Dynaco ST70 - Which tubes do you like?

[zimmer64]

Hi guys,

I am new to tube amps and I have just recently completed one of Bob Latino's ST 70 kits, that I ordered with the cap upgrades, Sovtek KT 88 tubes and the TDR. The amp just sounds awesome and I am very excited. I am also looking forward to try different tubes. So I was wondering, which one's you guys like? What do you prefer, EL 34 or KT 88? What do you use on the driver board?

Hope to get lots of ideas from the community.

Best

Michael

 

[stokessd]

I'm an EL34 fan followed by 6L6GC. You don't have enough power supply or output transformer to do KT88's justice.

The driver tube question is really dependent on the driver board you are using. For a stock amp, the RCA branded 7199's are good to my ears. I have GE branded 12AT7s in my driver board.

 

[Wolf012558]

You mentioned 12AT7 tubes but if Michael has one of the newer VTA amps with the CCS driver board, his amp would be using the lower gain 12AU7 or 12BH7 type tubes.

 

[stokessd]

But I don't have a VTA driver board. So in my design, the 12AT7's are just what the doctor ordered. That's why I qualified it with "depending on the driver board you are using"

Sheldon