Denon PMA-510AE

Okay so about a year ago now I bought my first decent set of speakers. A pair of old but good B&W 602's from eBay. I therefore bought cables and then an amplifier to go with them. After looking around on the internet and really wanting something that wasn't scratched or second hand, I took a trip to my local richer sounds after looking about on the internet to buy this beautiful amplifier - the Denon PMA-510AE. (Yes I know the dooyoo title is wrong, they must have misspelt it after I suggested this product).

---REASON FOR CHOOSING THIS AMP---
So why choose this amp over another? Well my price range firstly limited me to under £200 as I am a student and really only wanted something to drive my speakers with a decent sound quality. I liked the fact that this amplifier has around 45W rms power for 8 ohms, which my speakers are. Though it has up to 70W if you only have 4 ohm speakers to drive.
This amplifier was also chosen for the fact that it has 4 sets of positive and negative outputs at the back of it so I can connect my bi-wired speakers up easily to different terminals. The Instruction booklet also easily tells anyone how to connect up your speakers to this amp, whatever your speakers are, which was helpful though online help is still available if needed.
This amplifier also comes with a very nice remote that can not only control the volume (as the volume knob has a motor in it), change the input, and has on/off button for standby. But this remote control also has other features that sync to the other denon products in the range, such as the CD player for instance. Okay it kind of gets you to buy denon products but if you do you will also have them matching in looks which is what I'd personally go for anyway, so it's a bonus for me. I can't see a downside to buying other denon products in the future; they are a great quality brand.
Lastly this amp has many inputs to the rear, which I liked and the overall look of the product was appealing to me, so after looking at a few good reviews online I went to buy one.

---OPENING THE BOX---
So when I came home I unpacked my new amp and started to set it up. The packaging the amplifier comes in is just a simple box, with some decent, and strong polystyrene moulds to hold it in place, there is certainly no way this is going to get damaged in transport unless it is dropped from a significant height, so rest assured. The box has everything in it, including batteries for the remote, and an excellent user manual to get you going.

Out of the box I also noticed the weight of the product, which is basically down to the power supply being a proper old school transformer, and nothing electrical like a switch mode power supply, which can often fail.

---FIRST USE---
So I connected my speakers up with some decent wire, and plugged it in. I noticed that as you turn on the product a loud clicking is heard and after a few seconds another click is heard and it is ready. Okay it takes a few seconds to charge the capacitors but it's no worries really. Starting with the volume low, as I recommend! I slowly raised the volume and heard beautiful music coming from my speakers. Okay now, the sound quality will not just depend on the amp, but the input source and also the speakers but I have played lots of music now and it is easy to tell the difference between mp3's at 320Kbps, something at CD quality and a high definition FLAC file at around 4500Kbps.

I also noticed that if you switch inputs on this amplifier mid song the amplifier actually turns off and back on to protect the circuits and speakers, which is a handy feature. Also the LED illumination of the input selection is very nice to look at.

Upon first use I also noticed that as you look into the grills at the top of the amp, there is quite a bit of 'white stuff' around the bottom of the capacitors, so in case you are wondering what it is, it is just glue, nothing is leaking, do not fear.

Also you will probably know this but I just advise you to always place your amp on top of things and not to put anything on top of it as it will be the product that gets the hottest, especially when driving many speakers at loud volumes for a while. Something every amp does though, so not a downfall of this product.

---BUILD QUALITY---
Well I can't fault this product at that. I did purchase a 5 year warranty with this product but I fully expect to be returning after 5 years to claim back my money after not using the warranty service. The unit is a little heavy but you can tell it is a really solid build with no points of flex or movement. The finish is superb, and while I have my unit in black to match other items in the room, I am sure the white looks just as impressive, it really stands out as a decent piece of kit for the money.

---OVERALL---
Just as other reviews say, this product can't really be faulted for the money, yes okay a more expensive amplifier would sound better, as my dad's does, it is less airy in places, but this amplifier is in control at all times and on my speakers the sound doesn't become too distorted until you get to about 80% volume, by which time the music is too loud to be in the same room as anyway, no matter how big your room is. The amplifier has some great features, as listed below, and particularly useful is the headphone jack for myself. A great piece of kit, and I expect to buy more denon products to match in the future.---TECHINCAL SPECIFICATION---

• High quality sound
• High Current (HC) Single-Push-Pull Circuit for musical detail and power
• Wide dynamic range, supporting high-grade audio sources
• Main transformer with separate power supplies for analogue and digital circuits
• Micro-processor stop mode, for higher sound quality
• Vibration-resistant design with Direct Mechanical Ground Construction
• European sound-tuned
• Useful Functions
• Newly-designed system remote control
• Phono Equalizer Amp (MM), for connecting an analogue record player
• Headphone jack
• Others
• Less than 0.3 W in standby
• Aluminium front panel, befitting of the elegance of a high-end audio product
• Design matches the new DCD-510AE CD player
• Color variations
• Premium silver
• Black

Rated Output Power
(4 ohms, 1 kHz, THD 0.7%)
70 W + 70 W
Rated Output Power
(8 ohms, 20 Hz - 20 kHz, THD 0.07%)
45 W + 45 W
Power amp construction - discrete
HC (High-Current) Transistors
Single Push-Pull Circuit
100 kHz Frequency Response

Power supply
High Speed rectifier circuit
Independent Power Transformer for Micro-Processor

Construction
High Quality-built Chassis
Aluminium Front Panel

Features
Remote Control
Controllable DENON Components - Tuner, CD-Player, Cassette deck
Signal Level Divided Construction (S.L.D.C.)
Source-Direct Switch
Loudness button
Tone and Balance Controls
Speaker A/B Switching

Connections
Analogue Audio inputs - 6 incl. Phono
Analogue Audio-Outputs (Tape) - 2
PHONO-input (MM)
High grade loudspeaker terminal
4mm compatible speaker terminals
Headphone output
AC outlets (switched) - 1

General
Dimensions (WxHxD mm) - 434x121x337
Weight - 6,5 kg
Standby Power Consumption - < 0,3 W