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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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    Tom Pickett
    Tom Pickett


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    Post by Tom Pickett Wed Apr 14, 2021 3:53 pm

    The Package Has Arrived !!

    Good afternoon everyone.... I hope all of you are having a good day and all of you are safe.

    Before I get started here on my new Tubes4hifi VTA ST 120 Amplifier I wanted to tell all of you a little history about my myself, my background, and where I'm coming from.

    When I was a small boy I was one of those kids that loved to take electronic equipment apart and put it back together again and throughout my young-man-hood I was always interested in electronics and computers.

    Back in 1980 I entered college and by 1983 I had earned my Masters degree in electronics and computer science.
    Shortly after graduating college I opened up my own electronic repair shop and I worked on all types of electronic equipment from tube type televisions, stereos, VCRs and many other types of electronic equipment. Throughout the years of working on electronic equipment to me there is nothing more beautiful and more graceful than the rich unmolested sound that comes out of a nicely built tube amplifier.

    With all of that said, let me get to the point of this post.

    First, I want to thank Bob for all of his graceful communication with me. Bob is such a nice polite and graceful human being. He is the best !!

    Today as I received the package there was absolutely no damage and everything was nicely packed with care. Everything was there and I have to say after looking at all of the nice heavy duty parts and gear Bob did an excellent job of putting this amplifier together. Everything down to the very nice Nichicon electrolytic capacitors to the well sought after green Russian coupling capacitors and the heavy duty resistors this amp should last me a lifetime once I carefully and meticulously take my time and put the amp together properly with extra nice wire/cable/solder management.

    Ohhhhh one more thing.....

    The extra heavy duty transformers... what can I say !!!!

    Thanks so much Bob.... You’re the Man !

    And thanks everyone for your time. Have a good day and stay safe my friends.

    Tom

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    Thanks Bob  The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600
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    dmoorecincy


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    Post by dmoorecincy Wed Apr 14, 2021 10:25 pm

    Signed chassis. Nice. You going to paint the transformers? I painted the transformers for my ST-70 gloss black. I wanted them shiny.

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    Tom Pickett
    Tom Pickett


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    Post by Tom Pickett Wed Apr 14, 2021 11:36 pm

    dmoorecincy wrote:Signed chassis.  Nice.  You going to paint the transformers?  I painted the transformers for my ST-70 gloss black.  I wanted them shiny.

    Yes.... after the end-bell's are sandblasted I'm going to powder coat them.... Maybe a dark red wine. The iron core will stay black. The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600
    Bob Latino
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    Post by Bob Latino Thu Apr 15, 2021 8:13 am

    Tom Pickett wrote:

    Yes.... after the end-bell's are sandblasted I'm going to powder coat them.... Maybe a dark red wine. The iron core will stay black.  The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600  

    Be careful if you powder coat the transformer bells that you do not get any powder coating on the inside of the bells. Those bells are a tight fit. If you get powder coating inside the bells, it will be difficult to get the bell back on the transformer. This is especially true for the power transformer's bottom cover where you have many wires sticking out of the two holes on the bottom cover. Write down which color wires go through which hole before you start and make sure that those wires come out the same holes that they went through before the powder coating.

    Bob

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    Tom Pickett
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    Post by Tom Pickett Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:27 am

    Bob Latino wrote:
    Tom Pickett wrote:

    Yes.... after the end-bell's are sandblasted I'm going to powder coat them.... Maybe a dark red wine. The iron core will stay black.  The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600  

    Be careful if you powder coat the transformer bells that you do not get any powder coating on the inside of the bells. Those bells are a tight fit. If you get powder coating inside the bells, it will be difficult to get the bell back on the transformer. This is especially true for the power transformer's bottom cover where you have many wires sticking out of the two holes on the bottom cover. Write down which color wires go through which hole before you start and make sure that those wires come out the same holes that they went through before the powder coating.

    Bob

    Awwwwwwww......  The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600 Thanks Bob for the heads up..... You're always on top of things Bob :-)  The Package Has Arrived !!  1f600
    Tom Pickett
    Tom Pickett


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    Post by Tom Pickett Thu Apr 15, 2021 11:54 am

    Just a little update...

    It's gonna be a while before I get started on my amplifier... Sadly a few years ago I suffered through a bad divorce and lost most of my gear and tools and other things in the divorce so I'm slowly rebuilding back what I had lost and it's going to take a while.

    I have most of the necessary tools to put the amp together but there are a few other things that I need to spruce it up and to do other things that I have planned for the amplifier. I also have to buy a new set of speakers because my old Klipsch Chorus speakers I had to sell off in the divorce.

    If anybody knows where I can find a decent set of Klipsch Chorus speakers please let me know.
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    kFish


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    Post by kFish Sat Apr 17, 2021 12:12 pm

    Welcome to the group. I hope you have as much fun putting the kit together as I did. If I had bothered to post a message when I got my box, it would have read 90% like yours (dates included). I took a job in the Telecom sector doing computer stuff, but otherwise very similar history

    I painted my transformers satin black. Not original, but I do like the look. My original Stereo-70 (built as a DynaKit while in High School in the 70's) was sold when I had more stereo stuff than rooms in my life. Getting to replace it decades later with the ST-120 was a joy.

    I wish I had taken photos, or even video of the unit as I assembled it. Looks like you are off to a good start for having that kind of record of the build.

    Ken

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    Tom Pickett
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    Post by Tom Pickett Sat Apr 17, 2021 1:18 pm

    kFish wrote:Welcome to the group.  I hope you have as much fun putting the kit together as I did.  If I had bothered to post a message when I got my box, it would have read 90% like yours (dates included).  I took a job in the Telecom sector doing computer stuff, but otherwise very similar history

    I painted my transformers satin black.  Not original, but I do like the look.  My original Stereo-70 (built as a DynaKit while in High School in the 70's) was sold when I had more stereo stuff than rooms in my life.  Getting to replace it decades later with the ST-120 was a joy.

    I wish I had taken photos, or even video of the unit as I assembled it.  Looks like you are off to a good start for having that kind of record of the build.

    Ken

    Thanks kFish..... One thing I learned many years ago is most everyday you will learn something new and it's never ending. lol
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    Rec


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    Post by Rec Sat Apr 17, 2021 4:57 pm

    Here are powder coated M125's. I had the bells done as well. The powdercoater did a great job, even masked the chassis screw holes.

    Good luck!

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    buchela


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    Post by buchela Sat Apr 17, 2021 5:39 pm

    Be careful if you powder coat the transformer bells that you do not get any powder coating on the inside of the bells. Those bells are a tight fit. If you get powder coating inside the bells, it will be difficult to get the bell back on the transformer. This is especially true for the power transformer's bottom cover where you have many wires sticking out of the two holes on the bottom cover. Write down which color wires go through which hole before you start and make sure that those wires come out the same holes that they went through before the powder coating.

    Bob

    What if the wires do not come out through the same hole as they originally were ?
    Bob Latino
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    Post by Bob Latino Sat Apr 17, 2021 5:45 pm

    buchela wrote:

    What if the wires do not come out through the same hole as they originally were ?

    If the wires don't come out the correct hole, it will make the bottom cover more difficult to get back on. You will run the risk of scraping the insulation off one or more wires.

    Bob

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    Tom Pickett
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    Post by Tom Pickett Sat Apr 17, 2021 10:48 pm

    Bob Latino wrote:
    buchela wrote:

    What if the wires do not come out through the same hole as they originally were ?

    If the wires don't come out the correct hole, it will make the bottom cover more difficult to get back on. You will run the risk of scraping the insulation off one or more wires.

    Bob

    Bob is absolutely 100% correct.

    I have an example below of what Bob is talking about so that all of you can see exactly what's going on and why Bob gives this warning.

    If you look at the main power transformer and the blue arrows it shows how the power transformer is installed and the wires coming out of the end bells. If you look closely you will see just how tight of a fit everything is.

    Not only do the wires need to come out of the end bells like they did from the factory but they also need to be the same number of wires coming out of each hole because if one bundle of wires gets bigger than the other one then the wires have a chance of chafing on the sharp edges of the chassis. The edges of the chassis is marked by green arrows.

    In this picture it shows this builder has installed a black guard or buffer (The Red Arrow shows the location of this black guard or buffer) between the wires and the edges of the chassis for which is going to protect the wires from chafing.

    I hope all of this helps you understand exactly what Bob is talking about.

    Have a good day and clear skies and enjoy everyone and stay safe my friends.

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    rustybutt
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    Post by rustybutt Sun Apr 18, 2021 2:49 am

    Before you commit to dropping $1100 or more on those Klipsch Chorus, check out this deal of a pair of SEAS Thor loudspeakers over in Kenner, LA.   $900

    https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649730560-seas-thor-mtm-87-db-speakers/

    Because it was built as a kit (you respect kits don't you?), the seller isn't interested in shipping, but you're in the same part of the country.

    The cost of just the drivers and crossover is about $2000 from Madisound.  Designed by Joe D'Appolito.  

    https://audioxpress.com/article/thor-a-d-appolito-transmission-line/10034

    This design is similar to one sold by Joseph Audio  which retails at $13,000.

    https://www.josephaudio.com/perspective

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    Post by Tom Pickett Sun Apr 18, 2021 7:36 am

    I had My Klipsch Chorus speakers since the mid 90s and they were some excellent speakers and I miss the sound that comes out of those.

    I want to try and buy another pair of them but they're very difficult to fine now in good condition.

    Also most everyone who has a pair of these speaker's ether hold on them or won't sell them.
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    Post by rustybutt Sun Apr 18, 2021 12:04 pm

    There's a pair of Klipsch Chorus for $1100 on Reverb.

    https://reverb.com/item/36547973-klipsch-chorus-2-1980s

    The site to find anything hi-fi audio related is hifi shark

    https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Klipsch+Chorus

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    Post by Tom Pickett Sun Apr 18, 2021 1:47 pm

    rustybutt wrote:There's a pair of Klipsch Chorus for $1100 on Reverb.

    https://reverb.com/item/36547973-klipsch-chorus-2-1980s

    The site to find anything hi-fi audio related is hifi shark

    https://www.hifishark.com/search?q=Klipsch+Chorus

    Yes I seen those a few weeks ago and they are in really rough shape. They would need to be completely redone. To me they are not worth $1100.00
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    Post by rustybutt Tue Apr 20, 2021 9:05 pm

    rustybutt wrote:Before you commit to dropping $1100 or more on those Klipsch Chorus, check out this deal of a pair of SEAS Thor loudspeakers over in Kenner, LA.   $900

    https://www.usaudiomart.com/details/649730560-seas-thor-mtm-87-db-speakers/


    That $900 pair of SEAS Thor speakers is now down to $700. That's insane! The cost of the bare drivers and crossover from Madisound is $2000. This guy is unloading the whole thing, already built, in some pretty nice looking cabinets for less money than it would cost you for a tuneup on your car (assuming you have somebody do that work).

    But it is a hike, from wherever you are in Texas, to drive to New Orleans. Well... You could get yourself a good PoBoy sandwich while you were there.

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