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Proton anyone?

Dan D.

Dan D.

Active Member
I remember some years back falling in love with some Proton equipment. Don't ask why, I've never owned/used/heard any of them. Just something about the no-frills black box (and the price tags too) said there might be some magic audio mojo happening in there. Was I anywhere near correct about that? I haven't seen or heard anything about them for quite a while, and wondering what gives? I suppose I should have looked on the forum first, but since this is already typed, I'll hang it out anyways. What say ye, O Esteemed Elders?
 
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I'm not an elder, but yes, I have fond memories of Proton, and have a table radio model in the kitchen, One of my editors, a friend, has about 3 or 4 in his house. I think their audio division is gone, but you can get their 'step-sister' brand, NAD. Or maybe I have it backwards, and Proton was the step-sister of NAD.
 
Got a D940 taken apart waiting for parts right now. Pretty hefty, lots of features and a nifty looking transformer.
 
There's a guy on Ebay that sells Proton (and a lot of other stuff) NIB. I've been thinking of grabbing an integrated just because I like the look. It's funny someone mentioned that they were a sister company for NAD since I've always thought they looked similar. Now I know!
 
Proton d1200 owner here. It's very nice sounding and it's got to be one of the most underated 100 wpc power amps out there. With its 7.2db of headroom it will easily do 400 wpc peaks. The big meters are also a plus.
 
Have a D-540-very powerful 40 watt rated amp section. I dont care for the pre section,mainly use it as a amp-great for that.
 
I use a Proton power amp in my main system. Very under rated amps IMO. I also have a Proton preamp in my secondary system. Proton and NAD were related only because they had their gear built in the same factory. The Proton gear specified better parts however.
 
A friend has picked up a comple power amps lately and I got to hear them.
Damned impressive.
Sorry, I don't know the models.
Proton is "new to me". I had never heard of them.
 
Loved the Proton 300 table radio my dad had. I have it now that its dead... the second speaker still works great though.
 
Proton used to make NAD equipment according to other threads here. I can't wait get this D940 up and running so I can play with the cartridge loading settings.
 
Well damn. I have a Proton D940 that I use with an iPod dock. I never looked at the phono input selectors.

I've never heard anyone say the phono section was great. What should I know about it?
 
Have a D540 bought used in the late 80's, a D940, a tuner, (forgot model #). If I ever find a D1200 at a reasonable price will buy it in a heartbeat. I like their sound and their performance, particularly the D540. Caveat, switches and knobs tend to get dirty; good idea to deoxit them once in a while.
 
I used to have the proton d-1150, dual mono design. This amp was 50 watts/channel with a lot of headroom. I think stereophile had a write up on this amp saying it was the loudest 50 watts they had ever heard. I liked that amp a lot, really looked great too.
 
Thanks to one and all for the input. It's nice to know I was lusting after nice stuff. Someday when I grow up, I hope to have a few specimens to play with.
 
motorstereo said:
Proton d1200 owner here. It's very nice sounding and it's got to be one of the most underated 100 wpc power amps out there. With its 7.2db of headroom it will easily do 400 wpc peaks. The big meters are also a plus.
Click to expand...

If I remember correctly, when Stereo Review's Julian Hirsch tested the Proton D1200, it put out 1,200 watts into one channel at one ohm.
 
Just hope and pray you don't have to clean the dreaded scratchy pots on the D940. I forget which ones, but a couple of them are buried in the back under a board with extensions to the control face. I think I had to open mine up 4 or 5 times before they were finally clean.

When I bought my first Pioneer I opened her up to clean the pots and was delighted to see I had room to work and the pots were within easy reach.
 
bryblob said:
I used to have the proton d-1150, dual mono design. This amp was 50 watts/channel with a lot of headroom. I think stereophile had a write up on this amp saying it was the loudest 50 watts they had ever heard. I liked that amp a lot, really looked great too.
Click to expand...

I have a AA-1150, which is the same amp as the D-1150. The review you speak of was also written by Julian Hirsch for Stereo Review. I have a copy and will scan and attach it later. If I recall correctly, the 1150 tested out at 68 wpc @ 8 ohms, 105 wpc @ 4 ohms and 136 wpc @2 ohms. I'm using it to drive 6 ohm Monitor Audio Silver RS8's.
 
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