Denon’s new jubilee edition AV amplifier, integrated amplifier, SACD player and phono-cartridge offer, according to the manufacturer, the very best audio performance and feature a special design.
Denon was founded in 1910 and eventually became a global market leader in the field of high-quality home entertainment and personal audio products. The manufacturer today announced four new, leading products to celebrate its 110th anniversary:
“The series consists of the Denon AVC-A110 AV amplifier, the PMA-A110 integrated amplifier, the DCD-A110 SACD player and the DL-A110 MC phono cartridge, all designed and manufactured to the highest standards and based on more than a century of experience in the development of high quality audio components. All new anniversary products feature an exclusive silver graphite colour, 110 year old logos on the front panel and have been carefully tuned by Denon Sound. In addition, all new products come with a special certificate of authenticity stamped by Denon’s chief technician and a five-year guarantee (only the needle is not covered by that five-year guarantee). All four anniversary products are made exclusively in the Denon factory in Shirakawa, Japan and are extensively tested for quality before delivery”.
Denon has been defining audio excellence since 1910
We read further in the anniversary press release: ‘Denon has been making a progressive contribution to the audio industry since 1910. In its early years, the brand produced the first gramophone in Japan and later the first professional disc recorder with which the first audio recording of Emperor Hirohito’s voice was made at the end of the Second World War. Most noteworthy was the introduction of the CD-ROM format in 1985, which unmistakably changed the future of audio and entertainment. Denon has had firsts over the years: from the world’s first universal Blu-ray player with capabilities for DVD audio and SACD playback, to the first 8K AV receivers. The four new, expertly produced anniversary products announced today are no exception to this unparalleled tradition of innovation and design.
Jubilee products
A beautiful milestone such as the 110th anniversary naturally comes with something fun, says the manufacturer: “Denon’s employees and loyal fans keep the passion for the brand alive. Thanks to the love for music and film, Denon knows how to shape the future of audio over and over again, generation after generation. Denon develops high-quality audio and video products equipped with the latest technology. To celebrate the anniversary, Denon is introducing four products in which these core competencies are shown to full advantage. All these components are equipped with the technology, construction and appearance for which Denon is known’. We will list the models for you according to the literal text from the distributed press release below!
AVC-A110 AV amplifier (€5500)
Denon proudly presents the flagship AVC-A110 13.2-channel 8K AV amplifier, designed to deliver the most immersive home theater experience to date, combining all popular 3D formats such as Dolby Atmos, DTS:X, DTS:X Pro, IMAX Enhanced, Auro-3D, and more.
- The AVR-A110 has been developed with extreme attention to detail and tuned by a Denon sound master at component level. This makes the AVR-A110 one of the most special AV amplifiers Denon has produced. The all-black interior of the AV amplifier features a silver graphite finish with an aluminium front and side panels, special cast feet and a copper transformer plate for exceptional insulation.
- The AVC-A110 offers 8K/60Hz pass-through or upscaling, 4K/120Hz pass-through for gaming and support for the latest HDMI specifications. This allows enthusiasts to create the best 4K home theater systems with 8K compatibility to simplify future upgrades.
- For seasoned gamers, the AVC-A110 Auto Low Latency Mode (ALLM), Variable Refresh Rate (VRR) and Quick Frame Transport (QFT) reduce or eliminate lag and frame tearing to provide a smoother, lag-free gaming experience.
- The AVC-A110 creates a lifelike cinema experience thanks to its outstanding monolithic amplifier design with a heavy-duty 8.2 kg transformer and dedicated 22,000uF/80V audio capacitors that together provide 150 watts per channel (8 ohm, 20 Hz – 20 kHz, 0.05% 2-channel drive). It features the most advanced HDMI connectivity (8 inputs/3 outputs) including a dedicated 8K input with the latest dynamic HDR standard for clearer details and deeper black levels. Users can enjoy their favourite movies, programmes and games with exceptional colour, brightness and contrast. The eARC HDMI function (via the main HDMI output) allows uncompressed and object-based audio formats such as Dolby Atmos and DTS:X to be connected directly from a TV app to the AVC-A110 for lifelike audio.
- For the ultimate entertainment experience anywhere in the home, HEOS built-in wireless multiroom music streaming technology plays the listener’s favorite content anywhere in the house (requires HEOS compatible speakers) and adds Apple AirPlay 2 for effortless streaming from mobile devices. The AVC-A110 also provides access to the most popular music services such as Spotify, Amazon Music HD, TIDAL, Deezer and more to give users unlimited access to their favorite music, podcasts and more. Users can operate the AVC-A110 hands-free thanks to its compatibility with Amazon Alexa, Google Assistant and Apple Siri voice systems.
Integrated amplifier PMA-A110 (€3500)
- The Denon PMA-A110 is the perfect choice for music lovers who want to create the two-channel hi-fi system of their dreams. The PMA-A110 integrated amplifier is powered by the 7th generation Denon Ultra High Current (UHC) topology and delivers 80 watts (8 ohms, 20kHz-20Hz, THD: 0.07%) of ultra-pure power per channel. It is capable of delivering a huge amount of power to drive even the most demanding speakers, ensuring unprecedented linearity in the output phase.
- The PMA-A110 offers masterful precision and refinement with exceptional dynamics, accentuating the smallest details and bringing music to life. Denon engineers carefully manufactured the amplifier circuit of the PMA-A110 to ensure a frequency response of up to 100 kHz during operation. The volume control suppresses noise in the amplifier for high sound resolution. The PMA-A110 supports a wide variety of hi-res audio sources. In addition, the Quad D/A converter, which is equipped with the 4 Burr Brown PCM1795 chips, operates in a quad configuration for optimum, high-quality sound. Each channel features two PCM1795 chips that operate in a differential mode for the highest accuracy and best signal-to-noise ratio.
- The PMA-A110 is also equipped with Ultra AL32 Processing, Denon’s latest analogue waveform reproduction technology. AL32 Processing uses algorithms that interpolate data, adding points that should exist both before and after large amounts of data, and supports hi-res 384-kHz/24-bit PCM signal input. This equalizes the waveform and keeps it as close as possible to the original signal. With a maximum of 32x oversampling of the sampling frequency of the input signals, the sampling frequency of the output is 1,411 MHz (at fs 44.1 kHz) or 1,536 MHz (at fs 48 kHz) for detailed reproduction of the audio signal.
- Users can easily connect analogue and digital sources, including a turntable to the built-in phono preamplifier compatible with both Moving Magnet (MM) and Moving Coil (MC) cartridges. Effortlessly enjoy hi-res digital audio content using jitter suppressing coaxial, optical or USB-B inputs, connected to an exceptional Quad DAC for unparalleled sound quality from PCM up to 384kHz and DSD up to 11.2 Mhz aka DSD256. The PMA-A110 is the perfect basis for a modern music system combined with the anniversary edition DCD-A110 SACD player and the DL-A110 MC phono cartridge, both developed and specially tuned by Denon’s Sound Masters for optimal performance.
DCD-A110 SACD Player (€3000)
As part of the special anniversary series, Denon introduces the DCD-A110 SACD player. In addition to CD and Super Audio CD, this fantastic model can also play DSD files (2.8/5.6 MHz) and high-resolution files up to 192 kHz/24 bit recorded on DVD-R/RW and DVD+R/RW discs. It is also possible to play back music files stored on CD-R/RW discs at sampling rates up to 48 kHz.
- The DCD-A110’s industry-leading performance is due to Denon’s patented Suppress Vibration Hybrid (S.V.H.) – drive, unmatched audio processing, high-quality components and power supply. The S.V.H. drive, which is used for other high performance players from Denon, features the shortest possible signal paths to reduce noise, as well as related parts made from high quality materials such as copper plate for the top panel for greater strength, cast aluminum for the disc tray and 2 mm thick steel for the drive brackets. These thick, vibration-resistant properties contribute to unprecedented vibration resistance, and the low centre of gravity of the drive suppresses any vibration that may occur in the drive by rotating the disc. By reducing unwanted vibrations, digital signals from the disc can be read as accurately and stably as possible.
- The DCD-A110 introduces a new Quad DAC configuration that converts large amounts of data from the new Intel Cyclone 10 powered Ultra AL32 processing engine, with up to 32x oversampling of the incoming PCM signal for the most accurate waveform reproduction. This advanced 4x PCM1795 DAC topology delivers fantastic channel separation, very low noise and THD levels. What’s more, the DCD-A110 surpasses traditional preamp post-filter circuits with a completely discreet filtering phase with carefully selected, specially tuned audio components, chosen by Denon’s sound master for outstanding audio performance. The DCD-A110 also features two clock oscillators, one for each sampling frequency (44.1 kHz and 48 kHz), which can be switched between frequencies to completely suppress jitter. These high-quality clocks serve as a reference for Quad DAC operation and ensure that the digital audio switching circuit always performs optimally, regardless of the source format.
- The limited edition SACD player also features a fully independent power supply for digital and analog circuits to reduce interference and noise. The analog power supply circuit features a completely discreet audio design. For the power supply of the analog audio circuit after the D/A converter, a new Denon-developed high capacity block capacitor (3300 µF) has been used. The power supply of the DCD-A110 is also equipped with custom components, such as high power bipolar junction transistors, a fully discrete voltage regulator circuit, electrolytic capacitors for high-quality sound and polyphenylene sulphide capacitors. These specially designed components have been developed in cooperation with a number of manufacturers during extensive listening tests to ensure a clean, robust and stable power supply for exceptional dynamics and overall performance.
DL-A110 Phono Cartridge (€599)
The new Denon DL-A110 phono cartridge is a high quality Moving Coil design, manually spun at the Denon Audio Works factory in the Japanese town of Shirakawa, just as it was in the 1960s when the first DL-103 cartridge was introduced. These anniversary cartridges are Denon’s oldest products and still feature the original needle holder design originally intended for broadband stereo FM radio broadcasting.
The lightweight DL-A110 needle holder weighs just 6 grams and keeps the cartridge firmly and securely in place. This ensures balanced, detailed sound with extended low frequency performance, ideal for LP enthusiasts. The DL-A110 features a bayonet connector, also known as the SME tone arm interface.
Availability
The three special edition jubilee products, the VC-A110, PMA-A110 and DCD-A110, will be available from Denon authorized dealers from October 2020. The latest special edition product, the DL-A110, will be available from November 2020. For more information about the new anniversary products, please visit the Denon website.