Dennis Had Inspire Amps

[Musica Amantem]

Great stuff! I would call this the ampaholic syndrome ... Now, just to imagine the kind of tube rolling potential imbedded in that audio arsenal ...

[Musica Amantem]

Originally Posted by robert_kc

I don't have any KT66 in my inventory, so I had to temporarily pull a pair from a working Pilot HF-56 amp. These are generic Chinese KT66. If I were buying KT66 I’d be inclined to buy the new production Gold Lion. According to my notes, my brief listening impressions were that the KT66 sounded slightly brighter than the 6L6GC. (If I had a spare pair I’d try them again – but it’s a pain to pull the amp and unbolt the “bear trap” holders.)

I see that The Tube Store carries the “Preferred Series 274B / 5U4G”. Have you tried this one? I’m not sure if this is any different from my Shu Guang 5U4 (which has no markings on the tube, and only Chinese markings on the box). The “Preferred Series 274B / 5U4G” appears to have a slightly wider bottle, but otherwise looks identical to the Shu Guang 5U4.

Does the Sophia Electric Princess mesh-plate 274B make a significant difference sonically?

I think that tube preference is completely dependent on the speakers. For example, I found no tube combination in my Inspire amp that worked for my Klipsch Palladium (too “thin” sounding) – perhaps because they are 4 ohm. OTOH, with my RF-7’s – the sound quality can be excellent.

P.S. When looking through my listening notes I realized that I hadn’t tried EL34s with my new 6N2P-EV. The EL34’s have noticeably attenuated high frequencies (i.e., a “laid back” sound), with the most gain that I’ve realized from any tube combo in my amp. Generally not enough on the top end, but very easy to listen to. Bottom line - as of today - my favorite tube combination is the 6N2P-EV, 5AR4 rectifier, and Groove Tube Gold Series GT6L6 GE. Compared with the GT6L6 GE, the Gold Lion KT88 is a little brighter, the EL34 is noticeably less bright, and the 7581A’s sound a little “thin” (i.e., not as “rich” sounding). (Of course this based on my RF-7 speakers, my room, my ears, etc … and your mileage will vary …)

P.P.S. FWIW, IMO an excellent $5k system is an Oppo BDP-105, Inspire HO amp equipped as indicated above, and Klipsch RF-7 II (available for significant discount on-line).

In my humble opinion, there's no telling whether what sounds good in my setting will do the same for other people's. Therefore, my comments on how I appreciate an output tube or rectifier, etc., are exclusively dependent on my subjective context. In general, though, one can assume and extend some general characteristics in a given tube, and this is how I try to go about choosing the new additions. Master tube-roller and expert, my buddy FloridaBoy, has been instrumental in filtering many alternatives that would have probably not make any improvements in my setup.

I've never used a Preferred Series tube from The Tube Store, and I believe these may well be the same production units but selected from the top echelon of quality control ratings (best breed), as these products are very labor-intensive and results are quite variable.

The Sophia Electric Mesh Plate 274-B is just great, but I have only compared it with 5Z4, 5Z3 (5U4G), 5AR4 and 80 (5Y3), and to me, given the rest of the tube complement in place, it is the best one so far. Curious how I disliked it for a while, in the beginning. I think these need some significant/effective burn-in time to offer their best.

Thanks for the pointers on the GL KT66, as I've already asked FloridaBoy to kindly add these to his next stash coming down here. I'm trying another input tube also, as we both believe that role is quite important in tuning the end sound. That would be my first Psvane tube, a UK 6SN7, that I'll be trying with the new KT66's.

[robert_kc]

It appears that Dennis sold two KT88 Inspire amps in the past few weeks, with another currently listed for sale. Hopefully we'll hear from some new owners!

[Rosco65]

Originally Posted by robert_kc

It appears that Dennis sold two KT88 Inspire amps in the past few weeks, with another currently listed for sale. Hopefully we'll hear from some new owners!

I bought one of those, along with an LP-27a preamp (with DACT attenuator) shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, I've been moving house and simultaneously adding new equipment since then and have not been able to do any serious listening.

I hope to get things in some reasonable order in the next few weeks and will report back.

[BearCityUSA]

Originally Posted by pstrisik

Hey Glenn, So what do you think of the Visseaux 6V6? I'm anticipating nothing special since I don't think I've seen a comment about them. I'm currently back with them playing King of the Hill!

Peter,

Do you remember you impressions of the Pope 6v6 vs. the Visseaux? The Popes have returned to seated position in my amp again after a stint with some Soviet 6l6 variants. The 6p3s-e tubes are nice tubes, definite keepers, and do represent what many hear have said of late regarding fullness. They just don't seem to have the punch of the Popes I like for some hard hitting rock-n-roll. Maybe it is the reproduction of the electric guitar and in some cases where their amps were pushed by 6v6s in the studio. I think that as significant as anything else, equipment, source, listening room, etc., is the type of music one listens to as to weather a tube sounds good or not. As much as I like 6v6s they do not handle the distortion of Anders Osborne's American Patchwork or Black Eyed Galaxy in my setup. To much of a good thing I guess. As we all know there is no perfect setup. If there was we would all own one and have nothing to converse about.

Enjoy the music and Happy Easter everybody.

Scott

[FloridaBoy]

I wonder if the Psvane HiFi Series 274B is essentially the same as the big-bottle Shuguang 5U4?

No, it is a different tube. There is a lot of misinformation on the net posted by
people that have not used these tubes..Shuguang Treasure and Psvane tubes are not regular Shuguangs in a different wrapper.

[robert_kc]

Originally Posted by Rosco65

I bought one of those, along with an LP-27a preamp (with DACT attenuator) shortly thereafter. Unfortunately, I've been moving house and simultaneously adding new equipment since then and have not been able to do any serious listening.

I hope to get things in some reasonable order in the next few weeks and will report back.

Welcome! I look forward to reading about your experience with your Inspire SET amp.

[pstrisik]

Originally Posted by BearCityUSA

Peter,

Do you remember you impressions of the Pope 6v6 vs. the Visseaux? The Popes have returned to seated position in my amp again after a stint with some Soviet 6l6 variants. The 6p3s-e tubes are nice tubes, definite keepers, and do represent what many hear have said of late regarding fullness. They just don't seem to have the punch of the Popes I like for some hard hitting rock-n-roll. Maybe it is the reproduction of the electric guitar and in some cases where their amps were pushed by 6v6s in the studio. I think that as significant as anything else, equipment, source, listening room, etc., is the type of music one listens to as to weather a tube sounds good or not. As much as I like 6v6s they do not handle the distortion of Anders Osborne's American Patchwork or Black Eyed Galaxy in my setup. To much of a good thing I guess. As we all know there is no perfect setup. If there was we would all own one and have nothing to converse about.

Enjoy the music and Happy Easter everybody.

Scott

Hi Scott,

I'll give them a listen tonight. It's been a while. Earlier impressions were with different speakers and different DAC, so I will likely experience them differently now. At the time, I liked the Popes, but when I got the equivalent Visseaux', the Pope's didn't come out of the drawer again. The Popes were a bit veiled in comparison. My current DAC and speakers are more resolving and the Pope's may be a better fit. I'll let you know how it goes.

[FloridaBoy]

Originally Posted by pstrisik

Hi Scott,

I'll give them a listen tonight. It's been a while. Earlier impressions were with different speakers and different DAC, so I will likely experience them differently now. At the time, I liked the Popes, but when I got the equivalent Visseaux', the Pope's didn't come out of the drawer again. The Popes were a bit veiled in comparison. My current DAC and speakers are more resolving and the Pope's may be a better fit. I'll let you know how it goes.

Changing a component(s) usually changes tube input tube preference.

One tube these amps seem to sing with, regardless of iteration, is the 6V6. I don't have Visseaux's but the Pope 6V6's are quite nice.

I'm trying to control my tube obsession too. A NOS pair of 1952 Amperex/Mullard EL37's were on the auction site. I passed and they went for $202. I have a decent selection of old production power tubes but *usually* prefer new production to the old tubes. New production power tubes have come a long way. Not a bad thing at all.

[Etunes]

Originally Posted by Coltrane1

Me too...there's nothing like an OB no x-over design. These have developed a reputation for being nearly as 'fast as stats'











and here the same builder as above with his reference speakers using a modern up to date version of the famed Heil AMT driver.....these are local to me...it's tough listening to a traditional box design after hearing these.

Who is the speaker designer/brand for these speakers?

Thx