BACK to: My First Stereo 1976 Dynaco PAT-5 SWTPC Tiger 01

Gentle reader,

My previous post: COMPLETED: Creating a searchable database of all my thousands of LP recordings. has generated unprecedented response from readers with almost 400 page views the first day which pushed page views to over 100,000! I am VERY grateful to you and all the others around the world that take the time to read my humble blog. When I started I figured very few would be interested. You all have proved me wrong and I am SO happy about that!

I attended High School in the Mile High city of Denver, Colorado in the 1970's. My family moved from there right after I graduated in 1974, to Richmond, Virginia. At the time, I had a plastic fold-up suitcase style stereo that I was perfectly happy with. Or so I thought.

Then I met Phillip. He invited me to see/hear his stereo. His poor parents and neighbors. Phillip had constructed huge plywood speakers with eighteen inch woofers, a six inch midrange and I don't recall what kind of tweeter. Driven by a Pioneer integrated amp that put out 60 watts per channel. He had a Revox fifteen inch reel-to-reel tape deck and I don't recall what type of turntable. He played Pure Prairie League's Two Lane Highway for me and I was completely blown away! It was SO LOUD and clear! I went home, looked at my plastic piece of crap and sighed.

Being short on money, I started with a Quadraphonic receiver, Electrophonic, I think was the brand, it was cheap, had a built-in 8-track which also played Quad tapes, and had a ceramic phono input. Came with four matching speakers. Sounded OK to me. Here is a link to one that seems to be the same one I remember:
Vintage Morse Electrophonic AM FM Multiplex Stereo Receiver 447 & 8 Track Player • $51.00 - PicClick

I found an ad in Stereo Review for a book called Audio Alternative by Mark Tobek and ordered it. With knowledge gained by that book, I set out to build a stereo. 

After thoroughly studying the book and the author's results from his testing and listening, I decided upon a kit Dynaco PAT-5 which was their new flagship solid state preamplifier. Since I couldn't also afford their ST-120 power amplifier, I instead chose South West Technical Products Company's Tiger .01 mono amplifier kits. Two mono 60 watt amps verses the Stereo 120 which had the same output in one stereo chassis.

I built the PAT-5 first which was a good thing because it was much easier and gave me lots of soldering practice. I took it to Audio Art in Southside Richmond. Here is a link to their FaceBook page: Audio Art They tested it and pronounced it ready to use.

Next, I tackled the two Tiger mono power amp kits. I was just 19 and had little electrical knowledge, but even so managed to get them both built and Audio Art stated they each slightly exceeded their rated output.

Above is a photo of a later PAT-5 I owned for a while. Here is a photo of the rear:

I won't go into all the specifics of the PAT-5, but note the speaker terminals which allowed for switching to another pair via a switch on the preamp.

Below are a couple of photos of the plans for the SWTPC Tiger .01 mono amps that I found on the "Tigers that Roar" website:

A clever compact design made so four side-by-side could fit on a 19" wide rack-mount shelf for a Quadraphonic system. Remember, Quad was all the rage in the 1970's a was what eventually became Dolby Surround Sound.

I did not own a camera, other than a JCPenny 110 film camera in the 1980's, until April, 1995. So, below are photos of my stereo in the basement apartment I lived in:

Note that my first PAT-5 had a silver faceplate without the beveled top and bottom edges seen on the one at the top of the page. It is all that remained of my original stereo. The Tigers had died of some unknown reason.
Note one of the two Dynaco A-25 speakers that I also chose based upon Audio Alternative recommendations. I bought the pair from Dixie HiFi also in Richmond. They were floor samples so I got them for $99.00 for the pair. I found out decades later that they had substituted the drivers in one with cheaper ones and stuffed that cabinet with fiberglass. The grilles were glued on at the factory so it wasn't until I detected a buzzing in one woofer and pried off the grilles did I see what they had done. So much for my having "golden ears"! 

I don't recall the brands of any of the other components, other than the Dynaco FM-5 I added later. Note in the photo below that the PAT-5 is missing. One channel had stopped working and I eventually sold it via eBay.

Below the FM-5 is my first CD player. Below is the genuine SEAS woofer and tweeter from the unmolested A-25 that I sold on eBay as well. The cabinets were so bad, I didn't consider finding and buying a pair of the correct drivers. I wish I had.

As far as turntables, and the book's advice, I chose a B.I.C. 940 and I sprang for the walnut base and smoke dustcover. It came with a cartridge, but I don't recall which one it was. Here is a photo from the web of a 980 I found on this blogger's page:POLITICS / THE USA / SPORTS / WEATHER / TRUCKING / LIFE / HEALTH / FAITH/ GOD: 12/1/09 - 1/1/10

I do not know how to credit the photo other than including a link to the page I found it on. I hope that he/she is OK with my using it.

Above is a photo of one of our "mitten kitten" cats, Leah, squeezing past one of the reel-to-reel tape players I owned later. Not clear enough picture to tell any brands. This photo was made with that JCPenny 110 camera.

Below, are the A-25 speakers atop a pair of the infamous "white van" speakers I found in a thrift store. Again, since I do not have "golden ears" those sounded fine to me too:

This image is from this room. At the time, the kids still lived here, so no listening room.

A LOT of equipment has come and gone in the decades since. I've lost a lot of hair too! We do tend to nostalgically wish we could go back in time and tell our then selves to NOT get rid of things, don't we?

Of course, my current components blow away anything I had then, as seen below:

The Philips speakers are gone now and the modified Minimus 11 speakers now sit there.

Since completing them, the screws/washers have been painted black. Here is a link to the final results of the extensive rebuild: NOW finished: Upgrading old diecast Realistic Minimus 11 speakers Part 2.5 

Thanks for looking!

Scott