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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


5 posters

    Anyone here in the greater San Francisco area?

    rustybutt
    rustybutt


    Posts : 59
    Join date : 2015-01-12
    Location : Alameda, California

    Anyone here in the greater San Francisco area? Empty Anyone here in the greater San Francisco area?

    Post by rustybutt Tue Jan 13, 2015 12:10 am

    I'm interested in hearing one of the SP13 or SP14 preamps.  I live in the city of Alameda, near San Francisco, California and was wondering if anyone here lived within 100 miles and would be willing to host a visitor?

    My current system is:

    Linn LP-12, Rega RB300 tonearm, Rega Elys cartridge
    Bryston .5B solid-state preamp
    B&K AV1200 power amp
    Linkwitz Orion loudspeaker system with active crossover
    Linux laptop acting as music server
    Peachtree DAC
    Tascam CD player fed through the Peachtree DAC


    The Bryston preamp is a good solid state unit and built to last.  But it's solid state and I'd love to hear what an SP13 or SP14 preamp can do.

    Thanks!

    Russ
    rustybutt
    rustybutt


    Posts : 59
    Join date : 2015-01-12
    Location : Alameda, California

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    Post by rustybutt Fri Jan 16, 2015 1:40 pm

    Though I didn't get a chance to hear an SP13 or SP14, I did exchange e-mail with enough folks that I decided to take the plunge and order up an SP13 with a PH12 board added.

    If anyone in the greater San Francisco area is interested in hearing it, drop me a line.
    deepee99
    deepee99


    Posts : 2244
    Join date : 2012-05-23
    Location : Wallace, Idaho

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    Post by deepee99 Sat Jan 17, 2015 9:04 am

    rustybutt wrote:Though I didn't get a chance to hear an SP13 or SP14, I did exchange e-mail with enough folks that I decided to take the plunge and order up an SP13 with a PH12 board added.

    If anyone in the greater San Francisco area is interested in hearing it, drop me a line.

    Rusty, I doubt very much you'll have any regrets. Welcome to the asylum.
    aguaazul
    aguaazul


    Posts : 136
    Join date : 2012-07-08
    Age : 63
    Location : Livermore, CA

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    Post by aguaazul Sun Jan 18, 2015 12:32 am

    Hey Rusty, We're in the East Bay (Livermore) and would love to swap listening sessions!
    I'm in the middle of a speaker crossover rewire so it will be a few weeks before I'll be ready.

    Cheers, Bluewater

    Vintage Stereo Rig:

    Hybrid PAS3 – Tubes4HiFi ZMOD PC5 & PC6 with a Dynaco DR Power Supply / Cathode Follower for Low-Z to match up to an Active Crossover.

    Modern Bozak N-106 Bi-Amp Active Crossover – I have an original too.

    Classic Dynaco ST-70, Cloth Leads with Tubes4HIFi Classic Board w/ Cap Upgrade and PIO K-40Y’s.
    Used for Mid-range and Tweeters

    Dynaco SS 120 – Upgraded with a Complete Update-My-Dynaco Enhancement
    Woofer Amplification

    1972 Bozak Symphony’s – BiAmp w Tymphany Super-Tweeters mounted in custom boxes sitting on top.

    Klipsch Heresy’s

    Dynaco A-25's

    Input Media Systems: working on getting good source devices but WAF is waning.
    • Asked for an OPPO for X-Mass but was shot down. Hawaii Vacation had to do.
    deepee99
    deepee99


    Posts : 2244
    Join date : 2012-05-23
    Location : Wallace, Idaho

    Anyone here in the greater San Francisco area? Empty On the subject of Dynaco A-25s . . .

    Post by deepee99 Sun Jan 18, 2015 2:30 am

    Hello Ag,
    If a pair of Dynaco A-35 speaks ever comes onto your horizon, grab hold of them with both arms and pay the guy whatever he wants -- assuming the drivers are original, and they haven't been sitting in some Minnesota garage for two decades.
    Slightly larger cabinet, and they dampen internally rather than the external dampening of the A-25s. Same pair of drivers as the -25s, just a step-level improvement in sound. Dunno how they did this magic, but you'll think you're listening to a $20k pair of Vandersteens.
    Same caveats as would apply to the -25s, insofar as you'll probably want to upgrade the caps in the xovers, which is a carpentry hassle (apparently Dynaco invented meaner than Gorilla glue to seal the woofs), so you've got to be a bit patient to get the woofer out of its hole to get to the xovers, and they're heavy, so shipping is a consideration.
    I am listening to Art Pepper right now on the -35s, and he's right in the room.
    Cheerio,
    d






    rustybutt
    rustybutt


    Posts : 59
    Join date : 2015-01-12
    Location : Alameda, California

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    Post by rustybutt Sun Jan 18, 2015 11:39 am

    aguaazul wrote:Hey Rusty, We're in the East Bay (Livermore) and would love to swap listening sessions!
    I'm in the middle of a speaker crossover rewire so it will be a few weeks before I'll be ready.

    Input Media Systems: working on getting good source devices but WAF is waning.
    • Asked for an OPPO for X-Mass but was shot down. Hawaii Vacation had to do.

    That would be loads of fun! I've got a couple of guys coming over to the house a week from Tuesday, 1/27, in the evening.

    One guy is bringing over his VTA SP-10, which should be essentially the same as your line stage.

    Why don't you join us?

    Send e-mail directly to my personal e-mail at:

    russ at russbutton dot com
    aguaazul
    aguaazul


    Posts : 136
    Join date : 2012-07-08
    Age : 63
    Location : Livermore, CA

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    Post by aguaazul Sun Jan 18, 2015 4:43 pm

    DP, I'll keep an eye out for those. When I was starting out, visiting the Dynaco Doctors house, I asked him what speakers I should get... he pointed to set of A-25s. It was a nice match-up with the stock system I listened to for the 1st few years. You are right, it looks tough to get into them.  On my Heresy’s I bought the Crites crossover update kit and am super happy, just not enough bottom end for my taste.

    At that time, I ran an Energy EAC Active Crossover for sub-woofer capabilities. Then I started looking into Bozak.

    My Bozak crossovers are completely new with the Pat Tobin voicing. They can be run  single or bi-amped. I'm moving the crossover(s) from the inside to an external box.
    ~~~~~~~~~~

    Rusty, sounds like fun. My favorite map website has us about 30 miles apart. Thanks for the invite!
    ~~~~~~~~~~

    Bluewater

    Picture links:

    PAS: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115713517853904698674/albums/6034594423901064609

    Amp: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115713517853904698674/albums/6023082537155698945

    Bozak in living room: https://plus.google.com/u/0/photos/115713517853904698674/albums/6105774651681022433

    The Bozak project is a living breathing experiment..... a few stages are documented at this Google Plus Photo site.
    deepee99
    deepee99


    Posts : 2244
    Join date : 2012-05-23
    Location : Wallace, Idaho

    Anyone here in the greater San Francisco area? Empty Dynaco speaks

    Post by deepee99 Mon Jan 19, 2015 12:52 am

    Aguaa, re: the 25/35s,
    They're not tough to pop open for rehabilitation. Just takes a little time and patience. A small pen-knife will pry the grilles off of their Velcro supports. If while doing so you encounter resistance around the "Dynaco" badges you'll need to unscrew them. I believe the later-model speakers had threaded badges that dug into the wood, as opposed to the early ones, which were just stuck onto the grille cloth.
    Once you've got the grille off, back out the Phillips-head screws holding the woofer down. Then take a very fine chisel to the woofer basket and very gently start prying it out, tapping around the bevel a few times. This might be a good time for a shot of scotch or a decent Bordeaux, pray, or whatever. Here you've got to be careful because you don't want to damage the woofer surround or the MDF (a.k.a. particle board). Just keep worrying that puppy until it comes loose.
    Snip the power leads to the woofer if they're soldered on, otherwise just unhook them.
    And there, Behold, is the cross-over. Simple and elegant. Un-solder the ancient capacitor and replace it with a new $10 one of the same value, I think 5 or 6 or 7uF, 200-300V rating. Squirt a little Deoxit on the selector switch while you've got everything busted open and spin that baby a couple of times.
    Acquire a tube of very cheap poly or vinyl caulk, apply a bead around the bevel where the basket sits. Oh yeah, you should reconnect the woof before doing that. Set the woof back in, return the screws to their holes unless you've buggered them up, in which case you'll have to drill new holes (MDF is cranky that way), and after overnight drying time, you should be in business. Give the new capacitors a month or two to settle in and enjoy your brand-new second-hand A-25s.



    pmarcin
    pmarcin


    Posts : 128
    Join date : 2009-01-20
    Age : 76

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    Post by pmarcin Wed Jan 21, 2015 2:32 pm

    Aw,jeez, just pop $1.1k for the Madisound remakes...
    deepee99
    deepee99


    Posts : 2244
    Join date : 2012-05-23
    Location : Wallace, Idaho

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    Post by deepee99 Wed Jan 21, 2015 4:03 pm

    pmarcin wrote:Aw,jeez, just pop $1.1k for the Madisound remakes...

    Plus shipping...
    aguaazul
    aguaazul


    Posts : 136
    Join date : 2012-07-08
    Age : 63
    Location : Livermore, CA

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    Post by aguaazul Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:01 pm

    Thanks DP, great instructions. I'll opt for that path ;-)
    avatar
    audiobill


    Posts : 425
    Join date : 2014-03-13
    Location : Albany, NY

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    Post by audiobill Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:30 pm

    Boy oh boy...had my first A-25s in 1972......can that really be 42 years ago?
    deepee99
    deepee99


    Posts : 2244
    Join date : 2012-05-23
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    Post by deepee99 Wed Jan 21, 2015 5:31 pm

    Which path? Scotch or Bordeaux? Smile
    Don't let anybody sell you the tweaker capacitors available out there for $250 a pop. They might make a difference in an amplifier but not in the x-overs. Garden variety Radium Shack will work just fine.


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