chasaboo
Active Member
Hello gentlemen, longtime, longtime.
You might remember me back in the day, I was big into older solid state receivers and integrated amps. I've been very happy with a Kenwood integrated amp for years now, and a couple of months ago I was wondering if I could buy something new for about $500 that would replicate the look, and give me a similar sound.
Well nothing is available in the American market that I could find because so much of it is home theater. So I decided to check some Japanese market brands and found what I was looking for on the Denon Japanese website, the PMA-390RE. The boxes it ticked for me were big central volume knob, bass and treble controls, two sets of speakers, a selector switch with several options including phono, and a good looking silver face.
I looked into getting one somehow from a friend who is in Japan, and the price would be about $500 for the amp, and the the shipping costs about $175. Then just for a laugh I looked to see if it was available on Amazon from Japan, and lo and behold it was, but the price was $400 which included free shipping. Are you kidding me? I bought it immediately and got a voltage step down transformer to go with it.
This is the first piece of truly new audio equipment I've purchased since 1988, and wow, it's everything I wanted. It's a shame that you can't find anything similar here in the US. The love affair with home theater just boggles my mind. It never sounds right to my 2 channel ears, and feels like I'm being assaulted with sounds from directions that sound should not be coming from.
And no, I haven't ditched my vintage gear. It's just that now I have something modern to throw into the rotation, and boy it fits in real well with my vintage receivers, and integrated amplifiers, and separates. Can't stop smiling, it is that good.
Hope you guys are finding what you're looking for in your audio, it's out there and you just might have to look further afield to find it.
You might remember me back in the day, I was big into older solid state receivers and integrated amps. I've been very happy with a Kenwood integrated amp for years now, and a couple of months ago I was wondering if I could buy something new for about $500 that would replicate the look, and give me a similar sound.
Well nothing is available in the American market that I could find because so much of it is home theater. So I decided to check some Japanese market brands and found what I was looking for on the Denon Japanese website, the PMA-390RE. The boxes it ticked for me were big central volume knob, bass and treble controls, two sets of speakers, a selector switch with several options including phono, and a good looking silver face.
I looked into getting one somehow from a friend who is in Japan, and the price would be about $500 for the amp, and the the shipping costs about $175. Then just for a laugh I looked to see if it was available on Amazon from Japan, and lo and behold it was, but the price was $400 which included free shipping. Are you kidding me? I bought it immediately and got a voltage step down transformer to go with it.
This is the first piece of truly new audio equipment I've purchased since 1988, and wow, it's everything I wanted. It's a shame that you can't find anything similar here in the US. The love affair with home theater just boggles my mind. It never sounds right to my 2 channel ears, and feels like I'm being assaulted with sounds from directions that sound should not be coming from.
And no, I haven't ditched my vintage gear. It's just that now I have something modern to throw into the rotation, and boy it fits in real well with my vintage receivers, and integrated amplifiers, and separates. Can't stop smiling, it is that good.
Hope you guys are finding what you're looking for in your audio, it's out there and you just might have to look further afield to find it.
