Vintage Denon?

nimbuzz

Hi, I don't know much! I have a good stereo in my school classroom. My Denon DRA 825R just died and needs to be replaced. I have 4 big old good speakers. Several experienced professional musicians who heard their own recordings said my system sounded excellent. I want to duplicate it, have it last 5-8 years and not spend a lot = $200-$300. Just stereo = no features needed but excellent reliable sound. All the many many Denon model numbers on ebay for new and used receivers confuse me. Any suggestions?

Joe08867

Open up your choices and you can find a ton of good equipment.

Pioneer and Marantz are also extremely good for that vintage sound maybe even better than Denon.

deronb1

I agree with Joe. There are many good choices out there. That said, I am very happy with my Denon (AVR-391). Your old Denon was a stereo receiver @ 90wpc? So i assume you were driving four speakers in A and B mode? The AVR-391 is 75wpc (8 ohms) and would drive your speakers in Multi Channel Stereo mode just fine. Just curious, what kind of big old good speakers are they? I think you can still find this amp brand new for $200.

stuwee

Welcome to Polk Audio , shame about the Denon, very highly regarded by folks here, http://www.polkaudio.com/forums/showthread.php?t=78302 , do you know whats wrong with it? Sounds like it might be worth looking into fixing it! I see it weighs about 30lbs so shipping will eat up repair funds, maybe some of the tech guys here could help ya on that front.

Anyway, be careful of matching two sets of speakers with older gear simultaniously. Some loads dip below 4 ohms and at high levels...fire bad!! Do some research. I'm assuming your speakers are 8 ohm models, 8 + 8 at the same time = 4 ohms, but can dip lower. Marantz's from the 70's really don't like that at all, so be careful.

Personally, I'd look at fixing the Denon if it's feasable, it's a nice rig!!

skrol

I have a DRA-825R in great condition sitting my basement doing nothing. Perhaps we can work something out if interested.
Stan

nimbuzz

Thanks very much guys for the good suggestions. I'll check my speakers exact details and post it here but they are at school and I'm on vacation so it may take a week or so. One pair are heavy Quadraflex and there is a lighter pair of strange wall mounted thin (3") concave Bang & Olufsen. The B & Os are not as loud so I have them at the end of the room where we talk more. The quads are strong and bass at the far end of the room.


I'm considering your good suggestions.

More soon,
A

nimbuzz

skrol--I cannot send you a PM cuz I don't have post count yet = new member. Please PM me with email.

Stu -- I'm also considering repair--I'll look into shipping. What is the zip it would go to?

Thanks Guys!

Al

audiocr381ve

Marantz Marantz Marantz! I had a 2245 and LOVED it, even matched against much higher priced gear. Any of the 22XX series receivers are very highly regarded.

Here's a pic I took of my 2245.

nimbuzz

Instead of buying another Denon or Marantz I'm thinking of sending my Denon DRA-825R to Denon's 'Super Service Center' in Portland because besides fixing it they would go all through it cleaning pots and resoldering. I appreciate your offer to sell me your DRA-825R but am thinking though it works well now it may need some of this work--unless you've had it done recently? I've sent in other Denon class A amps (ran hot) that needed lots of resoldering (Denon did for free!)

What do you think?

I've not been to school to get my speaker info and am a bit worried that my mismatched pairs of old speakers might stress the amp. 30 yr old Quadraflex and 20 yr old Bang & O

What do you think #2

nimbuzz

I appreciate all the replies here

stuwee

nimbuzz wrote: »

I appreciate all the replies here

Good Luck to ya! It's worth fixing, good call!

nimbuzz

It was your idea stuwee = Danke!

skrol

Interesting that you mention the resoldering. I originally got my DRA-825R new but at a great discount because it had a bad tape input. It turned out to be a bad solder connection. Lucky me! A few years ago, the switch power outlet was intermittent. That too turned out to be a bad solder connection. I went over all the connections on all the PC boards and found a few that might be questionable. I resoldered all of those. I wonder of Denon had a manufacturing issue back then.

My DRA835R, in spite of having similar specs, is a very different animal with excellent workmanship. The power rating is about the same as the 825 but is able to drive low impedance better. It seems to have better control over the speakers. I think that it, along with its big brother (DRA1035R), represent Denon's last all-out effort in 2-ch receivers.

All that said, I think the DRA825R is worth looking into getting repaired. It is an excellent unit.

Stan

nimbuzz

I know nothing but this is stuff I was told by the owner of Db Audio in Berkeley who said he was an EE. When I bought my first good stereo as a college student who had just received a $5K ins settlement. He said the San Francisco Symphony and Opera used this Denon class A receiver (I remember not the model in 1981) He said a class A had transistors that always remained on rather than switching off and on like regular ones--this gave a superior sound more like a tube amp. However this created heat and this puppy got ~Hot~ I ran two sets of new $300 each pair bookshelf speakers--Pyramid and JBL. I had a small apartment. I used it every day and had many great parties with guys & girls from all over the world dancing till dawn to the Cure, Depeche Mode, Smiths and Talking heads--we rocked and the girls were beautiful! But this amp would get ~HOT~ I had it sitting on blocks so it could get ventilation. After about 8 years it died--sent it to Denon Center in LA and they replaced some transistors and resoldered some stuff for free = I'm stuck on Denon for life. About 5 years later it had another problem--sent it back and same thing--they said it needed lots of resoldering did it for free and it worked great till 2001 when it died again and I buried it. 20 years is a good run in my book. They said the heat degraded the solder. This amp was silver.

Then I got this 825 used to replace it--ten years later it died and here we are in 2011.

nimbuzz

Now I find a DRA-835R for sale in a local classified. Because Stan says it's superior I'm thinking of going for that--I'm running funny speakers = 30 yr old BIG Quadraflex and 20 yr old Bang & O. Being less sensitive to speakers seems to mean I should get the 835--right?

nimbuzz

Can this forum be set to email me when there is a new post on this thread?

nimbuzz

Skrol--Did you get my email? I sent two.

gdb

nimbuzz wrote: »

Now I find a DRA-835R for sale in a local classified. Because Stan says it's superior I'm thinking of going for that--I'm running funny speakers = 30 yr old BIG Quadraflex and 20 yr old Bang & O. Being less sensitive to speakers seems to mean I should get the 835--right?

Uhhhh, here's a thought......find some nice Polk Monitor10s to drive with that Denon receiver.:cool:

gdb

nimbuzz wrote: »

Can this forum be set to email me when there is a new post on this thread?

Yes, somewhere at the bottom of the reply page is a subscribe option.

nimbuzz

My bad--It's a 635 NOT 835 DRA-635R Should I get that for $45 or fix my 825 for $200+

What do you think?

stuwee

nimbuzz wrote: »

My bad--It's a 635 NOT 835 DRA-635R Should I get that for $45 or fix my 825 for $200+

What do you think?

Fix that Denon you have now, It'll last you for years

skrol

Sorry, I didn't see the emails until just now. The 635R should be a great unit for $45. I was set to buy one new in the '90s when I ran across the 825R. I never did a side by side comparison but I figure they would be fairly equal. One nice feature with the 825R is that the phono section supports moving coil and moving magnet cartridges. The 835R and 635R only do moving magnet. They also got rid of the simulated stereo feature.
Stan

nimbuzz

Is there any rhyme or reason to the Denon model numbers? I know of DRA-435R, 635,825,835 SUP with all this--any meaning?

nimbuzz

I'm back on track to get my 825 repaired--Thanks for the guidance!

BUT I still hope to learn what the above numbers mean...

skrol

The higher the hundreds place number the better the model (in general). The tens place are different generations. The trailing letters are different versions of that generation.

DRA-825R was replaced with the DRA-825RA. They looked identical but the internals were quite different. The DRA-825RA was replaced by the DRA-835R.

The DRA-625R, 625RA and 635R are similar to the DRA-8x5R counterparts but with a little less power and usually features.

I tend to believe that the DRA-x35 series was the peak in Denon's commitment to 2ch receivers with the DRA-x25 series a close 2nd. Denon turned their attention to home theater receivers instead. However, they continued to produce 2ch receivers (ie DRA-545...), and still do (DRA-697, 397, 297), but the advancements were more in cost savings to manufacture and the addition of some modern day features (iPod interface and HD Radio).

nimbuzz

Danke mucho for the explanation--this helps a lot when shopping!

Joe08867

What do they call that Gerglish? Glad things worked out. Hope that Denon brings many years of classroom bliss.

nimbuzz

Here's the classroom where the system resides = Projects Lab

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zCtMi5Mx0J4

nimbuzz

Hey Guys--I'm in line to get a DRA-1025R. Unless there's something funny this should be top of the line of these old DRAs--Right?

skrol

For the DRA-x25R generation, yes that is the top of the line. Let me know if you need any documentation for that model. I think I have a service manual (soft copy) that includes operation instructions and specs.
Stan