Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[straitwire]

Hey Beatlebum, the 15" driver speakers are still a work in progress so it's too soon to know about placement yet.
As far as the final judgment of the sound is concerned, Dennis has a lot of listening to do with different music and different amps and this takes a lot of time.
Added to that you have to factor in break-in time on the drivers.
When I left his house he was listening to your amp.
But from the limited listening that I have done I really like what I hear.
The Fostex speakers are very nice too, and I have my eye (or ears) on them also.
I know it probably seems like I am indecisive when I say I have put in an order for a speaker but then say that I am still looking at them all, but I want to make sure I have a place in line for when the production of either design begins.
It's so hard to decide when you work in the candy store...

[Comzee]

@straitwire I noticed in a picture you had the Lii F15 next to what I believe is the Lii Silver-8 (or maybe silver-10)?

How do you think the F15 compares to the Silver driver?

[straitwire]

Hey Comzee, I don't remember, bearcity bought that driver so he knows the details.
We did not spend a lot of time listening to it so I don't know what to say about it.

[Comzee]

Originally Posted by straitwire

Hey Comzee, I don't remember, bearcity bought that driver so he knows the details.
We did not spend a lot of time listening to it so I don't know what to say about it.

Thanks for the info, if BearCity sees this, maybe he can chime in.

I myself, already ordered the F15, found a guy locally to make an MDF cab for me, based on the box specs Lii displays on their webpage for F15 (pictured below).

(Oh, and if anybody has reservations about this box design let me know. It's just the only thing I have to go off of, for commissioning a cab from my builder)

Seems like a really great price/performance speaker. I love my Omega single drivers, so I'm sure I'll like the F15.

Friend I have is curious about the Lii Silver series tho.

[straitwire]

Hey Comzee, that's great!...let us know how it turns out

[AMammal]

Man, the KT170 being built looks really special. Also those Lii drivers are something else! I've been looking for a good speaker project, but not quite ready to spend that much.

Got the amps straightened out. The 6v6 with the KT66's and 5AR4 rectifier add a couple watts and a heavier bottom end with less sharp highs on the Klipsch Forte III. Still not quite enough for concert level orchestra listening in our gigantic living room to kitchen but pretty good for everything else. (18' ceiling in living room and extends 40' to kitchen). Sounds really nice and the imaging is sweet, but think we're gonna move the 6v6 and LP-3a to a smaller room we have available and I'm really itching to experiment building some speakers for that room and for the amps. Open baffles or something like the above Lii drivers eventually. I think I'd start with something like this:



Got some midrange and tweeter SABA-Freiburg green cones that are currently living in an old SABA automatic 3ds that I picked up at a flea market for $67. It's in terribly rough shape, (mouse ate the cones of the 8" drivers and built a nest. But the voice coils of the 8" are still there...anyone have experience reconing vintage speakers?).

Anyway, not planning on going too crazy with the tube rolling since I already have the Sovtek 5AR4, the two RCA 80 rectifiers, some mystery 6v6 tubes, some NOS pope 6v6gt, the winged svetlana 6550c and then the Tung Sol KT66 which Dennis recommended. BUT the 274a has caught my eye. On the email list for one of the cheaper new production 274a's but I can't remember the company (i've been surfing too much).

Anyone have any idea what tubes are interchangeable with the Russian 6H1Pi tubes or a good source for them? There are 3 in the LP-3a Pre and one as the input driver for the 6v6. Don't know much about them and couldn't find anything online as far as interchangeability goes.

Also, I got in touch with the original owner and it was really cool to hear more about their journey to our speakers

Anyway, really enjoying this thread and the amazing posts. Making my way through the whole thread I've gathered some great listening recommendations as well!

What a great community!

Cheers all! Can't wait to hear further about all the builds! (speaker & amp)

[pcprincipal]

Originally Posted by straitwire

Hey Beatlebum, the 15" driver speakers are still a work in progress so it's too soon to know about placement yet.
As far as the final judgment of the sound is concerned, Dennis has a lot of listening to do with different music and different amps and this takes a lot of time.
Added to that you have to factor in break-in time on the drivers.
When I left his house he was listening to your amp.
But from the limited listening that I have done I really like what I hear.
The Fostex speakers are very nice too, and I have my eye (or ears) on them also.
I know it probably seems like I am indecisive when I say I have put in an order for a speaker but then say that I am still looking at them all, but I want to make sure I have a place in line for when the production of either design begins.
It's so hard to decide when you work in the candy store...

Hi, maybe you can help me. Can the Lii drivers compete with Altec Lansing Duplex models? That's what I really need to know.

[straitwire]

Oh yeah! chassis ready to go.
Stuffed one of them and I'm taking it to the shop tomorrow.
More pics when it's wired.

[IMG][/IMG]
[IMG][/IMG]

[paulmlemay]

Does anyone know if my Inspire amp can A) accept 6550 power tubes and B) if so: which rectifier I should use? My Inspire is relatively new and is a power amp, not an integrated.

[Musica Amantem]

Sorry, not a reply to the last message. I'm just back from a long audio hiatus of about 2.5 years. Recently, I re-assembled my gear and have started to listen again. Unfortunately, at my age it is difficult to remember details that I used to recall second nature due to practice. I am having some trouble just orienting myyself again into the nice intricacies of this great hobby. For example, I have not been tube-rolling and have been listening to the tube setup which was left last in the Inspire preamp and amp (KT-88'S and 5Z4 rectifier in the amp, for example). I need to refresh my memory and relate to the available options I have (plenty of) and start again the trial-and-error tube-rolling process to re-appreciate those intricacies and settle again on preferred schemes. Luckily, I had put away everything quite tidly, so everything is working as it was when I quit, except for the Decware ZBIT (balanced signal assistant) which has reduced soundstage dramatically compared to before the hiatus. I suspect this problem may have to do with the amount of time the ZBIT has been inoperant, and it may get back to its usual over time. But, I prefer the preamp route over the ZBIT anyway, because of the oomph and general spacious sound it conveys to the KT88 strapped as a Triode SEP Inspire amp. This Inspire preamp is a jewel!