Dynaco ST-70 and Magneplanar 1.6QR


Hi,

I just got into this with an entry level system consisting of Magnapan 1.6 and a dyna st 70. I love the sound, and they work fine together ,but I dont get enough gain out of the Dynaco. Should I be getting more?, if not, is there anything I can do, short of swithcing amps that would solve this issue?

If not , do you have any $1000 amp or less alternatives to recomend?

Very grateful for any advice in this matter.
andersd
Andersd...David says that the Dynaco st-70 uses a tube type 7199, not the more common 12AX7 which I mentioned. I assume he is correct. Whatever the proper tube is, my point is that you should make sure you have the right kind plugged in. Many small dual triode tubes will work, sort of, when substituted, but parameters like gain will be affected.
I have owned the Dynaco ST-70, (Cursio's version), and the Mag. 1.5QR for quite a long time. Many other amps came along then, yet I still own the ST-70.
The trouble with this combination is two fold.
1) Loudness level is limited
2) Yet within those limits, dynamic contrast is constrain
A fairly cheap and musical solution to these problems could be solve by bying a used 200 watts Rotel solid state amp.
Of course, many higher power tube amps will do the trick but will cost much more, yet most of them will use the 6550 output tube, so dont expect the sweethness and the thruthfull timbre and tonality to compete with an EL 34 based amp like yours.
I have own a Conrad Jonhson MV 100, EL 34 based tube amp delivering 100 watts. Althought the 1.5 werent around then, this could work very well indeed and might cost 1,200 or so.
 The 1,6qr maggies need power , i  have a musical fidelity nu vista m3  with the 1.6 its like 400w into 4 ohms with a monster supply.It sounds great ,i have had smg's,2's,3a with and without many different subs,velodyne,sunfire,etc. Imo maggies will get some substantial volume defintley better with a sub or even two smaller faster subs. either way ya pay for powered subs or amps.I biamped my mg3a cj and krell that was nice.( got the krell 150 for 1500,then added the cj later) 

Old thread, wish I could go back 13 years to chat with the op.

I'd recommend replacing or trading the 70s for a pair of Dynaco Mark IIIs,  replace all the 12ax7s with nos eico's, and replace the output tubes with nos Svetlana 6550s made from St. Petersburg Russia, and replace the speakers with a klipsch towers.  Will blow your 1000.00 a bit, but not by much.
agree with some of the post here on needing a ss amp with power.  if you want a warm sounding amp that would sound very good for the money you can not beat B&K amps.   a st140 is a good start but a st 202 and up would be better.  the amps are available for  $250 ---&400  on the used market.. very cheep for what they can do in sound quality.  odyssey audio are very good also but $1,000 is not going to get you one unless you find a stereo model.   an adcom 5500 would be another amp that would give you all the power and volume you want.   they are  for sale all the time and you can get one for $400 and up very easy.   so there you go,  amps with plenty of power and very affordable and would sound great with your speakers.