[Pawn]

Where do you buy the Glenn EL3N? I couldn't find the home website.

 

[Oskari]

Reissued NOS tubes made in modern time sound just as good as the old school for a fraction of price. I personally tested this.

Yo, noob!

Where do you buy the Glenn EL3N? I couldn't find the home website.

Here's the "website".

• http://www.head-fi.org/t/600110/2359glenn-studio

 

[Pawn]

That's the home website?

 

[Pawn]

I don't think there's even one. Doesn't look like a product I could get. Price?

 

[jelt2359]

I don't think there's even one. Doesn't look like a product I could get. Price?

2359Glenn is a guy who builds amps as a secondary past time. He has a few popular builds, mainly 300B and OTL, and his newest is the EL3N. His amps are great value for money and sound fantastic- but then so do the Sangaku and IHA-1, to my ears. You'll need to contact him about the exact price, but it's within the same range as the Sangaku and IHA-1.

 

[Pawn]

Thanks. I really want to try the IHA1. Let me know when you finally get tired of them and sell them. Or maybe we can trade. I have too many amps at home.

 

[Pawn]

I really want one. Let me know if anyone wants to sell.

 

[Pawn]

Lol I didn't even know I was already here

 

[drubrew]

We have a few new options we are offering on the Dragon Inspire Amp. I apologize for not updating the page sooner but between Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and February, I have a hard time finding enough time to get HeadFi posting done. That being said we are offering a couple of upgrade options.
 
The Dragon Inspire is a purest design. It is a very clean short signal path. There are no capacitors, resistors or other passive components that make up the circuit. The signal enters the RCA jack, travels to the DACT stepped attenuator, then the 6SN7 tube, followed by the Output transformer and exits via the Headphone Jack or Preamp RCA. The Tubes become very important in this sort of circuit. The better the tube the better the end result. You can also very drastically change the tonality based on the tube you choose to use. Each tube has a very different sound signature or flavor. 
 
Because of this purist approach, there is no gain stage or preamp circuit. Thus the DACT attenuator is the volume control and/or preamp circuit. Thus with some headphones that are not sensitive or have a higher impedance rating, this will mean a little less flexibility in the amount of steps you have to control the volume. Do not get gain confused with output power. As the amp has plenty of power for most headphones. For people that are in the situation that they need more gain or volume control flexibility, we offer the Lundahl transformers. The Lundahl transformers which are input transformers and are placed between the RCA input jack and the DACT attenuator. They offer a 1 to 2.5 ratio. What they do is clean up the incoming signal, as all transformers can do, and increase the gain of the amp. So now where as the Inspire might need the volume control set very high to get the desired volume it is now maybe half way. This will also boost low output signals from some Phono Preamps out there or when using a low output cartridge that gets very little boost from the Phono Pre. In my opinion, no one makes a better transformer than Lundahl and this does not just increase the gain but adds a little more detail and definition to the sound. Upgrade cost is same as if you order with the amp or if you send in for the mod: $250
 
We are also offering a Preamp output option. We never thought about using the amp as a Preamp until we released the new Dragon Inspire QMB-25 Mono Block Amplifiers as seen Here. Just to experiment we used it with the amps and were blown away. Thus we added input RCAs and a switch to mute the headphone amp we switching over to use as a Preamp. All are placed on the back of the unit. You can find pictures Here.  Upgrade cost is same as if you order with the amp or if you send in for the mod: $100. Customer is responsible for shipping cost both ways.
 
Also if there is anyone out there with a hum issue in right channel from the early units please contact us. The hum issue that was brought up in the early onset was fixed quite a while back. Again I apologize for lack of updates. We just had to reroute some innards. It was inconsistent so we could not figure out what people were talking about early on in this thread. All the units were dead quiet here at the shop before they went out. But environment situations made the issue arise in a few units. We are happy to take care of this issue at only the cost for you to ship the amp to us. It is a very simple fix.

 

[Rossliew]

Many thanks for the updates, Drew. Makes me want the Inspire too

 

[Xcalibur255]

Step up transformers on the input side seems like as good a way to get more gain as any.  The additional transformers will put a bit of their own sonic fingerprint on the amp. 
 
I own an amp with Lundahls.  They sound good but tend to have a "forward" quality to them.  Since the output trannies in the Inspire are the most laid back I've ever heard the overall combination might actually be pretty ideal.  The Inspire's fatigue free sound is its best quality IMO, but there are moments here and there where I think it's almost too laid back for its own good.

 

[drubrew]

  Step up transformers on the input side seems like as good a way to get more gain as any.  The additional transformers will put a bit of their own sonic fingerprint on the amp. 
 
I own an amp with Lundahls.  They sound good but tend to have a "forward" quality to them.  Since the output trannies in the Inspire are the most laid back I've ever heard the overall combination might actually be pretty ideal.  The Inspire's fatigue free sound is its best quality IMO, but there are moments here and there where I think it's almost too laid back for its own good.

You hit it on the nail. The combo of the Custom Output transformers we have made with the Lundahl input transformers is a great combination. I wish i would have thought of the input transformers sooner. Not sure why I went blank on them as I have used them so, many times in the past. We also did want to try and make the amp as affordable as possible. Lundahls are not cheap.....

 

[findthomas]

We have a few new options we are offering on the Dragon Inspire Amp. I apologize for not updating the page sooner but between Rocky Mountain Audio Fest and February, I have a hard time finding enough time to get HeadFi posting done. That being said we are offering a couple of upgrade options.

[COLOR=222222]The Dragon Inspire is a purest design. It is a very clean short signal path. There are no capacitors, resistors or other passive components that make up the circuit. The signal enters the RCA jack, travels to the DACT stepped attenuator, then the 6SN7 tube, followed by the Output transformer and exits via the Headphone Jack or Preamp RCA. The Tubes become very important in this sort of circuit. The better the tube the better the end result. You can also very drastically change the tonality based on the tube you choose to use. Each tube has a very different sound signature or flavor. [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Because of this purist approach, there is no gain stage or preamp circuit. Thus the DACT attenuator is the volume control and/or preamp circuit. Thus with some headphones that are not sensitive or have a higher impedance rating, this will mean a little less flexibility in the amount of steps you have to control the volume. Do not get gain confused with output power. As the amp has plenty of power for most headphones. For people that are in the situation that they need more gain or volume control flexibility, we offer the Lundahl transformers. The Lundahl transformers which are input transformers and are placed between the RCA input jack and the DACT attenuator. They offer a 1 to 2.5 ratio. What they do is clean up the incoming signal, as all transformers can do, and increase the gain of the amp. So now where as the Inspire might need the volume control set very high to get the desired volume it is now maybe half way. This will also boost low output signals from some Phono Preamps out there or when using a low output cartridge that gets very little boost from the Phono Pre. In my opinion, no one makes a better transformer than Lundahl and this does not just increase the gain but adds a little more detail and definition to the sound. Upgrade cost is same as if you order with the amp or if you send in for the mod: $250[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]We are also offering a Preamp output option. We never thought about using the amp as a Preamp until we released the new Dragon Inspire QMB-25 Mono Block Amplifiers as seen Here. Just to experiment we used it with the amps and were blown away. Thus we added input RCAs and a switch to mute the headphone amp we switching over to use as a Preamp. All are placed on the back of the unit. You can find pictures Here.  Upgrade cost is same as if you order with the amp or if you send in for the mod: $100. Customer is responsible for shipping cost both ways.[/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222] [/COLOR]
[COLOR=222222]Also if there is anyone out there with a hum issue in right channel from the early units please contact us. The hum issue that was brought up in the early onset was fixed quite a while back. Again I apologize for lack of updates. We just had to reroute some innards. It was inconsistent so we could not figure out what people were talking about early on in this thread. All the units were dead quiet here at the shop before they went out. But environment situations made the issue arise in a few units. We are happy to take care of this issue at only the cost for you to ship the amp to us. It is a very simple fix.[/COLOR]

I bought this amp for Christmas, with the options Drew mentioned (Lundahl; Preamp).

Very happy with this Dragon. Definitely a keeper. It's giving new life into my headphones

 

[jelt2359]

  You hit it on the nail. The combo of the Custom Output transformers we have made with the Lundahl input transformers is a great combination. I wish i would have thought of the input transformers sooner. Not sure why I went blank on them as I have used them so, many times in the past. We also did want to try and make the amp as affordable as possible. Lundahls are not cheap.....

Can you share a bit on what sort of OPT and Power transformers are used here? Wondering why that was not an option for the input transformers.

 

[drubrew]

  Can you share a bit on what sort of OPT and Power transformers are used here? Wondering why that was not an option for the input transformers.

It was a question of Size. Lundahl makes compact sized transformers. They fit perfectly in the left over internal space.