True High End sound at moderate price. Extremely Musical. Great build and looks

No remote, or headphone socket. Difficult to find in second hand market.

First the techno talk. This is a true "dual mono" amp. with totaly seperate power suplies for each channel (including two massive power transformers). 80,000 mF of filtering capacitors are used, which explain the amazing stability of this amp. at any volume level. It''s also a true wide band desighn with a bandwidth of 5 - 400,000 Hz, which makes the standard 20 - 20000 Hz that most SS amps offer, a joke.. Power rating is 75 W per Ch. into 8 Ohms, which doubles into 150 W per Ch. into 4 Ohms, thanks to the beefy power supplies. The amp. has a solid feeling about it, and at 17 kg. it gives the impression that it means business. The finish is superb with a thick black perspex front panel, and two huge brass knobs one for volume and the other for source selection. The Power switch is at the back, a good indication that Densen prefers you to leave it on permanently. Finaly, it has twin sets of binding posts for each channel, very handy for biwiring speakers. The sound. ----------- The amp. has to be left on for at least one hour to reach ''operational temp''. After this warm up, the first impression one gets is that this is a VERY SPECIAL kind of amp. indeed. The thing that strikes the listener firts is the smoothnes and refinement of the sound, very much like a Single Ended Triode valve amp. but with the addition of pace and rythm aplenty. It manages to convey sound in a relaxed and extremely civilized manner, but at the same time sound exciting and involving the listener into the music! How the desighners managed to do this is a mystery to me. The other interesting thing is, that no matter what type of music is fed with, it seems to always be in control, and manage to sound musical. Having had many SS amps. from mid priced products like Audiolab 8000 A to realy expensive stuff like Threshold 200 S, Krell, Procced as well as Linn and Naim, I can say that NONE of them presented, overall, music exactly the way the DM 10 does. Yes, the Krells had better bass, the Naims more attack and the Audilab was more neutral, BUT the sum of the musical presentation of the Densen no one had! I know it''s a big statement to make, but don''t take my word for it. If you get the chance, have a listen at a DM 10, it will open your eyes ( and ears ). I use mine with KEF Reference 103/2 speakers, with sources from Linn Sondek LP12, Meridian 505/600 cd.transport/D

Similar Products Used:

Audiolab 8000 A and 8000 C + P Naim Nait Linn Majik Threshold S 200 a/b Audio Research Ls2 and many more..

Sound quality: Second to none Musicality, natural sounding, stable at all sound levels, very ''sexy'' looking. A ''natural'' for Classical music.

A bit expesive (but you''re getting the best..) I would love a remote control. No sonic weaknesses whatsoever.

I come from a background of using valve amplification, both Pre and Power, so my expectations are somewhat on the high side. The reason I got the DENSEN DM 10 was one of practicality. I listen to a lot of music and with valve equipment you cannot leave it on forever for obvious reasons, so I needed the best intergated that I could find, that was made to be left ''on''. Now, just a quick comment on Mark''s complains ( see posting below ), when I buy an amplifier it is because I want to listen to music with it, not look inside it and pass judgement on topograhpy of parts or circuits. Mark seems to be coming from a servicmans point of view which is not relevant in an audio review, in my opinion. This is a SERIOUSLY heavy amp. mainly because of the dual power supply, in fact one can say it''s two mono amps in one case, each with it''s own power transformer. Uppon swithing the amp. on one has to leave it for a few hours to warm up, as the sound gets warmer and more life like. This is an amp. that ''makes music''. No more and no less. It has a very ''high end'' sound, refined, and demands the best in source and connecting cables. At the same time, it''s one of those amps that do not pull CD''s apart, making some of them unlistenable, so even not so good recordings can sound OK. The absence of negative feed back ( a term meaning broadly, the re-sampling of the audio output for sonic correction widely used by many manufacturers ), is easy to pick, as the recording comes to you as a total musical event that makes sense, as against other products that analyse the signal to the point of getting individual sounds and noises, but mostly dissjointed. In a nutshell, this is a MUSICAL isntrument, and if you are about listening to a concert as a whole, and not as individuals making noises, then you will love this amp. The soundstage is very deep and wide, and in ''live'' recordings you get the sense of space in the sound. Absolutely brilliant! In my case the DM 10 drives a pair of KEF Reference 103/2''s with ease, and never looses the plot, even at sound levels that would annoy my neihgbours. Having said that, I also have to say that, this amplifier is about refinement, so you don''t have to put the volume up to enjoy the music. Simply the dynamics of the music are there at all levels. Overall, a joy to listen too.

Similar Products Used:

AUDIOLAB 8000 A AUDIOLAB 8000 C + 8000 P AUDIO RESEARCH LS 2 preamp Custom built Valve monoblocks x 2

Densen DM 10 could be the second best looking integrated
transistor amp on earth,
(first one being Bow Technologies ZZ-One),
so you be shure you won´t just pass by it first
time you see it.

It´s got two biggest gold-plated rotary knobs in buisness, black acryl front and it weights more than enough.
It is a push-pull, dual-mono, high-wideband,
no-overall feedback design with inside parts of
a really high quality.

I choosed to use as a reference some relatively unknown integrated amp called SAT Amplifix
(borrowed from a friend of mine),
designed by Michael Bladelius -a man who used to work
for and with big names like Nelsson Pass and others.
S.A.T. Amplifix is allready proclaimed by some
scandinavian hi-fi press
as a rock-solid reference in it´s price range.
By the way, Densen costs the same, just under 2000$.

Rest of the equipment:
ProAc Tab 50/ Target R1,Copland HDCD player,
Moth/Rega/Grado record player with single-ended
phono EQ made by M.Bladelius design.
(Copland was borrowed so I don´t have the model number).

Listening session began with the Densen.
It sounded clean and soundstage was realy good.
Sense for timing was strong and it sounded relaxed in the same time.

No obvious faults could be found except for the traces of brightness wich reminded me of some refined loudspeakers equipped with metal-tweeters. This occured only when
Densen was being driven hard.

It allmost felt like 75 Watts rated Densen,
(it doubles at 4 and even at 2 [?] Ohm)
wasn´t allways strong enough to drive ProAc´s to the absolute limit...
However, DM 10 showed very fine results over speakers when not being pushed to the maximum.
Transparency was the right word!

S.A.T. (Swedish Audio Technology), Amplifix was entirely a diffrent story.
Amplifix (115W), being stronger than DM 10 it demonstrated some kind of an organic power and precission-feel in the bottom end which I never before experienced with my tiny ProAc´s. Talk about extension...
My thoughts went to KRELL. How much better can it get?
Most of these budget (1000$) loudspeakers are partnered with like-priced equipment, and I think that most of us never know how good they can really sound.
So, Amplifix teached me a thing or two.

But it wasn´t all roses.
Switcing over to some HDCD coded tracks with John Lee Hooker´s duets with Van Morisson showed that Amplifix presentation of vocals wasn´t perfect.
Van Morisson´s voice vas aggresive, raw and it felt allmost metallic.
Even though S.A.T. Amplifix wasn´t all warmed up I felt it was too bad for an entry level hi-end amp.
If you don´t belive in audible effects of warming-up amplifiers you will think diffrently after hearing this amp.
That aggressive and metallic sound wich maded Morissons voice feel like getting spikes in your ears desapeared leaving only some mild ´greyness´ over vocals.

Still, his voice didn´t sound as clean and lifelike as it did trough DM10.
The warm-up only made diffrences harder to detect, and my dissapointment only become milder.


To me, Densen DM 10 represents the wining combination of purity and ability to control tough loads, while S.A.T. Amplifix offers even more power and control for the price of some ´sensuality´ and naturalness in the midrange.

I might be biased. But I´m happy.
I own DM 10.

Sandro Prenkocaj
Sweden

big sound, dynamic, kind of valve-like sound, not aggressive, atmospheric,...

unusual feeling (especially with hard music) that it is not loud enough

I`ve been using this amplifier for years totally without any problems (not like guy who submitted a review below). It gives a mature high end sound: strong and defined bass, good vocals, not aggressive highs, dynamics, good timbre, good rythm, soundstaging, atmosphere, speed etc.
I think it is not an amplifier for rockers or loud parties, because you get an unusual feeling that it is not loud enough (it actually plays loud, just the feeling is that it doesn`t).
I would like to add a small comparison between DM-10 and Naim Nait 3. Some say they are similar, but I generally disagree (though it`s true they are both very dynamic and good in rythm and timing). Naim is snappier, more attention-grabbing, more exciting, leaner, "louder" and more transistor-like. Densen is fuller, with stronger bass, more valve-like, bigger, more subtle.Which one is better (difference in price taken into account)? For rockers Naim, for others Densen (though both will play all music).

I give it five stars for value (high end sound for not "high end " money) and four stars for overall rating.

Similar Products Used:

Aura, Rotel, Naim

Just to clear up Marks problem mentioned below. If a defective Densen DM10 is returned to them , they will fix it free of charge. This makes it not worthwhile to attempt to fix it yourself.

Despite the difficulty in servicing Mark encountered a fully serviced DM10, sounds fantastic, which makes it a bargain second hand, especially with Densens back up.

it's said it sounds nice...

bad engineering

I can't remember the number of amplifiers I've fixed througout the years, but it's a lot! I got this broken Densen DM-10 amp for free from a friend. Usually amps of this size are no problem for me to fix, but this one is a pain in the butt. There's only one mainboard with a small number of parts solderd on it. The components used are of normal quality, SanKen transistors for example. There's not much that can get defective because there's not much in there. It's hard to believe this amp cost about US$ 2000.

Well... I tried. I really tried hard to get this amp running but it's the worst amplifier design i've ever seen. This amp is build really very unstable because of the non negative feedback design which I disgust. After a couple of days working I finally mailed Densen to get some support. I asked to send me a service doc. They told me it's impossible to get a diagram of any Densen product. I was astonished! What kind of idiot would build such a terrible amp and refuse to hand out any information about the design?
I've had enough of this amp. I took out what i thought was usefull and threw away the rest.

Similar Products Used:

a lot

Overall, the best I've heard in its price range and competitive with much more expensive gear. A champ at imaging, especially depth and layering. Pristine highs after break-in, with overtones lining up nicely above the fundamentals (a rare trait). Neutral tonality with no midbass hump as many amps have. Examplary retrieval of hall ambience. Very fast and accurate on leading transients. Does bass like a Krell (evaluated on Thiel CS1.5 speakers, which are flat to 40 Hz but lack a true bottom octave). Creates the unusual impression of permitting full detail to be audible even at low listening levels. Its optional inboard phono preamp is equally fine. Mids sound less liquid than some amps, resembling the Mark Levinson No. 331...this is my only real quibble about the sound, though solo vocals do sound arresting. Maybe a tubed DAC would help on the digital front end (mine is currently a de-jittered Audio Alchemy), but the sound is similar on analog. Also, its passive preamp stage mandates somewhat careful pairing with source components...don't expect to run it with a Cal Alpha through 30 feet of interconnect. This is a zero feedback unit, which may help explain its super-clean sound (see article about feedback in the January 1998 Stereophile).

I bought a Densen DM-10 and I am now listening already a few days to this beautiful amplifier. The sound is very warm and I thik it is the most beautiful amplifier in this price range. I compared it to Rotel, Classe and Linn amplifiers, but the DM-10 is more musical. I use a Linn Genki CD-player, a Linn LP 12 record player, MIT cables and interconnects and Driade (Dutch design, comparable with Audio Fysic) speakers and I think it is a great setup. The DM-10 is really a winner!

I bought a Densen DM-10 and I am now listening already a few days to this amplifier. The sound is very warm and I think is is the most beautiful amplifier in its price range. I compared it to Rotel, Classe and Linn amplifiers, but the DM-10 is a winner. I listen a lot to jazz and basses and pianos sound very natural. I use a Linn Genki cd player, a Linn LP 12 record player and Driade (Dutch design, the sound is comparable with Audio Fysic) speakers and I think it is a very musical system.

sound quality

build quality

I had a Densen DM- 10 for about half a year and then suddenly one channel got on fire. That was the end of my Densen amp and I brought it back to my dealer. He told me that this was the first time that this had happened. Later I heard, that Densen had some quality problems and that' s the reason why they don't make the DM-10 anymore.
Anyway I told my hifi dealer that I didin' t want this 'dangerous' black box any more. I changed it for a really great Dutch Duson pre and power amplifier combination. I am very lucky with it. By the way: I am still very lucky with my Densen phono stage. But stay away from their ugly looking too hot amplifiers!

Similar Products Used:

Linn, Rotel, Arcam, Duson