Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Bombadil]

Originally Posted by Rosco65

IIRC you have a pair of VR7's. These were rated at 92dB/2.83V. But the impedance was 4 ohms below 200hz, which means that in this region it is an 88dB speaker that also has some significant current demands. This is not a speaker I would think to be friendly to SE tube amps. If the speaker had a high, flat impedance it would be better suited even at the same impedance. Harbeth speakers are lower sensitivity on paper but do much better with tube amps.

Yes, and at 200Hz & up, the impedance is a very flat 8 ohms. I've bi-amped it from time to time with SS driving the bass module and tube amps on the mid/tweeter module. I'll probably do this again at some point. The designer strongly discourages using active crossovers when bi-amping, as the internal crossovers employ several elements to smooth impedance and frequency response. I own a preamp has a digital subwoofer filter which allows me to filter out sub-160Hz frequencies being sent to the tube amp, thereby relieving it of all deep bass.

But I haven't used that preamp since moving into my smaller place. Listening to how my SE amp / speaker combo works in this smaller room.

The designer, Albert Von Schweikert, loved using tube amps with this speaker, but higher powered ones. He demo'ed it at several audio shows with tube amps, winning multiple awards.

[pstrisik]

Originally Posted by BearCityUSA

Please keep the other topics under discussion. I'm always interested in you all's POV. These speaker sensitivity and new DH designs are of particular interest.

I do have something that is bothering me of late. There seems to be so much bling on new tubes. I do not care that my tube base is white or copper or ceramic,... A ridiculously large gold lion printed on the glass is just gaudy. Does black vs grey vs blue glass really matter that much to the sound. Quality manufacturing, high, sustainable vacuums, a solid pin and base structure,... these are important to me in that I feel that along with a good design lead to the best functioning/sounding tubes. The rest seems like just so much fluff. Am I alone in thinking that to much is being invested in cosmetics by tube manufacturer's of late?

I hope this is not to incendiary for the rules here at AAf.

IMO, the bling's not bad. I don't think it adds much to the production costs. They are going to print something on the glass anyway, so a large lion wouldn't cost more than a few words and numbers. I don't think glass tint is a big deal either, though I may be wrong on that one. The manufacturers may have some attention on marketing. Blue glass, like the newer Sophia 274B makes the tube more distinctive and it may be more remembered and referred to (I think that just happened! ).

Hopefully, they are paying sufficient attention to the materials and production qualities you list as well. I guess the only way we really know is in the performance, reliability, and longevity of the tubes.

But the aesthetics are really subjective, so we are both right!

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by BearCityUSA

Please keep the other topics under discussion. I'm always interested in you all's POV. These speaker sensitivity and new DH designs are of particular interest.

I do have something that is bothering me of late. There seems to be so much bling on new tubes. I do not care that my tube base is white or copper or ceramic,... A ridiculously large gold lion printed on the glass is just gaudy. Does black vs grey vs blue glass really matter that much to the sound. Quality manufacturing, high, sustainable vacuums, a solid pin and base structure,... these are important to me in that I feel that along with a good design lead to the best functioning/sounding tubes. The rest seems like just so much fluff. Am I alone in thinking that to much is being invested in cosmetics by tube manufacturer's of late?

I hope this is not to incendiary for the rules here at AAf.

Arcturus made blue glass tubes. JJ had blue glass too.

http://www.bill01a.com/articles/arcturus-a.htm

Distinctive markings on tubes and different bases just helps to differentiate. The Chinese CV181's look the same to me but there is a sonic difference between them.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by Musica Amantem

I was thinking in terms of a PSE SET being almost double in power relative to the same single tube per channel SET. With the 45's, it is still low power, though.

Yes, too low to really shine unless the speakers are properly designed 100db+ horns. You would have to hear the difference to be a believer. I took my amp and pre to a friends house last year. Pope 6V6's in triode through his Belle Klipsch ,104db, with Volti Audio mods was stunning.

http://www.klipschupgrades.com/

[CoGT3]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

Yes, too low to really shine unless the speakers are properly designed 100db+ horns. You would have to hear the difference to be a believer. I took my amp and pre to a friends house last year. Pope 6V6's in triode through his Belle Klipsch ,104db, with Volti Audio mods was stunning.

http://www.klipschupgrades.com/

I've heard Greg production speakers when I was building my current system. Wonderful speakers but would not have worked well in my smallish room. Also he strongly suggest long wall placement for the Vittoras to excel which is a no go in my room.

Since getting sucked into the 45's I've thought about hunting down a pair of LaScalla to upgrade with his horns but never did.

Since then he has released a new speaker using the same drivers from the Vittora set up in a speaker along the lines of the Cornwall. He has a demo program and I have been talking to some else local who is also interested in sharing the shipping cost to try them at home. Specs should play nicely even with a 45 SET.

Check out the Volti Rival on their web sight.

[BearCityUSA]

Originally Posted by FloridaBoy

Arcturus made blue glass tubes. JJ had blue glass too. http://www.bill01a.com/articles/arcturus-a.htm Distinctive markings on tubes and different bases just helps to differentiate. The Chinese CV181's look the same to me but there is a sonic difference between them.

You and Peter are both right. It does seem though that there is a significant amount of cosmetics going into the different series. Reading this

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/stor...v181-tii-pair/

Im seeing comments about grey coatings differentiating from black, fingerprints on the bases, and sonically " not a tiny bit less". I hope this last one is bad translation because that really means the TII series a lot less with relation to the treasure series. Really what I am bugged by is that I have yet to settle on a 6sn7 type tube as a go to but to roll Psvane os Shuguang I have to buy 4 each to really know. Really? 4 each? It just seems like a lot of marketing and not a significant leap in state of quality/design. I have read that the JJ's with the blue glass are identical to clear except the glass. Others say not but they are selling the blues. I like cobalt in my glass and I may even spend a little more for it. I do hate to try both only to not be able to tell the difference sonically. I'm really just venting and not trying to convince anyone of anything. I just was wondering if I am alone in my thinking.

[Analog Addict]

A few comments. The measured output of my PSE 45 was right at 3.5 WPC, not surprisingly similar to a 2A3. Unfortunately I don't have pix of the wave forms, but the square waves were as perfect as I've ever seen. Next time I get over to the shop, I'll get some more pix. Also, this amp definitely has more bass presence and control, but I have to admit, it's hard to evaluate in my normal home setup, since I run dual JBL 4685 subwoofers powered by 800W each. I'll have to turn them off and listen to the system....

[Musica Amantem]

Originally Posted by BearCityUSA

You and Peter are both right. It does seem though that there is a significant amount of cosmetics going into the different series. Reading this

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/stor...v181-tii-pair/

Im seeing comments about grey coatings differentiating from black, fingerprints on the bases, and sonically " not a tiny bit less". I hope this last one is bad translation because that really means the TII series a lot less with relation to the treasure series. Really what I am bugged by is that I have yet to settle on a 6sn7 type tube as a go to but to roll Psvane os Shuguang I have to buy 4 each to really know. Really? 4 each? It just seems like a lot of marketing and not a significant leap in state of quality/design. I have read that the JJ's with the blue glass are identical to clear except the glass. Others say not but they are selling the blues. I like cobalt in my glass and I may even spend a little more for it. I do hate to try both only to not be able to tell the difference sonically. I'm really just venting and not trying to convince anyone of anything. I just was wondering if I am alone in my thinking.

FWIW, I have settled on the Psvane CV-181 TII (gray coat, bronze base), as once settled it is the most revealing without becoming edgy at all, showing great composure and triggering the best from the KT-77, KT-66 and 6P3S-E output tubes in my rig, with the S.E. 274B mesh plate rectifier.

The described choice is competitively rivaled by the Super-Radiotron 6SN7 GTA, and to a lesser extent, the Shuguang CV-181 T (black coat, white base). All these are great input tubes, but to me, the Psvane prevails. It takes a while to settle in, so it requires patience out of the box.

[Musica Amantem]

Originally Posted by Analog Addict

A few comments. The measured output of my PSE 45 was right at 3.5 WPC, not surprisingly similar to a 2A3. Unfortunately I don't have pix of the wave forms, but the square waves were as perfect as I've ever seen. Next time I get over to the shop, I'll get some more pix. Also, this amp definitely has more bass presence and control, but I have to admit, it's hard to evaluate in my normal home setup, since I run dual JBL 4685 subwoofers powered by 800W each. I'll have to turn them off and listen to the system....

Just curious, what is the rated sensitivity on your current speakers? Do you filter the lowest frequencies to aid the amp with the rest of the spectrum? I'm having high pass filters coming precisely to improve the amp's overall performance through the elimination of the lowest frequency burdens while those will be processed exclusively by my 160 watt SUB. Your PSE 45 SET would benefit tangibly with this approach, plus you have plenty of low-frequency support from those 800 watts SUBs.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by BearCityUSA

You and Peter are both right. It does seem though that there is a significant amount of cosmetics going into the different series. Reading this

http://psvanetube.com/wordpress/stor...v181-tii-pair/

Im seeing comments about grey coatings differentiating from black, fingerprints on the bases, and sonically " not a tiny bit less". I hope this last one is bad translation because that really means the TII series a lot less with relation to the treasure series. Really what I am bugged by is that I have yet to settle on a 6sn7 type tube as a go to but to roll Psvane os Shuguang I have to buy 4 each to really know. Really? 4 each? It just seems like a lot of marketing and not a significant leap in state of quality/design. I have read that the JJ's with the blue glass are identical to clear except the glass. Others say not but they are selling the blues. I like cobalt in my glass and I may even spend a little more for it. I do hate to try both only to not be able to tell the difference sonically. I'm really just venting and not trying to convince anyone of anything. I just was wondering if I am alone in my thinking.

Bear, you can get pairs or singles of the Shuguang or Psvane tubes on the auction site. The JJ blue glass were the same tube as the clear. You can not tell what a tube will sound like by looking at it. These are all different sounding tubes and there isn't a dog in the bunch.