Denon PMA-600NE VS Primare i21

[Hobnob]

thanks for the explanation. Yes, the amplifier you have is good but if it does not have the facilities you now require then you might be right in looking to replace it. I am pretty sure you could still get a decent price for it if you sold it on.

Yes I can always sell it but for the money that I get from it will not be sufficient to replace with a newer amp that has the same HiFi quality I think...

That's a good suggestion for you the Marantz 7000n, if that's within your budget.
But... I really think you should try the 800ne. In the UK, these can be found quite regularly nearly new for £350 - £380. Not sure if you're in the UK, but even in Europe maybe you can get to hear one of these and if you do, I think you'll like it.

Yes, I have looked at some models of Marantz before. But never listened to them. Once I was very tempted to buy a white Quad Vena, but the opportunity slipped through my fingers...My god that amp was gorgeous and it had it all and the format was quite compact. Not sure though about the sound....

I am based in Sweden, but I do visit UK (Scotland) several times per year. But there's no way I can bring a heavy amp on the plane without paying loads for it.

 

[gasolin]

Just got and answer from my local dealer in denmark.

The PMA-800NE is eol so either don't consider that amp or get it if you can get it for a good price, since it's eol they might sell it for a good price

 

[robdmarsh]

The PMA-800NE is eol så either don't consider that amp or get it if you can get it for a good price, since it's eol they might sell it for a good price

Sorry, don't understand a word of this!

 

[gasolin]

The PMA-800NE Is eol End Of Life so if you can get one for a good deal,price you might consider it over the PMA-600NE, in my local store (outlet) a PMA-800 is cheaper than a new PMA-600

 

[robdmarsh]

Well, that's all good then, as it's much better than the pma 600ne. Built-in bluetooth is not worthwhile feature when the excellent ifi Zen blue can be added so cheaply to provide fantastic results.

 

[gasolin]

Just hate when even budget amps have built in dac, why use money for that on low budget amps

I rather have a bigger transformer, better speaker terminals or something else

 

[robdmarsh]

Well, it all depends how "purist" you want to be, how many boxes you're prepared to have and what you're budget is. Many music lovers don't have room for lots of boxes or the budget to invest in collecting them. A lot of new amplifiers have reasonably good shielding where the digital circuits are shielded from the analogue section of the amp. I've noticed you constantly talk about high end gear and the importance of having analogue only amplifiers but do you actually have one?
Have you heard a good budget amp like the pma 800ne? For me the sound is full, dynamic and detailed enough to produce a very nice sound in my set up. I'm not using the built-in DAC, but the DAC in the Zen blue, which is remarkable, better to my ears than the Bluesound node 2021. As for transformers, I had the Audiolab 6000a for a bit and the damned toroidal transformer emitted a constant low level hum all the time. That's why I'm not against iron core transformers. Even the pma 1600ne, the best amp I've heard for £1500, does not have a toroidal transformer.

 

[Hobnob]

Well, it all depends how "purist" you want to be, how many boxes you're prepared to have and what you're budget is. Many music lovers don't have room for lots of boxes or the budget to invest in collecting them. A lot of new amplifiers have reasonably good shielding where the digital circuits are shielded from the analogue section of the amp. I've noticed you constantly talk about high end gear and the importance of having analogue only amplifiers but do you actually have one?
Have you heard a good budget amp like the pma 800ne? For me the sound is full, dynamic and detailed enough to produce a very nice sound in my set up. I'm not using the built-in DAC, but the DAC in the Zen blue, which is remarkable, better to my ears than the Bluesound node 2021. As for transformers, I had the Audiolab 6000a for a bit and the damned toroidal transformer emitted a constant low level hum all the time. That's why I'm not against iron core transformers. Even the pma 1600ne, the best amp I've heard for £1500, does not have a toroidal transformer.

I don't really understand how the digital part can affect the analog part negatively in an amp?

I agree, many music lovers don't have the room for several boxes and cables. There are plenty of music lovers that enjoys music without turning a home into a environment similar to an nuclear reactor I would be more impressed if the speaker system is barely visible and yet there's a lot of high quality sound produced when playing, unfortunately there is none of this yet...

 

[robdmarsh]

I would be more impressed if the speaker system is barely visible and yet there's a lot of high quality sound produced when playing

This where you and I have very different views. I think the aesthetics of a good speaker are very important and the right one can really enhance the look of your room.

 

[Hobnob]

But if you guys would recommend a compact all in one amp what would you recommend then? Set aside the fact that you wouldn't recommend an all in one amp, maybe there is a compact amp that you have listen to and thought that was a really good one. Any recommends on a low budget and high budget compact all in one amp maybe? Or is this the wrong forum to ask?

 

[Al ears]

But if you guys would recommend a compact all in one amp what would you recommend then? Set aside the fact that you wouldn't recommend an all in one amp, maybe there is a compact amp that you have listen to and thought that was a really good one. Any recommends on a low budget and high budget compact all in one amp maybe? Or is this the wrong forum to ask?

Certainly not the wrong forum to ask but it is just that all the compact all in ones I have heard that are any good tend to be quite expensive.

 

[treesey]

I'm a little confused by your question.... what has changed over the years is 'the source', so you want bluetooth and the DAC in the amplifier, to cut down the number of boxes, but you still want the quality of sound?

What *hasn't* changed over the years is amplifiers being just as good but a third of the cost new.

So you have to spend more money, not less, on the all-in-one box that includes an amplifier if you wish to retain the sound quality.... (otherwise no-one would buy expensive modern equipment ... why would you if the cheap stuff does it that well?)

As AL said, the problem with this approach is if a) something breaks (and so you have to throw it all away), or b) if you want to change/upgrade any part, see above.

Sorry I can't recommend any product for you, other than my strong advice is to get a weekend demo of any magic box in your own house with your own speakers.

 

[nn_in]

Well, it all depends how "purist" you want to be, how many boxes you're prepared to have and what you're budget is. Many music lovers don't have room for lots of boxes or the budget to invest in collecting them. A lot of new amplifiers have reasonably good shielding where the digital circuits are shielded from the analogue section of the amp. I've noticed you constantly talk about high end gear and the importance of having analogue only amplifiers but do you actually have one?
Have you heard a good budget amp like the pma 800ne? For me the sound is full, dynamic and detailed enough to produce a very nice sound in my set up. I'm not using the built-in DAC, but the DAC in the Zen blue, which is remarkable, better to my ears than the Bluesound node 2021. As for transformers, I had the Audiolab 6000a for a bit and the damned toroidal transformer emitted a constant low level hum all the time. That's why I'm not against iron core transformers. Even the pma 1600ne, the best amp I've heard for £1500, does not have a toroidal transformer.

There is a analog mode button on Denon front panel to turn off digital ckt completely.