I acquired a very well constructed 1980's vintage integrated amplifier called a Denon PMA-770. Denon designated these as "pre-main amplifiers".

This is a very heavy amplifier, but one which apparently was once considered an "audiophile" dream amp of some sort, this according to the little information I have gleaned from Net searches. I am uncertain of just how powerful this amp is. There are some indications that it might put out 100 watts per channel into a 4 ohm load. But of this fact, I am uncertain.

The piece sounds quite amazing to me, however.

I would like to hear from somebody who has owned this piece and also to ascertain how much it sold for when new.

Of course, once you remove the laminated rosewood side panels, the unit is more manageable, weight-wise!

Thanks in advance

Richard Links
Berkeley, CA

 Re: Denon PMA-770 integrated amplifier - bikejog 10:02:39 02/25/04 (1)
 Re: Denon PMA-770 integrated amplifier - Marantzguy 17:58:21 03/01/04 (0)

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 Re: Denon PMA-770 integrated amplifier - bikejog 10:02:39 02/25/04 (1)
 Re: Denon PMA-770 integrated amplifier - Marantzguy 17:58:21 03/01/04 (0)

Thanks very much for responding to my query regarding the Denon PMA-770. This unit was sold by a local "high-end" audio salon and must have been fairly costly when new. The units that "dB Audio" in Berkeley (my home town) were always hand selected for outstanding audio qualities and this was such a piece, obviously.

I picked up particular unit at a local rummage sale and was very curious about it. The unit works, but when I opened it up to inspect and to also clean it and spray out the controls, I was confronted with some residue or stains along the perimeter of the bottom piece. Either something was spilled on the unit at one time or I think that a capacitor might have opened up once and spilled its contents along the edge of the unit. I would have expected a greater deal of corrosion if a large storage cap had blown its seal, but judging from what I saw inside the unit, this did not exactly appear to be the case.

After cleaning this up, I ran the amp for a good long time and it sounded more than decent to me.

The thing that always astonishes me is how a company like Denon, would put these heavy polished wooden side panels on the unit to impress the public with how HEAVY the unit seemed. Sony did the same thing when it built its flagship CD player, the X-707-ES, an example of which I also found in a thrift shop last year for $25 with the remote control. I now understand that in the case of the Sony player (circa 1993), that there is some demand for it these days. I have never before seen a 45 lb single-drawer CD player, however, at least not one like this unit!

Anyway, my thanks and appreciation for your response.

Richard Links
Berkeley, CA