Denon PMA-S10IIIL (2001)
The PMA-S10IIIL is a heavyweight integrated amplifier - 29 kg of it - released in Japan in December 2001 at ¥280,000. It was a limited model marking Denon's corporate name change in October of that year, and it sat at the top of the company's integrated amplifier line. It was not a badge-job anniversary special. The circuit architecture was serious.
The output devices are the same UHC-MOS parts used in Denon's flagship monaural power amp, the POA-S1, configured in a single push-pull arrangement. The power supply uses a large toroidal transformer in an S.B. (Stable Based) aluminum sand-mold housing to control vibration, with independent windings for the power amplifier stage and the phono equalizer. A six-block internal structure separates and shields circuits of different signal levels, and the power amp and heat sinks are mechanically isolated from the transformer. The 1.6 mm steel chassis is painted black, and the cast-iron insulators use a hybrid construction with a high-damping material.
Rated output is 100W + 100W into 8 Ω (20 Hz-20 kHz, 0.07% THD) and 200W + 200W into 4 Ω at 1 kHz. The phono stage is fully featured, with MM and MC inputs (2.5 mV/47 kΩ and 0.2 mV/100 Ω respectively), a discrete low-noise FET first stage, and a RIAA deviation of ±0.5 dB. Line input sensitivity is 150 mV into 47 kΩ normally, dropping to 15 kΩ with Source Direct engaged. Signal-to-noise is rated at 110 dB on line, 91 dB (MM) and 76 dB (MC). The frequency response extends to 100 kHz, which the designers got by reworking the volume, tone, and power amplifier circuits. Speaker terminals are gold-plated machined brass, with a 6 mm clamp hole that takes very thick cable.
The fact sheet records that all parts were reviewed and upgraded versus the earlier PMA-S10III. That includes the volume control, gold-plated pin jacks, OFC internal wiring, inert gas-filled relays, and detachable OFC power cord. The switched outlets (2 systems, 120W total) and unswitched outlet (240W) suggest it was meant to anchor a full system.
Documentation on this model is thin beyond the manufacturer's own specification database. No independent magazine reviews have surfaced in the archive, and production quantities are unknown. A single Yahoo Auctions result was tracked at ¥121,000, and Russian-market listings describe units imported from Japan, often with preventative service (bias adjustment, capacitor checks) done on arrival. The 100 VAC rating means a step-down transformer is mandatory outside Japan.
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