I was in need of a break from work while Dennis, Tony (straitwire)and Allan (Analog Addict) had been trading texts regarding a get together. Well, Friday fit the schedule for all of us so another trip to Cary has come and gone. I had a blast. Backing up a bit, it was just about two months ago last I went. On that trip I dropped off my 2013 KT amp for some Dennis offered mods. This amp has had a second rectifier tube added in the past to accommodate the IIPS power circuit but still was running Russian PIO coupling caps and a single auto bias. Dennis wanted to install the new Universal OPTs and individual channel auto bias circuits and just bring it up to date. I had thought long and hard about the change in OPTs. I had thousands of hours break-in on the old OPTs and was very happy with the sound. I had also done direct comparisons to his Universal Amp and could see the improvements in his current designs. Having been offered, I ultimately accepted.
As I was planning to make another trip soon for additional audiophile reasons I told Dennis to hold onto my amp and I would pick it up then. Well, to my benefit he did not just set it on a shelf. It seems he has been using it for his home amplifier. As it also seems, he continued to tweak it during its stay. Picts he sent with the initial mods don’t match the final. A different can cap for instance. Thats just on the outside. I have not pulled the bottom to really look things over yet. I do know he switched the wiring from Pentode to Triode and has abandoned the bias switch on the front. Also it seems that any rectifier will fly. A 5ar4 with 6v6g is fine now. I used to have to run 5y3 and the like with the lower powered output tubes. Not sure if the new universal amps do that or not.
As always, what matters is the sound. This amp is amazing. Dennis has really been able to get a great deal more from his triode wired amps. As I have heard them in the past they were not for me. I get the magical midrange but the loss of the punch of a pentode was not acceptable sacrifice IMHO. Not the case with this amp. Still the punch and drive but also the magical midrange. WOW. Been listening most all weekend and this thing really does impress. Having been a couple months without it I accept my audio memory has faded some but there is no doubt in my mind the improvements are real and substantial.
Another reason for the visit was a speaker project Denis and I were playing around with. I’ll plan to post about that on the speakers with Inspire gear on this forum.
Scott
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