General Asylum: REVIEW: Densen Beat 100 Amplifier (SS) by zoloft

Model:	Beat 100
Category:	Amplifier (SS)
Suggested Retail Price:	$1295
Description:	Cool looking integrated amp, 60 watts into 8 ohms, 120 watts into 4 ohms
Manufacturer URL:	Densen
Model Picture:	View

Review by zoloft on November 19, 2001 at 08:18:56
IP Address: 165.21.83.211

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for the Beat 100

I have been living with this amp for the past 1 year and I feel more people should know about this great little integrated from Densen.
I remembered when I first set my eyes on this Beat 100, a thought speed thru my mind - I can't afford it. THe entirely amp is very well made and attention to details is awesome. The entire amp casing is made from a folded piece of brush aluminium and is fitted with 2 huge knobs in front. One for volume, the other one for source selection. The entire amp is a delight to look at and will have no problem fitting into the asthetics of any modern living room. When I asked about the price of this smart dresser, I was astonished that it cost less than $1500.
A bit of technical stuffs here:
Poweroutput in 8 ohms: 2x60W
Poweroutput in 4 ohms: 2x120W
Powersupply size: 360VA
Storagecapacity: 40.000uF
THD + Noise @ rated output: Less than 0.01%
Frequency response (+0 -3db): 2-200.000Hz
Weight/shippingweight: 10/12 Kg
Product dimensions (WxDxH): 440x310x64mm

This amp is very well equipped. 2 pairs of speaker binding post, an IEC socket, 5 input sources and a pre-out fill up the back of the unit. Built quality is very very good and the amp tip the scale at 10kg.
The dealer hook the amp up to a Dynaudio Audience 50 and Rega Planet Cd player. A dose of Acoustic academy music soon got my feet tapping. The speed, resolution and focus of the setup is unbelievable!!! Rhythms are very easy to follow and its has the uncanny ability to string up all the different notes and present the whole musical message in a very enjoyable and convincing form.
I requested the dealer to load in the Mary Black disc which I brought. When the 2nd song( Final Frontier) was played, I was captivated. The transparency of the midrange has to be heard to believe. It sound very very similar to the Audionote Soro SET tube which I have heard a day before. Coupled this wonderful mids with tight bass and extended highs, you got a very good sounding package here. My only complain about the sound is the lack of power in the lower frequencies ,however it is compensated by its tight and fast bass.
THe dealer offered me a great deal for the demo piece, I grabbed it and hurried home with this new found toy. As the amp has already been run in, I simply hook it up to my existing setup (Arcam CD72, Spendor S3/5, REL Strata III, Kimber PBJ interconnects, Kimber 4TC cables). The synergy between all the equipment is rather good but somehow, I felt something missing in the setup. The Speed is not longer there. I immediately suspected the CD player is slowing everything down. I ran over to my Neighbour's unit and borrowed a Naim CD3.5 from him, to confirmed my doubts. And yes, with the Naim, everything fell into place. With the naim, it is as though the music has been injected with zest and it sounded delightfully fresh and vivid. (I got a used CD3.5 eventually)
The wonderful feeling about this setup is that it helps you forget about the equipment and let you focus and enjoy the music. I started buying more CDs and lesser Hifi mags :)

Product Weakness: Lacks of deep deep bass, fussy about system matching,
Product Strengths: Transparency, Speed (PRAT), very musical, able to control difficult loads. Look great and sound good. Doesn't run hot.

Associated Equipment for this Review:
Amplifier:	As above
Preamplifier (or None if Integrated):	None
Sources (CDP/Turntable):	Naim CD3.5
Speakers:	Spendor S3/5
Cables/Interconnects:	Kimber all around
Music Used (Genre/Selections):	Fusion, Jazz, Pop
Other (Power Conditioner etc.):	DIY Belden power cord and distributor
Type of Audition/Review:	Product Owner

Product Weakness:	Lacks of deep deep bass, fussy about system matching,
Product Strengths:	Transparency, Speed (PRAT), very musical, able to control difficult loads. Look great and sound good. Doesn't run hot.