Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Masterlu]

pechelman... Welcome to AA!

[pechelman]

Originally Posted by Masterlu

pechelman... Welcome to AA!

Thanks! Looking forward to any advice or input you all have. And likely a bit of enabling as well

[Tyson]

Originally Posted by pechelman

Hi there everyone.

Was hoping I could pose the questions I asked to Dennis via ebay here as well. Been over a week or so and haven't heard back, so thought I'd solicit you all as well since it sounds like many have direct experience with many of his amps and continuing development.

Right now I'm looking to compliment a bottlehead crack headphone amp/hd580. I've got a very small space (12x13) with 2 adjoining rooms of roughly equal size on 2 of the 4 sides. Right now I have no speakers or preamps or anything other than the noted headphone amp. My plan was to feed whatever amp digital audio & flac files for now. I listen to most everything. Classic to hard rock, lots of jazz, female vocals, electronica, classical, folk, rap, everything. Value resolution over loudness, prefer moderate listening levels, like bass, but dont need / want it to shake the house. Have a bit of a preference too for a slightly laid back warm sound, which is why I guess I'm looking at a tube amp. Specifically, it's the way I've read Dennis write about his amps, talk about listening, and reading here that's drawn me to his stuff.

Given my blank slate, where should I start with his amps? SET 45? 300B?

Couple of other questions to go with the DH amp recommendation;
Given my small space and whatever amp you think might be best, what might be a few suitables speakers to look at? Been looking at Omega and Tekton at the moment to give an idea of budget as well.

Is it possible (and able to produce decent results) to run one of these amps off a digital audio player (2V max out I believe)? One of the main reasons I've been trying to reach Dennis directly is to ask about this and the possibility / necessity of adding a volume control to his amp rather than also need to get a preamp if I dont need one. If anyone's willing could you please email me his contact info to pechelman AT gmail?

Really appreciate any advice here. Thanks!

I'd pick the speakers first, then the amp. If you like warm slightly laid back sound then you'll want to avoid the Tektons - they are good speakers but definitely not laid back. Omegas can sound good but you need to have heard a single driver speaker before you pick them. Single drivers do some things better than anything on the planet (ie, coherence) but have tradeoffs and an overall unique sound. Definitely try before you buy.

At Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the speaker that surprised me the most for it's refined sound and high efficiency was the Klipsch Forte III. Note, historically I have NOT been a fan of Klipsch, but the Forte III used a new midrange with a better horn and it sounded phenomenal. Very clear, and not bright at all. And at 99db sensitivity, they can be driven by literally any amp on the planet.

Having said that, I'd recommend looking at Dennis' Single Ended Pentode (SEP) designs before the 300b or Type 45. The SEPs are nice because they are very flexible with how much power you can get out of them. Put in 6F6 or an EL84 and you get about 4 watts. Put in a KT150 and you get 12. That's a nice bit of flexibility to have.

I have a Type 45 amp and nothing beats it for "you are there" realism. But on a good day it only makes 2 watts. That's not much!! The SEPs that Dennis make is "almost" as good at the 'you are there' realism as the Type 45, while having a lot more bass/grunt/drive. I have a pair of Inspire SEP monoblocks Dennis made around 2014 and I love those things.

Anyway, my $.05

[pechelman]

Originally Posted by Tyson

I'd pick the speakers first, then the amp. If you like warm slightly laid back sound then you'll want to avoid the Tektons - they are good speakers but definitely not laid back. Omegas can sound good but you need to have heard a single driver speaker before you pick them. Single drivers do some things better than anything on the planet (ie, coherence) but have tradeoffs and an overall unique sound. Definitely try before you buy.

At Rocky Mountain Audio Fest, the speaker that surprised me the most for it's refined sound and high efficiency was the Klipsch Forte III. Note, historically I have NOT been a fan of Klipsch, but the Forte III used a new midrange with a better horn and it sounded phenomenal. Very clear, and not bright at all. And at 99db sensitivity, they can be driven by literally any amp on the planet.

Having said that, I'd recommend looking at Dennis' Single Ended Pentode (SEP) designs before the 300b or Type 45. The SEPs are nice because they are very flexible with how much power you can get out of them. Put in 6F6 or an EL84 and you get about 4 watts. Put in a KT150 and you get 12. That's a nice bit of flexibility to have.

I have a Type 45 amp and nothing beats it for "you are there" realism. But on a good day it only makes 2 watts. That's not much!! The SEPs that Dennis make is "almost" as good at the 'you are there' realism as the Type 45, while having a lot more bass/grunt/drive. I have a pair of Inspire SEP monoblocks Dennis made around 2014 and I love those things.

Anyway, my $.05

Really appreciate your reply, Tyson. And don't sell yourself short, that was worth at least $0.10

I understand I'm doing this sort of backwards with not having identified a speaker prior to an amp, but we all have to start somewhere. The only loudspeaker/amp I have in my home at the moment are from a sony bluray 5.1 setup. It sounds "OK" but didn't think it would really be amenable to trying different speakers I dont think. Also great info about the Tekton sound and will have to try to find somwhere to listen to a single driver speaker wrt Omegas. I'll admit I probably got caught up in some of the romance? about a single driver speaker / small 45 amp. Was also thinking that maybe this would be the most analogous to setup I have with headphones (single drivers) and small ~300mW amp.

The Klipsch Forte III you noted are likely a little too big in size for the space I have unfortunately, that is, if I want my wife to still be happy with me . Right now I'm almost certain I will have to make a sonic compromise on speakers that are within a reasonable physical size and likely also within cost, and I'm OK with that. Besides being a little too large, the Forte III's are probably at the upper limit of what I feel like budgeting at this point just for speakers. Realistically, would prefer ~half or less of their retail cost I see online.

Your notes about amp architecture are well taken and is something I have been thinking about in terms of flexibility given I don't have speakers identified. I imagine you would also say that one of his Parellel Single Ended (PSE) designs would be suitable as well given their flexibility and higher output?

As is usual for me, I tend to get into and out of hobbies are the wrong time. I recently moved away from Denver which would have been super convenient to try to make it to RMAF, though surely I can find somewhere in Seattle to audition a few things. Guess I have some homework.

Thanks again!

[Cdrdel]

Hi all, first post aside from my introduction.

Read through this massive thread and even re-read a number of posts. Really appreciate all the tube rolling posts and impressions of the many Inspire varients. Especially like the prototype photos.

I picked up a Triode SET a few years back and recently picked up an LP-27a. Love them both. Running the Triode SET with KT120's currently - absolutely love the improved bass slam and smidge more power. I listen mostly to indy, alt, jazz, and classical so this combo works well for my likes.

I just picked up the LP 3.1 and all I can say is wow! The music is crystal clear and very articulate. I am a bit of a detail and imaging freak and this preamp and amp combo delivers. The LP 27a in comparison is warmer and maybe a tad bit less articulate. It is still a great preamp and excels at tonal balance as does the 3.1.

Just thought I'd share a few impressions. When I get more time will post some pics.

[Cdrdel]

I feel compelled to keep this thread going. I rolled in some NOS 7N7 Sylvanias into my LP3.1. They sound quite nice in this circuit. Very
smooth and articulate. 7N7 NOS are still very reasonably priced. I’m fortunate to have gotten mine free from work. They were NOS for obsolete boiler controlls. I think they edge out the GE 6SN7GTBs that were in before. Angela instruments has the adapters in stock. Thats where I got mine. I’m streaming lossless from Qobuz via Roon, female vocals and accoustic guitar (Aldous Harding) sound very natural with really great tone.

Has anyone else had any experiences with 7N7’s? So far I’m liking them very much.

[maro]

Hi,
I've been using one of the SEP Inspire amps with KT-88's for the past 3 years. First on a high efficiency horn system and then on Kef -LS 50's in a den system. The sound has always been excellent. Recently acquired a gently used pair of Proac DT-8's and have them in my den where high volume is not needed.
Is there anyone who has experience with both SEP and SET amps that could describe any differences between the two?
Would a move to the SET be an improvement?
Thanks

[oldtech0]

Hi,
Has anyone talked to Dennis lately? I know he was under the weather about 10 days ago.
He sent me a set of PSE mono blocs on the first of March. I have sent him a few emails with no response. Just hoping he is O.K.
Thanks

[oldtech0]

I am currently listening to the PSE monos with 6F6s and 5Y3 rectifier tubes. They came with KT 150s which sounded great. But this combo is pretty darn good. The quality of the bass is
very surprising to me.

[pechelman]

Originally Posted by oldtech0

Hi,
Has anyone talked to Dennis lately? I know he was under the weather about 10 days ago.
He sent me a set of PSE mono blocs on the first of March. I have sent him a few emails with no response. Just hoping he is O.K.
Thanks

Traded a few emails with him yesterday. Guessing he's up and about but maybe your emails got lost in a backlog from him being sick?