Gentle reader,
Once again, I humbly thank you for finding my blog and taking the time to read my thoughts and view my images.
I have been into quality stereo equipment since 1975 when I built a Dynaco PAT-5 preamplifier kit and a pair of SWTPC Tiger .01 mono 60 watt power amplifier kits. Since then I have bought and sold a LOT of equipment. Most are lost to time because I had no camera until 1995 and no digital one until some years later. Plus, it never occurred to me to keep track of what I owned and when. As it also never occurred to me to make a list of the books I have read. That would have saved me considerable time wasted reading only to discover I'd already read that book!
I started this blog several years ago just for fun, never imagining that anyone would be interested. Turns out a lot of people are. Over 102,000 page views so far.
Recently I wrote about my interest in PROTON stereo electronics which were made in Taiwan up until the new millennium. As stated above, I began with Dynaco way back in the day and thanks to eBay I was able to rekindle that flame and bought a number of components I always dreamed of owning.
A company called PANOR, short for Pan-Orient, acquired the name rights to Dynaco and began making and selling high-end audiophile equipment which was praised by the media and buyers alike. As time went by, owners started selling their "new-Dynaco" equipment and I was able to buy a Stereo 200 power amplifier. Like the originals, they kept the total power output in the names of their power amps. Thus mine puts out 100 watts-per-channel.
Having found an odd home theater amplifier that was badged as a Dynaco, I started researching it. Over time and investigation, I learned that PROTON sold an identical unit in black with the PROTON name but same model number. PROTON equipment was made in the same factory as Dynaco was and sometimes "badge engineering" occurred with PROTON equipment being labeled as Dynaco and sold as such.
Having been an eBay seller since 1998, naturally I turned to it first to look for PROTON equipment. After reading up on their products online, I settled on a D540 integrated amp that can also be used as a preamplifier or a power amplifier. I wrote about it here:
If you have read the above posts, you know that I JUST got it all set up with the spare D540 as the preamp and the Stereo 200 as the power amp. The next day I saw appear on eBay a PROTON 1100 preamplifier for only $119.00 Buy-it-now. I snapped it up and it arrived today, July 13, 2017. The spare D540 has gone back in just-in-case status.
PROTON made both the D540 and 1100 were made over the same course of years: 1985-1991. The D540 sold for $380 and the 1100 for $230. Which is $880 and $530 in today's dollars. Remember that the D540 is a complete preamplifier AND power amplifier WITH the DPD circuitry and added electronics, while the 1100 is ONLY a preamplifier.
Since I had my now slightly disabled D540 sitting on the table in here, I decided to stack them and make a comparison. D540 is on top since it is not as deep as the 1100 below it.
The 1100 has an Infrasonic filter which was once called "Rumble" filter. A feature that I have missed since selling my Yamaha C-45 preamp and am using now. Both have Bass Equalization for certain speakers but not all. The D540 manual covers that.
The D540's less often used controls are kept behind a fold-down door. The D540 uses push buttons for which the 1100 uses more conventional rotating switches for choosing sources. The balance is next to the volume control on the 1100 and all knobs are larger and easier to read than the D540's are.
Surprising that the much more complex D540 is shallower in depth. It is taller though.
The inputs are in exactly the same layout which made swapping the 1100 for the D540 which was acting as the preamplifier only, a breeze. Note the 1100 has "CD" and the D540 "DAD" for Digital Audio Disc.
I'm on the lookout for the owner's manual for the 1100 only because I always like to have it and I'm curious what the difference is between the "PRE-OUT" AND PRE-OUT HIGH-LEVEL" is. Cool thing is with TWO outputs, I can use the second pair to send info to the subwoofer's line-level inputs and free up the extra set of speaker cables going directly to it.
Now, lets look at what's inside both of these black beauties.
Above is the complete view of the 1100 preamp. Simple clean layout with lots of room left over. The two rods connect the two switches for choosing what is playing and what is being recorded.
The D540 is packed with stuff since is does so much more than the 1100 does, thus the added cost to build and sell it.
Above is the D540's phono (turntable) board. Vertical and hard to get to.
Above is the TWO large and heavy transformers for the D540's main and high-output audio circuits. Below is the tiny transformer for the 1100 which does not need anywhere near the amount of power as the D540 does.
Next, let's look at the other parts of the 1100.
Above is the main board that has the on/off switch and bass/treble controls as well as the three push button controls. Below is the complete rear board that all the inputs and outputs are connected to. Again, simple, clean, airy and easy to access.
That's it for the comparison between the PROTON D540 integrated amplifier with DPD and the PROTON 1100 preamplifier.
I've been enjoying the 1100 in it's new home as the nerve center of my stereo complex. Since the PROTON 1100 and Dynaco Stereo 200 were built in the same factory about the same time, they resemble each other somewhat as you can see below:
Oddly, the illuminated power switch which is completely green looks only half green in the photo. You may be wondering what that thing on top of the power amp is. It is a whisper fan. I discovered that the Stereo 200's left channel would cut out after a while. I figured, correctly, that it was overheating. Whisper fan solved that and it can't be heard from my listening chair. The other thing on the right is the speaker selector switch I use in conjunction with the power amp's own selector switch. It's complicated and is explained in other posts.
Finally, you may be thinking, "If you like Dynaco so much why didn't you get a 'new-Dynaco' preamp?" Good question. PANOR made both tube and solid state (transistor) equipment and their single non-tube preamp was the PAT-6. It is a preamp with a radio tuner in it as well. The problem is they are super rare and go for big bucks when they do show up. The other problem is they do not have enough inputs. I have more sources: turntable, CD player, universal player, CD recorder and tape recorder. The PAT-6 has: phono, aux and CD and ONE tape in and out. Not enough. The D540 AND 1100 also have a tuner input which is unused since I don't have or want a tuner.
Thank you for taking the time to read my humble blog. Your doing me this favor warms my heart.
Scott
