clean and warm sound.

None

EXCELLENT AMP.Clean sound and great soundstage. The amp sounded harsh at first but after about 100+ hours of listening it opened up. I was looking at NAD, and Rotel, but I think this amp is better. Paired this with KEF Q7 speakers. The KEF's produce the mids very well. A good all-around amp. Solidly build. Weigh's 54lbs. Biwirable.

Similar Products Used:

NAD, Rotel

Warm, clean, accurate & detail. Run a lot cooler than I expected. Extremely well built. Dependable cos it's made by Denon in Japan.

Takes a lomg time to burn in in order to perform well. I have kept it on non-stop for more than 100 hrs and the sound stage is still changing(opening up). Be patient!!!

This is a MK IV version. It sound horrible at the beginning. Kept it running non-stop for 5 days. Now it sound a lot better than my old Onkyo Mosfet amp which has done an excellent job for the last 12 years. I almost bought the NAD C370 and I'm glad that I didn't. This Denon is really the best integrated amp out there unless you are ready to spend more than $5000-6000 for some expensive gear which may perform just a little bit better than this. HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!!! Cambridge Audio D-500SE Denon PMA-2000MKIVR Infinity Alpha 40 Audioquest Coral Audioquest CV-6 Bi-wire OLD NEC cassette deck OLD NEC turntable + Shure cartridge

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 701 Bi-MOSFET, NAD C370, Marantz PM7000

Great detail. Musicallity, musicallity, musicallity.

None

Just bought the new Mark IV version. Does take considerable time to burn-in 60+ hours. If you still love vinyl this is a great amp to consider. Awsome phono-stage with plenty of slam and detail. Sounds much more 3-dimensional even with a moderate turntable compared to the $1000.00+ digital source I'm using. Amazing that this amp is only rated at 80 watts per channel. Imaging and inner detail is tops. This amp does sound better after it warms up for about 15-20 min. Best amplification I have owned to date. Placement of bass instruments is spectacular. Handles any music you throw at it with easy. I was amazed how it seemingly "untangles" and makes sense of very complex pieces even really heavy stuff like Korn. Speaker placement is important with this amp. Placing the speaker in a corner or too close to the wall may make the bass sound somewhat overwhelming. This amp does everything somewhat better then the NAD c-370 which I have owned before (a great amp in its own right) This version costs $200.00 more the previous version (retail= $1200.00). If anyone can tell me what improvements have been made to this version if any I would apprechiate it. I'm sure there are better amps out there. But for $1200.00 I consider this one a bargain.

Similar Products Used:

NAD C-370. Lower line Denons. Luxman LV-105. Pionner, Adcom etc.

Clean power, pre-section is as close to transparent as an electical component could be.

Size--at about 20" deep it is hard to find an adequate rack, and at 50 lbs, it can be dangerous if not properly seated.

I have reviewed this amp once before, so you can discount either review if you so choose, but I recently have been doing a lot of intense and critical listening to this amp and I have some follow-up comments to add. I have been amazed how cleanly this integrated does its job. I can turn the volume up ALL THE WAY without hearing more than the FAINTEST noise--and even at full volume it was only noticable in dead silence, with my ears within 3 feet of my speakers. I have been looking into decent $2500 separates from Rotel, Adcom, NAD and a couple of others, and have not found this kind of clarity. There is absolutely no cross-bleeding between sources. I can have sources (e.g. tuner) on, and the source set to CD, turn up the volume all the way--no cross-bleeding. The output into a 4 ohm load (I refer to this because it is what I use)is quite prodigious at 160 watts. I am so incredibly impressed with the control they exert over my speakers--I have never been able to find its limits at any bearable volume level And all of this without undue heat. Some things to remember about this amp when doing background research (to narrow your buying field before listening tests): 1. This beast is capable of 120 Amp current delivery--I haven't found any other amp capable of that and current is rather important when driving low impedence speakers dynamically 2. This amp actually does perform as it should, doubling its output power as the impedence is halved. Few amps can actually do this, even though well designed amps should all (theoretically) be able to achieve this. 3. This is built like a tank, inside and out--it easily matches the build quality of amps and pre-amps in the $2-3000 price range. Take a look under the hood someday--all custom built wiring and solid power blocks. In summary, I have been shopping around, feeling that I should be using separates with my CD player and Speakers. I have been shopping in the $2000-$3000 price range (for pre-amp/amp). I have not yet found any combination that matches the dead silent background and seamless qualities of this pre-amp section. The amplifier is equally impressive, and although I have found some amps that sound as good in my personal trials (e.g. the Rotel 1080, NAD S-200) I have not found one that sounds better to me. Fabulous Giant-Killer product!

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, Classe, Adcom, NAD, Marantz, other Denon, Bryston, Plinius, et al.

everything mentioned and more, excellent bass response, the best amp I''ve ever owned

none after complete 250+ hour burn-in, if you don''t believe me look at the reviewer of the PMA-1500 the PMA-2000R little brother and see what one reviewer''s findings are after 6 months of burn-in.

Excellent amp!!! The best integrated amp that I''ve owned and better than most seperates that I''ve heard. The amp does take considerable time to burn-in. I''m finding that after 250 hours of burn-in that it is still improving and definitely opening up. The sound of this amp is awesome. The music is extremely airy with excellent detail and clarity. I like the PMA-2000R better than my Bryston B60 integrated amp. The bass is definitley stronger with more fuller body than the B60. This amp deserves a 5 dstar rating and it would have been if it were not for 2 reviewers that falsely gave this amp a 1 and 2 star rating because they did not do a proper burn-in. The sound of this amp does change dramaticly through out the complete 250+ burn-in, any less of a burn-in before reviewing this amp only cheates other''s on this AWESOME amp. 5 stars are definitely deserving on this product just like Denon''s DCD-1650AR cd player. My System: Denon DCD-1650ar Snell Acoustics E-III with original stands Analysis Plus Oval-In Interconnects Analysis Plus Oval-12 Speaker cables Denon PMA-2000R

Similar Products Used:

Products owned: Bryston B60R, Electrocompaniet ECI-4, Adcom GFP-555II/GFA-555 seperates

definition, imaging, soundstage, bass is full, detailed and tight, additional bi-wiring post for bi-wiring, made in Japan

none observed

This is one awesome amp!!! I found that the amp needs over 100 hours of break-in to start sounding good. I found like the other reviewer stated that the amp is very distorted the first 40-50 hours and the highs are extremely bright up to 80-100 hours and after 100 hours the amp becomes much more focused with better imaging. If not given at least 100 hours of burn-in you have done yourself an injustice because I have found that the sound dramaticly changes within that time frame. I have used many amps in my home as stated below and find that this amp is the best that I have used todate overall. Could not be happier and better than I would have ever thought possible for an amp in this price range!!! 5 stars all the way!!!!!!! My system: Denon DCD-1520 Cd-player Snell Acoustics E-III speakers Analysis-plus Oval-In interconnects Analysis-plus Oval-12 speaker cable Denon PMA-2000R Amp

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFP-555II with Adcom GFA-555, Bryston B60(very bright with my set-up), Electrocompaniet ECI-4, Rotel RX-975, DENON DRA-775RD

definition, imaging, soundstage, bass is full, detailed and tight, additional bi-wiring post for bi-wiring, made in Japan

none observed

This is one awesome amp!!! I found that the amp needs over 100 hours of break-in to start sounding good. I found like the other reviewer stated that the amp is very distorted the first 40-50 hours and the highs are extremely bright up to 80-100 hours and after 100 hours the amp becomes much more focused with better imaging. If not given at least 100 hours of burn-in you have done yourself an injustice because I have found that the sound dramaticly changes within that time frame. I have used many amps in my home as stated below and find that this amp is the best that I have used todate overall. Could not be happier and better than I would have ever thought possible for an amp in this price range!!! 5 stars all the way!!!!!!! My system: Denon DCD-1520 Cd-player Snell Acoustics E-III speakers Analysis-plus Oval-In interconnects Analysis-plus Oval-12 speaker cable Denon PMA-2000R Amp

Similar Products Used:

Adcom GFP-555II with Adcom GFA-555, Bryston B60(very bright with my set-up), Electrocompaniet ECI-4, Rotel RX-975, DENON DRA-775RD

well , I use Denon PMA-2000R for 2 years . I do like it much ! Sound was good and strong . but it quiet hard for female voice . but it is not a very big deal for a amplifier which in the price under 6000 HK$ . And the design of Denon amplifiers was simple and strong . And it's better to use a strong speakers cable like US made cable . I using US made MIT no.5 cables for my PMA-2000R . CD player was Philips LHH-200R ( japan made ) .

Similar Products Used:

Sony TA-FA3ES

Most power in its class, clarity under duress, impressively flat for the price

Very poor sound quality during break-in

Testbed:
A/B testing: Sony 125W receiver, NAD C370 120W integrated amp
Source: Meridian DAC & CD
Speakers: Fuselier "Basic 8s" (5 ohms avg load, 87.5 db at 1 watt)
During break-in: Radio Shack non-inductive 8 ohm (20 watt range) resistors and boom-box radio into a small mixer (to monitor line levels)

Having completed 90 hours of break-in, I am now willing to own this amp. When I first got the unit out of the box, the sound was radically distorted, and I was prepared to return it, because I simply could not accept the level of distortion. It has also been quite an emotional experience for me, because I have had to determine whether or not a "break-in" period was a thing of legend and myth, or a thing that really existed (Yah I have listened to nice stuff, but I'm not the guy that broke that stuff in).
I am glad to say that I can present solid evidence that this thing we call "break-in" is very real. With the covers off of the speakers, and with the Denon straight out of the box, I played a hellishly demanding piece- Amon Tobin's "Fast Eddie" (Permutation- track 10). At 1/2 volume, the main drivers distorted radically. It was scary to watch- the voice coils were both wiggling and practically jumping out of their slots, and the cone dampening followed in suit. This is visible evidence of distortion.
After 90 hours of burn-in (on a pair of radio shack 8 ohm resistors), out came "Fast Eddie" at 1/2 volume. This time, the song played from beginning to end with virtually no visible trace of distorted voice coil or cone movement. Only the basic vibration was visible, and only upon close visual inspection.
After the first 30 hours on the resistors, I would say that the bulk of the initial distortion- the really bad stuff- was gone. At this point listening to selections by Enya, and a CD by Jon Anderson (inclusive of orchestra and a half dozen other separately miked sources), I noticed that the Sony had very nice imaging of the sound, but at this point the imaging was not as good with the Denon. 30 hours of burn gave the Denon much better tonal clarity, but it still presented enough distortion to effect the sound (as described). With another 60 hours of burn, this distortion was also removed.

Speaking of the other amps, I was suprised at how good the Sony receiver was. I always thought the word Sony meant "budget audio", and my opinion has changed in this past week or so. The Sony and the NAD are comparable in sound quality, and I actually think the Sony handles higher demands better, while the NAD is a little clearer in the midrange and highs.
In other areas, the Denon is so superior to the other two, that I will always be thankful for being able to own such a piece of equipment at just such a price. I blew most of my money this year on speakers, cassette, and CD, and I needed to fill the gap (amp/pre) with something temporary due to finance. Now I know- I am not going to do better in this category anywhere in this price range- I feel like a lucky guy!

The Denon absolutely blows the other two amps away in it's ability to do what amplifiers do- which is what the speakers tell it to do. My speakers say, "send everything you got", and the Denon says, "Ok", and I say, "I think I'm going to have a heart attack". This little 45 pounder is built in loving memory of the good guys- the amp makers that create 100 pound solid state blocks to generate 100 watts into 8 ohms. How this thing rates at 80 watts is some technical mystery that I do not completely understand. I do, however, recognize that it's ability to deliver 125 Amps to the output stage is not the sort of thing that any Sony or NAD amp could say. With the Denon, you enter into another class of amplifier equipment, typically two or three times the price.
It's been very interesting to encounter the implications of dynamics in testing the Denon for quality against the other two amps. Why? They don't have enough power. For real sound quality checks, the volume knobs have to come down to where each amp can actually handle the full dynamic range of the source, but this also makes it (conceivably) possible for quiet sounds to drop below ear-shot. Even at quiet levels, the Denon is picking up little background sounds that neither of the other two catches. My god, is there anything else one would want for a thousand bucks? I do not plan to upgrade amp/pre until I am ready to move to equipment several times the price, or who knows. I'm a very happy camper where I sit!

p.s. Crown, Heathkit, and Carver are listed as "similar products used". I haven't compared the Denon against these brands directly, but I think it would definately have it's work cut out for it in the case of the Crown and the Heathkit. Carver equipment in general is a little too diverse to descibe in any one sentence, but I once had a PM1.5 (15 years ago) and I'll always remember it. Since then, Carver has made some amps that I would consider to be relatively poor in sound quality.

Similar Products Used:

Crown, Heathkit, Carver

Clean, Detailed power, offering quick response, and excellent speaker control, even at low impedence loads

some minor bleed through of sources to other inputs when volume is at extreme levels, e.g. if source selected is tape, and you are playing a cd at the same time, but the tape is stopped, you can hear a very faint echo of the cd if volume is turned above 3:00--why you would ever do this, or why I tried, I do not know.

After using this for the last three months, for several hours each day, I am continually impressed by this amplifier. There are so many good qualities from build to performance. I recently tried out the Phono-stage, and it performed very well, offering a rich and detailed sound. I am not a vinyl type, but I have to admit, that listening to some of my better records, the amp's phono stage did a wonderful job of breathing a sense of realism, immediacy, and dynamics into these recordings--much better than my denon or yamaha stereo receivers ever did.

Power is always available to drive my speakers, and even with their 6 ohm nominal load, it has never run warm. The subtle dynamics of jazz, acoustic, and classical music is so detailed and engaging that I rarely turn the unit off. I have also tried out some techno and am amazed by the power it pumps into my speakers, to keep the bass pounding with no distortion.

The appearance of this unit is impecable, and all of the usefull features are accessable from remote. I moved my equipment today, to clean the rack and gear, and was reminded that this amp, in addition to being very large, is extrodinarily heavy. open up the cover--you will be shocked by the high-quality of internal components.

I have discovered a few quirks that I wish were different: I cannot use my spade terminations on these biding posts, although they fit, my spades are not well enough insullated, and therefore produce shorting at loud volumes, because the hefty binding posts hold the spade tight against the back panel. Probably more a fault of the spades than this unit, but the first time I have had this problem. At least I know the protection circuit works as it should.

I love using this amp, and my joy has not deminished with time, as it has so frequently with other units I have used. I never feel as if I needed a little more out of this amp. I will not be upgrading anytime soon. At the street price of $800-$900 you can't come close to this without going to significantly more expensive separates--even to equal this beast you would have to drop at least 50% more on decent separates.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, Parasound, Adcom, lower Denon lines, Yamaha, and Sony ES