Schlippwhip68
Addicted to Fun and Learning
Late to the thread and the amps probably bought but then who wants to buy an end game amp if ever one should exist, which is doesn't! I have gone through a few amps recently and haven't really been disappointed with any of them. I like the Denon PMA600NE and the 800NE two very different sounding amps from the same field. I own an BRZHIFI 3255XLR (modded) which with the right op amp sound pretty impressive, punchy, loud and clean again op amp pairing is advisable but the stock op amps do a good job. I liked the Denon 600ne for the sheer musicality of the thing, very warm and cosy amp with full sounding bass that doesn't present itself with the greatest detail but does encompass you for a very pleasant easy listen, nothing harsh at all. The 800ne similar but with more air up top and more accuracy overall, huge soundstage on both. The A11 Tibute from Rotel, which is the one I have now is a bit more accurate than the Denons but not by much where the 800ne is concerned imo. The Rotel has better binding posts, more robust. The Bluetooth on the Rotel is excellent and will impress users of that source, I personally prefer Airplay to Bluetooth but again the Rotel does a fine job and is very listenable, even sit down listenable which is saying something for Bluetooth is it not! The Denon 600ne Bluetooth is a bit more choosy and I found it sounded better connected to my Mac Mini than it did the iphone. The build quality on all those amps is good enough unless you want to attach tank tracks and volunteer for an eastern european conflict with it. I would say the Rotel does live up to all the reviews on YouTube and is one of the more even sounding amps with plenty of detail, low end control and pairs well with most speakers. The Denon is more of a signature sound, which I also enjoy but some may find it a little too characterized in the low end specifically. I loved the power of the Denons and they filled a 6m x 6m room with buckets of bass and fine vocal range. The Rotel has a completely different approach where the volume is concerned. The Rotel is a very gradual climb up to around 60 and then begins to get loud up to 96. The Rotel has a little less distortion than the Denon and I could comfortably get the amp maxed out but the Denons were louder and beefier than the Rotel. Whatever the case in regards to choice, I will say that all the amps I have mentioned are worth the asking price. One thing about the Rotel is if someone was to buy the A11 Tribute then make sure you have access to a Windows pc/laptop otherwise you will not be able to update the software which is now at version 1.17.
