Denon DCD-SA11 (2005)
The DCD-SA11 was Denon's premium S-series SACD/CD player, released in March 2005 at ¥350,000. It sat just below the flagship DCD-SA1 in the lineup - a "pre-top" model in the premium S-series, as one Russian marketplace listing put it. It was built around the same Advanced AL24 Processing first introduced in the DCD-SA1. That processing expands 16-bit data to 24 bits and does time-axis interpolation and up-conversion sampling with a Denon-developed algorithm, running on a large-capacity arithmetic processing device.
The build sits close to the flagship. The transport uses Denon's original drive mechanism with a long-life brushless motor. The motor shaft is kept extremely short to handle SACD's high-speed rotation, and all tilt corrections are done at the factory for optimum playability. The S.V.H. loader uses different materials for better anti-vibration. The clock circuit uses a high-precision oscillator close to the SA1's spec. Both hot and cold sides of the balanced output are driven directly from the dedicated D/A converter, and the unbalanced output is derived by differential drive from the balanced stage. The power supply is a twin transformer design that separates digital and analog completely, with an aluminum-cast mounting base to damp transformer vibration. The chassis is a flat-plate structure (four bottom plates, two top plates) with the mechanism mounted in the center for weight balance. The whole main chassis is copper-plated to reduce inductive noise, and the legs use sintered alloy insulators. A Pre Direct Mode turns off the display and digital output for cleaner playback.
One documentation note: sources conflict on the processing name. audio-database.com specifies "Advanced AL24 Processing," while Denon Australia's marketing copy says "AL32." This page goes with the former as the more detailed technical source.
Specs: SACD 1-bit DSD / CD 16-bit PCM; SACD frequency range 2 Hz - 100 kHz, CD 2 Hz - 20 kHz; S/N ratio 113 dB (SACD, audible band) / 119 dB (CD); dynamic range 113 dB (SACD) / 100 dB (CD); distortion 0.0006% (SACD, 1 kHz) / 0.0017% (CD, 1 kHz); analog outputs 2.0V/10kΩ (balanced and unbalanced); digital output CD-only (coaxial 0.5Vp-p/75Ω, optical -15 to -21dBm); 22W power consumption; 434 × 138 × 415 mm; 19 kg. Comes with the RC-997 remote.
Listening impressions are thin in the record. One drive2.ru comparison between the SA11 and the SA1 found the SA1 "a little airier, a little more open," but the author admitted the difference wasn't radical - "after a minute's pause I probably couldn't tell the difference." He still sent the SA11 to the flea market and kept the SA1. A single Russian listing shows a price of 99,999 ₽. The SA11's laser is described as more trouble-free than older Denon models, and replacement heads are plentiful and inexpensive, though their lifespan is somewhat shorter.
No service manual appears to be publicly documented for this model, and no production end year is recorded.
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