Denon PMA-800NE dull, flat sound?

I found a great deal for a Denon PMA-800NE plus the accompanying CD player DCD-800NE here in Bangkok, so I couldn't resist. Prior experience with Denon has been good.

Right after setup disappointment set in: I connected the system to a pair of Q Acoustics 3050 and, depending on the CD played, the sound was okay-ish to dreadful - dull, flat, with weak treble and mids, and a listless kind of bass, as if a pall is clouding the sound. Even my humble Marantz M-CR611 player/amp combo performs much, much better with the Q Acoustics. When I attached a pair of Elacs Debut 5.2 to the PMA-800, the result was even worse, like listening to some AM station.

After spending a whole day with the Denon combo, trying all kinds of possible settings, I gave up and brought it back to the shop. In the shop we paired the CD player with a NAD amp, and it sounded fantastic, so the culprit should be the Denon amp.

A new amp is on the way, but I'm worried it might not be much better - while hoping I just hit upon a one-off dud.

What do owners on the amp say about its qualities? Any similar experiences like mine?

Many thanks in advance.

 

Does not sound like a Denon to me.
Most likely a fault.
I used a Denon pm 350 for a while.
Superb.
Hopefully its replacement will hit the spot.

 

My Denon 100 year anniversary amplifier and universal player have a colorful slightly warm sound-while maintaining excellent detail. The amp took a long time to break in. Out of the box, the treble was a little shrill. I consider it to be an heirloom piece of equipment.

 

That's what I'm hoping as well. On the internet, I find one person with a similar problem, all other reviews are good to very good.

 

Wasn't that impressed with that Denon amp in the end - interestingly I found it MUCH better if you engaged the tone defeat/source direct - it sounded much better than just zeroing the bass and treble controls. But I would describe the Denon as "dry" if I'm honest. I switched to Cyrus and it is worlds apart.

 

I was also keeping in mind a 'break-in' issue, but most people seem to dismiss the idea that amps need a break-in.

I've just been informed that the replacement will be at my door tomorrow.

 

As I despaired over the PMA-800, I dug out my old Denon D-M41 compact set. I attached my Q Acoustics speakers to the D-M41's amp (a 30 watt 'dwarf'), and lo and behold, it sounded better than the PMA-800 - which is absurd, really. So I might have gotten a dud.

 

Maybe you got a dud but as I said, that amp has a very dry and un-involving sound in my experience - pair it with lively speakers and source component and it might work fine, pair it with a dead neutral and dry set of speakers and it is pretty boring to listen to, but as I said, a lot better if you engage source direct mode - did you, out of interest?

 

An amp shouldn't have an AM radio sound, period. At most, the differences between receivers should require careful listening and recent exposure to the other. Hopefully a new one will solve a problem.

This is not the Denon of old. This is the D&M Holdings hot potato acquired by Sound United, probably doing on this Vietnamese receiver similar what they did to destroy Boston Acoustics, outsourcing the design and manufacture.

The receiver has a source direct and analog mode you might try. Otherwise I expect everything goes through DSP. No service manual is likely to be forthcoming to clarify the block diagram - the few late Boston ones that leaked were in revealing Chinese..

 

I was always sceptical about break-in. But that changed when I heard the changes in the Denon over time.

 

Thanks, good to know.

Meanwhile the replacement amp has arrived and it's fine. No fault issues. Running it with a pair of Q Acoustics 3050, and after sampling about 15 CDs of various genres, these are my impressions:

* The sound is very clear, if indeed a bit 'dry', as someone has mentioned. A slight bit more warmth would be nice; maybe it'll come with breaking-in.
* The sound is not very 'lively', but that may be due to the speakers. Treble could be more. Possibly Klipsch or Monitor Audio speakers would do the trick.
* The amp is quite unforgiving to low-quality sources. Some old 1960s or 70s music, badly recorded or mastered, sounds awful. Put on re-mastered King Crimson or Porcupine Tree, it shines. Jazz sounds pretty darn
good, too.
* Altogether, at this stage, I'd give the Denon 800 combo 4 stars out of 5.

 

Did you try engaging source direct mode? It really does improve the sound. Also I found that the amp sounds best after 30-60 mins of warm up and 50-100 hours of burn in

 

I have tried Source Direct, but to my ears it lessens the frequency range. But I will try again. I've also tried Analog Mode, which seems to sound a bit 'darker' than on 'regular'. So far, without any of those buttons pushed sounds best to me.

 

I guess we all have different ears !

 

My primary speakers are Klipsch Lascala.

 

Goodness, those are some beasts! And probably hardly available here in S.E.Asia.

Also, hi-fi equipment here is usually more expensive than in the US or Europe - I'd say 20-50% more. A 'very good deal' to me is, when I can get equipment for the same price as over there.

 

I have that amp and CD player — no issues here. Possibly some improvement with break-in, but honestly, I’ve liked the sound since day 1. Using Wharfedale Linton Heritage speakers with them; no complaints. Using the analog and source direct features most of the time.

 

Just got and love the pma800ne amp, lovely detail, nice low end, good punchy sound, would recommend.