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Proton AM 656
Proton AM 656
MSRP: $

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Rating
Reviewed by:

C.M Burns

(AudioPhile)

Review Date
January 6, 2008

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
3 Months to 1 year

Rate this review?

Review 1 of 1

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I have only had this amplifier for about 3 months or so but think it merits a quick review. This amp was produced circa 1990 -1993ish, its build quality is very good, VERY solid chassis, quite heavy. A massive transformer, beefy caps and heatsink dominate the interior. The exterior is reminicent of Dieter Rams efforts over at Braun (A/D/S), understated, robust and functional. Even though the Proton is nearly 18 years old it still works wonderfuly, the solitary function that no longer works is the motorised faceplate which is fine. Even all the pots are static free and the large LCD screen works perfectly. I have a Pioneer PL-510a hooked up to the phono input (set to MM) and the sound is very good. I have switched around from the Proton to an AMC 25100, Trends TA 10.1 and an Onkyo TX SR602 receiver and I still like the Proton best. The sound is lush and dynamic with a great abundance of clean bass (considerably more than the onkyo), highs are a little grainy but not bad at all. Percussions are rendered with great detail and energy.

Strengths:
Clean, authoritative bass and sweat midrange that belies modest 60w output. Great looks and build quality, excellent phono section.

Weaknesses:
All good things come to an end and after almost 18 years I'm just waiting for this amp to start acting up but it seems to be going strong.

Similar Products Used:
AMC 25100


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