[mitch stl]

Thought I'd post a photo of the Dynaco I recently finished rebuilding. I picked up a non-working unit for $80 with the goal of stripping it down to the chassis and rebuilding a modded version from scratch.

It now has 6L6GC outputs with a Triode Electronics driver board. The only unexpected surprise was I found the power transformer was on its last leg when I pulled the bells off to repaint. (However, the power tranny was one of the weak links in the original design, so it isn't all bad that it now has a new transformer that is stiffer than the original.)

I'm using this in a second system with a Slim Devices Duet as a source and a pair of Spendor SP3/1P speakers. The amp and the speakers are a natural combo.

[steve k]

Nice work Mitch! That is pretty!

[DeadFish]

Looks nice to me, Mitch.  I have a couple ST 70's and I know how grubby they can get to looking. 
Hoping it sounds as good as it looks!

Best Regards,
DeadFish

[Scott F.]

Nice job  Those old Dyna's are cool 

[DeadFish]

Hey Mitch, if you ever want to compare ST-70's, I've got a Van Alstine Ultimate 70 with Genelex KT77's in it that sounds real nice.  I've never heard the Triode driver board yet.  I'm eventually going to do something with my 2nd unit, but I don't know what that is yet.
Note "eventually" being the operative term there. 
Lemme know if that sounds like something you are interested in.

Best Regards,
DeadFish

[bpape]

I bet that Dyna and the Spendors really sound sweet together.

Bryan

[mitch stl]

Deadfish, not a bad idea to do a comparison, but I'll have to wait until things settle down. September is looking to be a very busy month.

I'm also still tweaking things. I've got the slightest bit of background noise (when nothing is playing) that I want to get rid of. I didn't change out the Curcio capacitor board the unit came with and I suspect I may have a marginal cap on it. I didn't want to spend another $70 on a new power supply cap board but may end up doing anyway.

However, the sound is excellent. I was listening to a Mozart piano and string quartet piece last night and it was just absolutely engaging. Not quite as refined as my Spendor SP1/2Es (and missing a bit more in the bass) but it is easily in the category that I could live quite happily with that as my only system.

This system is new to the room (just recently converted from my daughter's old bedroom to a sitting room now that she's out of college and moved away) so I still have to build some speaker stands and experiment with placement. I'm also waiting for the wife to make a final decision where the big pieces of furniture are going so I can work around that. Most men know that drill.... 

[DeadFish]

No problem, Mitch!
I've got a September full of building a bath and RMAF following that, so actually, comparing amps might be a nice thing to do once the weather gets cold.
Let me know at your convenience, if you still have parts to tweak.
I was curious as to how you 'knew' the power transformer went bad.  I don't know if I would know, if it stared me in the face, unless it stunk bad.  Just a thought...
Just keep me in your long plans.    I look forward to hearing yours; all I've had were 2nd hand.

Regards,
Bill

[Bob in St. Louis]

That's a sexy lookin' machine you've got there Mitch. You should be VERY proud of what you've done.
NICE!!!! 

Bob

[mitch stl]

Thanks for the kudos, Bob, much appreciated!

As for spotting the transformer problem, Deadfish, I originally thought it was OK; it tested OK as far as delivering power, but when I took the bells (covers) off to paint them, one could see the unit had been severely stressed at some point. There was a considerable amount of varnish that had melted and the insulating paper was charred from overheating in several spots. One did not need a trained eye to see the problem.

While the transformer did work, it would have been foolish to re-use it. Complete failure could have happened at any time wish disastrous results - shock, fire or taking out other components in the amp. It just wasn't worth the risk.

[DeadFish]

Thanks for the tip, Mitch!
I'll know when I start fooling around with mine, I might want to take a look inside there then.
It makes sense, but 'sense' has never been 'common' for me. 

Best Regards,
DeadFish