Denon PMA520AE Integrated Amplifier - Black

Product Information

The Denon is excellent value second hand, it has now warmed up and to my ears sounds best with the tone controls defeated. It seems to have a fairly neutral tonal balance, perhaps slightly favouring lower midrange or maybe that's the KEF 104/2s it's playing through? The 720 retains that surefooted sense of timing that we praised in the 710, with the added benefit of a tauter, more controlled bass.

Long & short is, you've got to figure out WHICH part is mis-operating, 'cause you only need to replace THAT one (& replacing any other of course won't fix it!). This amp does have a penchant for a forward-sounding midrange/treble, but there’s no excess brightness to that top end, which has space to breathe. Play Quincy Jones’s Blues in the Night and the brass section soars with energy.We heard the SA-11S3 and PM-11S3 running into Boston Acoustics m350 speakers at a demonstration during the D+M Group's European event this week – for more on that, see my main report from the event. The current Marantz mainstream amps and players will continue, but will be joined next month by the SA11-S3 and PM-11S3 SACD player and amp, which we first spotted at last months' High End 2012 show in Munich. While it has plenty of verve, its unyielding character might not hold up against rivals at such a competitive price point. The SA-11S3 player uses new 384kHz/24-bit digital-to-analogue conversion, a new dedicated SACD/CD mechanism, the SACDM-2, and Marantz HDAM-SA2 and HDAM amplifier modules in the analogue circuits. There's even a dedicated headphone amp, again driven using the HDAM-SA2 technology.

It has strong dynamics that help bring the music alive though at times loud busy passages can sound a little cong ested and 'shouty'. It creates a reasonably good sound stage too. The PMA-500AE amplifier covers all the bases, too, with its complement of moving magnet phono stage, and tone, loudness and speaker switching controls. Little to complain about so far, then.And when the NA-11S1 finally does arrive, it'll be possible to drive a complete '11' system using the Marantz Control app on iPod/iPad/iPhone and the standard RC-5 remote control protocol.

Play the record of 18 With A Bullet by Lewis Taylor and Carleen Anderson, and the Denon charges through the mellow do-wop tune with undue impatience and zeal. This combo sounds messy, leaving you struggling to make sense of the various strands in a piece of music. Queue up a playlist of Major Lazer, Nine Inch Nails and even Rhianna, and the Denon happily zips through with speed and alacrity – if it suits your music style, the amp is a thoroughly energetic and entertaining listen.There's a USB-A port on the front panel for iOS devices or USB memory, and three digital ins – coaxial, optical and USB-B – on the rear. It certainly conveys music across the whole spectrum, when first switched on it sounded a little 'spitty' on cymbals and a little grainy overall, after a few hours listening it sounds smoother now - maybe it has warmed up or maybe I've adjusted to it. Straight away the Denon sounds strong and confident, with good levels of clear detail. We’d definitely keep the Source Direct button on – it bypasses the tone and balance controls for a more subtle and purer sound.