This is the UK tuned Edition with good power and more importantly 50% more headroom. This means it won't run out of steam and will be capable of handling transients easily. It has an uncluttered front panel with the majority of controls on the right. The large central volume control is light and turns easily.

There are bass and treble controls as well as a tone defeat for a purer sound. There's no Phono stage so you either need your turntable to have a built-in Phono stage or buy an external one. It has binding posts that accepts banana plugs or bare wire.

The PMA-255UK in particular uses the chassis and fascia of the 250SE, but the internals are 'bigger, beefier and all new'. Although modestly rated at 30 watts/channel, typical power output is said to be in excess of 45 watts into 8 ohms, and there are claims of superior bass power and drive, and an improved load tolerance compared to its predecessor.

Design highlights include short signal paths, audiophile grade ELNA reservoir capacitors custom made for Denon, new bipolar output devices, plus mute and short circuit protection by relay. In addition there are other high spec capacitors and resistors, and a carefully contrived earthing topology.

One of the best sounding amps available under $500 second hand.