Interested in VTA ST-70 and ST-120 or other builds near us ( Netherlands )

Hello everyone,

Me and my wife would appreciate the chance to listen to a Dynaco ST-70 or ST-120 build, hopefully near where we live in the Netherlands.
I have some fond memories of tube amps when I was a kid, but in my adult life have only enjoyed solid state amplifiers.
We would very much appreciate it if someone out there could give us the oppertunity to listen to one of these amps before we make te decision to
go ahead and get one of these kits to build one!

Welcome in Antwerp (Belgium) if you wish. It is a ST-120 on Tannoy speakers.

MarcVBelgium wrote:Welcome in Antwerp (Belgium) if you wish. It is a ST-120 on Tannoy speakers.  

Thank you very much Marc! - do believe we already spoke on FB =]

I sent mr. Latino some mail for information on the ST-120 and got speedy replies - he knew he has sold some kits to people in Amsterdam and Utrecht which is more around the corner for us.
Did talk to my wife about Antwerp but for the foreseable future her work schedule rules out any weekend trips and weekends is what we got to use for that distance, and the little one would need to come along too ^^

Maybe exchange skypes? Would love to chat and hear what got you to pick thís amp and how the build fared etc

Roy, welcome to our group. Mr L's ST120 is spot on, the build is forward and you'll get lots of support
from all here. The ST120 has lots of head room over the 70 which I like. My 120 powering the
K-horns is splendid! And that amp will probably outlive my new Corvette!! Dale

Thank you Dale ^^  Have been reading the various build stories here and elsewhere on the forum with much interest. A little hesitant about the actual electronics soldering lol..  Going to dig up my soldering station and do some practising in the coming time.

One of the 'issues' I have been pondering over is the use of a cage on the ST-120.
Have read many comments on the ST-70 running with or without the cage and  heat seems an issue wíth.
Considoring the ST-120 has even beefier transformers and a much higher output I imagine this heat issue to be more acute with this amp.  
In our case, with both a pet and a small child I think I would very much appreciate a cage over the amp.  Am looking at various ( stainless ) meshes available here to construct one out of but I wonder if ány cage would not constrict airflow too much for the ST-120?
I see meshes with circular openings up from 20-50%  open - also honeycomb meshing that is 90% and more open.. Does anyone know the mesh specs of the (ST-70) cages?
Certainly I suppose having the sides nót closed as with the original ST-70 cage would be a must I reckon with the ST-120 if some ST-70 users already comment these closed sides are what is hindering airflow already..  The newly released ST-70 incarnation from Dynaco has its cage perforated on all sides, though the curvature does not really please my eyes - perhaps done for strength, and economics of construction.

I bought my cover for my VTA ST-70 from Dynakits and it fit perfectly. NO problem with heat that I can tell.

http://www.dynakitparts.com/DYNAKIT-ST-70-COVER

Roy D keep in mind that these temperatures are Fahrenheit, not Celsius..... you have to do the math ;-)

Thank you Bob, or mr. Latino    for the replyh and photo of the thermals ! Just showed it to my 4 year old and he pointed out the black things were transformers =)       His dad had been watching some videos on youtube on transformer basics and all through that he kept asking questions on the subject lol..

I see the front tube substantially cooler than the middle one stuck between it and the output transformer - no arguing these things get warm and that is how they were designed really - no vacume tube without a heater in it - but I imagine there is some gains to be had having the standard ST-70 cage's sides more vented or also fully perforated. That the original ones were not was probably a form over function   or cost  design decision. Something to worry about later   or perhaps not at all

Again, the new st-70 released last year - it just does not look right to me ^^

hehe I know Marc  and Dale - did the math and came to the conclusion  I could make pretty good skewers over this thing if I can solve the grease drip problem!

Perhaps it is all a bit like heat & wear in harddiskdrives ( a little more my area ) Yes the heat does cause some additional wear on some aspects of the drive, but in practical terms the difference between temp A and temp B operation does not contribute substantially ( within reason ) to their earlier than intended demise.. Going to finish reading up on (tube) amplifier basics, finesse my wife's counter demands in terms of expendatures in other areas and hopefully take the leap some time soon in building an ST-120 kit. Will just order the standard ST-70 cage possibly modify it a little or a lot Or not..

I did use a cage (Dynakitparts - 80$) with my ST-120 without any problem. I no longer use it because I use a Mullard GZ-37 which is too high.........I would NEVER drill holes in the sides..... it works like a chimney, so just leave it the way it is.
As Bob mentioned, when it faces the ceiling, all is OK... Do not worry about that.
When having kids or pets in the house, it is also wise to put the amp out of reach (on top of furniture ) AND teach them to keep away from it.......(kindly of course)

Dynakitparts and tubes4hifi do speak with each other. Maybe bob could supply
a st-70 cage in the box to save the extra shipping cost ?

That is an idea PeterH - would be nice as my government really likes the idea of adding import tax on goods including the cost of the shipping of the goods =_=

From what I have seen Marc   the new ST-70 cage  and many of the other cages for other brands of tube amps employ the  as much perforation as possible strategy..  Bernouli or chimney effect doesnt really come into play with two sides closed and the rest open - those closed side walls are not beneficial to cooling but are beneficial to ridigity, and not having toothed edges going near the case when mounting and dismounting damaging it.. The original 50's design was sendzimir steel case  not stainless - having all round perforated cage with perforations at the edges would mean adding some more production to finishing the edges properly to keep it rigid enough to not catch or scratch taking the cage on n off would be an added cost.

I use the "original" Dynakit cage on my ST-120, but only when powered down. How? Simply loosen the four screws in the sides of the chassis enough so that the (rather heavy) cage sits firmly. It's remarkably stable simply placed on the chassis properly. It's prevented many mishaps with felines, including {ick} males spraying. Try it. You'll like it.

lol Kentley..  I found that   male cats can achieve whatever they've set their mind to do.  One fine morning I woke to that smell in our livingroom and thought  not before my cup of coffee and the news.. Switched on our new 100Hz Philips widescreen CRT and poof  up in smoke it went.  Our beloved cat found he could reach the sensitive electronics inside by squatting up on top of it and misting the insides through the ventilation slits..
It was the heart of summer and the fella from the tv repair shop I called with the vain hope something could be salvaged had to drive with that burnt cat pee smell next to him for half an hour back to the shop. The misting managed to reach just about every component equally and conduction was excellent.
Or current cat luckily does not exhibit this behaviour much at all but curious childrens fingers..

Besides the main cage  I will be making a second cage for the pre amp board to be sure, not only for the child's sake but for mine and my wifes also and curious visitors oblivious to the danger..

Visual Led Bias Monitor Kit In 4 Colors For The Dynaco Dynakit ST-70
Has anyhone used one of these?  It looks mighty handy..

EDIT - for some reason  I can't post the link to this seller with the message new members cannot post links for 7 days etc, but other links work fine..

Thanks Bob,  not one for flashy lights bells whistles and knobs either but having a clear indicator that my wife can read at press of a button and perhaps see an issue before things go bad is some piece of mind for me. Would like it removable - literally plug n play - so was thinking male octal plug, a little round stainless housing..  but yeah  80 bucks..plus the extra bits to make removable, etc etc  

First things first, some more massaging of the household budget and get the st120 kit home