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Dennis Had Inspire Fire-Bottle SET amp review

Hello to all,
I have been a tube amp lover for years and foolishly parted with a HK-CII and CV a couple of years ago. I have a Don Sachs 6SN7-based tube preamp that is even better than the HK-CI I had, with all the HK gear upgraded by Don with Jim McShane mods. I recently got a pair of Spatial Audio Hologram M4 open-baffle speakers and wanted to make the foray back to a tube amp. I auditioned a Musical Paradise MP-310 with an unfavorable impression of its sound so I casted about for an affordable ~12 wpc tube amp and ran across a Dennis Had Inspire Bottle-Fire amp. It came with new JJ EL34 tubes which, after a few hours on them, sounded quite good at low SPL, but at maybe 85 db, just sounded awful, with the bass distorted as hell. Well, a buddy laid a pair of KT120's on me to swap for the EL34's, and holy hell, the sound is just fantastic! OMG, I can drive them very nicely to 90db with negligible distortion.

 Here is my take on the amp.   With the KT120's, and a 274B rectifier, this is a quintessential "tube" sounding amp. It gives up a degree of accuracy and control compared to my CJ MF80 SS amp, but ah, Dennis's amp creates such a luxurious warm and euphonic sound, like a "warm wet wall of sound", with and enormous soundstage, far beyond the speakers.  Honestly, I have been in search of exactly this sort of sound for decades and the pairing of Dennis's amp with my OB speakers, which are very conductive to a low-powered SET amp, is just a supreme match. The vast array of power tubes and rectifiers available to roll through this little gem very well might tailor the sound to benefit of many listeners.  My best advice is that if you have compatible speakers, you would be smart to acquire a Dennis Had amp. I feel fortunate that all the knowledge and skills he applied to his Cary Audio line of tube gear is still available to us tube-amp lovers in his current line of tube equipment.  There are lot of fine SET amps available on the market these days, but the price of most of them is quite expensive, out of my budget for sure, but the cost of Dennis's gear is affordable to all music lovers. 
Cheers, Whitestix
whitestix
davidpritchard's avatar
davidpritchard
866 posts
 
whitestix:

Congratulations on discovering the  speaker - amplifier pairing that stirs your soul. Your are correct that there a lot of tube combinations you could try.

I would suggest trying a Synergistic Research Black fuse in the amp. I have found them to be a wonderful upgrade in the SET tube amps I use.

You are listening to the efforts of two very talented designers.

David Pritchard
jmcgrogan2's avatar
jmcgrogan2
6,346 posts
 
Actually Dennis Had’s Fire Bottle line are SEP amps not SET amps. Single Ended Pentode design, as opposed to Single Ended Triodes.

That said, I am very happy to hear that the Fire Bottle lit your fire. It’s always nice to find that *magic* combination or amp/speaker.
Dennis is a great guy to deal with, and very passionate about this hobby.
I enjoyed working with him very much.

However, his KT-88 Fire Bottle SEP amp did not work well at all in my system. He was very helpful sending me all sorts of power tubes and rectifier tubes to try out, but none of them could open the sound up in my room. Eventually I sent the amp back and received a full refund.

I have no qualms, as dealing with Dennis was a pleasure.
I was a bit disappointed though, as I really wanted that little Fire Bottle amp to work *magic* for me. Alas, it was not to be.
FWIW, my speakers sensitivity were 90 dB and a 8 ohm nominal load. Maybe not an optimal match.

Congrats though, and if I recall correctly, there was a long thread about the Dennis’ Inspire amps and preamps on Audio Aficionado.
whitestix OP
729 posts
 
JM, thanks for the correction, not that I can fathom the difference between triode and pentode.  David, thanks for the fuse suggestion, but I have tried the SR Red fuse, and came to the same conclusion that Dennis has --  there is no sonic difference compared to a standard AC fuse.  I am gonna save my money.  

Day by day, this amp continues to impress me more and more, with a warm mid-range, good control on the LF, and a sparkling high end. To repeat, the JJ EL34's did not please me, but the KT120's are just marvelous.   I will be rolling a pair of  Gold Lion KT88's soon for the heck of it as they are top-notch new tube.   

I suggested to Clayton at Spatial Audio that he might alert folks to pairing of his speakers with SE amps, as the Inspire amp drives them with ease.  The speakers are somewhat better controlled with my CJ solid-state amp and completely enjoyable, but clearly the heart and soul of the music emerges with the Inspire amp.  The difference is amazing. 

 I don't know if the forum rules will permit me to post his very recent link to an interview with Dennis that reveals a great deal of information about the man and his products.  If there is a nicer, more self-effacing, fellow in the audio industry, I have never met him.  I think his gear is in the class of heirloom gear that some day might not be available so give it a listen while you can.  Whitestix
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xLQsEeBKg1E
mikirob
955 posts
 
Thank you Whitestix for a nice compact review Dennis Had's Inspire amp. As a Cary fan when Dennis was running the show (I own the V12 and SLP98) as well as previous designs I am always interested in what this stellar designer/person is up too. Could you also say a few more words about your experience with Spacial. I'm feeling like l'd like to try the M3 with my SET stuff. As always, Best, Rob
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