My newly assembled VTA ST70 Kit

[Sunshyne]

I ordered a kit last week and started assembling it on Friday. When I started unpacking, I wondered what I had got myself into. The directions were very detailed and I was kind of surprised that it worked this morning after finishing the last few connections.
I ordered a stepped attenuator as an option because I do not have a preamp available. The kit came with toggles so you can switch between triode and pentode mode during playback and can take a variety of tubes. I had a pair of GL KT88's laying around and purchased the other tubes from the seller.
The amp helped me learn a few things about electronics in general and is the only amp I have that needs to have the tubes biased which I did that for the first time this morning .

I painted the endbells GM blue. The knob is not on the attenuator yet because I was curious if the thing would work or not.

Here is the bottom of the completed circuit board showing the upgraded Russian PIO caps. They were big and surprisingly heavy. I started on the board while I was waiting for the paint to dry and found it to go together pretty easily.

About half of the wiring done! Still pretty easy.

Here the amp is pretty much done. By this point I was throwing around a few choice words. As the working space shrunk my frustrations grew. Had I known how difficult it would have been to solder multistrand wire in the top corners to the circuit board (white and orange) I would have definitely used the other supplied solid core wire. Live and learn.


Here it is playing with my sl1200! Sounds great so far .

[kev313]

Looks great. Good work!

[ronenash]

great looking work. DIY is so much fun.

[Sunshyne]

Thanks guys. DIY is a lot of fun. I woke up at 5 this morning to finish it. Next will be a phono preamp kit.

[Pider]

Outstanding! I love DIY and have considered this one of my (too many) next project.

[Sunshyne]

Sweet! What else are you planning?

[jdandy]

Chris.......Nice job. How does it sound compared to what you have been using?

[Sunshyne]

Thanks Dan. So far I have only listened to one record After the Gold Rush and it sounded great. I will have to get back to you with a better update after a few more records and some digital. The first thing I noticed is that is does not have as much bass compared to my 275 and it is nowhere near as loud on 91db efficient speakers. It sounded just right, very well balanced and did not need any treble or bass knobs. I preferred the pentode mode for that album. Update coming soon.

[Sunshyne]

Okay, I figure it's been a while. I now have the VTA st-70 with my c2200 and VA speakers while my 275 is awaiting the go ahead for repair after the recent move.
The amp is fun and enjoyable with digital and vinyl. I'm am not a thorough reviewer but I will say it is a worthwhile product to listen to and look at and a course a lot of fun if you enjoy hands on. You can also buy one pre-assembled if you like.
As for sound, I would say it could be the 275's little brother while in pentode mode. The bass is not as powerful and I would describe the mids as a little scooped in pentode but otherwise presents similar to my 275. When I flip the switches to triode, it almost seems louder even though it is less wattage. I think that is because there are more mids present. The sound is smooth, lush and detailed. I like this setting for most of my listening. Sometimes I set on channel to pentode and the other triode for a blend. Pretty neat!

[antipop]

That's a very clean job. It looks like a lot of fun.

I like DIY though I have 0 soldering skills