jimlisenby

Overall Rating
 5 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

Price Paid:  $125.00 from eBay

Summary:
Highly recommended! Every audiophile or audio enthusiast should have at least one, for backup if nothing else. It is that good.

I bought my first Proton D940 Stereo Receiver on eBay a couple of years ago, and I liked it so well I bought two more. I am an audiophile, or at least an audiophile wannabe since about 1985,.and I am no novice when it comes to audio gear. Actually, I buy audio gear and refurbish it for resale, and a lot of equipment has passed through my hands over the years, so I recognize good stuff when I see and hear it.

A little known fact is that this company, Proton, has made some very fine equipment for other well known audio companies. Remember the early NAD stuff. Well, guess what? Proton made much of it including those powerful little receivers they sold so many of back then, and which now still bring good prices on eBay.

If you can't get your hands on a D940 Receiver, try the D540 Integrated Amp instead. Of course, you will need a separate tuner for it. It has the same basic power capabilites that the D940 has.

Strengths:
Dynamic headroom!!! All 6 dB of it. It is rated at 40 wpc continuous into 8 ohms, 20 - 20K Hz, both channels driven. Not so spectacular, huh? However, this Mighty Mouse receiver will deliver dynamic power peaks of 380 wpc into 2 ohms for 20 mS or less. That is incredible performance for any receiver or power amplifier, and it makes the music live. It also means that this magnificent little beast will drive virtually any speaker.

All of the controls are intuitive and easy to understand and use, and it is also built like a tank in many respects with the exception of the things I mention below in the Weaknesses section.

The preamp section is really very good, and the tuner is excellent.

Weaknesses:
None really, but I will mention a couple of little things. The switches and pots, although easy to use and very functional tend to get scratchy over time. Buy hey, everybody else's does too with few exceptions, and just working them good usually gets rid of the problem. Another is that the switch buttons are plastic and I they should have been made of metal.

The speaker connectors on the rear will not accept banana plugs although they look like the will. Proton felt that banana plugs could not effectively meet the current demands that might be placed on them in high power situations. They installed binding posts without the banana jacks for that reason.

These are minor things and in no way detract from the performance and the satisfaction of owning and using this little Mighty Mouse receiver.

Similar Products Used:
Really too many to mention. Sansui G-971 Monster Receiver, Carver 900 Receiver, Harman Kardon 680i Receiver, Yamaha 777 Stereo Reciever, Yamaha 901 Stereo Receiver, plus many others.

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Price Paid:  $300.00 from Electronic Market

Summary:
I have been so surprised as listening to the sounds that PROTON D940 created. It's too amazing, especially the bass and treble sounds. The bass seems deepl-lying, fully plump and powerful as I want (Even though only 40WPC, but may be because of Dynamic Power on Demand Technology). The treble sounds fine, pianissimo.

All I want to say that the PROTON D940 would ever making everybody surprised with the quality and power of its sounds.

If I can find out another PROTON D940 in its original quality (not any services or repairs applied yet), I would buy it event though I already had one) !

Let's try the PROTON D940 and you would believe my opinion !

Strengths:
As said above

Weaknesses:
It seems not very professional as its own sounds.
No remote control (but not very important because we just want its sound quality)

Price Paid:  $299.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
This was a great piece of equipment in it's day for a super low price. I bought mine in 1990 from Crutchfield on sale and my friend liked it so he bought one on 2nd markdowns for only $199 in 1991! I love the rich, strong sound this amp delivers. It's rated at 40w, but has plenty more on reserve for musical peaks. Sounds better than my Adcom GFA 545II 100w amp. Lots of real knobs for volume, bal, bass, treble. It also is bridgable, and has pre-out and amp-in connections. The only problem was the source and record selector switches get "scratchy" and need to be cleaned once a year, but other than that this was a very well built, heavy piece of equipment. The power supply in it is a beauty and is as big as a softball. After about 10 years of normal use, it started to hum. The hum got louder and I no longer use it, but I would buy one again if I found one in newer condition.

Strengths:
Smooth, rich, clear sound. Great tuner. Lots of knobs. Powerful.

Weaknesses:
Switches get dirty and noisy and need frequent cleaning.

Similar Products Used:
Adcom GFA 545II.

Price Paid:  $869.00

Summary:
I bought the D940 new in 1986 (in Australia hence the price) and later added a Proton tape player and Proton CD player. I've used the D940 for 17 years and it hasn't missed a beat. A really great sound. Current speakers are Wharfedale 600 but most of my listening is through Sennheiser 500 headphones.

Strengths:
Robust, solid with great sound

Weaknesses:
No remote, but my cardio-vascular fitness improves by getting my butt off the couch.

Price Paid:  $150.00 from ebay

Summary:
won at ebay auction a few weeks ago. What a great find! New, in the box, with warrantee card, Proton D940! This receiver won AudioVideo's International Magazine's Hi-Fi Grand Prix Award in: . 1985! Powers just about every speaker I've got. It's particularly entertaining to run my Shahinian Acoustic speakers (42" tall, 81lbs each) with this tiny thing.

Strengths:
I'm just jaw dropped amazed that this thing sounds so good, given that it was manufactured over 15 years ago. Contemporary manufacturer's of receivers need to buy their own Proton D940 and learn a few "new and improved" tricks. Sounds a WHOLE lot bigger than it looks, not to mention refined output.

Weaknesses:
there's absolutely nothing to complain about! No This isn't Krell, but it's strikes me as world's away from any receiver made in the last 20 years that have been priced under $7-800.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, NEC (A10II, killer 60wpc amp with 72amps reserves ... yes, 72amps), Levinson ... the rest were too long ago to warrant mentioning ... exceptin' that NEC A10II. I'll never, ever let go of that am