fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 I don't care either. Even if he is trying to hide something. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornman Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 As Fini said "it's a crap shoot" on E bay, but like him I have also had good luck buying vintage american made tubes -RCA -Sylvania -etc. (not new but test high) from sellers with good feedback. In the end you will proably find your self in the same tube obsession as the rest of us diehards & "just have to try vintage". [8-)] At $15.00 (or so $'s) per tube you wont loose much in the worst case & may gain a new ear fuuull [] Best of luck on the build, looking forward to reading your review. Cornman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 parts express sells tubes......stay away from the NOS trollers working out of their basements as tube experts at night, and working unrelated jobs during the day. These NOS guys will tell you the best thing going is what they have the most of. And the only truly meaningful test is how it performs in the circuit (i.e. in your equipment).. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sebrof Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 can I ask you guys something... I was at the atique dealer the other day, and he's got a huge basket of old tubes sitting by the front door with a sign in it... 5 bucks a tube. is that somethign I should be looking to grab? how do you know if a tube is good or burnt? most of them are sitting loose, but a few are still in there original box. I dont know much about the tube scene I'd avoid unless I had a tube tester. A bad tube can ruin your day, and your amp. For suppliers: Jim McShane would be far and away my A#1 choice, I like the Tube Store also. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cornman Posted June 23, 2011 Share Posted June 23, 2011 Hi Mike good to see you posting. Mike built his amp from scratch, & judging from the tubes I saw in his man cave & the quality of his systems sound I am sure he "Is Experienced" & shares good advise on tube sources. Thanks again for the Khorns mike. Cornman Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kevinmi Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 I have the Latino ST 120 amp also. I built this from a kit a few years ago and have been loving it ever since. Make sure you get all the upgraded caps from Bob- definately worth the price of admission! I had an issue with the gain on my amp coming on too strong too early through my Khorns, and Bob kindly sent me a schematic on which 2 resistors to replace on the VTA board to correct this problem. For less than a dollars worth of resistors, my problem was fixed! I also installed the volume control when it became available, and it has really come in handy. As far as tube rolling goes, I listened to Bob and purchased the Mullard tubes also, which was a big difference from the russian tubes I was using. I also have some Amperex 12at7's that sound good as well. I found an Amperex France tube that I use in the center position that is my favorite. I had the Sovtek KT88's in for about a year or so, and then I changed them out for the Genelex Gold Lion re-issues, which I think have a little more bass, but not a whole lot different than the Sovtek tube. I've never tried any expensive vintage power tubes. I'm using my St-120 in a bi-amping set-up, so it only does duty to 400 hz or so. I'm using my Decware single ended amps for the mids/highs with great results. When I use the St-120 amp by itself in my system, it is the quietest tube amp I've ever heard! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mark1101 Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 The low gain driver board came out after enough of the original boards were in circulation in various uses (mostly Dynaco upgrades, etc) and the characteristics were getting noticed. Bob is certainly not the only one using this driver board. It is very popular. This gain issue is not a defect, it is a design spec. My Peach overdrove the VTA-120 with certain CDs and in certain musical passages. It cause ringing in my horns at sporadic times. I'd be like........what was that? I never really figured it out that it was the amp's high gain doing this until I started reading around the forums. Then........ Mark Deneen somehow wound up with a VTA-120 and his first comments on this forum about some measurements he took were that it had unusually high gain, but that it was a nice amp. If I was going to get another one, I would definitely tell Bob to use the lower gain driver board. Again, this is just me and I am not knocking Bob's product. It was a good amp, and I enjoyed it. I sold it for $$ to move up in the hobby to an active system and s/s amps. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Latino Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 To Fini > I am not in the witness protection program. I am alive and well in Massachusetts. In Massachusetts there are many of my family members with the (Italian) "Latino" surname ... Both the VTA ST-70 and VTA ST-120 may be had with either the standard gain 12AT7 driver board or the lower gain 12AU7/12BH7 driver board. The determining factor is usually the efficiency of your speakers. The standard gain board works well with speakers of 93 dB or lower. Above 93 dB I recommend the lower gain version of the driver circuit. Since all Klipsch speakers are fairly high efficiency speakers, the lower gain version is probably the best choice with Klipsch speakers. Another approach to deal with extra gain, is to use either the VTA ST-70 or VTA ST-120 with the stepped attenuator option. Most audiophiles use the VTA stepped attenuator kit as a volume control with a single high level input (CD player, FM tuner, mp3 player etc.) but you can also use the attenuator as a "master gain control" WITH a preamp. If you set the attenuator at about 12 o'clock and then run a signal from your preamp into the VTA amp, it will require more preamp output for a given volume level from the amp. Bob Latino Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 24, 2011 Share Posted June 24, 2011 Bob, I believe you! Thanks for all your good work. Now "fini," there's a fake name...[Y] Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jhoak Posted June 24, 2011 Author Share Posted June 24, 2011 It's done and playing. http://forums.klipsch.com/forums/t/150583.aspx Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 I don't care either. Even if he is trying to hide something. Fini you are such an A hole, a funny A hole but an A hole just the same LOL!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Craig, coming from you, that really means something! [] I momentarily forgot the one thing no one ever thinks is funny: A play on their own name! I mean, with a last name of Fautley (you can imagine the variations), you'd think I'd never forget. How do Bob's amps compare with updated ST-70s? I must admit, I've never looked into that. Oh, and while I've got your attention [], what's a ballpark figure for getting a near mint Fisher 400CX-2 in running/safe shape, if nothing major is wrong with it? (sorry for the hijack...you can email/pm me if'n you want) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
NOSValves Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Fini, Probably best to take this offline and not crap on this thread. I'm headed out the door for the rest of the day but if you want send me an email and we can discuss the Fisher (really nice vintage preamp). Not a BBX by any means but a nice different fruit flavor maybe just a bit over ripe LOL!! craig@nosvalves.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fini Posted June 25, 2011 Share Posted June 25, 2011 Sounds good! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ski Bum Posted June 27, 2011 Share Posted June 27, 2011 Back to tube vendors...I found the same tubes available from online vendors, often for considerably less, from the local guitar amp repair shop. They had and extensive selection and supply of both current production and NOS tubes. The owner was a crotchety old **** who thinks tube amps for home audio is beyond stupid. At least he didn't feel compelled to tack on the audiophile surcharge. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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