Refurbishing a Dynaco Stereo 80

Really? A Stereo 80?

From time to time, customers have asked about using the Updatemydynaco modules to refurbish a Stereo 80. Although it takes a lot more work than updating a Stereo 120, it can be done. I recommend it (at this time) only for the mechanically inclined do-it-yourselfer.

The Stereo 80 and 120 had similar designs. The main differences were:

• Stereo 120 had an electronically regulated power supply and larger power transformer
• Stereo 120 had larger heat sinks
• Stereo 120 put out 60 Watts per channel, versus 40 Watts per channel for the Stereo 80
• Stereo 120 had a larger chassis with protected binding posts, Stereo 80 had screw terminals for the speakers

One of my customers, Tim, did the first such conversion. For that conversion, he ordered:

• TCK - Two single channel Amplifier Module Kits
• PSUG - Stereo 120 Replacement/Upgraded Power Supply Kit
• A special toroidal transformer (send me an email, and we can work it out)
• Special power supply capacitors (send me an email, and we can work it out)

Tim is a handy guy, and he fabricated his own version of super heatsinks, along with a special super heat sink for the power supply. He arranged them in the U-shaped form shown in the following pictures. That shape allowed him to fit (essentially) the same transformer as we use in the GT-101 power amplifier, making the power supply brawny enough to support the higher output power.

You'll note that Tim has retro-fit:

• gold binding posts for the speaker
• isolated RCA input jacks
• a 3-wire IEC style power connector
• I don't think he put a blue-light kit on the amp, but hey, nobody's perfect :)

The end result is 120 Watts (60 Watts/channel) is the smaller footprint of a Stereo 80!

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