Hello, this is not so much a review but more just a babble from a guy who thinks one of these amps could be just what he needs for his system.
Up until last year, I've always been content with a "one box" stereo system, I've owned 4 in my lifetime. About 4 years ago I decided to buy a separate 5 cd changer from philips to play my cd's through the AUX inputs of my stereo, as the built in cd player had packed up. A few years later my panasonic "one box" stereo followed, so I decided to invest in a new project and build a separates system around the 5 cd changer. I knew from a long time what I aimed to achieve, so I set out browsing the internet for used quality amplifiers. Most I came across were Technics, and since there was plenty on offer and the ones I seen had good reviews and specs, I decided I'd seen enough and concluded Technics it was. After months of looking around in various used audio stores in my city with no luck in finding a Technics, I became inpatient, and when i came across a Denon PMA-350 mk2 in a store I decided to buy it (giving not much thought to the features I required, just driven by pure excitement and opportunity that I could right here right now buy this amp from a reputable brand and be listening to my cd's again in just a couple of hours). The denon amp is EXCELLENT to say the least (it won numerous awards back in its retail days) and I've never once regretted buying it. But, there's been one thing irritating me in the back of my mind ever since, and that is it doesn't have those 2 features I require and what I initially set out to acquire in an amp... ...and those 2 things are a "Stereo/Mono" mode, and a "Subsonic filter". There is way I can get around the stereo to mono problem, and that is to buy a 4 channel Dj mixer with a mono selector on it, but that is straying off my original plan to keep things as simple as possible, while having all the features I needed in my separates system. So, as you can imagine, I keep coming across this particular Technics amp on the internet (which was the one that originally caught my eye) and I'm constantly reminded that it would be better suited and more convenient to my needs than the likelihood of having to add a dj mixer to my system (buying a dj mixer for just ONE single function and nothing else, doesn't make sense, and buying a used Technics SU-VX600 if I can find one, will be cheaper too). Much to the annoyance of certain other people in the household that I buy a 2nd amp when the Denon does a perfectly good job of playing music, I know I won't resist buying this Technics amp if I come across one like I did the Denon. Of course if you've read this you might be wondering "Why doesn't he just buy one from ebay or the likes?" the truth is, even though I've thought about it (and still think about it almost daily) I don't trust making transactions online, sending money off and expecting to receive an item I'm paying for, or if its even the item advertised etc...so I guess I'll just keep patient and I'm sure the day will come when one will show up in a local used audio store Lol.
Regards - Karl.
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