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DNM Amps anyone used them or heard them ?

Miss Ariel

Miss Ariel

pfm Member
I have used their interconnects and speaker cables over the years in different systems
But still have never heard a preamp or power amp.

Have always been intrigued by what they sound like,as I have always read very good reviews over the years.
I know they where always great advocates of star earthing and non magnetic casework.

Would love to hear your experience if any of you guys have heard them or using them etc.

Jez if your reading this I would appreciate your views from a electronics point of view

Thanks
 
Woodface said:
Were these the tiny little boxes?
Click to expand...


DNM 3D Six Preamplifier



3d_premed.jpg
 
I’ve heard the 3b and 3c, I think. A long time ago, so struggle to remember the numbers adequately but they’re amongst the best I ever heard. The closest sound I can remember to no sound at all. I remember blowing up a pair of AE1, using the DNM and an Aragon power amp after a while. Then there really was no sound at all...
 
I had a DNM Pre/Power years ago (I cannot recall which one). Superb sound quality - lightning fast, with good power and drive. A little Naim like but smoother to. My ears.

Only issue for me is it got a little tiring after a while. Not all music needed that 0-60 in 2 seconds approach.
 
Only seen but not heard. I don't remember clear cases though, maybe a show example?
I associate them with smoked or deep red transparent.

3dfrontpaneljune2005med_med_hr.jpeg
 
I loved my DNM - had a 3B Primus and PA3^S 23wpc power amp. Really great sound, awful ergonomics. Probably one of the most resolving systems I’ve heard, but mine were plagued by little niggles - inconsistencies in the dual volume pot tracking and the power amp died once. Truly unusual kit, but the ‘lunchbox with cooker knobs’ aesthetic was hard to live with....
 
cjarchez said:
Only seen but not heard. I don't remember clear cases though, maybe a show example?
I associate them with smoked or deep red transparent.

3dfrontpaneljune2005med_med_hr.jpeg
Click to expand...
You’re confusing them with Albarry. They did the red stuff.

https://images.app.goo.gl/7yY7A1mcQY7eWdaJ6

I never heard DNM amps, but was intrigued by the ideas. I did, briefly, try the DNM Reson speaker cable and hated it. No idea if it worked better in the context of a DNM system, though, but it definitely broke mine.
 
JTC said:
I loved my DNM - had a 3B Primus and PA3^S 23wpc power amp. Really great sound, awful ergonomics. Probably one of the most resolving systems I’ve heard, but mine were plagued by little niggles - inconsistencies in the dual volume pot tracking and the power amp died once. Truly unusual kit, but the ‘lunchbox with cooker knobs’ aesthetic was hard to live with....
Click to expand...

LOL. :)
 
Hi,

I first met Denis up at Russ Andrews HiFi in Edinburgh where he had one of his power supplies powering the Naim pre amps on test.

He lived not far from me and he would come around in an evening or I and some friends would go over to his home or the shop he had.

As I was the only person at the time in the area to have Isobariks he would come over with a new version of the power supply and test it out on the LP12, Naim Isobarik system I had.

I remember hearing his system, it is still the best system I and the friends that heard it have ever heard, granted he had a huge room and Quad ELS57's, I cannot remember what was driving them, some parts he made himself that was for sure or had modified, but the sound he managed to produce was astonishing.

What he was able to produce was so far ahead of what was available at the time, so it is no surprise that his future products of pre amps and power amps are so good.

I was interested in the power supply so I had one on loan and eventually bought it to power my 12s.

I worked in the electronics industry at the time and I tried to see if we could help him with some circuit boards and other items, however what he was wanting was pretty much unique and we were not able to produce in such small quanties so I think he found a small protoshop able to supply what he wanted.

After a while he moved down south and his business really started to take off, he really is a nice guy, he sure was ahead of the curve in a lot of his products.

Glad his products get the appreciation they deserve.

Cheers

John
 
DNM started making power supplies for Naim pre-amps - gradually building until they did their own pre-amp (the reviewer Jimmy Hughes was a great advocate). Eventually they had a pre-amp with something like six power supplies. Eventually they (he because there was no ‘they’) rationalised the whole number of power supplies and also released a low powered power amp (also worked for Mission Cyrus - I actually saw DM on a visit to Mission many years ago). A higher powered amp eventually appeared. The pre-amps sound great, the power amps are a bit of a curates egg and the speaker cable is awful.
 
IIRC, the DNM boxes were made from acrylic and glued together. Sounds a bit Heath Robinson until you realise that these boxes have the same effect as no box at all. NVA use a similar principle.

I would imagine that the DMN needs a little care in siting; probably not in a rack. Never had a proper listen but would not be surprised if the sound rather nice.
 
Actually the DNM boxes aren’t glued together at all (and never were), they are screwed together so there is no need to break into them (unlike NVA). To avoid metal they use plastic screws (you can see them on the front panel in the pictures).
 
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Miss Ariel said:
I have used their interconnects and speaker cables over the years in different systems
But still have never heard a preamp or power amp.

Have always been intrigued by what they sound like,as I have always read very good reviews over the years.
I know they where always great advocates of star earthing and non magnetic casework.

Would love to hear your experience if any of you guys have heard them or using them etc.

Jez if your reading this I would appreciate your views from a electronics point of view

Thanks
Click to expand...

I'm not familiar with their topologies so can't properly comment other than that I consider many of their "USP's" "out there" ie rather barmy... non magnetic cases taken to extremes like ceramic heatsink spreaders etc... The speaker cable is awful and a really bad idea ie instead of making it thick and low resistance as it needs to be they do the opposite... which does not bode well!

The Cyrus connection explains why there were T network main smoothing caps in a pair of Cyrus aPA7 monoblocks I'm working on.... specials made for Cyrus by BHC in fact and at an odd voltage rating of 67V... the rails are 66V! Now replaced with standard ones of 80V rating and higher capacitance.
 
DM developed a number of design strategies and pursued them as diligently as possible - this did result in some strange/questionable outcomes.
 
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