Dynaco Stereo 70

[OldiesButGoodies]

Finally doing some critical listening on MB's Stereo 70.  Very nice smoooth sound.  Will report tomorrow - it is too late in the night to crank it up - the lady of the house may have a problem with that.

 

Pepe

[Kingman]

Nice looking Dynaco!!! Looking forward to the review. 

[OldiesButGoodies]

I spent an hour listening to jazz at louder volumes using the Sunfire as preamp  (the Dynaco pre has incredibly tightly spaced RCAs,  if you have anything but basic cables it is a tight fit).  I used the modded Phillips CD-80 as the source (because the Dual turntable woke up in an uncooperative mood). 

• I had to lower the subwoofer almost to nothing,  as the Mirage's low end came alive with the tubed st 70. 
• As you would expect the midrange sounds special with the Dynaco.  Gives the Sunfire 300x2  (from the current taps) a run for its money.
• 35 watts is plenty of watts!   This surprised me - you can get a lot done with 35 watts.
• I could also tell that the dynamic range/spare power of the 300 x 2 was not there to help the Mirage's shine.
• At very low volumes the lack of power headroom compared to the Sunfire beast is evident,  the Dynaco shines at 40-60% load, IMO
• It is impressive that amplifier technology was this good so many decades ago.  This is a souped-up Dynaco,  but still, the original design is probably not far behind

This is a beautiful amp that can also warm you up during a cold January snow storm.  The orange glow of the tubes has a unique appeal. 

Thanks MB for letting me test ride this great piece!

Pepe

[OCCD]

I knew you would like it.

[thuffman03]

Tubes rule!

[MasterBlaster]

OBG, If you are interested tube_dan has a few ST-70's that I hear he will be putting on the market.
Also, OCCD has a fine set of Dynaco Monoblocks at the shop.

[tinpan]

Boy that looks very nice.

[OldiesButGoodies]

On getting more hardware: my wife is starting to ask about the increasing number of amps and speakers at my house.  I tell her "It is working inventory honey!"  or "...that is Tom's stuff,  he loaned it to me for testing..."

But yes,  I would not mind having a tubed set on the side.  I am not letting go of the Sunfire any time soon,  though.  "Collecting" is not my strength,  but maybe I am developing a  new skill.   Kingman said something in a recent post that struck a chord:  "I do not mind having amps gathering dust on a shelf..." (or something like that).  I collect old fountain pens - it should be equally ok to fill the basement with amps and receivers.  Need to work on how to deliver this message. 

 

Pepe