DynaComp cork sniffin'

[thermionix]

I have a DynaComp clone, it works fine and sounds pretty damn good.  Could it sound better?  Well, I don't know, I've never actually played a vintage DynaComp.  And I should clarify, when I say "sound better" I mean "sound more (or exactly) like a vintage original."

The main differences between mine and an original unit are the types of components.  I'll keep the metal film resistors for lower noise, not so worried about those.  However, my build has electrolytics in place of the original's tantalums.  I know about cost and longevity, but is there any sonic difference between the types?  Googling has led me to the full spectrum of opinions, but I was wondering if anyone here has actually done comparisons, and what they might have found.

There are four caps in question here, but three of them go to ground, and only one has signal passing through it to (eventually) output.  That would be the one folowing Q1E.  Maybe that is the only one worth fussing about, if any of them are.

I used NOS 2SC1849 transistors, but I didn't measure any of them before soldering them in (didn't use sockets).  Are any of these supposed to be matched?  Like maybe Q3 and Q4?  Again, I've seen differing opinions on that.  I'm pretty sure I'm fine as far as transistors go, but would be interested in any insight anyone might have on the matter.

Lastly, my OTA is an Intersil metal can CA3080A (socketed).  I've been eyeballing some NOS RCAs on Ebay, but I have no idea if installing one would be any kind of upgrade.  I mean, it is an amplifier, it does have signal going through it...maybe the old RCAs sound different ("better") than the newer Intersils.  I come from the tube world, and if we're talking 12AX7s, for damn sure there is a sonic difference between a NOS RCA and, say, a Sovtek.  Maybe the same applies for metal can 3080s, I don't know.  Anyone here ever made the comparison?

Thanks for your input, or at least for reading through my long-winded post!

Schematic for reference:

[R.G.]

Here's one problem you'll run into. The sound of an original [whatever] was generally not a point, but a range. That is, the original varied, sometimes a lot. Component tolerances for resistors, capacitors, and semiconductors were generally wider than they are today.

So it is quite difficult to say that doing X will make any one example of a circuit sound more or less like a vintage [whatever].

Experimenting with component types can be fun. You ought to experiment as much as you like. But even if you think it sounds just like a [whatever] the next guy might think it doesn't sound at all like his own real, vintage [whatever]. And you'd both be right.

[ElectricDruid]

+1 agree with RG. Not only were the tolerances pretty wide, but often they stuck in whatever components they could get. I very much doubt they bothered matching transistors, even if it might actually have helped. The 3080 is the first of the OTAs, and if yours is an Intersil one in a metal can, then it sounds pretty vintage to me!

Tom

[thermionix]

Thanks for the replies.  I get that there would be some variation in the old 'Comps like most everything else.  I guess I'm wondering if mine could pass for an actual vintage unit, not necessarily sound exactly like any particular one of them.

Going back to the 12AX7 analogy, it isn't that all old RCAs sound exactly the same, but they are in a different camp than a Sovtek or JJ or whatever.  If you've ever swapped one for the other, you know what I mean.  The RCA sounds more "vintage correct" for lack of a better term.

Isn't the change from tantalums to aluminum electrolytics one of the main differences between the gray and black Ross comps?  Maybe there's more to it than that, I'm certainly no expert.  But my focus at this point is on the MXR circuit.

Really just wondering if anyone has made the comparisons before, tant vs. electro, or newer vs. vintage CA3080A, in a DynaComp.

[R.G.]

I guess I'm wondering if mine could pass for an actual vintage unit, not necessarily sound exactly like any particular one of them.

You're standing on the threshold of the path to component tweako madness, or advertising ... er, speech.   

[thermionix]

I guess I'm wondering if mine could pass for an actual vintage unit, not necessarily sound exactly like any particular one of them.

You're standing on the threshold of the path to component tweako madness, or advertising ... er, speech.   

I get ya on the tweako madness part...you don't want to hear the story of my TS9 copy!  But in that case I knew what I was going for.

Advertising?  I must be missing a reference there.

[BubbaFet]

Advertising is synonomous with hyperbole.

[thermionix]

Guess I need a new thesaurus.

[bluebunny]

Guess I need a new thesaurus.

Let me sell you a uni-directional oxygen-free copper thesaurus, with the all important turquoise crystals and infused with unicorn sweat.  Only six thousand dollars.

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