[Peter Wieck]

On Jan 21, 4:52 pm, WindsorFox wrote:

Ah, I'll have to try that. I've been sniffing around eBay but the
tube versions get rather expensive rather quickly. I almost fainted when
I saw some of the prices on old McIntosh stuff, especially compared to
what it was 4 years ago.

eBay still has the occasional bargain if you bottom-fish and/or have
the correct software. But they are getting fewer and further between.
You could do a bunch worse than a complete ST-70, I know of several
that have been in more-or-less continuous operation since-assembly (in
the 60s) to this day, one in particular that runs 56 hours per week (8
hours x 7 days) and another very nearly that. Neither has eaten a
transformer, speaker or melted down. One claims (which I would doubt
but all tubes read Dynaco) to have the OEM tubes. Neither is run at
very loud volumes, but they do run.

Others to keep in mind are various Eico, Scott and Fisher units. A
Scott LK-72 just went for $225 on eBay (mis-listed) and I have seen
several Eicos going under $200. But the best bargains are when you put
yourself in harm's way and get to swap-meets and radio shows. There is
one this weekend in Columbia, SC; I believe, and the various Kutztown
meets always have several good bargains in the tube-audio range from
direct experience.

If you do not object to flea-power, the Dynaco SCA-35 integrated amp
regularly goes for less than $200, and it is a sweet albeit low-powered
amp using "that awful" 7199 but also quite common 6BQ5/EL-84 output
tubes. It uses SS rectification and puts AC on the "heaters", but
manages to do it reasonably well.

7199s are not rare, and need not be expensive despite rumors to the
contrary. I have perhaps a dozen US-branded spares for my three
(SCA-35, ST-70, Scott LK-150) amps that use them, and I have yet to pay
more than $5 for one even from knowledgeable sellers. Yes, I do screen
them and no, they are not particularly noisy or microphonic if screened
correctly.

Peter Wieck
Wyncote, PA