Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[bwilson51]

I have always believed cables make a difference, but when I had my ground loop issues I decided to use basis cables, power cords and speakerwires.I also hooked the preamp and DAC power cords into a PS audio p300 power conditioner.My Inspire LP-3.1 preamp is awesome, today I listened to Alison Krauss and you could swear she was in the room.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by bwilson51

...I have owned Cary SLP-98 and SLP-05 and this preamp betters both of them.I would love to hear other owners of LP-3.1 to hear their results.T

bwilson51, was the SLP98 stock or do you recall what upgrades and which 67SN7 tubes you ran in yours?

,

[bwilson51]

I know the slp05 was stock and I am pretty sure so was the slp98,I used now rca 6sn7 tubes in both preamps. preamps.I need to get another pair of rca 6sn7 tubes to try in the Inspire preamp,the ones I have have microphonic noise.I thought about trying tube dampers on them,have you tried tube dampers.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by bwilson51

I know the slp05 was stock and I am pretty sure so was the slp98,I used now rca 6sn7 tubes in both preamps. preamps.I need to get another pair of rca 6sn7 tubes to try in the Inspire preamp,the ones I have have microphonic noise.I thought about trying tube dampers on them,have you tried tube dampers.

Kinda thought that might have been the case. With the latest version including the optional upgrades, good coupling capacitors, and the right 6SN7s - the newer/fully upgraded SLP98 version is in an entirely different league compared to itself in stock form. It would be fun to own and compare the Inspire 3.1 sonic differences.

BTW: I've had good NOS RCA, Sylvania, new Mullards, and now some other new boutique 6SN7s in mine. They beat my NOS tubes, surprisingly - just a better match tonally in my particular system. Was worth trying different combinations too. Got it dialed now.

FYI, A buddy has the older SLP98 F1 version with upgrades and recently purchased the latest version 98 with the even better caps, upgraded tubes, and the better volume control. It was a major change for the good in his system. In fact, it caused him to sell another super high $ preamp originally costing 3x the price. Put some $ back in pocket.

It's definitely worth finding the right match of tubes and caps in these preamps. It seems part of what you get with Inspire is much of that R&d homework is already done for you or gets you pretty close at least. Saves time and $. Nice.

[bwilson51]

I have had bad luck with NOS 6sn7 tubes, I was wondering if anyone tried tube dampers to reduce microphonics.I am enjoying my preamp with current production tung-sol Russian 6sn7 tubes ,so I am sticking with those .

[decooney]

Originally Posted by bwilson51

I have had bad luck with NOS 6sn7 tubes, I was wondering if anyone tried tube dampers to reduce microphonics.I am enjoying my preamp with current production tung-sol Russian 6sn7 tubes ,so I am sticking with those .

Totally Understandable. And becoming more unobtanium now for good pairs and matched quads of 6SN7s. On that note I ended up mothballing my best quad + two spares of Sylvania 6SN7GTs. I went back and retried new re-issue quad of the same TS 6SN7s, EH. Okay for the $, but not in the same league as really good NOS or some of the better chinese 6SN7s in 98 preamp and system.

It seems like some of the better designers are successful at making the new re-issues sound better in their more recent circuits and gear coming out the past few years. I liked the re-issues in my little Inspire Hot Rod. As long as you like the sound that's what matters.

[Tyson]

Originally Posted by bwilson51

I have had bad luck with NOS 6sn7 tubes, I was wondering if anyone tried tube dampers to reduce microphonics.I am enjoying my preamp with current production tung-sol Russian 6sn7 tubes ,so I am sticking with those .

No 6SN7 sounds bad. And the modern tubes range from good (the Russian tubes) to very good (Shuguang) to excellent (Psvane).

BTW, if you are having trouble finding good NOS tubes, check out the 7N7 tubes - they are a 6SN7 but with different pins. Get an adapter and they are a drop in replacement. I've been running Westinghouse 7N7s in my Inspire monoblocks and they sound as good as any of my NOS Tung Sols.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Tyson

No 6SN7 sounds bad. And the modern tubes range from good (the Russian tubes) to very good (Shuguang) to excellent (Psvane).

BTW, if you are having trouble finding good NOS tubes, check out the 7N7 tubes - they are a 6SN7 but with different pins. Get an adapter and they are a drop in replacement. I've been running Westinghouse 7N7s in my Inspire monoblocks and they sound as good as any of my NOS Tung Sols.

The TJ Full Music 6SN7's are quite good too. The pricey Sophia Blue 6SN7 & 6SL7's are outstanding. As always..YMMV.

[bwilson51]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

The TJ Full Music 6SN7's are quite good too. The pricey Sophia Blue 6SN7 & 6SL7's are outstanding. As always..YMMV.

When I was talking to Dennis he said the LP-3.1 was not bias for 6SL7’s,I need to ask him what other tubes can I use with the preamp,it came with 2 6sn7 ‘s 1 6bx7 and 1 5y3.I think I am done buying 6sn7 tubes off eBay unless new in box.

[decooney]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

The TJ Full Music 6SN7's are quite good too. The pricey Sophia Blue 6SN7 & 6SL7's are outstanding. As always..YMMV.

Yo, this morning I reached out to the TJFM factory and the largest distributor for them to see if they are continuing to manufacture the N7s or not. What's odd is the TJFM factory still has them listed on their mfg site yet DIYHiFi Supply has only one pair left and GD-Parts no longer lists the N7s. Glad I grabbed that last quad for spares. I DO like them better than my 1965 Sylvania long Black Plate 6SN7s and they absolutely blow away my EH and Tung Sol 6SN7s for my Cary SLP-98 preamp.

Wondering if they are focusing more on making them for Sophia and Northern Electric or just stopping N7/L7 smaller production tubes all together like we thought.

-------------------------------------
All, BTW: "Tube-Enabler" FloridaBoy convinced me to try these lower-production boutique TJ FM 6SN7 tubes and they are great, more musical than my NOS black plates. Be careful if you buy any leftovers, only a few like GD Parts and DIY pack them well. Some of the failures were due to lousy packing/shipping we think.