Denon POA-A1HDCI - Manual (Page 6)

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Denon POA-A1HDCI Frequency Response at 1 watt & Full Power
Power Bandwidth & Distortion
The POA-A1HDCI displayed excellent
frequency response uniformity with a ruler
flat response in the audio passband and an
unwavering -3dB point of 108kHz at every
power level whether in normal or bridged
modes of operation.
I measured full bandwidth continuous
power vs distortion by setting up a
regulated sweep in my Audio Precision to
automatically adjust input level until the
maximum power output was achieved at
< 0.1% THD + N. The POA-A1HDCI was
plugged directly into an APC S-20 Power
Conditioner with regulation to ensure the
line never dropped below 116Vrms.
Power output: <0.1% THD + N
1CH, 8-ohms: 184wpc
2CH, 8-ohms: 180wpc
1CH, 4-ohms: 300wpc
2CH, 4-ohms: 285wpc
1CH, 8-ohms bridged: 340wpc
1CH, 4-ohms bridged: *425wpc;
500wpc @ < 1%
2CH 8-ohms bridged: 330wpc
2CH, 4-ohms bridged: *405wpc;
470wpc @ < 1%
drawn into the immense sound field that
Track #1 “Barcarole” was portraying and
Pat’s synth guitar was simply surreal. This
got my endorphins pumping as I couldn’t
wait to really crank out my favorite track
of the disc which quickly followed. Track #2
“Are You Going with Me?” starts out calm
and collected until Pat’s synth guitar erupts
into a solo so few guitarists can convey this
level of emotion in their playing. I found
myself continually cranking it up because
it was so clean and non-fatiguing. A sign
of a good system is when it’s blasting and
it doesn’t seem all that loud. The Denon
POA-A1HDCI was certainly reaffirming this
point with me.
DTS CD:
Diana Krall -
Love Scenes
Track #2 “Peel
Me a Grape” had
Diana’s
vocals
centered straight
ahead while the
bass rattled my
floor joists. I was in awe that despite my
room was shaking with so much tactile
energy, I still heard all of the great reverb
from the surround channels in the recording
and the twang sound of the bass. There was
excellent separation of musical instruments
and no sigh of strain or smearing like I’ve
heard on lesser designed amplifiers. In
track #3 “I Don’t Know Enough About
You” I actually did hear distortion but
quickly realized it was part of the recording
likely caused by preamp clipping during the
recording process. My system was revealing
enough to showcase this recording flaw.
Measurements & Analysis
The gain structure for this amp is right
in line with every THX Ultra2 certified
product I’ve measured:
Av = 23dB balanced
Av = 29dB unbalanced
Denon POA-A1HDCI Power vs Distortion