Denon PMA-2500NE / PMA-A110

[Zulu II]

Hi. I’m considering either a Denon PMA-2500NE or PMA-A110 amplifier and curious what speakers others on this forum have successfully partnered these amps with. What speakers in general would be a good match? Thanks in advance for your input. 

[cafe67]

I used the own an older pma2000ae and was impressed by the sound and build quality.

 

The new A110 certainly look statement pieces and probably keep you happy for a long time.
 

 

Review here and measurements indicate a healthy power supply for the A110 . I’m not sure what the differences are between the 2500 and A110 are either sound wise or price wise.  Without muddying the waters, you could also look at the Michi x5 

 

edit interesting the 2500ne is $5k while the a110 is $10k. 
 

https://www.hifinews.com/content/denon-dcd-a110pma-a110-sacd-playeramplifier-lab-report

 

https://www.stereonet.com/au/reviews/denon-dcd-a110-sacd-player-and-pma-a110-integrated-amplifier-review

 

 

theres a review here where they try the A110 out with 3 different speakers , seems best to avoid any over bright speakers speakers. Dynaudio or Vienna acoustics might be a good match ?

 

https://alpha-audio.net/review/review-denon-pma-a110-en-dcd-a110/3/

 

 

https://www.lbtechreviews.com/test/hi-fi/denon-pma-a110

 

Edited June 12, 2021 by cafe67

[betty boop]

3 hours ago, Zulu II said:

Hi. I’m considering either a Denon PMA-2500NE or PMA-A110 amplifier and curious what speakers others on this forum have successfully partnered these amps with. What speakers in general would be a good match? Thanks in advance for your input. 

I've heard doing nice things with monitor audio...

 

possible can go demo ?....  you your self can then decide

[Zulu II]

@cafe67 @betty boop
Thank you for you comments and the links. 

 

The PMA-2500NE / A-110 does seem a very robust amplifier with great built quality. Build quality of these two are definitely one of the draw cards for me at this price point over other amplifiers. Also note the A-110 has recently dropped in price. 

 

The speakers on my shortlist are Dynaudio Contour 20i or Special 40. So my difficult decision at the moment is whether I go for the PMA-2500 / A-110(preferred) or a Hegel H190 / H390 (which are quite a popular pairing for the Dyns in general). Would the Denons be able to drive the Dyns (with their lower sensitivity) as well as the Hegels do. 

 

The only other issue I have with the Denon is the lack of a pre amp out for a subwoofer connection (if I ever need one) in the future.

 

Have not heard Monitor Audio or the Rotel Michi, but maybe I should! 

 

Yes there is absolutely no substitute for an actual audition with my ears! Unfortunately the Denon is not available for audition here, might have to go interstate for that. 

 

Thanks again for your feedback. 

Edited June 12, 2021 by Zulu II

[betty boop]

8 hours ago, Zulu II said:

The PMA-2500NE / A-110 does seem a very robust amplifier with great built quality. Build quality of these two are definitely one of the draw cards for me at this price point over other amplifiers. Also note the A-110 has recently dropped in price. 

 

ah yes sound united has taken reigns here directly and we have seen good pricing in last 6 months...

 

with the 2500 now selling for 4.5k list price thats astounding a bargain ! 

 

8 hours ago, Zulu II said:

The speakers on my shortlist are Dynaudio Contour 20i or Special 40. So my difficult decision at the moment is whether I go for the PMA-2500 / A-110(preferred) or a Hegel H190 / H390 (which are quite a popular pairing for the Dyns in general). Would the Denons be able to drive the Dyns (with their lower sensitivity) as well as the Hegels do. 

there is a lot of love online for the denon and dynaudio pairing, i forgot about that one, infact a local hifi store here partners the two... even the 1600 so worth checking that oo if going for special 40...

 

8 hours ago, Zulu II said:

The only other issue I have with the Denon is the lack of a pre amp out for a subwoofer connection (if I ever need one) in the future.

that is unusual i agree, never picked that... but it is an interesting thing, after running a sub for years (and a good one) when i upgraded to a good valve integrated i found i really no longer needed the sub ! and as happens looking at that amp too there is no sub or pre out ? .... but on other hand if really do want to do ... a good way of doing this is via speaker terminals eg with Rel who suggest that ways in preference ... so there is that option...

 

8 hours ago, Zulu II said:

Have not heard Monitor Audio or the Rotel Michi, but maybe I should! 

 

Yes there is absolutely no substitute for an actual audition with my ears! Unfortunately the Denon is not available for audition here, might have to go interstate for that. 

if spending 1000s a day trip at 100s is not a big spend and might help your choice... never any harm done ...

[cafe67]

Hegel H390 seem very good sonically and reasonably price, they would drive the dyn’s you mentioned well. Only thing to note - no phono stage if that is important to you @Zulu II

[mattd2308]

Have Legend Kantu 9 which are a great match. Have Purist Audio design speaker cable which deliver the required signal and current which the amp produces very admirably, (have a 2500ne)

[Zulu II]

@cafe67 @betty boop @mattd2308

Really appreciate all your comments.

 

Had a hectic work week (have to pay the bills!). The forward plan is to audition the Hegel H190 and / or H390 and  go from there. The Denon is very tempting though. Will keep the forum posted on developments. 

[cafe67]

If you can $$ wise id go the h390. If you win lotto 590

[jxx09]

From reviews I've seen, Rotel Michi x3 is on par with H390 in terms of sound quality, the X3 being a tad richer/warmer but still quite neutral. In Europe they are priced similarly, but in NZ (and prob. AU) the X3 is the much better deal at NZ $6600 vs  NZ $10k+ for the H390.

 

The Denon units seem to be priced a lot more competitively in Europe than in AU/NZ, which would push me more toward the Rotel. Have a look at what the PMA-2500NE goes for in UK/Germany, for example.

 

I saw a comparison between Michi X3 (5000 Euro) and Yamaha AS-3200 (5500 Euro), they had sound quality on par with each other, the edge going to the Yamaha in terms of imaging but again the Rotel having the slightly richer/warmer sound. Yamaha being more on the brighter/analytical side.

 

In NZ that makes the X3 a no-brainer at NZ $6600 vs NZ $11k for the yamaha.

 

From reviews, I gather the newer Denon units (PMA-1600NE, PMA-2500NE) are somewhat on the brighter/forward/energetic side.

 

Depends what sound flavour you're after, too

[jxx09]

Just realised this thread is a few months old... did you end up settling on an amp?

[Zulu II]

@jxx09. Thanks for your thoughts on the Rotel Michi. I really should consider them too. There aren’t many reviews on the x3 / x5 that I can find. They are pretty hefty units (if weight is any measure of sound quality) and are very well priced.

 

I haven’t auditioned any gear since my last post. Work, family and a few lockdowns have kept me restrained (some would say hifi gear are essential items!). Hope to get back into it in the next few months…

[jxx09]

There are quite a few reviews on google but they generally seem to be done by reviewers who are not experienced with amps in that price range ("Wow, this amp definitely sounds amazing!") or don't make comparisons with other amps. There are a few good reviews though especially if you are prepared to use Google translate and Youtube

 

I think they are still too new to be getting a lot of real-world user feedback on forums etc though.

 

Good luck!

[AdeMountainAsh]

I run DCD2500 with PMA2500NE into Troels Graveson SBA761 (kit) speakers.  This is an amazing combo.  The speakers are tightly controlled by the amp.  Sound is very lively, dynamic, 3D, detailed, full range.  Cables are Audioquest.  I tried Wharfedale Evo 4.2 but the upper mids are very bumped up on those speakers and they are nowhere near the SBA761 in any respect. 

[mattd2308]

Out of curiosity, rang CAV (Carlton Audio) and spoke to Nick about the PMA -A110 , thinking about upgrading my 2500, basically gave it a glowing endorsement, sound, parts (caps, filters) used from their "Premium" Japanese models (SX1 and SX11) 

Hmmm....

[mattd2308]

For those interested, rang Sound United in Melbourne, spoke to product manager, stated 2500 has been discontinued and the PMA A110 will be the successor to the 2500.

A110 won't be a limited edition as such. Also stated will be an A110 "Streamer" released soon. Noticed they have released PMA 1700NE amp. (youtube clips - Munich Hiend 2022)

[betty boop]

5 minutes ago, mattd2308 said:

For those interested, rang Sound United in Melbourne, spoke to product manager, stated 2500 has been discontinued and the PMA A110 will be the successor to the 2500.

A110 won't be a limited edition as such. Also stated will be an A110 "Streamer" released soon. Noticed they have released PMA 1700NE amp. (youtube clips - Munich Hiend 2022)

oh wow.. look forward to see what comes  especially the streamer and thats all about ...

[Wilco]

On 13/6/2021 at 9:29 AM, betty boop said:

 

there is a lot of love online for the denon and dynaudio pairing, i forgot about that one, infact a local hifi store here partners the two... even the 1600 so worth checking that oo if going for special 40...

 

 

digging up old thread instead of starting a new one to be “economically economical“.

 

I was just about to post a thread here before doing a search and finding what @betty boop mentioned about this. 
 

absolutely true down to the cent. 
 

I’ve paired my recently purchased but old PMA-2000 with my old ye faithful Dyn Focus 110’s, and man, what on this bloody earth have I been doing? I’ve been stuffing around with Marantz’s all this time and not being able to find a sweet spot with my speakers. Yet I spend 15mins hooking up these Denon’s with this somewhat entry level boxes and I’m absolutely blown away each time I listen to my old XtractHD cds. 

the room is anything BUT ideal yet these Denon’s pump these Dyns like she’s singing right in my face, with the clarity and beauty like never before. 
 

I just wonder what these Denon A110’s would sound like? Similar or take it to the next level of enjoyment? I’ll never get to know as I couldn’t quite pass up the dough for a new A110 unit (I was seriously considering it after 3 quotes). 
 

Here’s what the random 2nd grade setup looks like. Haven’t move it to my main setup yet. Gonna have to, and gonna have to remove all the other intergrateds I’ve been stuffing around with (Creek, Marantz, Onkyo, Rega, Yamaha, Rotel)

 

Source is Denon’s DVD-A1

[mattd2308]

"Criminally Underrated" some of Denon's premium gear, hence why have always admired their quality.

Nice system Wilco.

[mattd2308]

Geez, the more this topic pops up, the more I become keen on pulling the trigger and getting the Amp and SACD combo (A110).

Long story short, have some funds from my Mum's estate (died June 2021**) that i would like to purchase something of significance and longevity, and obviously in her memory.

Would love a Gryphon diablo 120 and some ATC's, however, need to keep budget realistic. Would keep my Legend speakers, as they are outstanding to my ears.

 

** I'll be frank, been a tough 12 months, my Dad died in "91, (63 -too young- I was only 23). So  having Mum all those years after,  they love all the things about their grandkids etc, school plays, sports etc, Christmas, birthdays. Always pop in after work and say g'day and check in, so it has been a pretty big adjustment not having her in our family.

 

Just another thing, my son, Lachie who was 17 at the time, gave a brief eulogy about his  "DD" (Her initials). He wrote himself and presented it admirably. His last quote he used a cricket analogy "DD never made it to the nervous 90's........but she will always remain 89 not out to me"......

 

[mattd2308]

On 28/08/2022 at 9:08 PM, mattd2308 said:

Geez, the more this topic pops up, the more I become keen on pulling the trigger and getting the Amp and SACD combo (A110).

Long story short, have some funds from my Mum's estate (died June 2021**) that i would like to purchase something of significance and longevity, and obviously in her memory.

Would love a Gryphon diablo 120 and some ATC's, however, need to keep budget realistic. Would keep my Legend speakers, as they are outstanding to my ears.

 

** I'll be frank, been a tough 12 months, my Dad died in "91, (63 -too young- I was only 23). So  having Mum all those years after,  they love all the things about their grandkids etc, school plays, sports etc, Christmas, birthdays. Always pop in after work and say g'day and check in, so it has been a pretty big adjustment not having her in our family.

 

Just another thing, my son, Lachie who was 17 at the time, gave a brief eulogy about his  "DD" (Her initials). He wrote himself and presented it admirably. His last quote he used a cricket analogy "DD never made it to the nervous 90's........but she will always remain 89 not out to me"......

 

Apologies folks for the sentimental explanation, mods can delete if required.

Cheers,

Matt

[Crakers]

Also keen on this amp , I have the KLH Model 5's which are powered by a Willsenton R8 Tube amp currently (awesome, love it) but Im looking for a solid state amp as well , anyone tried any of these Denon amps with them ? 

[Wilco]

On 04/10/2022 at 5:02 PM, Crakers said:

Also keen on this amp , I have the KLH Model 5's which are powered by a Willsenton R8 Tube amp currently (awesome, love it) but Im looking for a solid state amp as well , anyone tried any of these Denon amps with them ? 

 

 

Well, hope it was you that purchased it from a recent listing here in SNA for the 2500NE.

I'm glad I purchased a 2000NE unit from a great local forum member (as opposed to the other guy selling the 2500NE in NSW).

 

[Crakers]

3 hours ago, Wilco said:

 

Well, hope it was you that purchased it from a recent listing here in SNA for the 2500NE.

I'm glad I purchased a 2000NE unit from a great local forum member (as opposed to the other guy selling the 2500NE in NSW).

 

Na not me, still researching 

[Sutton]

I'm running monitor audio's through both denon pma 2500ne and avr 6300h and excellent. Have a pair of rel t/x9 subs running as well, speaker terminal connections for the 2500 and dual connections for 6300h. Outstanding in my space