Denon PMA 1600ne vs 800ne integrated Amps Review | Stereo Music | 2 Channel

[@e-zeescrossovers6188]

You mentioned significant weight difference at beginning so I'll help with those details. The 1600ne weighs 38.8 lbs. The 800ne weighs 18.3 lbs. Yes, the 1600ne weighs well over 2x the 800ne. The 1600ne has two large power transformers, that are each larger than the single transformer of the 800ne. The distinct power supplies for each channel are in a push-pull design. Looking at photos of the insides you can clearly see major differences in the construction and components. The topology and amplification designs of these two amps are significantly different. It is a monster of an amplifier. I've been very happy with mine but I also love the convenience of an integrated streamer. For a moment I was considering selling my 1600ne to purchase the 900hne with integrated Heos streaming. After looking further into it, I've decided to keep the 1600ne and just add a wiim pro as input device for streaming. I dont want to try to go into the details here, but from my experience the 1600ne is vastly superior in its audio capabilities. Speakers do matter. Connected to Kef R3 or Elac Unifi 2.0 the improvements of the 1600ne are easily noticed. Connected to Sony Css5 or Kef q150 the higher performance potential of the amplifier are somewhat less noticeable. There are a couple things I don't like about the 1600ne, which are related to connectivity options, but I have zero complaints about 2 channel performance. A more detailed comparison and higher understanding of the the differences between these two amplifiers would leave no question as to the superiority of the 1600ne. That doesn't mean it is for everyone, but they absolutely fill different needs in the market.

[@Kibwunga]

The 1600 is rock solid. Lots of current and drives about anything. Pretty huge increase in build over the 800. Not that the 800 is a bad amp. It's a good amp. Innards of the 1600 are an order of magnitude better.

[@cnoboa]

Its not the quantity but the quality of watts. 1600 ne is a monster amp with high current and the capacity to drive everything you throw at it. Lost of lesser amps and receivers have ''more'' watts but in reality cannot handle significant loads and the ones they can, they do it without headroom and dynamics. 1600 ne is in another league in quality of materials. Made in Japan. Aluminum front panel and knobs. A spectacular phono preamp and very good dac. 40 pound beast with 2 transformers. Every transformer in the world hums, even a little bit, so maybe there is a little hum from those 2 massive transformers, nothing to worry about. I own a 1600ne and there is no audible hum from the transformers. 800ne and 1600 are not comparable products. The Dual binding post are for biwire, no for a and b, thats why there is no selector. A/B is not the function of the binding posts in this case. Always on in case you biwire. Simple as that. I think that in order to do justice to this kind of products (high quality audiophile grade integrated amps) its important to really appreciate the aspects of the products, specially the performance aspects. If you know the difference between an suv and a 911 turbo you would not judge the 911 for trunk space or confort. Its a sports car. It does very well the things that its supposed to. And kills the suv in those performance aspects. Think of the 1600 vs 800 that way. The 1600 will have tons of power, great headroom to drive demanding speakers and high current, the list goes on and on.

[@cameronkrause4712]

I agree with everything that you say here. I own the 1600 and it is outstanding, and I can't think of a better amp under 4 grand.

[@82ivaylo]

I agree with your comment. I had the PMA 2000AE and PMA 2020AE, great amplifiers.

[@AndAlisa]

Этот усилитель будет хорошо звучать с heco Victa Prime 602?

[@franknewman1194]

I just bought the successor of the 1600NE, the 1700NE. I also heard a distinct mid-to low frequency hum. It was a very soft hum, but the sound carried pretty far. Yes, I know, all amplifiers hum a little, and I guess the powerful ones hum just a little bit louder, but this one I could hear humming from 10 feet away (not when music was playing, of course). My old amp (Cambridge Audio 351R) also hummed a little, but that was only audible for me within 1 feet from the amp. I should mention that I have very sensitive hearing, probably most people can't hear the hum. I'm not sure if I'm going to return the amp. The sound is better than with the Cambridge. It's not a huge difference, but it's there. Instruments just sound more realistic. But the hum is really annoying.

[@RavageReeves]

how does the 1600 sound compared to the Marantz 15S1 or 15S2 ?

[@FendersRule]

I really enjoyed this video. I'm considering to upgrading from the PMA 800NE to the PMA 1600NE jsut based on the fact that my 800NE is the 1/4 of the cost of every other peice in my chain. The 1600NE uses Mos fet, and the internals look better. I'd imagine the PMA 1600NE has better sound.

[@gordonhamilton727]

I don't think you do the 1600ne justice. It will power way more demanding speakers than the 800. I have had the 1600ne for about 4 years run Sonus Faber Sonetto 2 off a DCD 1600ne, and I can tell you it is a stunning amplifier. £1500 here in the UK, it puts way more expensive amps in the shade.

[@cnoboa]

Completely agree. Killer amp 1600ne. A monster. Paired with Dynaudio Emit 20s. Awesome sound

[@cameronkrause4712]

I agree with u 100%

[@Trebor-u4q]

I have the 800ne and absolutely love it; it's superb for a budget amp. But I keep thinking how good must the 1600ne be? After all, it's nearly 3x the price. From what you're saying I gather it's not 3x the sound quality, but this is nearly always the case with the law of diminishing returns.

[@cameronkrause4712]

Glad you like the 800, but the 1600 is a giant step up. If your speakers are easy to drive you might not need the extra power that the 1600 has. The wattage numbers don't tell the whole story about the 1600. Believe me, it can deliver current like only a few other amps under 4 grand can deliver.

[@8474Starscream]

Hell yeah bro 🔥 Happy Holidays and hope all is well.

[@OldtradesReviews]

Thank You Happy holidays! Did you ever get those Polks?

[@8474Starscream]

@@OldtradesReviews I just went with the Center Polk R400 which I think is fantastic. The R700's were on back order for so long with Crutchfield I lost interest and stuck with the old Definitive Technology Speakers and paired with a Emotiva EXP-5 Gen3

[@OldtradesReviews]

Does that combination sound good? I have ordered from polk directly and the service was fast and easy. Good return policy too

[@8474Starscream]

@@OldtradesReviews It sounds tremendous I replaced the Definitive CLR 2002 center with the Polk R400 and BOOM!

[@OldtradesReviews]

Thats good. I would think the Polk has much better midrange and voices. While I love the Definitive towers, the centers i never liked

[@andymill32]

Have and love the 800ne, wonder how much better the 1600 sounds, its around €700 more expensive here in Ireland.

[@OldtradesReviews]

Its a more powerful and fuller sound. I the the 800 is good for bookshelf or speakers with 2 or 3 drivers and the 1600 is more for large towers.

[@andymill32]

@@OldtradesReviews I'm running the 800ne with Dali Oberon 5 speakers in my small front room and it sounds great and more than loud enough with the volume just below 3/4.

[@OldtradesReviews]

I have never listened to the Oberon but always wanted too. Glad to know its a good match.

[@bigambientdeath]

@@andymill32 me too mate, the 800 & Oberon 5's are a superb match, proper beefy & punchy, if you top up the meagre cabinet lining with some wool wadding or such like, the 5's will sound even better, they sounded a bit boxy to me when new. I picked up my PMA 800 new for £350, the jump up the Denon ladder is too steep for me to the 16/1700.

[@summerforever6736]

I used to.have a 50watts/ channel Rotel power amp for 15 years. Updated my speakers got a new power amp rotell 200W/ channel The sound quality is really noticable even with the old speakers I had, and the new speakers are bigger so it needs more juice! Always get the most powerful amp you can to have headroom! I also noticed the sound is more powerful and the amp is not working as hard to amplify the sound! Back than when k got the power aml and pre amp I thought 50 watts is pleanty but no. Also my budget was lower... Just my experience. Great video btw!

[@jallen4458]

FYI, your description misstates the 1600ne's power output at 80 WPC @ 8 Ohms.

[@amritsarboy1]

Its 70wpc

[@dm95422]

Had both of these, had to return them & got the Yamaha A-S501 because the Denons give off a humming sound from the transporters. Yamaha was super quiet.

[@gianlucabassi8853]

Prefer as 501 over PMA 1600 ?????????

[@tessie4204]

The Yamaha A-S1200 is the better souding amp.

[@timschutte3961]

I went from 720ae to 1520ae and a big step up in everything and from a 7,5 to a phat 9. And i paid 400 for both but don't forget that the 800 is build in China and the 1600 in Japan and that makes a huge difference in sound too and the 1600 has way better components.

[@janulik9535]

thank you, there is very key moment in 2 05 cca, this is what I expect for price jump, today it my country PMA 1700 ne is1500 EUR, seems like it will be my choice

[@izitmepattavina8651]

Great video!

[@OldtradesReviews]

Glad you enjoyed it

[@pietpompiepompiepiet940]

Got 800ne with Paradigm studio 100 Really nice powerful sound but always tthinking if Ii might be amazed with the 1600ne

[@newc1236]

Interesting observation at minute 5:45 re lack of speaker selection in the 1600. I got the 900HNE and it has a separate button on the front plus a separate function in the HEOS app to select A vs B speakers. The 1600 and 1700 models don’t interface with HEOS and the front panel has the Analog Mode button (replicated on the remote) in lieu of the Speaker Selection button. So you get less functionality for more money. At least the 1700 added the preamp-in back in, which is another feature Denon removed from the 1600 when they “upgraded” the 1500AE. Since the merger with Marantz, Denon has removed certain functions to make the upper tier Marantz models more attractive by comparison (and you pay extra to have those features there).

[@IstvanSzabolcsKercza-dz7lg]

Pma800NE ❤❤❤

[@jallen4458]

I agree the 1600ne's lack of AB speaker switching is disappointing, as is the lack of stereo vs. mono operation. And with an amp this robust, perhaps the lack of a subsonic filter is disappointing as well. Not sure if Denon was trying to look "audiophile" with a lack of controls -- or just being trendy and/or cheap...maybe even lazy. FWIW, I do own the 1600ne.

[@OldtradesReviews]

Thanks for sharing that. Kind of disappointing because the sound is good.

[@summerforever6736]

I can recommend you The power amp I am using Rotel RB-1582 MK2 Alot of power does make a different in the sound. Many people was saying that I was like sure but it is true. Yea my speakers are 4 ohm this cwn handel it

[@OldtradesReviews]

ROTEL makes good amps. I had the A14 for a while.

[@susantapaul1118]

Denon 1600 ne and Cambridge axr 85 who is the best

[@IOOIIIV]

Perhaps Denon designed the 1600 for bi-wiring. Hence, no A/B speaker switching. That plus the hum would automatically mean that it’s a no go for me. I’ve got the Denon 520 amp and would like to upgrade my speakers from bookshelves to towers but am doubting the 520s ability to handle them.

[@bigambientdeath]

I currently own the PMA 800 and also owned the 520 & 720 as well, all 3 amps ran my Dali Oberon 5's no problem, love the 800 with the Dali's, they are a great match for smaller rooms, big, punchy, immersive etc etc

[@tianshili9052]

Comparing to your Rotel A14, is 1600 much better? Thanks

[@OldtradesReviews]

Thats a tough one. Both have great sound quality. 1600ne is more powerful sounding. But the Rotel has much nicer features all around and can play A or B speakers with a touch of a button

[@tianshili9052]

@@OldtradesReviews Denon is more powerful? The Rotel A14 is rated at 80wpc, even a little more than the 1600ne. That's why I need your real life options. Thanks again!

[@OldtradesReviews]

I dont know why I felt like it had a little more power even though it does not. Maybe it was hoe the volume knobs control was set and became louder faster. The denon is one of the heaviest units I had tested .

[@tianshili9052]

@@OldtradesReviews Denon is famous by its heavy bass and warm the sound. I guess that is why you felt it's more powerful. On the other hand, someone said Rotel A14 is more plain even comparing to its own Mk ii version.

[@hubert-williams3379]

The soruce direct button and the analog button does what exactly on this amp?.. I don't see and change in sound when I press the analog button while using my SACD player.. an thoughts?

[@jerrypowers7671]

Because you are already bypassing the dac in the amp by using the dac in the cd player

[@AndAlisa]

Скажите пожалуйста, он будет звучать с heco Victa Prime 602?

[@Mannizilla]

PMA 900ne 🤗

[@gianlucabassi8853]

They are not comparable. Pma 1600 is a refined tank...800 is Just an amplifier.