I have owned this amp for almost 3 years. Pires with a REL 7x sub and Bower & Wilkens with the torpedo tweeter on top. Lovely sound stage, rich buttery presentation and tons of power with very detailed tone decays. On both mediums CD and vinyl. Unfortunately I paid 2100 USD’s for it. But well worth it. Turntable Technics 2100 GA with bronze Ortofon. CD Harman Kardon bought new in Dec 1989. Still works like a charm. The backgound on this amp is blank ink velvet. Absolutely quiet. Of course I am using an Ortofon MM cartridge. I don’t know what a coil cartridge would sound on this amp. But that being said and for the variety of music I play (from Maria Callas to PetShop Boys) including jazz, rock and RB this amp is a keeper. Cheers!

Just picked up this amp for $1499 brand new from an authorized dealer! Very dynamic and terrific midrange.

Excellent review, well thought, straight forward, and informative. I own this amp and use it with both cd and phono. Really appreciated the advice on streaming which I plan to add shortly.

Superb as always ..Very Informative !

I have mentioned before on your channel. I have the Arcam SA20 great unit. You reviewed the Rega Aethos and that has taking things into a different level. I got that last month I was considering this unit was well. I have not listen to it as of now. Great channel keep it up.

I hope to see more reviews on power amplifiers and preamps! One amplifier I believe to be quite special if I am not mistaken, the Rotel RB-1552 MkII. I like your approach to reviews and will continue to watch. Cheers!

Hi Rohit! Great review of good old denon…..the inflation is crazy …my pride and joy is a Japanese made 2008 denon 2808CI receiver, I paid $1200 at that time!….I run my schiit bifrost DAC into and boy it’s got some slam thru the BW 606s (I use a sub too)!

Hi! I have the bigger brother Denon 2500NE as well as a Marantz Model 30 with my Goldenear Triton speakers and Denafrips Pontus Dac. The Denon is more forward and lively sounding compare to the Marantz Model 30. It has greater PRAT or speed to the Bass too. The opposite to what you said, but my reference is the Marantz. Both are beasts when it comes to power. You think the 1600 is built like a tank, try lifting the 2500, I've had back pains. Where the Marantz wins is the pitch black background and insane resolution from it Class D power section. I go back and forth when I get bored with one sound, you cant go wrong, both are high end amps. The real surprise with the Denon is the internal DAC when fed through the Denafrips Hermes DDC, is almost identical to the Pontus in resolution, tone and imaging. Not Kidding, I was shocked.

Excellent review, you beautifully explained the amplifier.

Thanks for the review. I am considering this amp. Unfortunately, there was not one mention of the headphone section which will be very important for me.

the amp is worth its retail price. But, it's already being replaced by the pma1700ne. The new amp is the same in almost every way, however the cartridge selector is now on the front and the new amp has a pre-out which the pma1600ne does not have.

Hi, I've owned this amp for nearly a year, you SIR have summed it up perfectly in every way, fantastic sounding amp but I have also noticed the slight softening of the leading edges of bass notes which I think is this amp's only real weakness, it kind of blurs certain bass notes wheas the rega has a more solid tuneful bass/midbass. Personally though I found the denon had better treble and mid resolution than the Rega (smoother and cleaner) both very good amplifiers though. If you have bright speakers and need a built in DAC this amp is a dream and being made in Japan should last a good many years fault free. Regarding the MM phono input, like you say it is impressively detailed and quiet for a built in phono, but I did find it a little too bright with my Audio Technica 540ML cartridge so bought the iFi Zen phono to try which matched my cartridge and this amp much better, The iFi Zen is a little wonder, it's detailed, open sounding with tight deep bass and is also pretty quiet, amazing piece of tech for £150 UK .. and better than BOTH the Rega Fono and Musical fidelity LX-LPS I tried before, I really enjoy listening to my Vinyl through the zen and the Denon now. In fact, it does everything so well I can't see myself selling it on for a different amp just because of the slightly warm soft bass. Just dont pair it with soft warm sounding speakers and you should be just fine.

Nice video, espero que hagas un video sobre el denon pma 1700 ne

I listened to that bill evans album a few weeks ago! I’ll check out the AJ album ..thx!

Just recently discovered your channel and am really enjoying your reviews especially since they cover a few amps that were already on my short list. So here's my question: If you could only keep one, based on sound quality alone, which would it be? Thanks

just subscribed to your channel. very interesting comparisons and simply great you are the only reviewer I've watched who LOVES jazz (hey! jamal, charlap, evans!!) and piano music in general. i am a musician and play piano jazz (not professionally) but piano music (also classical)is part of my daily diet. i also listen to a lot of classical music and love a natural, detailed, dynamic presentation. from your review, the Denon is not for me, but between the arcam and the rega you also reviewed, which one would your prefer for natural sound? my source is 70% CDs (Audiolab 6000A transport) and 30% Lps (Audiotechnica AT-LP120). I will be upgrading from an Audiolab 6000A I love, but I feel lacks a bit of power/grip when listening at lower volumes. I was thinking of the Arcam SA20 as a reasonable upgrade??

Fantastic review! How do you think this amp would pair with the KLH model 5’s? Any chance of a review coming on those? Did you run the outboard phono preamps through the “CD” line out?

Hi, I have this amp connected to a pair of Athom Gt1 Speakers and sounds really good to my ears(all the things you say and more clarity, resolution and soundstage) However I'm using some cheap inteconects to connect the DAC and streamer. Can you recommend some cables? Which cables are you using? Thanks.

Hi, recently discovered your channel and really liked your approach and experience. Very few reviews on the pma1600 on the internet and you did a great job of filling the gap. How would you think it’ll pair with the B&W 606s2 speakers ? Thanks for the content you’re producing

I have a Rega Elex-r driving a pair of Dynaudio Emit M30's and I found the sound a bit too aggressive for my taste. Do you think the pma-1600ne would be a good alternative? Thanks

Currently thinking about to buy 1700pma, retails for 1500 EUR in my country. I do use external dac, here my question in order to make sure my understanding? It is adding that unwanted wormth to midbass if you conect source to analog rca input right?

Hello, I am writing from Italy! congratulations for the review. do you think this amp can go with klipsch rp600m?

Thanks for your review. The 1600 is on my short list for a new integrated. The Elex-R. Is also on the list. I know you like the Rega, but I’d appreciate your opinion on the sonic similarities/differences between the two. I don’t stream, so the DAC in the1600 is not a factor. My listening tastes: classical, jazz and rock. Thanks in advance.

The 1700 addresses your drawbacks with the 1600. Less warm in the mid bass and has better transparency.

nice one - would have probably bought this if this had come out a couple of years ago - could you list the kind of speakers which would go well at the comparable price range

Will this work with Wharfedale Linton speakers?

👍

Will this work with Dynaudio speakers

I compared the Denon 1600 to the Roksan Attessa and Kandy k2bt. The high frequencies of the Denon was harsher and quite forward. Both Roksans were smoother. Bit disappointed as I was thinking the Denon would be it but turns out not as smooth.

$2100? Pish-Tosh! Amazon is selling these for $1300.

I just bought a brand new one for 1250 usd