Query on Denon PMA-510 AE

[surajit333]

Hi all,

I am new to hi-fi, I have recently purchase a Denon PMA-510 AE (primarily because of the price) paired it with KEF Q300 Bookshelves. My source is a 2 yr old sony Blu Ray player.

I was quite impressed with the combo in the pro-fx showroom in MG road bangalore. However I don't seem to get the same sound at home, mids are muddled, lows are booming rather than precise. I have checked rechecked all connectors. My doubts pertaining to the low performance are:

1. Quality of source i.e. the sony blu ray player. I have tried some SACDs like Steely Dan Goucho album which does seem to sound better, I guess Steely Dan sounds great even in a tin can

2. The RCA cables connecting the CDP to the amp (they are relatively cheap onces provided by profx). I have asked them for Chameleon plus cable for testing if they make a difference.

3. Room size/acoustics, system is placed in a curious L shaped drawing room with 7 feet of distance from system to hearing vantage point.

4. Burn in of speakers, it has run more than 50 hours by now, frankly can't make out the difference from the first day to now.

My music tastes are light classical music (e.g. Ajay/Abhijit Pohankars, any Thumris) acoustic live music (e.g. MTV unplugged), I enjoy good vocals and minimal instruments in my voice. I have been a fan of singer songwriters (e.g. Leonard Cohen, The tallest man on earth)

Here is what I can't shake of, did I buy the wrong amp for the speakers?, would I have been better buying the marantz pm6004 (although I have not heard it). Do I invest in a better CDP?

So overall my question is how do I improve the sound without shelling out more than 20k.

Thanks & regards
Surajit

 

[jk_chaos]

Surajit, I happen to own a Denon PMA 510 AE and trust me, it sounds amazing!! I guess the culprit here is the source, why dont you try auditioning a dedicated CD player, I am sure it would make a big difference. Options would be the NAD, marantz or Denon cd players.. You can even take a look at the used market for ones that suit your budget.
Or if you can stretch the budget, you can get a DAC that would help you add a PC audio set up also in future. You can take a look at the CA DAC magic or the Arcam Rdac for about 30k. You can connect the Sony BDP to the DAC using the optical/coaxial outputs.

Cheers

 

[surajit333]

Hi jk_Chaos,

Thanks for your reply. Yes a dedicated CDP and a DAC are in the buy list, waiting for the money gods to smile. I figured something out yesterday, the Kef speakers are placed on a horizontal boxy wooden TV rack about 1.5 foot tall. Lifting the speakers by hand to an elevated position generates a different sound altogether, the booming lows must definitely be the result of the boxy wooden TV rack. So the immediate action now is
1. To score some nice speaker stands (preferably magma ones).
2. Make space for the stereo in a spare bedroom with basic sound absorbing details like a carpet and heavy curtains.
3. Try the Chameleon plus RCA interconnect.
4. Bi-Wire the KEF Q300
5. Beg borrow steal a dedicated CDP to test the above.

Most of the above ideas were given by a young gentleman from Profx, thanks to them.

Anyone with better ideas and suggestion?

 

[vijwilso]

Hi all,

I am new to hi-fi, I have recently purchase a Denon PMA-510 AE (primarily because of the price) paired it with KEF Q300 Bookshelves. My source is a 2 yr old sony Blu Ray player.

I was quite impressed with the combo in the pro-fx showroom in MG road bangalore. However I don't seem to get the same sound at home, mids are muddled, lows are booming rather than precise. I have checked rechecked all connectors. My doubts pertaining to the low performance are:

1. Quality of source i.e. the sony blu ray player. I have tried some SACDs like Steely Dan Goucho album which does seem to sound better, I guess Steely Dan sounds great even in a tin can

2. The RCA cables connecting the CDP to the amp (they are relatively cheap onces provided by profx). I have asked them for Chameleon plus cable for testing if they make a difference.

3. Room size/acoustics, system is placed in a curious L shaped drawing room with 7 feet of distance from system to hearing vantage point.

4. Burn in of speakers, it has run more than 50 hours by now, frankly can't make out the difference from the first day to now.

My music tastes are light classical music (e.g. Ajay/Abhijit Pohankars, any Thumris) acoustic live music (e.g. MTV unplugged), I enjoy good vocals and minimal instruments in my voice. I have been a fan of singer songwriters (e.g. Leonard Cohen, The tallest man on earth)

Here is what I can't shake of, did I buy the wrong amp for the speakers?, would I have been better buying the marantz pm6004 (although I have not heard it). Do I invest in a better CDP?

So overall my question is how do I improve the sound without shelling out more than 20k.

Thanks & regards
Surajit

My fried purchased KEFQ100 for his PMA510AE , He was impressed with the demo in Profx with the same source ,Amp and Speaker , but at home it was not good . The speaker being new , he is running is 24x7 and break it loose .
Dont worry , it will become better over time . It may require more time

 

[surajit333]

My fried purchased KEFQ100 for his PMA510AE , He was impressed with the demo in Profx with the same source ,Amp and Speaker , but at home it was not good . The speaker being new , he is running is 24x7 and break it loose .
Dont worry , it will become better over time . It may require more time

Hey Killerbrain,

Thanks for the kind words, lets hope the speakers mature with time. I am flummoxed with the speaker placement. Trying to speed the learning curve

Ordered stands from soundfoundations, looking for a decent affordable CDP for those concert cds I purchased in anticipation.

I am curious about something, will a quality RCA interconnect make a perceptible change in the sound specially when the source is a sony blu ray.

 

[surajit333]

Added the speaker stands, there is a definite change in the low frequencies, bass is tighter but highs are almost completely missing and clarity is still absent.

I have changed the room (It is more acoustic) and added the speaker stand, how do I ensure the lack in clarity is because of the Denon and not the source or vice-versa (without actually buying a new source). Stuck in between buying the Marantaz 6004 amp or a new source (can only afford one for now).

 

[ajsethi]

I picked up the Marantz PM6004 recently and paired it to the Boston Acoustics A25's with a Marantz UD5005 source. I have a similar problem as you are facing, not happy enough with the sound once installed at home. Speaker base is firm, good audio cables from HiFiMart etc..

Maybe you could take your amp, speakers and CD source to Pro fx and listen to the equipment at their place. Then if it sounds good, you know it has to do with equipment placements, room acoustics etc. If it sounds not so good, you could change one component at a time till you crack the problem.

 

[cyber_cat]

surajit333, can you post a picture of your setup, what is the dimension of your room, dedicated CDP is in order but then sacd will be not playing on those.

Cheers.

 

[jagdish_p]

Surajit,


Since you were happy with the speaker / Amp combination during auditioning the degradation in sound is most likely due to source. (Now that you have already added stands)

Just take the BDP and connect in the show room directly to Amp. You can also use your existing interconnect - though I do not think it is the reason.

 

[surajit333]

surajit333, can you post a picture of your setup, what is the dimension of your room, dedicated CDP is in order but then sacd will be not playing on those.

Cheers.

Hi cyber_cat thanks for your reply. I will post a picture of my listening room shortly, it's no great shakes btw. I going through the same dilemmas of newbiews DAC/CDP/Good Amp/Speaker Upgrade. In the meantime I downloaded some FLACs and HDTracks of chesky records, none of the sounds are impressive enough

 

[surajit333]

I picked up the Marantz PM6004 recently and paired it to the Boston Acoustics A25's with a Marantz UD5005 source. I have a similar problem as you are facing, not happy enough with the sound once installed at home. Speaker base is firm, good audio cables from HiFiMart etc..

Maybe you could take your amp, speakers and CD source to Pro fx and listen to the equipment at their place. Then if it sounds good, you know it has to do with equipment placements, room acoustics etc. If it sounds not so good, you could change one component at a time till you crack the problem.

I have done something similar, bi-wired the speakers, managed to get expensive Denon CDP for home demo. Somehow I am not convinced with the sound. Is it me or is the same with everyone?