Hi , if I may and my 2 cents . I have a 2 year old Dennis Had Inspire KT88, with a 9 pin driver . There is a newer octal driver version at a higher price . Mine was $1200 on eBay . Dennis is a great guy and the Inspire is a great little amp that's built like a tank . I have KT77,6L6gc,6550,KT88 and KT120 tubes for it . 5 rectifiers and about 8 E88CC driver tubes including Telefunken and Seimens CCa. It shipped with new production Gold Lion KT88 and GZ34 and 2 budget NOS driver tubes . I've spent at least $2k rolling tubes. It's self biasing and it's bomb proof . I can run the higher voltage Mullard CV 5745 and KT 120's for hours , without issue . I usually use my Zu Omens , but also have Klipsch Heresy II's and KG 1.5's. It isn't powerful enough to run my JBL 4312's. I feed it with a Rogue RP1 with Seimens silver plates or Tektronix Telefunkens . I have budget interconnects , cables and power cords . I'm very happy with the amp and Dennis . I highly recommended them both . In retrospect you could keep the KT88 Gold Lions and the GZ 34. Just pop in an E88CC Telefunken ( $150). And you're good to go. Next would be a Phillips 5R4GY from upscale audio. If you want more power a nos Mullard GZ34 (fx32) and Tung Sol KT 120's . Also sweet are the SED 6L6GC's or the 6550's. Low power an EL34 or KT 66/77 and a 5U4g. If your considering the Dynamo34, as I did ( but didn't audition), ENJOY THE MUSIC, August 2014 , has a nice article on a budget system pairing the Coincident with Tekton speakers . My Inspire paired with the Omens and a 10" sub , work very well. I use a Schiit Bifrost to play Tidal and the clarity is fantastic as well as the soundstage . With the KT 120's classic rock that has pronounced bass like Pink Floyd and Grand Funk Railroad really don't require the sub. It's a really powerful 12 watts . On low power, artists like Sonny Rollins and Dave Brubeck really shine . Especially with NOS Tung Sol 6550's or Psvane KT88 Ti's .Acoustic groups like Peter ,Paul and Mary sound great with any tube combo . It might be a little high for your budget , but if you get one , I bet you won't sell it . My next endeavor is to build a pair of Bob Latino 125 mono blocks , cause I miss my JBL's. I'm going to hook them to the extra pair of outputs on the Rogue and just choose between the Inspire/ Zu, or the Latino/JBL's when I power on . I had an Antique Sound Labs 30 wpc amp after having Dynaco MKIII's and an SCA 35. Although the ASL had no issues , im just not fond of Chinese gear . So I hope I provided you with some help and wish you the best . Regards , Mike.
