Denon PMA-600NE Bluetooth Stereo Amplifier | 2 Channel Amplifier Home Audio | Integrated Amp | 70W x 2 | Built-in DAC & Phono Pre-Amp | Analog Mode | Advanced Ultra High Current Power

A modern amp that’s a good fit for a Vintage kinda guy
At a glance: excellent value, great feature list (for my needs at least), attention to detail in the design, step up in sound quality from my previous setups (vintage), good headphone amplifier.In detail: Sound is subjective (tastes) and relative (what gear are you familiar with). My previous receivers were mid-fi vintage units. I bought the PMA-600 to replace a Marantz PM750DC (early 80s vintage) which I thought sounded great but had nagging crackles in the left/right balance that I couldn’t stand anymore. I also have a late 70s Fisher CA-2310, and 70s Kenwood KA-8300. Both of those are tank-like units with heavy, huge transformers and again, old gear develops problems over time. I love vintage gear and I try to buy used everything, so this purchase is a rare one for me. Basically I was tired of amps that worked well “most” of the time.My speakers are custom-built bookshelves with Scan-Speak drivers and I have a custom 12″ sealed-box sub, all DIY gear I researched and built myself. I also have several Grado Labs headphones, Audeze LCD-2C (my best set of cans), a bunch of audio interfaces and a Aune T1SE tube DAC. All this is context to give a background of where I’m coming from. I started looking at the Denon PMA series on the advice of a thread at Head-Fi, about integrated amps which feature a good headphone amp. I’ll also mention that my audio preference is typically toward “dark” and “warm”. I think my hearing is on the more sensitive end of the spectrum, so hyped treble is a turn-off for me, and peaky, harsh resonance in the mids or highs is a stand-out, painful deal-breaker for me.Compared to my outgoing Marantz, this Denon has a ton of “detail.” The treble is a lot more airy, the soundstage has more depth. It feels like the room I’m in got larger. FWIW, the room I’m in is not really ideal for listening (it’s wide but not deep). The treble is a lot more “present” than the Marantz was or my other two listening setups are, but it’s not abrasive to me and I’m sensitive when it comes to that. This amp has breathed a new sense of spaciousness into my listening. I had felt that my Marantz did a good job driving these Scan-Speak bookshelves but man, they sound obviously, unequivocally better with the PMA-600 and their tone is much more clear. Like a veil has been lifted. Bells, pianos, rhodes, cymbols all sound way more “awake”. That’s the biggest surprise that I want to emphasize: I have a very nice set of bookshelves and this amp has taken them to a whole ‘nother level of richness. I hear new things in familiar recordings. In the end, that’s what you always hope a new piece of audio gear will do for you.As for my subwoofer, this is not a fair comparison: the Marantz had no sub output and the line-level was super hot for some reason, so I was running speaker-level connections off one channel. Now with the PMA-600 I’m using the subwoofer output and again it’s a big leap up. The bass is way tighter, clearer, just patently better in all respects.Things about the amp I love: EQ section bypass (“Source Direct”), “Analog Mode” is a really cool feature which shows the designers were puttin some love into this this amp when they were laying it out–honestly that was a big selling point that the designers cared enough to go to this length. When you switch between input sources it’s relay-switched so there’s a click and a pause which I like.Things I wish it had: an old-school “Loudness” mode would be great. My Kenwood actually has “Loudness 1” and “Loudness 2” which is ideal since you can toggle between 2 different loudness setting dependent upon what you’re listening to. The Kenwood also has toggle switches which let the EQ tone controls have different frequencies. Surprisingly 800Hz on that unit really has a huge effect on the timbre and I love to throw that knob around to liven up some duller recordings. Some more EQ customization and a Loudness control on the PMA would be nice although I’m not docking any points for that. They are trying to bring the price point down on this unit and all that adds complexity.I hooked up a SPIDF cable to give the onboard DAC inside the PMA-600 a try: it seems good overall, maybe a smidge clearer/cleaner (and also louder) than my M-audio Fast Track Pro. However when I hook up the Aune T1SE tube DAC, there’s little question that the Aune sounds sweeter. That’s also an apples-to-oranges comparison though, since the T1SE is adding its own sauce in the form of tube warmth. Using my Audeze LCD-2C I swapped back and forth between the Aune and the Denon with a consistent volume setting. Since the line out on the Aune does feed to the tube warmth into the Denon this is an apples-to-apples comparison of the headphone amp sections only, with consistent DAC between the two. Again the Aune sounds slightly richer and clearer although the difference is not night and day here. If you wanted to plug headphones directly into the Denon, it is going to do a good job as a headphone amp. Not sure how well it would drive something with high impedance since all my cans are under 100 ohms. The LCD-2C are 70 ohms.Although the stated power is 45W, I feel it delivers plenty of power to my speakers. I don’t remember the efficiency but I believe it was not super hot, like 87 dB. This amp can get them plenty loud enough for my liking. Like 1/3 of the way up on the volume control is getting too loud for me, with plenty of clarity. I usually don’t crank the volume super loud but I definitely don’t listen quiet either.All in all, I feel really happy with this purchase. I would recommend this amp.

Fiquei namorando esse amplificador por quase 100 dias. Vi e li testes feitos por proprietários do exterior com ele. Pretendia usar 2 Bookshelfs da Wharfedale, 8 0hms com esse aparelho e a escolha do modelo 600 foi em função do aparelho possuir saída de subwoofer, difernete dos modelos 800 e 1400, claro, além de pode usar para tocar meu streaming. Como ele comporta caixas desde 4 ohms, imaginei que ao colocar um par de 8 ohms faltaria potência, tendo que subir volume, e por consequência, perder qualidade, mas no final, nada disso aconteceu. Estou usando o volume em 25% e garanto, já satisfaz. É fácil de operar, conecta o Bluetooth rapidamente e tem Excelente qualidade em CD e em Streaming ( usando TIDAL) FLAC. Para tocar o vinil, o pré tem excelente qualidade, apresentando diferença de volume em relação ao CD, muito menor que todos os aparelhos que possuo. Esse Denon veio substituir um Marantz anos 90, ( Integrated Stereo Amplifier PM 63 ) uma das séries de cor Champagne, e o fez com maestria. Eu agora em Dezembro de 2022 (Atualizando esse coment) coloquei um par de caixas Pioneer 6 ohms “vintage”, com Woofers de 10 polegadas, e os graves melhoraram. Desliguei o Sub Woofer (Pure Acoustics) pois não se faz mais necessário. Continuo à disposição para esclarecimentos técnicos, caso alguém necessite. Possuo muitos receivers anos 70 e 80, para fins de comparação.

Highly satisfactory sound with hi-fidelity

I found this amp to be quite good for the money. I was able to audition several amps at home because I think that experiencing music should be done in your own home with your own speakers and acoustics of your listening area. I tried the Denon, a Cambridge, a NAD and an amp from Rotel. The prices ranged from about $650 to about $1200. My music tastes range all over the place from death metal to classical. No country music though. The Rotel was a slight bit better than the rest for my listening needs. I found the Denon was close and the large difference in price did not seem justified. If I was a poser and needed to show off and wow my friends I would have went with the Rotel or NAD. Many people will tell you they can hear the difference, but really so much depends on your hearing and speakers and room acoustics. I have to laugh at some people who will overspend just to show off. Simply put, the Denon sounds clean and has a good build quality. It would serve the needs of most anyone. Pocket the extra money and leave the overpriced stuff to the posers. If you have good speakers and good quality cd player and turntable this is a really good deal.