Arcam SA30 vs Denon PMA- A110


Hi Audiogon Fam, I currently have the Arcam SA30 and want to upgrade in sound quality. I have really been keeping an eye on the Denon PMA -A110. Ive heard great things about it. I will be using the Arcam ST60 as the source for streaming and Focal Aria 936 K2 Speakers. Any input would really help me. Thanks. 

128x128edwinf

It is funny. I have sold SA30 couple months ago and bought Denon A110.

Arcam SA30 is the entry level to hifi (3-in-1). A110 is AB amp and it's difficult to compare them. They are absolutely different classes. Like comparing Corolla vs Audi Q7. 

@tedweekend I know its a hard comparisson. That clarifies things for me. So the Arcam is the entry level and the Denon PMA -A110 is on a higher level. Since you had both can you elaborate more on the Denon sound please? How is it better than the Arcam?

 

@edwinf no problem. We are in the same boat :) Denon PMA A110 is one of all my purchases. The sound is so rich and balanced. SA30 is good for shelve speakers like MA Silver 100. Btw I liked SA30 because of high frequency is excellent but low frequency was not enough. But this was recover by subwoofer.

If you switch to Denon be ready to change your speakers.

@tedweekend I have Polk Audio Lsim 703's, JBL Studio 503's, Focal Aria 936 K2'S, Klipsch RP600M, and Polk Audio Monitor 10A's. I'm sure it will sound good with most of them I just want to make sure I get a good natural but exciting sound when playing instruments. Thanks for the input

I have had my PMA-A110 for about 3 weeks. I love the sound. I wanted something more old school Class AB , lots of juice, massive build 60 pounds of aluminum and steel. 70 pounds in the box. I am using with Revel F208B Performas. I am streaming to the PMA-A110 DAC via a nice USB with a Lumin U1 Mini with SBooster. Using ROON and local files I can play DSD 266 11.2mhz, and it sounds great. 5 year warranty as a side note. Wondered if anybody even tried the Headphone