Originally Posted by Analog Addict
(Post 949893)
There's a certain truth to that on a number of levels. When you spend time around Dennis, you'll soon find out that he is always excited about whatever project is under development. This excitement is contagious. It's one of the reasons for his success. That rolls in with an old amp builders joke, which he has shared with me more than once.
Question to the amp builder - What's the best amp you've ever built?
Amp builder points to his work bench - That one!
The Inspire shop is a place of continuous change and improvement. Unlike a larger commercial shop like places that start with a C and end with a Y, it's possible that every amp can be built with personal touches requested by the customer, and every amp can be slightly different depending on what current design improvements are being explored.
So on one hand, when you get to listen to a lot of the iterations as they come out, you notice that the sound is getting better, but it's in small steps. However, when you go back and listen to an older amp, the difference is much more noticeable. For example on Friday, we compared the Model 19 to an older 45 Fire Bottle and a newer 300B. The Model 19 threw a much bigger sound stage and was more precise in it's presentation. In all honesty, I liked the 45 amp better than the 300B, but that's personal preference based on the inherent sound characteristics of the tubes themselves, and that the 45's were NOS, while the 300Bs were new manufacture.
Part of what people need to realize is that the ideal perfect amplifier would do nothing except let the pure sound of the tube shine through, without adding anything of it's own. In general, Inspire amps do this well, and it then falls upon the listener/customer to decide what tubes they like and if the triode or pentode sound is more pleasing to their ear. That being said, the flexibility of Dennis' pentode amps in allowing the listener to change output tubes, rectifiers and driver tubes is unmatched in the marketplace.
Despite all this waffling and audio babble, the new Model 19 is a significant jump in the Inspire line, and should please any single ended fan with it's dynamics, tonal richness and sound stage that seemingly projects beyond the back wall.
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