Ampex PR-10-4
Little is documented about the Ampex PR-10-4 outside its period coverage, but that coverage settles the basics. Audio (June 1964, p.44) announced it as a new four-track version of the PR-10 professional audio tape recorder. Until then the PR-10 had only been offered in a two-track version.
By the time High Fidelity ran its equipment report (June 1966, p.65), the PR-10-4 was described as a complete stereo tape recorder. It was a transport paired with a two-channel record/playback preamp, supplied in a carrying case measuring 20 by 15 by 9.2 inches. The same report listed the price at $1,295 and noted that the transport and electronics could be removed from the case for standard 19-inch rack mounting. Ampex Corp. was then at 401 Broadway, Redwood City, California. The accompanying test data (p.66) included NAB playback response measurements at 7.5 ips.
Beyond those facts, the record is thin. No production timeline, no serial-number ranges, and no collector lore seems to have survived. What is known places the PR-10-4 as a professional-oriented machine that still got coverage in the consumer hi-fi press, at a price well above typical home decks of the era.
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