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I have a Dennis Had Inspire LP3A pre... now what?

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peguinpower

Well-Known Member
The Inspire LP3A is an all tube pre using 3 6SN7 (GE NOS) tubes and a 5Y3 (Sylvania) tube rectifier.

I've had it for about 1 month. It sounds good, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I was kinda expecting a veil lifted, but alas, to no avail. I was expecting the imaging to blow wide open. Uhm, no. All I know is that Its been a chore to find NOS GE 6SN7s that were not too microphonic. Dennis Had recommended them.

Side by side to my Jolida Fusion pre, with Telefunken 12AX7s and Baldwin (Sylvania ?) 12AT7s, it sounds a bit better, but not all to much. The fact that the Jolida has a remote negates any minimal improvement.

Would love to hear how other judge tube pre's. I am bordering on selling the unit as it doesnt seem to bring anything to the table over what I already have.

cpIJg0al.jpg
 
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I own an LP27a that Dennis built for me with the DACT volume control. It's a triode pre that can use 27 or 56 tubes with a 6BX7 driver. It sounds quite incredible, but it is a different animal.

I have used it with one of Dennis's SET amps as well as PP amps from McIntosh, Marantz, HK, Acrosound, and Heathkit. They all sound good, but best with Inspire gear.

Also having used a Schiit Freya with those same amps in tube buffer mode I will say sometimes that is a better match. FWIW, I'm not a fan of GE 6SN7's (kinda lifeless) and have used Sylvania, RCA, and Westinghouse with more satisfactory results.

As a point of reference, I also use a McIntosh C100A and a Bryston BP25 in my setups. They are all great performers. It's the combination of gear that will make the difference between a good setup and a great one. That pre may not be right for yours.

What amp are you using?
 
^^^ good to know. I suspected as much that it may be synergistic to SET amps, especially Inspires. I have a Jolida Fusion pre with all sorts of goodies inside. ESA caps, fancy resistors, diodes and it also has some sort shielding on the two transformers it has for power. It's been hard to beat.

Ive tried a few different pre's from Schiit, Conrad Johnson, and Audio Research, but this Jolida continues to rule the coop.

The amp I have with it right now is a Modwright KWA 100SE. Its a good match. But I know the mids could be better. I little lean on the mids, too sweet, if there is such a thing.

I am waiting on new tubes for my ARC power amp. I hope the Inspire matches well with it. It's been hard squeezing improvements from my system.
 
I know my audiophile membership will be summarily revoked as a result of this post but I normally use a well regarded 6sn7/12sn7 preamp ( Mapletree 2A-SE) into my Conrad Johnson and or Jolida power amps into Magneplanar 1.7's. Just for the fun of it I ordered an FX Audio tube -01 ( I mean $31 how good can this thing be - it costs so little to find out). I'll be damned if it didn't have a more layered 3d presentation than the 6sn7 preamp. Couldn't believe it. One main issue with it- It has a lot of gain and a detente type volume control that is not well tapered it goes too loud too fast so that could be a problem. Other issue is only one input so an external switch box is needed if one is using more than one input. But still $31 bucks and it really sounds amazing to me of course YMMV.
 
penguinpower, I'm curious as to what model ARC preamp's you have tried. Depending on the model and vintage they can sound quite a bit different.

BillWojo
 
I personally judge a preamp by its ability to drive a low impedance load. If it can push 2v into 5000 ohms with nice fat frequency response, then its probably a winner. That means having a device on the output which can swing current, and drive a load. 12AX7 in a plate loaded configuration is probably not well thought out. A 6sn7 cathode follower stands a better chance of matching the load. Push pull, and transformer coupled outputs also can do a great job. In my limited knowledge and experience the output section is critical in getting a nice well rounded tone.
The low cost way to get low output impedance is to use a sandbox.

Before i looked at which specific brand of tube or capacitor waz implemented, i would attempt to identify the output stage topology.
 
BillWojo said:
penguinpower, I'm curious as to what model ARC preamp's you have tried. Depending on the model and vintage they can sound quite a bit different.

BillWojo
Click to expand...

It was the LS2B mii.

One of the nice things on the Jolida is that it has a 10 db output. All the rest have higher dB gain on their outputs. I seem to like it better as it seems quieter with very high efficiency speakers.
 
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Ok, I take it back. I get it now.

A little back ground, I started with the original JJ tubes for a while. They didn’t do anything for me. Too forward, not a lot of space and air.

Then I put in some Westinghouse. Highly recommended to me in general. Sleeper tubes they said. I got perfect tubes. Tested 105%, all of them. My expectations were through the roof. Too recessed, mids were veiled. Meh.

Then I bought GEs. I bought about 10 or so and came up with 3 good ones through my own testing with a B&K 707. Not microphonic and all of them between 87-102%.

I put them on, listened, ok. That’s better, not much better, but whatever. Left the pre on and went about my week listening about 2 hours every evening.

Three days ago, it started getting better. Yesterday, I’m like hmmmm. Tonight, it’s pretty amazing. :) Call it break in or whatever, but I’m really pleased right now.
 
peguinpower said:
The Inspire LP3A is an all tube pre using 3 6SN7 (GE NOS) tubes and a 5Y3 (Sylvania) tube rectifier.

I've had it for about 1 month. It sounds good, but I'm not sure what to make of it. I was kinda expecting a veil lifted, but alas, to no avail. I was expecting the imaging to blow wide open. Uhm, no. All I know is that Its been a chore to find NOS GE 6SN7s that were not too microphonic. Dennis Had recommended them.

Side by side to my Jolida Fusion pre, with Telefunken 12AX7s and Baldwin (Sylvania ?) 12AT7s, it sounds a bit better, but not all to much. The fact that the Jolida has a remote negates any minimal improvement.

Would love to hear how other judge tube pre's. I am bordering on selling the unit as it doesnt seem to bring anything to the table over what I already have.

cpIJg0al.jpg
Click to expand...
 
I bought a Dennis Had LP3a preamp and it had three 6SN7 tubes. After emailing with Dennis he said that the target driver tube (I think that is what it is) the tube in the third position closest to the big capacitor - he said that the design called for a 6BX7 tube to be in this position. I have two Sylvania NOS "bad boys" 6SN7 and an RCA NOS 6BX7 GT and the sound is off the charts! I also have the Dennis Had power amp (HO Hot Rod). IMO, it is an incredible combination, the music just flows.... really loving it! Good luck! Regards
 
My VTA SP14 with remote blows the Jolida out of the park in every conceivable way. I thought every preamp was the same sounding till I got the VTA. The Jolida is now regulated to Sub woofer duty. There are differences though. VTA has all the bells and whistles. The Jolida is bone stock, unlike yours. Roy from VTA know his stuff. Awaiting my Bob Latino ST120 to add to the mix cant wait.
20200123_142439.jpg
 
peguinpower said:
Ok, I take it back. I get it now.

A little back ground, I started with the original JJ tubes for a while. They didn’t do anything for me. Too forward, not a lot of space and air.

Then I put in some Westinghouse. Highly recommended to me in general. Sleeper tubes they said. I got perfect tubes. Tested 105%, all of them. My expectations were through the roof. Too recessed, mids were veiled. Meh.

Then I bought GEs. I bought about 10 or so and came up with 3 good ones through my own testing with a B&K 707. Not microphonic and all of them between 87-102%.

I put them on, listened, ok. That’s better, not much better, but whatever. Left the pre on and went about my week listening about 2 hours every evening.

Three days ago, it started getting better. Yesterday, I’m like hmmmm. Tonight, it’s pretty amazing. :) Call it break in or whatever, but I’m really pleased right now.
Click to expand...
After reading your first post I was going to add that you should let them burn in. Especially if new or NOS. I use Tung Sol 6sn7's in my preamp. It took around 30 or more hours for them the settle in. One day while listening they just started opening up and everything filled out nicely. I haven't noticed such a dramatic change like that in any of the 9 pin preamp tubes I've used.
 
Dennis has never been a NOS tube guy because as a manufacturer, he needs a steady supply of reliable tubes and doesn't have the time to cherry pick among brands and manufacturers. That being said, he has slowly come around to my opinion that in a general sense, the older the tube, the better they sound. Hence the new LP 2030 preamp based on tubes at least 80 years old.


Untitled by analog addict, on Flickr

Dig those thoriated filaments!

Untitled by analog addict, on Flickr

If you really want to hear that Inspire preamp sound it's best, dig up some old 6SN7s and ditch those GEs. Some of our favorites have been the WWII era Raytheon/Sylvania/Ken Rad/Hytron and similar 6SN7s. If you can find them and afford them, the Sylvania 6SN7W JAN tubes with the metal bases are extraordinary as well. Don't bother with the 5692 variants. Although ruggedized and very long life, they don't really seem to offer any sonic advantages.
 
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analog addict said:
Dennis has never been a NOS tube guy because as a manufacturer, he needs a steady supply of reliable tubes and doesn't have the time to cherry pick among brands and manufacturers. That being said, he has slowly come around to my opinion that in a general sense, the older the tube, the better they sound. Hence the new LP 2030 preamp based on tubes at least 80 years old.

If you really want to hear that Inspire preamp sound it's best, dig up some old 6SN7s and ditch those GEs. Some of our favorites have been the WWII era Raytheon/Sylvania/Ken Rad/Hytron and similar 6SN7s. If you can find them and afford them, the Sylvania 6SN7W JAN tubes with the metal bases are extraordinary as well. Don't bother with the 5692 variants. Although ruggedized and very long life, they don't really seem to offer any sonic advantages.
Click to expand...

I have also found vintage 6SN7 to sound better, including Raytheon and Ken Rad.

BTW, I used to respond to your posts on AudioAficionado but, for reasons totally unknown to me, I was banned from that site. Never received a warning, a message, a note of any kind. Never posted anything abusive or with foul language. All of a sudden one day, I was barred from logging in. Couldn't even ask the administrator why, as I was blocked from sending them an email. I own 3 Inspire amps and have posted multiple positive reviews of them.
 
Yes, I received a ban as well. I received a PM from the owner saying that I needed to pay for site access or I would be deleted. There you go.
 
I do have the Fire Bottle KT-88 Amp and was on the fence on getting the LP-2030 but decided to purchase VTA Special V23. Using Zu Audio DW MKIII and what a wonderful combo with
these 2 pieces.

FireBottlekt1KT170.png
 
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