2. amps-preamps
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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
mcgowdog
18 posts
 
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.
tomtab
97 posts
 
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.  
mcgowdog
18 posts
 
When I mentioned replacement of all the 12ax7s with good nos, I forgot to mention that I was referring to my pas2.  Nothing has brought my 60wpc Mark iiis to life like a nice Dynaco preamp.   Running some pretty efficient speakers and the addition of a nice source, the Oppo 103d, soon to be replaced by a 95 which I purchased yesterday and also which brought me to Audiogon,  is what enabled me to bring that volume control knob down below 5 or so for my upper end.  I use the oppo to dial it in from there.

I'm admittedly a newbie to this audio stuff, but these tube amps sound so sweat, they put you in a trance and have you enjoying music you've heard before... but just somehow missed the whole deal.

Not knocking my old solid state system, powered by my Kenwood L-09s with an 07 preamp and an oppo 83 source, for full range sound, but nothing messages the brain like those dynacos. In my limited experience that is.
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