detailed, powerful, clean

this is the mkII version (japan), which was superseded by the mkIII, which has a remote, although the specs seem to be the same otherwise.

this amp is quite deailed. instruments that are at low levels in the mix maintain their imaging. also, at low volumes or high volumes the overall imaging remains consistent.

this amp is quite powerful (160 W into 4 ohm). the amp powers piega p2 speakers (which are excellent), which are 4 ohms, and the amp never strains, and never compresses the sound.

also, the sound is extremely clean and neutral sounding.

finally, the build quality of the amp is very solid.

the previous reviewer mentioned that the amp was bass heavy, but I have not experienced that at all. actually, through the piega p2 the base is in perfect balance with the music overall, and furthermore, the imaging of the bass instrument is splendid. maybe the previous reviewer had some type of match-up problem in the system or some other problem unrelated to this amp itself.

if you like a neutral sound with superior detail and imaging, i recommend this amp.

pure solid sound

not this monster!

I will keep it small and lean: I own this amp for two years now -the gold Champaign color version- and I love it. I think it was a major decision to buy this monster. It sounds warm, clean, rich and detailed and it has a lot of power. 80 watt by 8 ohm speakers well I NEVER used them all... The power consumption is 310 W and you better turn it on AND LEAVE IT ON for a while: this monster likes to get (a little) hot, and yes, then it starts singing.

Perhaps the remote control is not superb, If you don't have other equipment from Denon, it's mostly handy to control volume. This Denon is well build, gives you a 'natural' sound with the elegance of the tube and the comfort of a fast superb transistor.

Someone gave this monster 1 star, sorry for you're opinion but I hope this monster will drag you down. BTW, he weights 20 kilo (44 lbs. 1 oz). You better buy a new rack.

Similar Products Used:

Denon 1500, Kenwood,

Deatailed, solidly built.

let me know if you find any

Well, before I start waxing lyrical, let me say that I was pretty disgusted with the sound during the initial play in period and had it not been for the cautionary remarks on this aspect by a few of the reviewers, the amp would be back in the store.Now for the crunch: this is the latest version, the PMA 2000III.
As you see there is no 'R' in the model number because there's no remote! The remote version costs an extra 80$ and somehow none of the stores seem to be carrying it.However it does have pre-amp out as well as two switched and one unswitched outlets.It is solidly built, weighing 22KGs.Get a friend to help you unpack to avoid any back injuries!
Out of the box and into the audio system comprising of Denon 1650 AZ cd player, using Van den hull halogen free hybrid III interconnects and Van den hull snowtrack speaker cables.The speakers: cadence Amaya hybrid ESL's.
As I said before, there's not much to say about the first 48 (at least!!!) hours during burn in.I was severely dissappointed, having been used to the warm, sweet sound of tubes- but wait...
Day three and 76 hours of continuous play at low volumes later...
UNBELIEVABLE.
tHIS IS ONE HECK OF AN AMP!
The bass is extremely well defined and any sense of harshness in the upper regions has dissappeard. I have to disagree with the reviewer who said that it isnt warm or sweet, just clean. Well, clean it definitely is but it's gaining in warmth and sweetness with every passing day.Mind you, I've been listening to tubes for the past 4 years.Maybe he ought to try partnering it with good esl's.
And it can pump out the music loud without any strain as well.
Into track 7 of Steve swallow's "always pack your uniform on top" the joint was definitely jumping and the volume knob was around 11:30.
One thing though, the speakers did require some repositioning. With the tubes they were pretty much toed in, now they are firing straight ahead and the soundstage is as three dimensional as it can get.
If I close my eyes, its a s if I'm listening to the tubes again, only with more power and clarity.I mean there is definitely some tradeoff here qua warmth and sweetness.Lets be reasonable about this, this is a solid stae amp we're talking about.
But what an Amp. If you dont want to spend atleast 2000$ on another brand for a similar (maybe!) sound, then buy This.
HIGHLY RECOMMENDED!
Oh! and why did I need a new amp? The tube amp's in for repairs, Im sure I'll be listening to it once it's back, but the Denon's staying!

Similar Products Used:

cadence VA-1 integrated tube amp (www.cadenceaudio.com)

High value rate. Champaigne-gold finish looks gorgeous. Bass is rich in volume

Out-of-date design. Bass is poor in quality. Mid/highs are behind the MACHO bass.

I don't know whether DENON's PMC2000 sings very beautifully with certain loudspeakers. According to my experiences, it's not a good partner of SF Concertinos. Bass was satisfactory in terms of volume and strength (not so rigid, though), but mid/highs were sitting far away from the stages where the macho bass was dancing like "Gozilla". Maybe suitable for some contemporary musics like "Le sacre du printemps". However, for Mozart's and Mendelssohn's musics....??.... After three-month-patience with DENON's, I purchased a Musical Fidelity A3 to replace it.

Similar Products Used:

Sansui, Musical Fidelity, Unison Research

Very smooth sound, phono section, tone controls, tape copy function, remote control, and runs very cool!

No balance control

The local Denon dealer did not have this amp in stock, nor had he even heard of it. After reading about it in Stereophile, I called him and had him order one for me. He agreed to sell it at a 10% discount, as I've seen this amp advertised mail order for much less than retail.
For a consumer audio amp. this thing is built like a truck. It weighs around 40 pounds so you want to be carefull picking it up. I've been very happy with the sound through my Hales Revolation 3s with this amp. The Hales are a 4 0hm load, and the Denon has no problem with them at all. I'm no expert on phono sections, but this one seems quite good enough, though I confess I don't play that many LPs these days. I did notice some improvement during break in, but I would not call it dramatic the way several others here have reported.
All in all, this thing is a solid value, well made, and built to last. I have yet to hear it sound strained, and I like to listen pretty loud!

Similar Products Used:

Amber 50B, Marantz 100wpcIntegrated amp

Fantastic build quality, well laid out controls, sound quality, so many many things

lack of balanced inputs, lack of pre-outs or main ins, speakers switch off automatically when headphones are plugged in

For the most part, I am abosultely thrilled with Denon's PMA-2000R. Let me start by saying that I upgraded from Denon's top of the line, 2-channel receiver, the DRA-775RD, and was fairly happy with the way that it performed. However, it was filled with features I never used, and I was annoyed by some functional aspects of this receiver. I had debated whether to go with the larger Integrated when I had originally purchased the receiver, so I finally decided to get it.
The most serious competition it had, as I decided what to purchase, were separtes offered by Adcom and Rotel, and an integrated or separtes by NAD.
The Denon has a number of features that make it really a steal at this price. First it does it's thing better than any unit I have ever found. That is to say, it puts out clean, pure, uncoloured power through out its entire power spectrum. The bass is authoritative, tight, and shows no distortion even when turned to very high volume levels. There is no problem turning the volume to the 3:00 position, something I have never been able to do with my receiver or home-theater equipment before. lower impedences are not a problem, in fact this unit shines in this respect. My speakers are 6ohms, and instead of 75 Watts (8 ohm), the Denon puts out close to 140 watts (160 into 4 Ohm). Plenty of power on reserve.
The 130 amp power reserve means that dynamic range and response is beyond compare, and is not even touched by its competitors that I auditioned. As an amplifier there is nothing close in its price range, and I have found nothing to complain about.
The only complaints I have are design oriented. I do wish there were pre-main outputs offered for bi-amping. I also wish that there were balanced inputs offered for at least one source. I think these have been both been addressed in the newest international version of this unit the PMA-2000RIII, but can't be positive. I also would have preferred the ability to listen on headphones and speakers simultaneously--though I rarely would have noticed such a feature.
Overall I am very impressed by this 50 lb beast. The quality of the parts and the construction does its job well, providing for very very clean power that has delicate detail and awe-inspiring dynamic range. I think this amplifier actually does "go to 11".
In all my years of listening to very high end amplifiers in many places, I have never heard one that actually amplified better than this one. While there are a few features I miss, they are not true "flaws". If you are looking for this quality of an amplifer, you have two choices, buy this one, or spend thousands more to get the same sound.

Similar Products Used:

Rotel, pre-power combos, adcom pre, yamaha power amps, Denon and Rotel hi-end receivers, Sony ES, and Yamaha HT receivers (not actually similar), NAD equipment

Its very good for it´s price, and a very heavy bite !
its not a bass amp, (more hifi !)

The first experience i got from it was that it was quite bad, but after 2 hours of warming up time and better signal cable its sound very good !

Use it whit a pair of "Audio PRO -Black Diamond"
and you got a very good sound !

I strongly recomend it !

Well. . . to say the least very good control. feeding from a gcd700 adcom cd carousel to both a adcom gfp555II and 5500 through a pair of z300 series interconnects and z300 10' spade ends speaker wire to a pair of energy veritas2.8 with 3 cd' from mo fi labs(got to take full benifit of the 20 bit d/a converters!). both amps have over a month break in time. The pma2000 sounded as good as the adcom gear and to my opinion better. I was able to hear the clicking of valves on one passage by two flutists that was missed somehow with the adcom. In this recording you can also hear a door being closed and it reverberating in the room. the adcom cut the reverb down. After all the listening was done, out came the screwdriver to take a better look inside. This unit share ideas that is used with thier POAS1 a nice little $20,000 amp from denon also.
end result. At the price point area it resides in it is a excellent performer, stonger than some of higher price point item out there. So stop reading this and got get one!

This is an exellent amp. Needs a good two weeks to break in. Build quality is superb.

A rigid construction, Good sound and etc.

the knobs are not good as it should be

I have used it for 3 months. This amplifier is very good to me.

Similar Products Used:

DENON AVR-5700