Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Bombadil]

When Dennis adds a volume control to an amp, is it basically just a pot? On the ones I've seen, there are no additional preamp stage tubes.

[straitwire]

You can run KT-150s in the PSE monos, I have heard them with KT-150s and they sound great. Not sure what the power is though.

Yes, it is just a volume pot by itself. A few of our customers have requested this lately, I think some of them are using high output digital sources.

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This is a 2A3 FireBottle with an 83 rectifier and a volume control.

[straitwire]

PSE Stereo...

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6V6 headphone...

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807 FireBottle SE...

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Analog's preamp...

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Deburring and sanding the edges of the holes this morning, hopefully I can take them to the powder coater tomorrow...straitwire

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

The LP 27a coupling caps are 1.5uf, quite large and more expensive than the couplers in the amp(s). It was tough fitting the Jupiters, $118 each, in it. The couplers in my amp are .022uf and Jupiter's are $60 each. I'm not using Jupiter's there though. Caps are like spice and we all like different things. My present speakers are Klipsch and PIO type caps work best for me. With another speaker I may prefer something else. It's all about synergy and rolling caps can be less expensive than rare old production power tubes. Also, the most expensive ones may not work best for you.

I have a pair of .022uf Jensen copper foil ceramic tube in the parts box and will try them in the amp eventually. Roscoe, be bold and daring. Try the Jupiter copper foil in your triode amp. ;-)

Do NOT try/use the Jupiter Copper foil HT's. They melted in mine.

[Comzee]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

Do NOT try/use the Jupiter Copper foil HT's. They melted in mine.

Ya, the chassis for these amps get super hot. There's no ventilation holes either.
I was using some 807 tubes with my kt88 amp awhile ago, and it melted the fuse before it did any other damage thankfully. Still not sure what makes 807 out of spec, but oh well.

As for coupling capacitors, the Audiocap PPT Theta are really nice. I think it's actually what Dennis has been using as of late. As far as capacitors as a concept, it's kind of an "all things being equal" type scenario. While I think Dennis's amps are exceptional, it's not like they're built with bespoke transformers and unobtanium audio components. There's a limit what these hi end capacitors will accomplish.

[bwilson51]

When I switch sources on my Inspire LP-3a preamp I can hear noises though my speakers.I can even tap on the chassis and hear noises.Does anyone have and ideas on how to stop this.

[maro]

When I switch sources on my Inspire LP-3a preamp I can hear noises though my speakers.I can even tap on the chassis and hear noises.Does anyone have and ideas on how to stop this.

It could be a microphonic tube. I have had to replace tubes to fix the same thing. Try gently tapping on the tubes and see if one stands out for making noise.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Comzee

Ya, the chassis for these amps get super hot. There's no ventilation holes either.
I was using some 807 tubes with my kt88 amp awhile ago, and it melted the fuse before it did any other damage thankfully. Still not sure what makes 807 out of spec, but oh well.

As for coupling capacitors, the Audiocap PPT Theta are really nice. I think it's actually what Dennis has been using as of late. As far as capacitors as a concept, it's kind of an "all things being equal" type scenario. While I think Dennis's amps are exceptional, it's not like they're built with bespoke transformers and unobtanium audio components. There's a limit what these hi end capacitors will accomplish.

The Audio Cap Theta is an excellent cheap and cheerful coupling cap. Underrated IMHO.

[Waterclocker]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

Do NOT try/use the Jupiter Copper foil HT's. They melted in mine.

I had some Jupiters in my Audio Note Kits EL84 amp and they probably cooked also. Jupiter has great customer service and had me send them in to see what caused the failure. 1 of the 4 leaked and another's end started protruding. Makes me nervous about having them near heat.

Another Note: The coupling caps that came in my LP-3a were Audyn Plus. I thought it sounded bad and veiled, but the caps needed a very long break in. I let my CD player run on repeat for a whole week with the stock JJ tubes and by about 200 hours total it really opened up and started sounding good


Does anyone know what the changes are with the LP-3.1?

[Waterclocker]

Originally Posted by bwilson51

When I switch sources on my Inspire LP-3a preamp I can hear noises though my speakers.I can even tap on the chassis and hear noises.Does anyone have and ideas on how to stop this.

You might also try cleaning the tube sockets. A q-tip stem with the cotton end broken off fits nicely. I recall getting some noise after a bunch of tube rolling and this helped.