Quote:
Originally Posted by decooney
Does anyone here on this forum happen to KNOW if the KT150 hotrod version of the Inspire Firebottle will effectively drive a pair of larger 90db speakers with dual 8" woofers and ribbon style tweeter?
Doing various online searches on various forums regarding 2+ year old units, several have been resold with comments about "needing more power", etc. I have no clue about the current version and thought about trying one with my existing Cary SLP98L preamp. I've never heard one, so I'm asking... Thanks.
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Decooney,
Lately DH has been building triode strapped pentode amps such as the one just posted by Analog. These amps do produce significantly less power than the SEPs he was building not long ago. If you look at his latest ebay offering you will see the the SET yielded 7+ watts for the KT150. A similar SEP model would produce about 12 watts. I do not think the HOT ROD versions in the past were more powerful than their standard brethren. They had better components and a sweeter sound as I did hear one a/b against my PSE amp when I went to pick it up.
As to your real question, will it drive your speakers? It will depend a lot on your listening levels, size of room, and type of music. I can say the the more efficient of the two speakers in DH's listening room, the shorter ones in AA's picture are about 90db and they do really fill the room well. The larger 4 ways i believe are in the high 80dbs and they do the same. His room is not really large though. I estimate 14x12 with a bit more depth on one side where he has his drawing board, 8 foot ceilings. I personally am a fan of his SEP offerings. I have two. I did hear one of his 45s (a true triode) a while back and though I did hear the mid range magic I prefer the punch of the SEP. dH described it as an old mans amp and I get the reference. There are those here who contend the triode strapped pentodes are the best compromise. I could not say in that I have not heard one. Maybe next time i am in Cary.