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Denon has now officially run out of parts


314carpenter

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NOTICE REGARDING D / A CONVERTER CHANGES FOR SOME PRODUCTS

4 02, 2021

Due to the fire at the semiconductor manufacturing plant of Asahi Kasei Electronics Co., Ltd. that occurred on October 20, 2020, it became difficult to continuously procure semiconductor parts including the D / A converter used in some of our products. We are doing it. We have continued to produce products using the parts inventory that we already have and the parts newly procured from the market, but it is expected that it will be difficult to resume the supply of such parts at an early stage. We have decided to change to alternative parts and continue production.

Since the D / A converter is a component that has a particularly large effect on the sound quality of the product, when changing it, select alternative components, redesign the peripheral circuits and software, evaluate the sound quality by the sound master, and perform sound tuning. It was carried out in the same process as during development. As a result, it has become possible to continue to deliver products of the same quality as before, while maintaining the same sound quality, performance, and functions as the products before the D / A converter change.

We will continue to do our best to deliver products that satisfy our customers. Thank you for your cooperation.

 

Products subject to D / A converter change

 

Link needs translation (which I provided above)

https://www.denon.jp/ja-jp/news/2021/21005

 

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The DAC in question is the 8 channel AKM AK4458. So what do they do now? The AK4458 is voltage driven. Any other voltage driven DAC available today is guaranteed to be high in distortion at more than 1V-2V. Any Current driven DAC is going to cost much more per unit and will also require far more expensive supporting circuits. The 2020 models have already seen a substantial price increase from the former model years. Present inventory is already exceedingly low and many buyers are still looking. How will the model revisions compare? What other changes will we see in the industry this year?

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Denon will revise the prices of some Hi-Fi audio products from February 1, 2021 (Monday).

Amid rising prices of materials and parts used in products in recent years, we have endeavored to improve management efficiency and maintain product prices. However, the continuous increase in costs was beyond the range that could be absorbed by corporate efforts, and we had no choice but to revise the product price.
We will continue to strive to provide a stable supply of high-quality products to audiophiles who love music, and we appreciate your understanding.

 

Product number JAN code Suggested retail price (tax excluded)
Current price → New price
PMA-SX11 49-51035-05641-7 380,000 yen → 420,000 yen
DCD-SX11 49-51035-05640-0 360,000 yen → 400,000 yen
PMA-600NE 49-51035-07097-0 52,000 yen → 59,000 yen
DCD-600NE 49-51035-07101-4 47,000 yen → 53,000 yen
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Another just in time manufacturing disaster.

We stocked years of wafers 35 years ago.

Critical components, were stocked in large quantities

What a difference changes in how inventory is taxed had on how a company behaves.

 

JIT was always a disaster waiting to happen

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3 hours ago, 314carpenter said:
Since the D / A converter is a component that has a particularly large effect on the sound quality of the product, when changing it, select alternative components, redesign the peripheral circuits and software, evaluate the sound quality by the sound master, and perform sound tuning. It was carried out in the same process as during development. 

 

 

Sound Master, interesting job title

 

It still comes down to the human ear as the ultimate test device.

 

FWIW at Best Buy the other day, girl told me they are having shortages of receivers they can deliver, limited inventory is sporadic.

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3 hours ago, 314carpenter said:

Any other voltage driven DAC available today is guaranteed to be high in distortion at more than 1V-2V. Any Current driven DAC is going to cost much more per unit and will also require far more expensive supporting circuits.

 

Which tech has better distortion numbers and better sound quality ?

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This has become far serious than budget receivers from the likes of Best Buy. Various auto plants from Dodge and Ford and presumably GM are closing from lack of specific chips.Dodge has shutdown its Challenger, Charger lines and Mustang for Ford. I’m sure what I’ve described is, or will be, the tip of the iceberg. Jobs - you bet —

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8 hours ago, richieb said:

This has become far serious than budget receivers from the likes of Best Buy. Various auto plants from Dodge and Ford and presumably GM are closing from lack of specific chips.Dodge has shutdown its Challenger, Charger lines and Mustang for Ford. I’m sure what I’ve described is, or will be, the tip of the iceberg. Jobs - you bet —

 

Any idea which systems are effected ?

 

If it's just the loss of the navigation, or wifi, pull it out and use blanking panels.

 

I suspect that it's part of tying the engine systems to tracking and all of the other stuff I don't want in a car.

 

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