A "counterfeit" VTA ST-70 amp

Bob, I can understand How you would get upset with something being misrepresented as your product.
However, I have to say that there's little for you to be worried about, and some to be thankful for.
Because you're in the business of selling both complete kits and individual parts, there certainly is a large number of people (myself included!) who only buy the parts needed to refurbish an existing amp, bringing it up to modern "VTA spec"...there's no need to be throwing out good parts!
I would say that the most important part of a "VTA amp" is the new circuit board- that's what really brings it up to a higher level. The upgraded power transformer is important, also. The only other real variance is the triode switch, but then isn't that an option?
This build includes both driver board (is that an octal board?) and power transformer. It also looks to be of fairly decent build quality, though that's hard to tell from the one picture.
I know when I show my amp, I call it a VTA. It's an amp to be proud of, and I'd be shortchanging you and whoever I show it to if I were to represent it another way. I may get more specific and say how it's original transformers, but that depends on my audience. You'd want me to tell them it's a VTA, right?
If it actually is of good build quality, then it's something for the owner -and you- to be proud of.
Again, if it was misrepresented as being completely new, that would be a problem. But the new owner may not have understood this...
Now, I hope he didn't contact you because of a build problem!

If “imitation is the sincerest form of flattery” then hacking, bodging and spinning lies as to authenticity must be . . . some lesser kind of “flattery”, if it is any kind of flattery at all.

Fortunately, Bob, Roy and the VTA brand seem to be very well known and regarded around the webosphere and the DIY boards. Of course, with this recognition comes a need to stand up for their reputation.

Hopefully anyone who knows enough to recognize the VTA name also knows enough to do a liittle research, come over here and post a question before buying someone’s misguided science project gone amok!

PS Let me just add —Bob’s response here is exactly the kind of above and beyond support we’ve all benefitted from. He didn’t have to give the detailed response he did. It would have been fine to say stop at saying some joker slammed together a witches brew of new and old parts which, by no stretch makes this mystery mock up a VTA product.

I don't think it is a "misguided science experiment gone amok", it's just misrepresented. Possibly the seller recognized the VTA driver board and the Bob Latino power transformer and incorrectly assumed that it was a complete VTA amp.

I think is was important for Bob to point out it was not one of his amps. But unless I misunderstood, I think the differences he enumerated were not meant as criticisms but rather as means for testing authenticity. We don't actually believe red wire makes it better, right

So it's not a *bad* amp, it's just not a VTA amp. But it's still based on Dynaco heritage, and that's what we're all about here.

In any event, our newest member just posted that he bought this very amp in this thread yesterday.

https://dynacotubeaudio.forumotion.com/t4095-introduction-hello-from-a-tube-noob

Admittedly, I allowed myself a certain amount of hyperbole there for rhetorical purposes.

Gents. For the record, the amp was not sold as a VTA70.  It was advertised as a Dynaco ST70.  

There was no attempt at misrepresentation.  It was me who described it as VTA.  That was done for the purpose of accuracy and providing context whilst posting a detailed question.  

The amp sounds amazing.  That’s the important thing.

Best regards,

David

I think it was more my bad, making an assumption and running with it.

I hope you are enjoying that amp. If you think you might make mods or improvements to it, you’re in the rignt place. There are a bunch of technologically knowledgable folks including several fellas who work on these amps, building, repairing, modding.

I can almost guarantee you my amp is a purebred VTA ST120 ... sort of ... ;-}