Hi Everyone,
This is my first post. I live in London, UK.
A year ago I purchased a Bob Latino VTA ST-70 in kit form. My first ever valve amp! It was great fun to build, assisted by Bob’s excellent assembly instructions.
I elected to have tubes included with the kit. This is what I have:
1. Rectifier: ‘Electron Tube’ branded 5AR4, made in China
2. Driver Board (low gain): 3x RCA 5963
3. Output Stage: 4x EL34. None of these tubes have any markings on them.
The amp drives a pair of Klipsch Heresys. In this form, the amp generally sounds great. I listen mostly to 60s onwards rock/pop/American jazz-rock/Zappa. No jazz, classical or opera. My only minor moan is that the system is a little bass light. The Klipschs roll off at 50Hz which is a bit disappointing for a 12" speaker. However, in all other areas the sound is superb, at least to my ears.
I am wondering whether it could sound even better…
I would like some advice/guidance on what would be the best rectifier and driver tubes to use. I’m after top quality and longevity; I’ll pay ludicrous prices for 50+ year old Mullards or whatever if that really is what will work best with this amp.
My plan is to stay with the existing output tubes for now; once I’ve got used to the sound resulting from changing the rectifier and driver tubes, I’ll move on to the outputs in a year or so.
Also with regards to the driver tubes I understand that the centre one does something different to the outer two. Something to do with splitting/inverting? Please can someone enlighten me? Should the centre tube be a different type to the outer two, or should I stick with three identical ones? If so, should they be matched?
Many thanks, Chris A
This is my first post. I live in London, UK.
A year ago I purchased a Bob Latino VTA ST-70 in kit form. My first ever valve amp! It was great fun to build, assisted by Bob’s excellent assembly instructions.
I elected to have tubes included with the kit. This is what I have:
1. Rectifier: ‘Electron Tube’ branded 5AR4, made in China
2. Driver Board (low gain): 3x RCA 5963
3. Output Stage: 4x EL34. None of these tubes have any markings on them.
The amp drives a pair of Klipsch Heresys. In this form, the amp generally sounds great. I listen mostly to 60s onwards rock/pop/American jazz-rock/Zappa. No jazz, classical or opera. My only minor moan is that the system is a little bass light. The Klipschs roll off at 50Hz which is a bit disappointing for a 12" speaker. However, in all other areas the sound is superb, at least to my ears.
I am wondering whether it could sound even better…
I would like some advice/guidance on what would be the best rectifier and driver tubes to use. I’m after top quality and longevity; I’ll pay ludicrous prices for 50+ year old Mullards or whatever if that really is what will work best with this amp.
My plan is to stay with the existing output tubes for now; once I’ve got used to the sound resulting from changing the rectifier and driver tubes, I’ll move on to the outputs in a year or so.
Also with regards to the driver tubes I understand that the centre one does something different to the outer two. Something to do with splitting/inverting? Please can someone enlighten me? Should the centre tube be a different type to the outer two, or should I stick with three identical ones? If so, should they be matched?
Many thanks, Chris A
Last edited by Chris A on Tue Oct 15, 2019 5:18 pm; edited 1 time in total
