FloridaBoy Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 Dennis Had, founder and former CEO of Cary Audio, is building single ended amps and selling them on the auction site. This is his retirement hobby. I bought an amp and subsequently purchased a pre amp. No affiliation, just a very satisfied customer. My amp has 20 watt transformers and uses one pair of 6V6's-KT150 by running different rectifiers. Input tube can be a single 6SN7 or 6SL7. 5-12 watts depending on the output tube used. The pre amp uses a pair of 27 triodes, 6BX7 cathode follower and a 80/5y3 rectifier. I have owned a lot of gear over the years but these offerings are outstanding and affordable. They perform well above the price point. I am driving Heresy III's. I brought my amp and preamp to a friend’s house that has modified Klipsch La Scala's 104db. Only the bass bin is stock. The Inspire gear was dead silent. Started out with Penta Labs KT88's, nice. Moved on to Sylvania 6L6G's. Very nice but I liked them better with my Heresy III's. Up next were the Pope 6V6GT's. Here is where it gets interesting. I forgot to change the rectifier and ran them with a 5Z3/5U4G instead of a 5Y3/80. Without fanfare this combo was absolutely wonderful. Huge soundstage..blah blah blah, etc. My buddy was floored, so was I. We then used the LP27a with his 45 and 2A3 SET amps. I preferred the Tom McNally 2A3. The 45 was a Korneff clone that had not been run for a year so it may have needed some more time to get settled in. The Pope/5Z3 combo was not in the least embarrassed. It was that good. 6V6G ST shape 6V6G's must use a 5Y3 or 80 rectifier. The Pope's are 6V6GT and can be run with a 5Z3/5U4G, 274B, GZ34, GZ33 etc. I was not sure of that until it was confirmed by Dennis. Long ago PWK said he wanted a great 5 watt amplifier. IMHO, these are a great match for Klipsch speakers. Google Inspire amplifier for reviews etc. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 nice write up, Thanks (& welcome to the forums) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaBoy Posted August 20, 2015 Author Share Posted August 20, 2015 Thanks. I use a Havana too...still have not found anything I like better. I hope to be on a computer soon. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MyOwn Posted August 20, 2015 Share Posted August 20, 2015 This sure is Beautiful Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tube fanatic Posted August 21, 2015 Share Posted August 21, 2015 Dennis has always had electronics talent (not bad for a former investment banker!). Even his company Dentron, which he founded in the 70s, turned out some innovative ham equipment. I can't imagine going wrong with anything he offers for sale! Maynard Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaBoy Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 (edited) Dennis really seems to be enjoying this new 'hobby'. Attached are pics of the amp and preamp I purchased. The TS 6AR6 is excellent and inexpensive. Edited August 22, 2015 by FloridaBoy 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
joessportster Posted August 22, 2015 Share Posted August 22, 2015 Thanks. I use a Havana too...still have not found anything I like better. I hope to be on a computer soon. Hello, Yea I recently switched out the Havana for the Metrum Octave mk1, It is a NOS dac as well except no tubes and higher res abilities (which was my reason for going to Metrum) While the Metrum is more open with better PRAT I do miss the tube warmness of the Havana, I & 2 others found the Havana a bit veiled in Blind testing Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FloridaBoy Posted August 22, 2015 Author Share Posted August 22, 2015 The Havana could be veiled and I'd never know it...until I heard something better. I did change the coupling caps to PIO's and that was a nice improvement. The Metrum is certainly reasonably priced and well received. Once I get computerized I may be looking at DAC's again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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