Upgraded McCormack DNA-1 or Dennis Had Inspire SEP?

Well it’s been a minute. I’ve since upgraded speakers to a pair of ‘85 La Scalas (Dean Westcott modified AAs are on the way). Cornwalls are now being powered by a Harman Kardon 430 fed by an old MacBook Pro and Topping D10s in my office.

I like the Jolida, but I have the disease of Audiophilia, and I’ve never owned a single-ended amp, so I broke out the plastic and bought an amp from Mr. Had this morning. @pinwa, wish I’d seen your post before then, but it is what it is.

@jsbw  Actually, my Dennis Had Universal SET amp has got a new lease on life. I had never really paired it with a preamp with gain but recently I got an old Cary SLP-70 preamp that had been heavily modded and I liked it so much I decided to try it with the Had and it sounded pretty good. Then I saw a post somewhere about the Tung-Sol 7581A tubes sounding good with the Had and I bought a couple of those and it really brought the Had to life. Next I bought a pair of Tung-Sol EL34B’s and they really sounded good with the Had. So now I’m playing the Had all the time and I’m glad I never sold it. I’ve been having tons of fun rolling tubes. I think adding a good preamp with gain really changed how the Had sounded.  And the 7581A and EL34B tubes add a level of dynamics I hadn't heard before.

Which version did you just buy?

@pinwa his latest single-ended pentode with a pair of KT88s, a 6sn7 and a 5u4g.

I hope the combo is magic, because I’ve spent the last year (and many hundreds of dollars) rolling tubes into my Jolida.

I sold the DNA-1, bought some Klipsch LaScalas, and suddenly realized that the McCormack’s thick low end combined with the anemic low end (compared to the Cornwalls’) of the LaScalas would have likely been a lovely combination.

Oh well. 
 

Dennis’ amp arrives next week. New Dean Westcott crossovers soon thereafter.

I hope your opts are good performers.