Dynaco Pat-5 Trancendencence
- Thread starter moebuster
- Start date
The AVA Molestation ..erm Gut and refill Upgrade.. was seriously pricey back then. AVA was always about Price imo.
Some thought it quite good.. for it's time frame.
IMO buy it cuz the packaging says Dynaco and fits the model line "look' ?.
Desirable is a bit optimistic though.
But there's No shortage of decent Pre's these days.
Your $, your choice
Some thought it quite good.. for it's time frame.
IMO buy it cuz the packaging says Dynaco and fits the model line "look' ?.
Desirable is a bit optimistic though.
But there's No shortage of decent Pre's these days.
Your $, your choice
mhardy6647
Lunatic Member
Maybe "Transcendence" one of the numerous upgrades for the lackluster transistor Dynaco preamps -- I dunno?
The PAT-5 as designed and supplied is generally held to be less awful than the PAT-4 (and, in the interest of full and complete disclosure, I have a PAT-4 and I'd classify it as "lackluster" as opposed to "truly awful"). I don't doubt that any of the multitudinous third-party/aftermarket upgraded versions of the 4 or the 5 make them better. Two hunnert smackers sounds pricey to me, though.
Oh, and this thread should be in "D&S".
The PAT-5 as designed and supplied is generally held to be less awful than the PAT-4 (and, in the interest of full and complete disclosure, I have a PAT-4 and I'd classify it as "lackluster" as opposed to "truly awful"). I don't doubt that any of the multitudinous third-party/aftermarket upgraded versions of the 4 or the 5 make them better. Two hunnert smackers sounds pricey to me, though.
Oh, and this thread should be in "D&S".
AVA has been upgrading Dynacos since 1970 or thereabouts. "Transcendence" is one of their more recent generations. These always got good reviews in "The Sensible Sound" and some have also been reviewed positively in "The Absolute Sound". Check under the hood, this may be all-solid-state or tube/transistor hybrid. Or you can call Frank Van Alstine and ask him: http://avahifi.com/. Even in the original form the PAT-4 got less good reviews than the PAT-5. If you like and it works, buy it. You won't have any trouble getting your $200 back IMHO if you sell it on Ebay. The brand has a good reputation and their workmanship is solid. I have owned the brand but moved on to more expensive gear. Their all-tube preamps are good too and may be more to your taste. A good deal at $200 if it checks out okay.
avahifi
AK Member
This an early AVA preamplifier built into a gutted Dyna PAT-5 chassis. What an original PAT-5 sounded like is immaterial, it is not a Dyna circuit set any more.
The resistors in your photo do run hot, but well within their ratings. They are simply dropping resistors, along with shunt regulator zeners, to take the raw plus and minus 60V power supply down to the needed regulated plus and minus 15V.
We did use the original Dyna power transformer in this early product because it worked fine, even though it had higher voltage then really required.
This is obviously one of our solid state circuits, but I cannot tell which without seeing photos of the audo circuit boards.
In good working order it is certainly worth at least $200 and will rival brand new preamps in musical performance.
Frank Van Alstine
The resistors in your photo do run hot, but well within their ratings. They are simply dropping resistors, along with shunt regulator zeners, to take the raw plus and minus 60V power supply down to the needed regulated plus and minus 15V.
We did use the original Dyna power transformer in this early product because it worked fine, even though it had higher voltage then really required.
This is obviously one of our solid state circuits, but I cannot tell which without seeing photos of the audo circuit boards.
In good working order it is certainly worth at least $200 and will rival brand new preamps in musical performance.
Frank Van Alstine
It probably wouldn't hurt to replace those resistors with a pair with longer leads so you could space them further off of the board for better cooling and/or install some with a higher wattage rating. If there is room.
The inside of that thing is a work of art.
The inside of that thing is a work of art.
avahifi
AK Member
I can see our precision stepped volume and balance controls. A photo of the component side of the audio boards would be useful.
If you can read the values of those big resistors from the first photo I can tell you if their rating is high enough. Probably is since they have been running for years without overheating.
That Transcendence II 500 is an awesome amplifier too. All AVA discrete audio circuits with super wide band width, and usually as rugged as an anvil.
Frank
If you can read the values of those big resistors from the first photo I can tell you if their rating is high enough. Probably is since they have been running for years without overheating.
That Transcendence II 500 is an awesome amplifier too. All AVA discrete audio circuits with super wide band width, and usually as rugged as an anvil.
Frank
moebuster
Super Member
before it can REALLY sink in I need to be told One More Time...
the amps speaker output terminals connect to the "amp" terminals and the "speaker" terminals are connected to the actual speakers.Right?
also-
unfortunately the Hafler has a dead right channel.
it's tempting to have it repaired since it was given to me with the T2 pre.
Robint
Super Member
Yes, connect amp to the amp terminals and run the speaker wires from the speaker terminals to the speakers. This allows switching between speaker from the pre-amp. I bought a PAT 5 off of Ebay, mine states "Super-Fet Pre-amp" by Jensens, Plus a modified by Van Alstine sticker. Got it cheap, listed as no out-put, took a chance and it worked perfectly. There is no output from speaker terminals unless the amp is hooked to the input terminals
