Denon MAT-3 (circa 1984)
The Denon MAT-3 is a reference monitor amplifier from around 1984. It sits at the top of Denon's MAT line, above the MAT-2 and MAT-1. Denon intended it for studio monitoring and high-end home use. The record is thin on reception and long-term reliability, but reasonably solid on the engineering.
The catalog scan shows a serious piece of hardware. It puts out 100W per channel into 8 ohms, with THD of 0.005% at rated output, a signal-to-noise ratio of 110 dB (IHF A-weighted), and a damping factor of 100 at 8 ohms. Input sensitivity is 150mV (line) into 50k ohms. It weighs 18.5 kg and measures 434mm wide by 125mm high by 345mm deep. The original price was approximately ¥150,000. The design reportedly used a MOSFET output stage with pure Class A operation in the first 10W, a direct-coupled circuit, and dual mono construction with separate power transformers per channel. The front panel was aluminum, and the input/output terminals were gold-plated.
One spec conflict needs flagging. The Denon catalog gives frequency response as 20Hz - 20kHz (±0.5dB), while hifi-wiki.com lists 10Hz - 50kHz. The catalog figure is the more authoritative of the two, so it is kept as primary.
Known specs, as documented:
- Power output: 100W per channel into 8Ω
- THD: 0.005% at rated output
- S/N ratio: 110 dB (IHF A-weighted)
- Damping factor: 100 at 8Ω
- Input sensitivity: 150mV (line); input impedance 50kΩ
- Frequency response: 20Hz–20kHz (±0.5dB)
- Dimensions: 434 × 125 × 345 mm (W×H×D)
- Weight: 18.5 kg
- Original price: approximately ¥150,000
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