Review - New Dynaco ST-70 Series 3

I thought there were two factories producing KT120’s; Russian Tung Sol and Chinese Psvane/Treasure/Shauguang, no?

 

If there are any brands other than the Russian Tungsol kT120s, I am not aware of them. Mind you, I'm sure that these are great sounding tubes. But the fact that you can't tune your amp by rolling the output tubes kills half the fun of owning tubes IMO.

 

Went back to up to 2999.00 today. Looks like promotion is over.

** Limited availability - we are now sold out on the promotion.

Dynaco ST70

 

Yes, Jensen is well known for making some of the highest performance transformers in the world. So while I tend to doubt that these are genuine Jensen-made transformers, I would not be surprised if they consulted with Jensen during the transformer reverse-engineering process while they were attempting to replicate the performance of the originals. Jensen transformers are very expensive, and I can't seem how they could have met their price target with genuine Jensen-made transformers.

At the promotional price, I have a hard time seeing see how they could have done better than just barely break-even on these units considering that these are being made in Canada.

 

$3k? No way. Too much competition at that price point at $1499 it was a no brainer.

 

The transformers from mine are labeled “dynaco”.

Power Transformer - dynaco
280 VA
E100 3014 00
H301694
MADE IN CANADA

Output Transformers (2) - dynaco
AUDIO TRANSFORMER 35 WATTS 20Hz - 20kHz
E100 3015 00
H301695
BLK-GRN-YEL
COM - 4 ohm - 8 ohm
MADE IN CANADA

 

I can't help but wonder if they might be between a rock and a hard place. I bet that they make $0.00 profit at $1,500. Remember Canadian labor is much more expensive than is Chinese labor.

But whether it can sell in today's market at $3K is a big question. It probably depends upon whether customers think of it as just another Stereo 70 clone, or if they think of it as really great high-end tube amp which simply happens to bear the Dynaco name.

 

Yeah, 3000 is going to be a tough sell just because of all the DIY competition and existing ST-70 knock offs. So glad I grabbed one while they were 1499.

I agree their success depends on whether they can establish an identity as a *new* EL-34 based amp that sounds better than all the existing "ST-70 - like" products available.

I can only offer the data point that it sounds better than my VTA ST-70. But does it sound 2000 dollars better? Well, no, not to me. But better is better, and some people pay hundreds of dollars for just a smidgen of improvement from cables and interconnects, so who knows what more serious audiophiles with money might be willing to pay.

Appearance also matters to a lot of people. And It certainly looks very, very nice.

I hope they are successful. I admire that they tried in any event, and did the research to determine how to build it right.

 

Yes, mine are labeled the same. But Jensen is in California I believe. From what I just read on their website, it looks like Radial was one of Jensen's biggest customers and then eventually purchased Jensen. Maybe Jensen designed the output transformers and someone in Canada built them? Or maybe it was Jensen all the way. They don't list tube OPTs as a product on their website that I could find. Just guessing here.

History | Jensen Transformers

 

I was checking out the “net” for ST70 style amps. I forgot all about this guy. I was always meaning to check this out. Here’s are great alternative USA made at $1599 which is a bargin. Looks beautifully made as well. Frank Van Alstine has quitely been making solid audio products for years.

Audio by Van Alstine
Ultravalve Vacuum Tube Amplifier

 

There are a lot of amplifier choices at $3000, both new and used.

I would bet most sound better than a new St70 v3.

Consider that the original sold for $79.99 (as a kit) at the same time a Marantz 8b had a list price of $250. $3000 today would have been $350 in 1961. Even today one can purchase and restore an 8b for about 3k. Something to think abt.

 

Yes, the AVA ST-70 is hugely popular and definitely a contender. It is probably one of the two most popular ST-70 style amps along with the VTA line. I read everything I could find on both before eventually choosing the VTA last year. I do think it is better looking than the VTA.

 

This thread is over 1 year old but all should know > They pulled the plug on this amp about a week ago. (second week of August 2020) The amp did look good and two customers have told me it sounded good also. The problem with the amp is that it was priced WAY too high at $3000. You can't take the Dynaco trade name "upscale". I had a feeling that they would slowly discount the amp to $2500 and then $2000 until they got rid of amps they had in stock but what they did was to sell a number of these at $1500 to lower stock on hand. Dan Fraser, the head engineer for the Dynaco Series III, may be a good pro audio engineer but all the hype he projected starting in 2015 after they acquired the Dynaco trade name was just "fluff". Evidently Mr. Fraser did not realize that the "lets take the Dynaco trade name upscale" was tried before in 1992. Panor trotted out the Dynaco ST-70 Series II in 1992. Panor went belly up with this amp about 1996. The Series II sold for about $1000 in 1992 money and very few were sold. $1000 USD in 1992 money is about $1850 in 2020 money. How did they ever think that could get $3000 for the amp when Panor could not get $1000 for their version of the ST-70 ! I talked with one of the marketing people at Radial Engineering and he admitted that they were selling poorly. He did try to "stretch the truth" and say to me that > "Radial Engineering had been SOLD and the new owners were taking the company in a new direction" hence amp had its plug pulled. Yes .. Radial Engineering was sold in January of 2018, yet the amp went on sale after that in May of 2018. Radial spent 5 years on this amp and it all went up in smoke. I wonder how many man hours were spent and how much millions Radial lost on this 5 year project ?

Bob Latino

 

A far cry from the original ST-70 I had which had that frequency limited tubey sound of yesteryear. I liked that sound but the new Dynaco sounds like a much more neutral modern amp.

 

Everyone even the Chinese are smart now using quality polypropylene coupling capacitors that makes a clean neutral sound.

 

If possible, I respectfully request confirmation or contradiction of the 3rd post above this one, that Radial discontinued sale/distribution of the Dynaco ST 70 Series 3.

 

bob is a very well respected person, he's been involved with dynaco products for a long time.

if you need confirmation, seems like the best way would be to call radial directly. their number is on their web site.

 

It’s probably true. The Dynaco website that had the purchasing link has been taken down. http://www.dynaco.audio

I still have mine, and I’m happy with it. I feel for what I paid for it ($1,500), it was priced fairly.

 

Glad to see you here Bob.

 

I have a Van Alstine Ultravalve amp.
I made a video, check it out.

 

Called Radial, got VM outgoing announcement referring all queries to email correspondence only/no return calls. I emailed Radial and got the reply below. I think Bob Latino summed up the Series 3's sad story pretty well. Covid surely didn't help. I wonder if Radial may have had better success in a slightly different chassis, maybe someone ala Ars-Sonum, among my favorites cosmetic wise, made in Spain; AS sells a deluxe 2x 35W 34EL for ca. $5300 USD.

It's just plain brutal competing against Asian-sourced gear. Radial's legal excuse against kits seems contrived; plenty of companies exist selling tube kits. A thriving kit building community is one of the things that differentiated the original ST 70 from Marantz and McIntosh.

Hi xxxxxxxx,

Unfortunately, we no longer manufacture the Dynaco Line.

Kind regards,

Dezra Gisborne
Sales Administration & Resolution Coordinator
Radial Engineering Ltd.
1588 Kebet Way, Port Coquitlam, BC V3C 5M5, Canada
[radial-logo-email]<Radial Engineering >
Tel: 604-942-1001
Fax: 604-942-1003
Email:[email protected]
Radial Engineering<Radial Engineering > | Primacoustic<Acoustic Solutions | Acoustics Panels | Studio Room Kits | Primacoustics > | Tonebone<http://www.tonebone.com/> | Jensen Transformers<High performance audio transformers and ground isolators. >

 

I rest easy at night knowing the Dynaco Stereo 70 spirit still lives on in the Van Alstine Ultravalve, and in the many Stereo 70's still in use today, and in all the different iterations of it.