Dynaco PAT-6 at LAST! Panor-Era Dynaco Equipment Verses PROTON. Same Company!

June 3, 2018

#252

Gentle reader,

As a long-time reader, you have seen MANY articles on my stereo system's multitude of changes over all these years which I have been writing this humble blog.

This article showcases the latest addition to the system in the form of the super-rare Panor-Era Dynaco PAT-6 Preamplifier-Tuner.  I have been wanting one for YEARS! As you may know, I have, from the same company, their ST-200 Power Amplifier which is superb. I also recently secured their final iteration of 1970's Dynaco's QD-1 which they named: "QUADAPTER". That last one which came out in 1996 is called the QD-2. I reported on that here:

Quadraphonic Adventures: 1990's Dynaco QD-2 Passive Surround Sound Device Tested.  

If you can find a book from ORION RESEARCH CORPORATION called ORION BLUE BOOK AUDIO, do so. You will find them invaluable. Normally, they sell used for quite a bit of money. I got lucky in buying a bulk lot of them which included my 2002 Audio, plus one on cameras. I sold the rest, which did not interest me, individually for much more than I paid for the lot.

These books are full of wonderful information on equipment from most manufacturers with build dates, watts-per-channel, retail prices, used values based upon: retail, wholesale, condition, etc. Plus specs on the items, such as woofer size. Do they have every component from every maker? No, but as far as Dynaco covering both the original company's products, and Panor-era, I think they have everything they both produced. And as far as my Internet searches for photos has shown, some that may never have made it beyond the prototype stage.

There it is, folks, top right, the 1994 Dynaco PAT-6, snuggled up to the QD-2 which is cheek-to-cheek to the ST-200. A matched set at last!

UPDATE: The owner told me this, "I bought it around 1994-95 in Cambridge, MA. at an audio shop near MIT. I purchased, along with it the exact Adcom you have- a 535." He has the Adcom amp for sale on eBay. He is mistaking my two Adcom ACE-515 power conditioners for amplifiers.

According to Orion, the PAT-6 came out in 1993 and retailed for $500.00 which seems low to me. That's about $880.00 today. I had brochures direct from Panor, which I foolishly later sold, that may have had MSRP information in them. Here is the eBay photo of them from my auction:

If only I had the forethought to scan them all! Hindsight sucks sometimes.  The one component photo peeking between the two color sheets is about the PAT-5 Series II. I can find NO photos for that one! Well, anyway, here are up-close-and-personal photos of the new PAT-6:

Obviously, the faceplate is the same material as the ST-200.

I have the manual and remote on the way via eBay from another seller, which will help explain some of the things on the front and the rear, such as MEMO that I do not know their purpose for. I have no use for the tuner portion of the PAT-6. I have that floor radio that I upgraded the speakers which I showed you a while ago, in the listening room. And in this room, the PROTON AI-3000 II all-in-one system. This room has my PC, so if I want to listen FM music, I switch on the PROTON. Which I am listening to right now. Two Cerwin-Vega! LS-12 speakers with a pair of BOSE 301s mounted right below the ceiling make for a WALL of sound!

One concern is the lack of rumble filter for records.

Bubblewrap prints on the knobs, need to clean those.

 I knew it lacked inputs compared to what the PROTON has.

 More dust to clean off. Below, more mystery switches.

 IF serial numbers started at 000001, then this is 5117th.

Proper IEC AC plug socket which the PROTON lacks. I bought a new PANGEA AC-14  power cable and it arrived first. PANGEA products are excellent and superb bargains. Audio Advisor is the sole distributor of their fine products. Although they also sell them via eBay for the same prices.

Now, for a look at the "guts" inside the PAT-6. 

A lot of room inside which is not unusual these days. IC chips have greatly reduced the number of boards and components thereon. IF you are old enough to remember when VCRs came out, how big and heavy they were. More recent models one could lift with one finger in the tape slot. A better descriptor could be DVD players reduction in size and weight.

ST-200 has toroidal transformer, this one is standard style. That small board is for some reason, deliberately angled in it's mount. One side is raised. Odd.

Upper board is the tuner section. Both boards have lots of empty component locations.

This board is the lower one, the preamplifier board, again with empty component locations. My ST-200 has the same situation. I asked my stereo-buddy when showing him my ST-200, he looked at it and said, "Protection circuits." We both think it was the same board used for the ST-400 Series II power amplifier.

THIS should quell any arguments as to whether PROTON and Panor-Dynaco are/were the same company! 

Now for a comparison with the INSIDES of the PROTON 1100 Preamplifier which I have been enjoying for a number of years now:

Again, lots of room inside. This retailed for $230.00 in 1985. Around 550 of today's dollars.

This board is for power switch, bass/treble and other controls.

Shielded transformer, above. Along with AC outlets.

Clever use of long rods that connect front switch knobs to board. Below is the phono section (left side above). MM and MC cartridges are supported as well as different levels of capacitance are switchable on the rear panel.

Same type of sticker on the PROTON, but different company name.

And now, comparison shots of the two, front and rear.

Important INFRASONIC (rumble) filter switch. Not completely shown on the right are two selector switches for listening and recording choices. One can record one source while listening to another.

Complete compliment of inputs/outputs on the PROTON 1100 verses the Dynaco PAT-6. Note both have white stripes aligned with the RCA terminals.

I do not know what the High-Level outputs are for. Note same color Serial Number sticker and serial numbering system.

Finally, three AC outlets on the PROTON 1100, the PAT-6 has none. 
I have only had a short time so far listening to the PAT-6 in the system and it was at low volume to confirm all the inputs work. When my wife is home I keep the volume low. Generally, when she is home, I spend most of the time with her.
So, I have not had a chance to do my usual testing with favorite recordings at louder volumes. I have overcome the input/output shortcomings with a pair of "Y" cables connected to the "Tape Out" terminals for the CD recorder and Cassette tape recorder. I have added a nice SONY audio/video switch for the CD-R and Cassette outputs to choose between them wired into the "Tape In" terminals. As stated all function and now untoward sounds so far.

My next article will be about Panor-era Dynaco products. I have been gathering photos from the Internet of all the components for which owners or sellers had posted on the Internet. However, there are a number of components listed in Orion Blue Book do not seem to exist or at least have never been photographed. Especially the PAT-5 Series II and a number of speakers they have listed for which no photographs could I find.

Thanks for taking the time to read this!

Scott 

June 3, 2018