Denon Afficionados?

fmueller

Super Member
Are there any Denon afficionados around here? I have always been partial to Denon - my first component stereo was an all Denon system - DRA-425 receiver, DCD-810 CDP, DRM-12HR tape deck - all silver with mahogany side pieces :drool:

I am still hanging on to a little DRA-345R, and I have just picked up a DRA-1025RA. I am having a hard time finding info on any of the stuff, but my main question is about the new-to-me DRA-1025RA. Would that have been TOTL? There also seems to have been a DRA-1035, but was that maybe a follower? What are the differences between these units besides the 125wpc compared to 135wpc?

Many thanks

Frank

Denon-DRA-1025RA-front.jpg


Denon-DRA-1025RA-back.jpg
 
I have to give Denon a lot of credit.
Every piece of Denon gear I have ever owned....going back to 1981.....is still functioning today.....a receiver, a tape deck, and two CD players.

Steve
 
I just let go three Denon DCD 1500 II cd players. These were better built, heavier, and better sounding than any of my Luxman and Sony ES cd players (though there are some nice sony ES cd players out there).

I am really sad to see those three beasts go- the sheer build quality and heft of them alone was back-breaking, and the performance and sound was phenomenal.

On to the denon POA amps- these are also beauty and beasts.

I have three POA-1500s (one champagne and two black series II), that are rated at 150wpc but bench test between 177wpc and 200wpc.

Under-rated amps (both collectable and power wise), even though I have moved to some boutique amps, I will keep, and use, at least two of the three Denons as they are close in performance, and beautiful to look at.


Even pull the cover off these units, and the incredibly clean layout, massive can-of-beans twin capacitors, and beautifully crafted innards are impressive.

I've seen one that the owner even built a plexi cover for, they are that good looking internally.

Full of protection circuitry that actually works well, a delay start-up for safety, subsonic filter and high filter, and more- these are loaded.

And they come with those big, huge dancing meters, rosewood themed side panels, and rigid casing.

These units are no jokes.
 
I love my Denon

2675941216_434c3877b6_b.jpg

8 HUGE power supply caps, toroidal transformer, massive heatsinks, and 300wpc to a 4 ohm load.

I want to give it a re-cap, but dont want to mess with how it sounds.

Its a beast, I love it.
 
I have a whole stack of Denon gear, that I love. All with champagne gold fronts and wooden end panels in a wood that I read was specially intended for the Hong Kong market, making them relatively uncommon.

I bought half of the stack new, nearly twenty years ago, and in the past couple of years have added some matching Denon pieces I didn't have before, like a DAT player and a Minidisc player. I also added a matching LD player, because back when I bought this stack I had bought a (cheaper) Pioneer LD, instead. The Pioneer died after a couple of years, but the Denon is still going strong. I don't use the LD player very often, though, because I have better ones (LD-X1, for example). I don't use the DAT often, either, because I only have two DAT tapes(!), but I like having the whole stack of beautiful matching gear, so I keep them. Most of the pieces have depreciated in value, but the "Special Limited Edition" CD player in the series sells for at least as much today, as I paid for it back then. Sounds quite good, too. I'm grateful to the salesman who talked me into buying it!

With the right speakers, Denon gear can sound very good, indeed. :music:
 
As far as speakers go, my first system came with a set of ATL speakers. The model was HD-304S. They are a German speaker and little known in the US. I still have the pair - brought them over to Ohio at some stage, and am glad I did every time I listen to them. They make a wonderful match with Denon gear, as do Paradigm speakers. I have used 11se MKII and Atoms.

The rest of the system is still at my Dad's place in Germany. I haven't been there in years - usually my Dad visits me - but I might go for Christmas this year, and I'll have to think hard about bringing the stuff with we on the way back. Although the voltage difference would be a bit of a drag.

I just found a link to an online Denon Museum in the 'sites for vintage specs' sticky of this forum. Without Japanese you won't be able to get any specs from that site, but the photos :drool::drool::drool:

poa3000rg.jpg
poa3000zr.jpg
dps1.jpg
poas1.jpg
pras1.jpg
 
I love my PMA-920 Integrated. It is my main unit until I get me a big Denon amp. The pre in it is pretty nice as well. I also have a DP-1250 tt that I will never part with. Denon gear is keeper gear for sure.
 
I would love to get my hands on some Denon stuff. The only good piece I have found is a DCM 777 Cartridge CDP. Great player by the way. I am wondering if this was the kind of receiver that I missed out on when I picked up the Yamaha RX-V992. Good luck with that. It looks fairly recent. Enjoy it. Their Overseas Esoteric Stuff I'll bet is amazing.
 
I am a HUGE Denon cd player and getting into amp soon.

DCD-1420
DCD-1500II
DCD-1520
DCD-1560
DCD-1700
DCD-2560
DCD-3300
DCD-3520
DCD-3560

DAP-5500
POA-3000Z

I would love to get the DP-59L or DP-62L
 
I love my Denon DCD-1650G CD player! It´s a japanese market model. It looks to me as an updated DCD-2560:

(pictures ar not mine)

13063_market_1_kingsound


This beast weights more than 12 Kg (26 pounds). Previously I had the DCD-1500 and DCD-620 players. I love them all!
 
Denon rocks!:guitar: I've had several Denon pieces in the past and my main rig now is primarily Denon: POA-1500, PRA-1000, DR-M44HX, all with the wood side panels. I just sold a TU-767 and DE-70 because I never used them. Just restored a garage sale find TU-720 that cleaned up very nice. My favorite Denon piece I ever had would have to be the DP-59L TT. I'm still kicking myself for trading it for a brand new Sony ES DAT. Man it was sweet! At least I still have the DAT, and it still works too.

Anybody know of a source for Denon pinch rollers? I know I can have them rebuilt but it seems a little pricy$$.
 
Count me in as a real Denon fan. I've had a number of their AVRs upgrading along the way. Right now I've got a AVR-4802, which has a great preamp section. Although not vintage gear, being manufactured in 2001, every piece of gear I've owned with the Denon name has been a solid piece of engineering and great sounding.
 
Dcd-1650

Guiller,

What kind of laser pickup unit does it have? Also, what DAC does it use?
 
Hi wsjoe,

The laser pickup is a Sony KSS-210A, easily available (I´ve just put a new unit in for 30 USD). The DACs are 4 ( 2 per channel) AD1862 (N-Z version) ( e.g., http://audio-database.com/DENON-COLUMBIA/player/dcd-1650g-e.html , badly translated from japanese). I´m not familiar with those DACs ( http://www.analog.com/en/obsolete/ad1862/products/product.html , http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/A/D/1/8/AD1862N.shtml ), but their performance is awesome!

All the best

PS: it seems that the AD1862 was a mono device.
 
I don't like Dennon. Don't know why, just don't like it. Don't think there's anything special about it (and now the Dennon fans are gonna eat me alive...I know that), and in my book the Dennon gear is somewhere in the Sharp and Sanyo region.

Their gear looks slightly better, I'll give you that.
 
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