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Dynaco 120 Amp... good or bad?
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Dan ʕ•ᴥ•ʔ
Peanut Head
Bear in mind that it has been a very long time since I've heard one of them, but remember them being cold and harsh in their presentation. The early Heathkit SS amps were the same way. Never found them to be musical or make for an enjoyable listening session. But if you are buying it to "flip" and it's in good operating order and condition, then go ahead.
EchoWars said:
:lmao:
And that about sums it up ladies and gentlemen
A friend of mind had one, it basically sucked.
It wasn't in my friends rig for very long...
Well, for me it was the first real hi-fi amplifer I ever heard. Thing is, it didn't take long before I realized that, good as it sounded, it was barely the tip of the hi-fi iceberg.
After I bought an inexpensive Kenwood KA-5500 (my first amp), and we auditioned it next to the Dynaco listening to some VOTT speakers, my buddy went and bought him a new amp (an SAE of some sort, IIRC). The Dynaco got shoved in a closet.
After I bought an inexpensive Kenwood KA-5500 (my first amp), and we auditioned it next to the Dynaco listening to some VOTT speakers, my buddy went and bought him a new amp (an SAE of some sort, IIRC). The Dynaco got shoved in a closet.
EchoWars said:
And the love of Kenwood was born
The ST-120 is very well regarded by many people.
The circuitry was very advanced for the time and it sounds VERY nice when working correctly. For example, It included fold-back current limiting.
The reason it has a bad reputation is that it was a kit and people often did a very poor job building it and it was common for the protection circuitry not to work and oscillations to happen because of poor construction techniques.
It's a very minimalist circuit and deceptively simple looking. I sometimes think that Dynaco factory built units were built to NASA specs. Way too much attention to reliability (it can be overdone) - that translates to a pain in the a** when repairing/refurbishing one.
I use a 120 for my every-day listening - I'm listening to it now.
I also use Marantz/Pioneer (love that QX-** quad balance display) in the home theater and right now a Crown DC-300A/IC-150 up in my main listening room. My wife uses an H/K 430 in her music studio. A Kenwood is used for my PC.
There are a ton of them out there and if you can get one for around $50.00 that has been checked over and refurbished you will be very happy. A good one sells for around $150 - $200 on the auction site. They sound spectacular when teamed up with acoustic suspended speakers like AR/KLH/Advent/Dynaco. Not as good with JBL/Jensen type stuff.
I almost bought the one you saw, too - but I have about (10) of them already waiting to be refurbished.
DH
The circuitry was very advanced for the time and it sounds VERY nice when working correctly. For example, It included fold-back current limiting.
The reason it has a bad reputation is that it was a kit and people often did a very poor job building it and it was common for the protection circuitry not to work and oscillations to happen because of poor construction techniques.
It's a very minimalist circuit and deceptively simple looking. I sometimes think that Dynaco factory built units were built to NASA specs. Way too much attention to reliability (it can be overdone) - that translates to a pain in the a** when repairing/refurbishing one.
I use a 120 for my every-day listening - I'm listening to it now.
I also use Marantz/Pioneer (love that QX-** quad balance display) in the home theater and right now a Crown DC-300A/IC-150 up in my main listening room. My wife uses an H/K 430 in her music studio. A Kenwood is used for my PC.
There are a ton of them out there and if you can get one for around $50.00 that has been checked over and refurbished you will be very happy. A good one sells for around $150 - $200 on the auction site. They sound spectacular when teamed up with acoustic suspended speakers like AR/KLH/Advent/Dynaco. Not as good with JBL/Jensen type stuff.
I almost bought the one you saw, too - but I have about (10) of them already waiting to be refurbished.
DH
bre's dad said:
stuartk
Super Member
whsh93a said:
Frank Van Alstine has a good description of the problems with the ST-120 in one of the old issues (8-84) of his Audio Basics newsletter. He also designed a fix for the power supply problem and made the info available for personal use.
Frank also uses the Dyna chassis and puts his own circuits in it, and the result is evidently a superb little amp. Some of his new amps are a better deal, but if you want something small in size, or just like the looks of the Dyna, it's not a bad way to go.
Yes, -
His basic fix for the "power supply problem" was to eliminate it - that is, completely eliminate it. His mod includes a completely unregulated supply with no protection for the amp.
On the other hand, his design does sound good. But I do believe that the "TIP" up-grade introduced by Dynaco a few years later may sound as good or better.
Dynaco was very cool because it could be hacked so easily.
DH
His basic fix for the "power supply problem" was to eliminate it - that is, completely eliminate it. His mod includes a completely unregulated supply with no protection for the amp.
On the other hand, his design does sound good. But I do believe that the "TIP" up-grade introduced by Dynaco a few years later may sound as good or better.
Dynaco was very cool because it could be hacked so easily.
DH
stuartk said:
