Recommendations

If you plan on purchasing the AVP-A1HDCI pre/pro, then you should also take a hard look at mating it with this amplifier. Not only will they both match cosmetically but the LINK control between the units really opens up a lot of user and installer flexibility and they exhibit great working synergy together.

If you’re in a situation where you listen to highly dynamic two-channel music at loud listening levels you may wish to consider bridging the front two channels. On the flip side, this amp does commendably well configured for normal operation and the unused channels may be better served in a home theater installation for bi-amping your front speakers if your using their bass portions as active subwoofers or feed them to other speakers in multi zone audio duties. Make sure you have plenty of shelf space to house this unit so it gets enough ventilation as there are no internal cooling fans. The amp ran warm but not hot to the touch when positioned in free space and only really heated up during continuous power testing which is a non real world lab condition.

Conclusions

The Denon POA-A1HDCI is a monster (or maybe I should say “beast” to avoid a Monster Cable lawsuit). It’s as powerful as it is heavy but most importantly it exhibits ultra low noise and distortion to handle the subtle nuances of music with great finesses and clarity. The POA-A1HDCI revitalizes Denon’s high end stigma that it earned over the years but also puts itself into an elitist price category that only the very wealthiest audiophiles would dare tread. There are certainly cheaper alternatives that will perform similarly good but will also require more rack space to achieve 10 channels of amplification and won't have the cool connection link with the mating Denon pre/pro for easier channel configurability.

While I wasn’t initially in total awe at the cosmetics of this product, it does have a tendency to grow on you over time. It will most certainly serve as a conversational piece when people visit and see the sheer mass of this mega multi-channel amplifier. You can rest assured that its size is backed by legendary performance one would expect from Denon flagship pieces. The POA-A1HDCI delivers respectable high and most importantly clean dynamic power and provides enough channels to handle even the largest scale home theater installations with a few to spare for specialized needs and installations. Coupled with the matching AVP-A1HDCI processor, you’ve got a state of the art A/V separates solution that can run toe to toe with any of its peers in this price class.

POA-A1HDCI
MSRP: $7,000

Denon Electronics
http://www.usa.denon.com
100 Corporate Drive
Mahwah,  N.J.  07430-2041