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Denon PMA-900 Owners- Speak Up!

I bought a new PMA-920 back in 1984 and I beat the hell out of it. I used Mach 1's Mach 2's and HPM 100's with that amp, and it was no slouch. It had plenty of clean power. My buddy has the amp in his garage now, and that amp still hasn't seen a doctor.
 
I have some very cool neighbors, yes I lucked out there.

Ok so my 900 developed a problem tonight. I am guessing as shorted the speaker terminals out after hooking my RS III back up to it. The 6.3A fuse on the B+ for the right channel is smoked. I has getting sound out of the speaker but it sounded bad...really bad. I thought it was the speaker, but finally thought to check the amp. I am going to get new fuses tomorrow, but should it be concerned about the output transistors?
Thanks
Riki


Edit:
Looks as if I may have lucked out, the output transistors appear to be ok.
 
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I just picked up one of these for 150 bucks in mint shape last night. I am really liking it, clean gutsy sound, nice phono stage, very comparable to my Sansui D11II, in fact I am going to CL my D11II as I can get more for than I paid for this amp, and I think this one will be more reliable with it's simpler build. Comparing it the Sansui is high praise in my book as I am big Sansui fan.
 
Welcome to the club. Your $150.00 investment will pay off with many hours of enjoyment. 900V's are undervalued IMO.
 
I think so too, I seriously doubt I could ABX it against the bigger, heavier, more expensive Sansui D11II. If anything the treble may be a touch clearer on the Denon and the bass a tad deeper or it may be psychoacoustics who knows, I do know I like it, and consider it a sleeper and a keeper. The volume control actually feels stiffer and higher quality than the Sansui, maybe it's an Alps unit?

:banana::banana::banana::banana: :music::music::music::music::music:
 
Yes that is an Alps. These amps are vary nicely built and damn near bulletproof. I've run mine with a 2.4 ohm load and it never flinched.
 
Well, just to relay my experience, I loved my 900v, but once those fuses blew (I did the same thing you did), even though I've had it serviced by the best, it never sounded the same to me again. I know, because I've got a PMA 777 to compare it to, and they used to sound damn near identical, with the 900 sounding just a wee bit smoother to me. Now, all I listen to is the 777 because the 900 sounds like teeth grinding to me. Everything checks out on it, but it sounds different. So, I hope your experience was different!
 
I know an old thread but picked one up a few months ago. It is a wonderful amplifier. Mine is pristine with the "wood" side panels. It is powering my totally refurbished KEF 104.2's and they never sounded better. Sounds great with My Sony Biotracer (MC) turntable as well. If you see one I would advise snatching it up. Great sound & power in spades.
 
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What the heck, I'm gonna revive this thread. I picked up a black PMA-900V with wood panels from my local Goodyear about a year ago. Cost me all of $50US.

Boy howdy does this thing sound good. I'm using it to power my bedroom system with a pair of Pioneer SP-BS41-LR speakers, with a CD player or turntable attached. Mostly I use it as a headphone amp for listening to records and it's a hoot.
 
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My 900V is currently at the stereo shop waiting for a rebuild. It finally crapped out on me a couple years ago. Was slowly failing over time. I got some 80V Kemet caps to start for the rebuild, but the caps will be replaced in the rest of the unit too.
 
I have the 920 and 1520, powerful, clean amps. That 1520 will rattle the rafters for sure! Some day I will hook up 2 pair of HPM100's to it and see what it is capable of.
 
I have owned a 920 since 1992, and I have severely abused this amp with consistent low ohm loads. This amp combined with compression drivers, brings tears to my eyes. The volume never reaches higher than 35 percent. A cooling system is an absolute must for these amps. I've had this amp running at a 3 ohm load for about 15 years, with almost 130db output.
 
I've heard extensively the pma 1060, 920, 720, and 770. All great but contrary to popular opinion, the older 770 from the early mid 80's is inferior to the slightly newer designs I mentioned. All have been restored. The 770 is slower, less precise, and warmer but not in a good way. The 720 is the lowest end design but I bias any of the IC's in the audio path into class A and add strategic decoupling and I love the amp. The 920 is a better circuit and is a significant step up.
 
Hello PMA-900V owners.
I don't have one, but I am considering a cheap one available to use as a separate amp. Can those connections on the back "Processor Loop" in, be used like pre amp in? Would I be able to set the volume knob like a gain knob, then use my preamp and the Denon like a power amp?

thanks. Mike
 
Here's an update. Over some years later after getting this integrated amp back in 2008, I still have it today, but it started slowly failing over time. It got to the point I couldn't use it, as the caps/ resistors, etc were beyond their life at that point. I talked to Gregg at "Classic Valve Design" here in Chilliwack BC (where I live), and he is going to restore this amp to better then new condition. Some years ago I purchased some Kimet Slit Foil power capacitors to replace the old ones, and as a result, Gregg will be hot-rodding this amp to use the higher power capabilities of those caps. Internals will get replaced with what is needed, based on what parts one is able to get today post Covid. Apparenly Nichon/ Elna, etc no longer make high end parts for audio amps anymore. I'll see what he can do with it. I'll drop it off in the next month and 6 months later should have it back in my possession. I wish I got the side wood panels this amp comes with, but I often see them sold without these days.
 
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