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Inspire by Dennis Had Enjoying Vacuum Tube Audio

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  #5321  
Old 06-14-2019, 09:59 PM
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straitwire straitwire is offline
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Hey hood_1, sorry it took so long to reply.
Our transformers are hand wound in the US to Dennis's specifications.
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  #5322  
Old 06-16-2019, 08:38 PM
bearcity bearcity is offline
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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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  #5323  
Old 06-16-2019, 09:52 PM
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Masterlu Masterlu is online now
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Scott... Welcome to AA!
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  #5324  
Old 06-17-2019, 06:25 AM
FloridaBoy FloridaBoy is offline
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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.

Good for you. Dennis appears to have, as Tarzan would say, put good Ju Ju in the latest offerings.
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  #5325  
Old 06-17-2019, 06:31 AM
FloridaBoy FloridaBoy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maro View Post
Hi,
I have an Inspire SEP and have heard the 300B amp as well. It really comes down to the tubes used in each. There are more differences in tube combinations then there are inherently between the amps. The sound can be tuned with various input, power and rectifier tubes. Some combinations sound much better than others and this is true for both configurations. Overall the 300B amp probably can produce the biggest soundstage similar to a live performance. However tone and punch can possibly be better with the SEP.
I have been using the 6SL7 and 6SN7/CV181's from Shuguang and Psvane and these tubes are, IMHO, superior to old production. The difference is not subtle. They do take a while to settle in though but the wait is worth it.
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  #5326  
Old 06-17-2019, 01:28 PM
maro maro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaBoy View Post
I have been using the 6SL7 and 6SN7/CV181's from Shuguang and Psvane and these tubes are, IMHO, superior to old production. The difference is not subtle. They do take a while to settle in though but the wait is worth it.
Interesting.... have not tried any of the new production 6SL7 or 6SN7 as I have a good collection of old tubes and probably lack the patience of a long burn in time. I have tried just about every vintage 5U4G and find Tung-Sol to be my favorite. Until getting a Sofia Aqua 274B, this one is the best sounding rectifier by far in my 2014 vintage Inspire. The Sofia has more of everything sound quality wise.
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  #5327  
Old 06-18-2019, 06:48 AM
FloridaBoy FloridaBoy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by maro View Post
Interesting.... have not tried any of the new production 6SL7 or 6SN7 as I have a good collection of old tubes and probably lack the patience of a long burn in time. I have tried just about every vintage 5U4G and find Tung-Sol to be my favorite. Until getting a Sofia Aqua 274B, this one is the best sounding rectifier by far in my 2014 vintage Inspire. The Sofia has more of everything sound quality wise.
The Sophia blue 6SL7 & 6SN7's are excellent tubes but are pricey.
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  #5328  
Old 06-20-2019, 03:54 PM
maro maro is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by FloridaBoy View Post
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.

Good for you. Dennis appears to have, as Tarzan would say, put good Ju Ju in the latest offerings.
What tubes are you running in the newly modified Amp? I have an earlier pentode Inspire and have tried many power tubes. The metal 6f6's are my current tube and I like the fullness and punch they deliver. Have you used 6f6's yet in your new Inspire?
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  #5329  
Old 06-21-2019, 12:58 AM
Bombadil Bombadil is offline
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I'm running an earlier Inspire, I think it is wired in Ultralinear for maximum power. Dennis has never described it as such, to my knowledge, but it produces 40% more power than his SE Pentode amps.

In my amp, my least favorites tubes are the 6V6, 6P3S-e, and 6F6. All sound very bright and have diminished deep bass. They do have great detail, if your ears can withstand all of that upper midrange energy. The high end detail from the 6P3S-e is amazing, cymbals just shimmer and strings vibrate like I've never heard before. But after 20-30 minutes the headaches come on.

As to rectifiers, while there are minor differences between types (5U4GB vs 5V4GA vs GZ34 vs 274B), within a type I can detect no difference at all. So I use all 5U4GBs interchangably, same for 274Bs, etc. I've swapped them over and over again but never hear a difference. Even inexpensive modern JJ GZ34s sound the same as expensive, vintage GZ34/5AR4s. However I believe I hear differences between every different 6SN7 that I try.

I generally use a new production Genalex GZ34 with my KT88 / KT120 / KT150 power tubes. This combination produces a powerful sound with very good deep bass detail along with smooth midrange (but not overly warm) and treble. The difference on the lowest notes from an acoustic bass guitar or a piano between the KT88/KT120 vs a 6V6 is striking.
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  #5330  
Old 06-21-2019, 07:44 AM
FloridaBoy FloridaBoy is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Bombadil View Post
I'm running an earlier Inspire, I think it is wired in Ultralinear for maximum power. Dennis has never described it as such, to my knowledge, but it produces 40% more power than his SE Pentode amps.

In my amp, my least favorites tubes are the 6V6, 6P3S-e, and 6F6. All sound very bright and have diminished deep bass. They do have great detail, if your ears can withstand all of that upper midrange energy. The high end detail from the 6P3S-e is amazing, cymbals just shimmer and strings vibrate like I've never heard before. But after 20-30 minutes the headaches come on.

As to rectifiers, while there are minor differences between types (5U4GB vs 5V4GA vs GZ34 vs 274B), within a type I can detect no difference at all. So I use all 5U4GBs interchangably, same for 274Bs, etc. I've swapped them over and over again but never hear a difference. Even inexpensive modern JJ GZ34s sound the same as expensive, vintage GZ34/5AR4s. However I believe I hear differences between every different 6SN7 that I try.

I generally use a new production Genalex GZ34 with my KT88 / KT120 / KT150 power tubes. This combination produces a powerful sound with very good deep bass detail along with smooth midrange (but not overly warm) and treble. The difference on the lowest notes from an acoustic bass guitar or a piano between the KT88/KT120 vs a 6V6 is striking.
Seems like power tube preference depends on speakers. For power tubes I prefer 6L6GA's and 6V6's with a 5R4GY rectifier driving Heresy III's with a new to me PSE with IIPS that I purchased from Beetlebum.

The input tube used has a large influence and experimenting has been very worthwhile.
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