me correct were 97dB...drove them with an 8 watt 300B SET...and that was too much power. :)

they had 15" bass and midrange drivers, with the bass driver driven by individual plate amps. Great speaker...once OB, never boxed became my mantra. Great speakers.

Mike's biggest build was a 3 way w/a AMT midrange driver that was a modern twist on the old Heil AMT formerly built by ESS:

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...ps9240047f.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...ps51ec232f.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...ps50d5325e.jpg

Damn Coltrane1! Those are some very large speakers! Room fillers!!
Here's another tease pic from Dennis:

http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/0/...e_Speaker.jpeg

Hey JL2...they filled that room. Which is why I went with the 2 way's...bass mongers they were...tightest, most natural sounding bass I've ever heard. And the solid Sapele tiger striped wood was just off the charts. If you've never investigated OB's, there's a lot there to investigate. They operate like dipole's...much like my favored electrostats...but with real bass! :banana:

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...o/8fdb82be.jpg

Are they full range speakers? I don't see any tweeters... No, I have never experienced a true open baffle design. It sounds like I need to. Those sure look pretty! :yes:
Is that a Canary amp?

Yes, full range. The coax is behind the center of the upper 15" midrange driver. Drove them a bit with the Canary 301 mono's. The lower photo is my first pair in blonde birch...exceptional woodworking skills by my local guy.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...o/3903b283.jpg

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...psb11762e5.jpg

Do you have a picture of the back of the speaker showing the coax?

OK........... found the Hawthorne speaker website - hawthorneaudio.us/catalogs/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Unfortunately, our local OB builder passed away a couple of years ago. He favored TAD full-range drivers and super-tweeters.

Alright, here is an e-mail reply from Dennis regarding some of the questions about metal work and speakers here. It seems like we are being watched closely. :yikes:

One of my audio buddies alerted me to go the AudioAficionado for some chatter. Here are a few responses if you wish.

"The chassis are machined in the Inspire shop here in the Cary Business Park. I have the raw aluminum folded and welded outside of our shop and then as I mentioned we do all the machining. The photos you saw of the raw chassis were on the shipping bench in the shop. Next step is off for sand blasting and powder coating. Speaking of powder coating ... I bought some smashing copper powder coat finish this afternoon. The powder comes in 5 Lb boxs. To coat a chassis takes a just few ounces. LOL I can copper for years LOL Next week I will send you a photo of the final. One of our 6V6 Inspire customers is going to be the first.

In regards to the Inspire loudspeakers ... I designed them with my mighty 6V6 amplifier last summer. I had a fellow from Greensboro who is a loudspeaker guru and speaker judge at the summer Parts Express speaker build contest come and do the computer analyses .... they are pretty darn good to say the least. They come in at about 90 dB. They have a pair of 10" paper cone woofers and the Morel 94 dB efficient soft dome tweeter. The folks who have purchased my OB speakers are local in the Carolina. I built these strictly for fun although they are actually a serious set of loudspeakers. Designed specifically with and for Single-ended amplification"

http://usr.audioasylum.com/images/0/..._Speakers.jpeg

Guess we have to move to NC if we want speakers. ;)
The smaller Inspire set is quite appealing.

I have not seen the copper Dennis picked yet, but the idea is to match the look of the MSB copper and black unit they show on their web site. The picture I'm looking at is the 5th or so from the bottom. It should look really sharp in contrast with the black transformers.


Custom Colors

Bill, is the copper one that he is building for you? If it is, that is funny (not the looks, it should look cool). I'm just thinking that the custom colors Dennis has done thus far have been red, blue, green, and copper. The red, blue and green are for fellows on this thread. If the copper is yours, then all of Dennis custom colors are from this thread. Small world! :D

John, Yes, He is building the copper 6v6 for me. I've been following the thread which inspired me to have him build one for me. I purchased the green one he advertised last week on ebay and asked him to switch colors if he thought he could match the MSB copper (or get close). I didn't just stumble on the amp and find this thread. I purchased it BECAUSE of this thread. :)

It will be an amp I can try different tubes in, which is something I would never do with my Shindo amp. I will use it in a second system driving Harbeth c7s in a another room.

He is such a delightful person to deal with. One of these days, these hand made amps might be something really special!

Not any more...I've sold both pair, but they're featured at HA's website, as their best coaxial w/ the Sterling Silver drivers. But there's tons of pics on the Hawthorne DIY forum...both speaker builds, large and small, are on the forum with photo step by step. The forum user "woodsage" is the featured builder. No one on that forum, even Darrell Hawthorne, has Mike's, aka woodsage, woodworking skills. Mike builds corporate board room tables for a living. Here's the build for a set of Rainier's, the taller pair with the AMT mid center.

hawthorneaudio.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4072

Hawthorne Audio has an outfit build their 15" drivers...I'd heard their 10's, and then their 15's...talk about shakin' some air!...they're addicting. Excellent drivers they are, and more importantly, very efficient and EZ to drive.

I don't doubt DH's OB's sound very good. At least he builds a better looking baffle than Hawthorne's stock offering.

OB's are very addicting. But I'm more a fan of the 15" drivers.

http://i1192.photobucket.com/albums/...ps0f3385ca.png

Thanks. I'm thinking a 10" Sterling Silver and a 10" Auggie in a 12" wide baffle would be just about perfect.

The Inspire amps have become so popular they've all ready hit the used market.
audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=584504

Yes, Coltrane1 has already purchased a used LP2 preamp AND KT88 amp on Ebay!!! :scratch2: