Denon D-M10 Personal Component System.

Manufacturer: Denon Electronics, 222 New Road, Parsippany, NJ 07054; 973/575-7810; www.del.denon.com

Price: $999

Source: Manufacturer loan

Reviewer: Gregory Koster

The weak point in most minisystems is the speakers. Readers of The $ensible Sound won't be surprised to hear that modern electronics have reached such a high state of development that it's pretty easy to design good circuits. Speakers on the other hand require a combination of art and science, especially at low price points. Most minisystem designers ignore this conundrum and just slap together a flashy looking (and tinny-sounding) low-budget box.

Denon had a better idea. Economies of scale would allow a much better speaker at the price point by bundling an existing model from the corporate parts bin -- and luckily this corporate umbrella also includes Mission speakers. The D-M10 minisystem is a combination of Denon electronics with a pair of Mission 731i bookshelf speakers. Given that the 731i is highly regarded in its own right, this should push the D-M10 to the head of the class. And while the reality isn't perfect, this is certainly the best $1,000 system I've ever heard.

The electronics come in three or four separate matching cabinets for the AM/FM receiver, 3-disc CD changer, auto-reverse cassette deck, and optional MiniDisc recorder/player. Each rounded-corner metal cabinet measures 8"W x 4"H x 12.5"D and is finished in three shades of silver for a handsome effect. The cabinets are reassuringly solid and can be stacked for a minimal footprint.

The receiver includes a powerful AM/FM tuner that, although afflicted with a PAL coax antenna jack, proved to be amazingly competent. I was able to receive my favorite low-power NPR station cleanly in stereo with the Terk FM Pro in the attic -- for the first time -- even at night! RDS (Radio Data System) tells you what the station calls itself (Jazz 88), the type of music it features (jazz), and any special message (Send money!). Not many stations in NY use RDS yet, but it's cool when it works. AM was also unusually good, thanks to the supplied external loop antenna.

The receiver also includes a 40 wpc amplifier, which is more than enough in this type of system; treble, bass, and balance knobs plus a loudness contour; a headphone jack on the front panel; and a pre-out on the back for a powered subwoofer.

The remote control shows only 15 buttons in normal mode, with power, volume, and the basic transport controls for CD, MD, tape, and radio. Sliding the cover open reveals a whole bunch of little buttons with less-used functions. Altogether an elegant approach.

The CD changer has three slim drawers with no sharp edges, 18-bit D/A conversion with 8X oversampling, and a coax digital out. The autoreverse cassette deck has a horizontal drawer-loading mechanism that is much more elegant than the flop-out doors common even on separates, and which Denon claims minimizes vibration. Dolby B, C, and HX-Pro also guarantee good sound. There is also an optional MiniDisc recorder/player, which I didn't receive.

All this is good, and I have no complaints about the features, operation, or ergonomics of the Denon electronics -- and the best news is that they are driving a pair of real speakers. The MisSion 731i includes a 5.25" Plastiflex mid/woofer and a 1.125" silk dome tweeter, mounted with Mission's Driver Isolation System (decouples the two drivers) and Inverted Drive Geometry (woofer on top to minimize bass coupling). The cabinet measures 12.5"H x 7"W x 8"D and is finished in black woodgrain vinyl. Front and back panels are hard plastic, reflecting the price point, but the recessed screws, port flaring, 5-way posts, and solid construction give these speakers a luxury feel you don't expect in this class of system. With the grilles on, their all-black appearance tends to make them all but invisible.

Sound quality lives up to the expectations raised by the design. The speakers are only rated -3 dB to 70 Hz, so even with all the controls at maximum setting there isn't any low bass, and the lower mids get pretty boomy if you overdo it. But the tone controls and loudness contour are flexible enough to tame things down for a nice even sound from the lower mids up. The sound won't lead you to replace the full-range speakers in your main system, but for a bedroom, office or dorm starter system, the D-M10 offers great value.

The D-M10 electronics also establish a good platform for future upgrades. The system sounded even better with the high-line Mission 771 bookshelf speakers, and the pre-out would allow a powered subwoofer to fill in the missing bass.

I mentioned above that the D-M10 isn't perfect. In upgrading the former D-M7, Denon focused on the electronics, and the extra power and improved D/A converter are useful, but I wish the U.S. version had been given a U.S.-standard antenna jack. Also, the ,preliminary publicity touted a 4-mode preset equalizer that seems to have gone missing in production; perhaps it didn't change the sound that much with the supplied speakers, but it would have been useful with a subwoofer or a speaker upgrade. And although the Mission 731i speakers are good, I wish the even better Mission 771 had been substituted (or the larger Mission 772 offered as an option). Maybe those changes will make the next revision. Even so, the D-M10 is a great performer, so don't let these fantasies dampen the reality.

The Denon engineers have done a great job with the D-M10. The real problem will be marketing it. Hi-fi salons aren't going to be eager to showcase a $1,000 system that sounds as good as most of their much more expensive entry-level systems. And the customers at "Crazy Circuit Buys" aren't likely to consider this system next to the bigger, flashier, cheaper junk systems. If your store is run by the same "Wizards" as mine, you won't even have a chance to hear it prove its worth. That's a shame because an audition of the D-M10 in either context would generate a lot of sales.

Let me do my bit to help: the Denon D-M10 is too good to be limited to the niche category of minisystem (or "personal component system" as Denon calls it). I can recommend it highly as a starter system, and a great value at $999. With the ability to add a subwoofer and upgrade the speakers, it's a starter system you might never outgrow. The hard part may be finding it, but it's worth the search. Highly recommended. -GK