Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Coltrane1]

Originally Posted by Justlisten2

Are they full range speakers? I don't see any tweeters... No, I have never experienced a true open baffle design. It sounds like I need to. Those sure look pretty!
Is that a Canary amp?

Yes, full range. The coax is behind the center of the upper 15" midrange driver. Drove them a bit with the Canary 301 mono's. The lower photo is my first pair in blonde birch...exceptional woodworking skills by my local guy.

[Formerly YB-2]

Do you have a picture of the back of the speaker showing the coax?

OK........... found the Hawthorne speaker website - hawthorneaudio.us/catalogs/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Unfortunately, our local OB builder passed away a couple of years ago. He favored TAD full-range drivers and super-tweeters.

[Justlisten2]

Alright, here is an e-mail reply from Dennis regarding some of the questions about metal work and speakers here. It seems like we are being watched closely.

One of my audio buddies alerted me to go the AudioAficionado for some chatter. Here are a few responses if you wish.

"The chassis are machined in the Inspire shop here in the Cary Business Park. I have the raw aluminum folded and welded outside of our shop and then as I mentioned we do all the machining. The photos you saw of the raw chassis were on the shipping bench in the shop. Next step is off for sand blasting and powder coating. Speaking of powder coating ... I bought some smashing copper powder coat finish this afternoon. The powder comes in 5 Lb boxs. To coat a chassis takes a just few ounces. LOL I can copper for years LOL Next week I will send you a photo of the final. One of our 6V6 Inspire customers is going to be the first.

In regards to the Inspire loudspeakers ... I designed them with my mighty 6V6 amplifier last summer. I had a fellow from Greensboro who is a loudspeaker guru and speaker judge at the summer Parts Express speaker build contest come and do the computer analyses .... they are pretty darn good to say the least. They come in at about 90 dB. They have a pair of 10" paper cone woofers and the Morel 94 dB efficient soft dome tweeter. The folks who have purchased my OB speakers are local in the Carolina. I built these strictly for fun although they are actually a serious set of loudspeakers. Designed specifically with and for Single-ended amplification"

[Formerly YB-2]

Guess we have to move to NC if we want speakers.
The smaller Inspire set is quite appealing.

[Loop4fun]

I have not seen the copper Dennis picked yet, but the idea is to match the look of the MSB copper and black unit they show on their web site. The picture I'm looking at is the 5th or so from the bottom. It should look really sharp in contrast with the black transformers.


Custom Colors

[Justlisten2]

Originally Posted by Loop4fun

I have not seen the copper Dennis picked yet, but the idea is to match the look of the MSB copper and black unit they show on their web site. The picture I'm looking at is the 5th or so from the bottom. It should look really sharp in contrast with the black transformers.


Custom Colors

Bill, is the copper one that he is building for you? If it is, that is funny (not the looks, it should look cool). I'm just thinking that the custom colors Dennis has done thus far have been red, blue, green, and copper. The red, blue and green are for fellows on this thread. If the copper is yours, then all of Dennis custom colors are from this thread. Small world!

[Loop4fun]

Originally Posted by Justlisten2

Bill, is the copper one that he is building for you? If it is, that is funny (not the looks, it should look cool). I'm just thinking that the custom colors Dennis has done thus far have been red, blue, green, and copper. The red, blue and green are for fellows on this thread. If the copper is yours, then all of Dennis custom colors are from this thread. Small world!

John, Yes, He is building the copper 6v6 for me. I've been following the thread which inspired me to have him build one for me. I purchased the green one he advertised last week on ebay and asked him to switch colors if he thought he could match the MSB copper (or get close). I didn't just stumble on the amp and find this thread. I purchased it BECAUSE of this thread.

It will be an amp I can try different tubes in, which is something I would never do with my Shindo amp. I will use it in a second system driving Harbeth c7s in a another room.

He is such a delightful person to deal with. One of these days, these hand made amps might be something really special!

[Coltrane1]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

Do you have a picture of the back of the speaker showing the coax?

OK........... found the Hawthorne speaker website - hawthorneaudio.us/catalogs/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=1

Unfortunately, our local OB builder passed away a couple of years ago. He favored TAD full-range drivers and super-tweeters.

Not any more...I've sold both pair, but they're featured at HA's website, as their best coaxial w/ the Sterling Silver drivers. But there's tons of pics on the Hawthorne DIY forum...both speaker builds, large and small, are on the forum with photo step by step. The forum user "woodsage" is the featured builder. No one on that forum, even Darrell Hawthorne, has Mike's, aka woodsage, woodworking skills. Mike builds corporate board room tables for a living. Here's the build for a set of Rainier's, the taller pair with the AMT mid center.

hawthorneaudio.us/forums/viewtopic.php?f=2&t=4072

Hawthorne Audio has an outfit build their 15" drivers...I'd heard their 10's, and then their 15's...talk about shakin' some air!...they're addicting. Excellent drivers they are, and more importantly, very efficient and EZ to drive.

I don't doubt DH's OB's sound very good. At least he builds a better looking baffle than Hawthorne's stock offering.

OB's are very addicting. But I'm more a fan of the 15" drivers.

[Formerly YB-2]

Thanks. I'm thinking a 10" Sterling Silver and a 10" Auggie in a 12" wide baffle would be just about perfect.

The Inspire amps have become so popular they've all ready hit the used market.
audiokarma.org/forums/showthread.php?t=584504

[Justlisten2]

Originally Posted by Formerly YB-2

The Inspire amps have become so popular they've all ready hit the used market.

Yes, Coltrane1 has already purchased a used LP2 preamp AND KT88 amp on Ebay!!!