Which preamp to buy to use with my ST70?

Hello All!
   I am new to this forum and in need of some help with getting a new preamp to work with my newly acquired dynaco st70. I have been looking at the SP10 and SP13 from tubes4hifi as well as the Schiit Freya and Kara. Any opinions or thoughts on the sound of these as well as others? Thanks in advance for any advice. Cheers, Geoff

I have a Tubes4HiFi SP 14 preamp in my main system and really like it, but I did have grounding problems inside the pre amp which I eventually worked out. I do not recommend the SP14 kit for beginning builders but buying one already built would work. I'm using a rebuilt Dyna PAS2 preamp hooked to an ST70 amp with a VTA board on my TV and I'm happy with that set up.

Big Harry,
Thanks for the reply and I am thinking of moving on to researching/buying some other preamp as I cant seem to get any info on the SP10 or SP13 and the 14 is out of my price range. I sent tubes4hifi an email a couple of weeks ago and never heard back as well?? Anyway many thanks again and Happy Holidays! -Geoff

The SP10 or SP13 should be good pre amps if they are anything like the SP14 and they are a bunch cheaper. There is nothing wrong with a Dynaco PAS2 or 3 preamp if they get rebuilt. I'm happy with the PAS2 I'm using with my rebuilt ST70 plus you can usually find them on places like EBAY for not an insane amount of money. I don't recommend the Tubes 4 HI Fi Kits for a beginner as they are not like the Heathkit or Eico kits from years ago. If you want a Tubes 4 Hi Fi Preamp, I would recommend buying one already built.

Hello Dale,
Yes, I am open to any tube/solid state preamp as I have had both in the past(Quicksilver full function x2 QS linestage, audio-research SP-9, jeff rowland consonance and others. I am looking for something that sounds “musical” for under @$800 new or used. I am currently using a Marantz 2230 as a preamp to a Dynaco st70 to some monitor audio monitors and it actually sounds ok but just looking for something a bit better. I also am running a Darlington audio mm-6 phono stage which sounds okay as well so just looking for a linestage for now. Thanks for your help and input as it’s much appreciated! Happy Holidays as well! -Geoff

The VTA mods on my Dyna amps are stellar....would grab one of the preamps in a heartbeat just based on the amps. If my Lazarus ever gives up the ghost, they'd be high on my short list.

The PAS series of Dyna preamps are not bad and not overly expensive. With a recap, some new resistors and good tubes such as real Mullard, Amperex Bugle Boy or Telefunken smooth plate 12AX7's, I would put them up against some of the more expensive preamps. When I rebuild one of them, I replace the resistors with either good carbon film or metal film resistors especially in the phono section as many of the original resistors are starting to get noisy.

Thanks for all the reply’s and help. I decided to go with a SP-10 from tubes4hifi and it sounds wonderful! Dan was a pleasure to deal with and all is good! Really love the tube sound again and it is nice to listen to some “music” again! Cheers, Geoff