Scott,

No thank you! (Master Thespian)

I enjoyed the visit vicariously.

I have a later LP-2. It has three 6MF7 and a rectifier. I added the DAC stepped attenuator. Love it. I couldn't bear the risk of upgrading it though. If I were up for the LP-3, I would buy it outright, keep one, sell one. You are a brave man! Dennis hasn't steered me wrong anywhere along the way though.

Good stories. Between emails, the video recently posted, and the stories shared about Dennis, I feel like I trust his judgement. And frankly, that sense of mischief that true creators seem to harbor. I am pleased with and proud of his products, and I appreciate that they are tweakable, by swapping out tubes.

Peter,

Interestingly we did talk about. Dennis even suggest maybe buying a new one and selling older one on ebay. At this point I look at my units as a matched set. This is why I decided to go the rout I did. Honestly, it hadn't crossed my mind that I could be making a mistake,... until now. No worries. I'll be in Chapel Hill on Monday and hopefully pick it up then. Dennis is planning to have it ready.. I'll post my impressions.

I'm looking forward to your impressions. The hardest part for me with system changes is that period of adjustment, particularly if breaking in is called for. I cycle around through hope and doubt until clear if it's an improvement, even when it does turn out to be.

I'm fortunate to be in a "content" stage, not looking at audiogon or ebay much and enjoying the music immensely. I'm sure the time will come again though!

Bear,

What tubes does the stock LP-3 run? I have the LP-27a and it runs an 80, 6SN7, and pair of 56/27 tubes. If it is all octal, I would imagine a 5Y3, 6SN7 and maybe another pair of 6SN7's or 6SL7's.

Rosco,

I don't recall the rectifier but you are on the right track with the 6sn7 & 6sl7 though I don't recall in which order either. Not much help I know. You can see it on the video link posted a short time back.

Funny, my stock LP-27a has the 80 (4-Pin) and the output tubes (either 27 or 56), but it uses a GE 6BX7 rectifier instead of your 6SN7 (the latter used interchangeably with the 6SL7 in my SET amp). Go figure!

The 6BX7 is similar but not the same as a 6SN7, and Dennis' power supply may handle it. My LP-27a came stock with a CV-181 6SN7 equivalent.

The 6bx7 is not a rectifier. The 80 is.

You're correct. The 6BX7 is an input tube. Which of the two demands more from the transformer? Could I replace the 6BX7 with one of my 6SN7's? These Inspire units really are tube-rolling platforms:music:

In my Inspire amp, a 6BX7, 6SN7 and 6SL7 are interchangeable as input tubes.