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The Dynaco Tube Audio Forum

Dedicated to the restoration and preservation of all original Dynaco tube audio equipment - Customer support for Tubes4hifi VTA tube amp and preamp kits and all Dynakitparts.com products


3 posters

    First impressions on my new ST-120

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    thevic24


    Posts : 34
    Join date : 2010-01-31

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty First impressions on my new ST-120

    Post by thevic24 Thu Feb 11, 2010 9:01 pm

    Hi guys,

    This is my first impression thoughts on my new ST-120.
    I got this amp as a "gift" to my self with my income tax refund and all of my hard work last year. Very Happy

    I had Bob build this for me with all of the upgrades including the chassis.

    Well, after a good warm up and a bias adjustment, this amp is IMHO pure ear sex for lack of a better term. I know it will get even better with some tube run in time.

    As of now, I have the amp running a set of Infinity Kappa 6.1's that are 89db 1w/1m. While the 6.1's are not as power hungry as the older Kappa's, they still like power and a lot of it. So far, this amp delivers very, very well and seems to have mucho balls to spare. Cool

    To me and my ears, this amp is by far more powerful than the upgraded Adcom GFA 545II that it has replaced and is giving my upgraded GFA 555II one hell of a run for its $$$.

    Imaging, depth and sound stage are amazing and this amp is DEAD quiet.

    With the exception of the GFA 555II, I have always used a sub with my amps in rotation. With this amp, I no longer require a sub for my needs.(and I like to rattle things from time to time Cool )

    The low end is SOLID, strong and reaches very deep. The mid range is quite warm(will improve 10X with tube break in) and the upper end is very smooth.

    Sitting in my recliner(with a cold one)its almost as if Iam wearing headphones. Sounds now come from everywhere.

    I have herd a lot of the "high end" amps that cost upwards of 5X what this amp cost. "Out of the box", this amp will give all of them a solid run for the $$$ that I payed.

    This amp has it and a lot of it.

    After a month or 2, I will give a review on how its doing.
    with some good break in time.

    Thanks Bob!!!, you are a great person to do business with and your customer service is about as good as it can get.


    A very, very happy me!!!!!!!!


    Thanks

    -Vic
    avatar
    eric


    Posts : 6
    Join date : 2010-02-11

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty Re: First impressions on my new ST-120

    Post by eric Thu Feb 11, 2010 10:51 pm

    Nice to hear that it gives you more on the bottom end. That was something else i was going to ask is if there is anything that can be done during the build to help bring out a little more base. My Lascala are a little light on the base but i think they are kind of known for that to start with.
    avatar
    thevic24


    Posts : 34
    Join date : 2010-01-31

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty Re: First impressions on my new ST-120

    Post by thevic24 Thu Feb 11, 2010 11:03 pm

    My Kappa 6.1's have an 8" bass driver. I, honestly, get a much better bass from this amp than i did with The GFA 545II.(I thought that one did good)

    They say the damping factor of SS is better. On paper,yes but to my ears,I cant tell the difference except the bass below 40HZ is 10X better.

    I would think the ST-120 will do just fine with your speakers.

    One other thing I noticed with this amp is for a tube amp, it has outstanding head room compared to other tube amp that ive owned or herd.


    -Vic
    Jhoman
    Jhoman


    Posts : 25
    Join date : 2010-01-03
    Age : 63
    Location : Meridian, MS

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty Re: First impressions on my new ST-120

    Post by Jhoman Sat Feb 13, 2010 3:21 pm

    I absolutely love my ST120! I got mine from Craig at NOS Valves, he took it on trade. He went through it and upgraded it and tweaked it to match my Conwalls. I'm running Mullard 4024s on the pre and Ruby KT88s for power. Craig suggested this combo. I'm also running a Ruby rectifier. I have a Webber Copper Cap SS rectifier for backup. I have tried the SS rectifier and noticed very little change, it may have tightened the bass a little. But I really love running the amp in pentode mode for jazz, acoustic, and female voices. Outstanding amp in my opinion.
    avatar
    thevic24


    Posts : 34
    Join date : 2010-01-31

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty Re: First impressions on my new ST-120

    Post by thevic24 Sat Feb 13, 2010 7:40 pm

    Jhoman wrote:I absolutely love my ST120! I got mine from Craig at NOS Valves, he took it on trade. He went through it and upgraded it and tweaked it to match my Conwalls. I'm running Mullard 4024s on the pre and Ruby KT88s for power. Craig suggested this combo. I'm also running a Ruby rectifier. I have a Webber Copper Cap SS rectifier for backup. I have tried the SS rectifier and noticed very little change, it may have tightened the bass a little. But I really love running the amp in pentode mode for jazz, acoustic, and female voices. Outstanding amp in my opinion.

    I could not be happier with mine.

    Bet you cant guess what Iam doing right now.... Very Happy

    -Vic
    avatar
    thevic24


    Posts : 34
    Join date : 2010-01-31

    First impressions on my new ST-120 Empty ST120 head to head with an MC240

    Post by thevic24 Sat Feb 20, 2010 3:37 pm

    Well fellas, I think we are done for now. I almost forgot how good the MC240 dose sound.


    My dad is actually on the shelf as to which amp was better IHHO. As for me and my friend, we both agree that the ST120 did everything the 240 did but did it better and then some.


    The first thing that all 3 of us noticed was that the ST120 had a better low end by a mile. The MC240, at times, sounded boomy or flabby. It had a very smooth mid-range and an overall laid back sound.

    Like I said, the ST120 has a much better, tighter and 10 times deeper bass. The sound stage of the ST120 is a lot wider and deeper with a really good "3D effect". Even with the ST120 in triode mode, it still had more power and head room than the 240. One other thing that we all noticed is that the ST120 had a much better overall control over the speakers than the 240 did.

    My dad even agreed that the ST120 won, hands down, in triode mode but he thought it was a close one in UL mode.

    I have to say that the Latino ST120 is one hell of an amp for the money. There is definitely no NEW amps in the price range of the ST120 that will come close to it at all.

    This amp is SOLID both in sound and build quality. I even think it looks better with the cage on then the 240 but that is just me.

    If any of you are ever in the Tampa area and would like to hear the ST120, shoot me a PM or e-mail.

    Thanks.

    -Vic

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