Back to Tube amp so .. Dynaco or Yaqin ?

EHollander

New Member
Not trying to get anyone upset ... been out of the circle for aprox 20 years
I am trying to come back to tube world.
Had an MC240 ( that I sold ...) left with Audible Illutions 2b preamp as a base foo a new set. + a set of Rm7 Joseph Audio speakers ( love them ) .

Read reviews all over ,and cant make up my mind witch way to turn.
Qustion is- am I better finding a pair of Dynaco mk Iv for 40w/40W ( to be paired with the 2b preamp) or buying the much talked about Yaqin MC13s and get by with a modern El34 tube combo.

I never heard both . Please share your thought.
TNX
 
The new VTA "dynaco" kits or pre built amps are nice. I built one. The support and choice of different tubes you can use is nice too. Optional add on volume control and soft start boards are also available. People that have the Yaqin seem to like them but I don't know about support. The VTA can be run in Pentode or triode mode too. Depending on how much power you need the 17wpc ST-35 can be had in kit form along with the 60 wpc ST-120.
 
Another supporter of the VTA ST-70 here, too. I built one earlier this year and it's worked like a champ. I looked at the Chinese amps but decided I didn't want to reverse engineer them when (not if) something failed. Plus with the VTA amps, you can actually converse with an English speaking American if you happened to need some help with it. Great value for the money. The Chinese amps look nice and are enticing....but that's where I left them for now.
 
Yep, I have to go with the VTA amp. Put in a set of Gold Lion KT-88's, a 12BH7 center tube and yer good for life. If you need more power then bump it up to a VTA ST-120 or the monoblocks. You have a VERY wide selection of output tubes to choose from.

TONS of help and replacement parts, not like you're going to really need them. And Bob is perhaps the most helpful guy on the planet. The kit is VERY easy to build. Heck if I did it than anyone can do it.
 
I have both a VTA ST120 I built from a kit a few years back that is very nice. Prior to getting the kit, I got a Silk MC 30-L from a fellow in Chicago who has them made by Yaqin under his own brand "Silk." Both are very nice and to my ears sound very similar. I can't quit playing with these things. With the VTA ST120, I ended up building the TDR (time delay board) to use with a Copper Cap WZ68 rectifier. I then built an octal driver board to use two 6SN7's on the sides and a Black Treasure CV181-Z in the middle. I sprung for a pricey set of Black Treasure KT88 power tubes. Excellent! The VTA ST120 does allow for triode use. The MC 30-L is an integrated amp with remote control for volume and four line-level inputs. It also has the provision for triode operation. I recently put a matched quad of KT77 tubes in place of the original Shuguang 6CA7 power tubes. The new tubes may or may not be better, can't tell yet. It has solid-state rctification.

I got the VTA ST120 mainly because I wanted a project. Building it and playing around with it has been fun, but for half the price of the kit, I would have been totally happy with the MC 30-L which has operated trouble-free for over four years. I think either way you go, you will be happy.
 
Look at the PrimaLuna stuff... Used isn't too much more and it is very well made. Point to point wiring.
 
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