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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


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Kentley
Peter W.
peterh
crkohut
jfine
deepee99
Roy
CletusB
Dave_in_Va
sKiZo
arledgsc
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16 posters

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart

    CletusB
    CletusB
    CletusB


    Posts : 234
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    Age : 69
    Location : Trinidad & Tobago
    • Post n°51

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    Post by CletusB Fri Mar 02, 2018 7:38 am

    Roy wrote: my son next to me here is going like   oooooh wow thats the one we are gonna build    
    Very Happy
    Looking good Cletus !  Funny, I just finished that book last week   same edition even lol

    Yup, I think you're going to love everything bout this amplifier!
    I listened to music till 1:00am direct from the CD player to the amp via the stepped attenuator which I put in a separate enclosure. The VOTT's are happy as they never sounded better!
    Hard to believe this thing can get even better after 100 to 200 hours. What a great sounding amp !
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    sKiZo
    sKiZo
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    • Post n°52

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    Post by sKiZo Fri Mar 02, 2018 3:54 pm

    Yup - I've heard upwards of 600 hours for the PIO caps to complete break in ...

    Fast build ... gonna start working for Bob and Co in your spare time? Laughing
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    CletusB
    CletusB
    CletusB


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    • Post n°53

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    Post by CletusB Sat Mar 03, 2018 8:53 am

    As built 2018/03/03:

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070720

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Studio11

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Comple12

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070722

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070721

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Pucks11

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Tdr_bo11

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Vta_dr14

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Vta_dr15

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070723
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    crkohut
    crkohut
    crkohut


    Posts : 24
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    Age : 63
    Location : Sudbury, Ontario, Canada
    • Post n°54

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    Post by crkohut Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:13 am

    CletusB wrote:A nice touch I think, having it autographed and dated by the Grand-master himself  cheers

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070719

    Had my 'wired' kit signed as well.
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    crkohut
    crkohut
    crkohut


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    • Post n°55

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    Post by crkohut Sat Mar 03, 2018 10:17 am

    Nice!!
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    CletusB
    CletusB
    CletusB


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    • Post n°56

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    Post by CletusB Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:28 am

    I re-biased the outputs this morning after a thorough warm-up, as the bias climbed slightly (as expected) since doing it from initial setup two days ago.
    Just listening to some master tracks we previously recorded here in the studio and rolling back and forth between the ST-120, Alesis RA-500 and the Class-D.   The solid-state amps certainly struggle with reproducing the cymbals and timbalis and very sterile sounding generally, whereas the VTA ST-120 shines!  ...the cymbals are very clean the music lively and lush as intended, without being overbearingly tuby. Overall tone is very clean yet warm (running in pentode mode).
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    Roy
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    Location : Netherlands, Europe
    • Post n°57

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Empty Re: My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart

    Post by Roy Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:49 am

    Só ready to build this thing here ^^ My kid just saw your VOTT speakers and he was like oh my daddy those are too big XD
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    CletusB
    CletusB
    CletusB


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    • Post n°58

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    Post by CletusB Sat Mar 03, 2018 11:58 am

    Hahahaha! bounce

    ...........boss is out on errands, so I can really put the system through it's paces! lol!
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    deepee99
    deepee99
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    • Post n°59

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    Post by deepee99 Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:25 pm

    I don't get envious of too many lash-ups, but that is one beautiful system, Cletus. Bet the 120 is just loafing driving those VOTTs.
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°60

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    Post by CletusB Sat Mar 03, 2018 12:32 pm

    deepee99 wrote:I don't get envious of too many lash-ups, but that is one  beautiful system, Cletus. Bet the 120 is just loafing driving those VOTTs.

    Thank you very much for that compliment! .....The VOTTs are absolutely happy now!
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    peterh
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    • Post n°61

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    Post by peterh Sun Mar 04, 2018 3:50 pm

    The post #56 that shows the underside of the board: The 4 russian caps could need
    some insulating tape as their outside is conducting. I think this has been mentioned on this
    board before.
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    CletusB
    CletusB
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    • Post n°62

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    Post by CletusB Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:19 pm

    peterh wrote:The post #56 that shows the underside of the board:  The 4 russian caps could need
    some insulating tape as their outside is conducting. I think this has been mentioned on this
    board before.

    In my case, as well as so many others, there's lots of room all round those caps, so no need for insulating material.
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°63

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    Post by CletusB Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:21 pm

    deepee99 wrote:Cletus,
    Next time you're feeling in a surgical mood, consider one of Roy's octal 6SN7 driver boards. Pretty much a drop-in replacement for the noval board you have now. The argument for noval vs. octal boards is a borderline food-fight on this board. Having had both, I lean toward the octals, as I like the tube selections out there. Good 6SN7s are plentiful and inexpensive. IMHO, they deliver a little "fatter" sound than the novals. Could just be my ears, but it's a fairly easy swap-out and the higher filament current draw for the octals won't stress the pwr transformer, as Bob L. builds with overkill in mind Very Happy
    At any rate, welcome to Tommy's Holiday Camp and congrats on a beautiful build.

    I am considering the 6SN7 Octal board for a future build. One of my kids may be interested in one of these amps too.
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    deepee99
    deepee99
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    • Post n°64

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    Post by deepee99 Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:25 pm

    CletusB wrote:
    peterh wrote:The post #56 that shows the underside of the board:  The 4 russian caps could need
    some insulating tape as their outside is conducting. I think this has been mentioned on this
    board before.

    In my case, as well as so many others, there's lots of room all round those caps, so no need for insulating material.
    DO insulate the leads, as it appears you have. Unless the caps are touching they won't arc.
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°65

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    Post by CletusB Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:30 pm

    deepee99 wrote:
    CletusB wrote:
    peterh wrote:The post #56 that shows the underside of the board:  The 4 russian caps could need
    some insulating tape as their outside is conducting. I think this has been mentioned on this
    board before.

    In my case, as well as so many others, there's lots of room all round those caps, so no need for insulating material.
    DO insulate the leads, as it appears you have. Unless the caps are touching they won't arc.

    Yup, just the leads are insulated on mine.
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    deepee99
    deepee99
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    • Post n°66

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    Post by deepee99 Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:38 pm

    CletusB wrote:
    deepee99 wrote:
    CletusB wrote:
    peterh wrote:The post #56 that shows the underside of the board:  The 4 russian caps could need
    some insulating tape as their outside is conducting. I think this has been mentioned on this
    board before.

    In my case, as well as so many others, there's lots of room all round those caps, so no need for insulating material.
    DO insulate the leads, as it appears you have. Unless the caps are touching they won't arc.

    Yup, just the leads are insulated on mine.
    Then, no worries. Those Russian PIOs are quite beefy, so be careful hunting around them for a good 24 hours after power-off or expect a good jolt. Very Happy
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°67

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    Post by CletusB Sun Mar 04, 2018 6:45 pm

    Right now it's like Kenny G is right here in the living room with us! Shocked

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Kg10
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    sKiZo
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    • Post n°68

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    Post by sKiZo Mon Mar 05, 2018 12:41 am

    CletusB wrote:
    In my case, as well as so many others, there's lots of room all round those caps, so no need for insulating material.

    I had a lot of spare time when building my VTA board and maybe got a bit carried away. The jackets on the PIOs are heat shrink used for underground electrical connections, and the labels are printed from photoshop on Avery label paper.

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Pio-caps
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    deepee99
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    • Post n°69

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    Post by deepee99 Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:56 am

    Skiz,
    That's positively OCD. Wish I'd thunk of that.
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°70

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    Post by CletusB Mon Mar 05, 2018 3:04 pm

    Speaking of OCD, here's the final touch:  Very Happy

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 P1070724
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    deepee99
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    • Post n°71

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    Post by deepee99 Mon Mar 05, 2018 3:10 pm

    My parents went to Berkeley. It's where they met.
    Nice looking unit, Good Sir.
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    sKiZo
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    • Post n°72

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    Post by sKiZo Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:15 pm

    Talk about OCD ... Putting your own label on your builds? That's positively ridiculous! jocolor

    My VTA ST-120 is on the way .....and other loose ramblings of an old fart - Page 3 Skizo-label
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    CletusB
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    • Post n°73

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    Post by CletusB Mon Mar 05, 2018 9:21 pm

    .....nothing wrong with being proud of it man! Cool
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    deepee99
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    • Post n°74

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    Post by deepee99 Mon Mar 05, 2018 10:46 pm

    You guys need to take a shower, hopefully not together Laughing
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    jfine
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    Post by jfine Mon Mar 05, 2018 11:40 pm

    deepee99 wrote:You guys need to take a shower, hopefully not together Laughing

    Thanks for the dual OCD image.
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