Vintage Denon Receiver Specs.

skrol

I have been considering hanging an external power amp off my Denon DRA-825R (~1990) mainly because I was under the impression that it may not have enough current drive capability. Yes, I can separate the pre amp from the power amp stage. The back of the receiver indicates that you can connect 4 ohm speakers (the back is stamped 4 - 16 ohm) but with receivers there is always the question of how well or for how long will it drive low impedance speakers.

I finally found my old papers for the DRA-825R and was quite impressed. This receiver incorporates an Optical Class-A Circuit, Parallel-push-pull design, Pure Current Supply (found in their power amps) with Denon's large capacity transformer and ~32,000uF rectifier capacitance.

It is rated:
95W min RMS / channel into 8 ohms, 20 - 20KHz

The DRA-835R is basically the same design and has similar specs. I have the schematics for both and the biggest difference is to the chassis layout which adds more physical separation between the channel circuits and from the power supply.

It is rated:
100W / ch into 8 ohms, 230W / ch into 4 ohms, 330W / ch into 2 ohms

It doesn't specify how long it can sustain these levels before flames.

Given these kinds of numbers, should I still consider an external power amp? Do you think these numbers are over inflated or were Denon receivers just that good?

Stan

seafire

This is a real beauty of a receiver and has whipped many amps I have owned when it comes to pure class a listening.Denon had a real winner here and no cost was spared on this receiver as the amplifier section is a direct copy of the POA-800 of the time with Denon's brilliant optical class A switching.I own many amps including the legendary Marantz PM 94 Quarter a dedicated stereo amplifier and guess what my 825R Denon kicks it.Yes it does lack a little bit of wattage on the top but from 0 to 1/3 there is very little that will run with it in terms of share sound quality!!So hold on to this baby!!.Would it be possible for you to send me the service manual and schematic as I want to give mine a once over?.Kind regards Corey.My email is blizzard@icon.co.za

skrol

Thanks for the reply and welcome to the Polk forums. Do you have the DRA-825R or the DRA-825RA? I'll have to see if I have an electronic copy.
Stan

seafire

Hi Stan

I have the Denon DRA 825R which I bought in Germany in 1990 while there on business.Today I am rather sad that I didnt buy the 1025R or the dedicated POA 800 OR THE PMA 860.Most of these amps one reference awards in Germany including the 825R.I also have the cassete deck DRM 700 A unfortunately didnt have the money to buy the DRM 800 A which gave the then reference deck Nakamichi dragon a major run for its money in the German audio tests and lost to the dragon with 2 points but was voted over all winner because it costs half the price! I am online now if you want to chat
Corey

skrol

I almost picked up a DRA-1025R off ebay recently. They guy said that someone gave it to him and that it powered on but there was no sound output. I checked the photos and guess what was missing on the back. That's right, the pre-amp to main amp jumpers. It went for about $80 us. I missed it by a few seconds.

I dusted off my DRM-700A that had been on storage to protest it from my kids the other day. After tweaking it up a bit, adjusting the azimuth, demagnetizing and cleaning; it sounds beautiful. You don't hear much talk about tape anymore but I think I'll add it back into main system now.

My turntable stays in storage again for fear of the kids.

Conradicles

Love the older vintage Denon gear. Still miss my old AVC-3030. It was a beast!

mrbigbluelight

Welcome, Seafire !


Nice input. BTW, Navy or ex-Navy ?

seafire

mrbigbluelight wrote: »

Welcome, Seafire !


Nice input. BTW, Navy or ex-Navy ?

Thanx close but no cigar;) Own boats in Mauritius name fire-water -sky...hmmm live by the sea ok =Seafire:D

skrol

Seafire, I was wondering if you had any issues with bad solder connections in your DRA-825R. I've had a few in mine.
Stan

seafire

No Stan never running sweet for 25+ years and now started a little problem that if you switch her on to listen to music it only comes through the left channel....you then have to "rev" the volume control to high volume a couple of times and then the other channel starts playing.Any news on the schematic and service manual:)

skrol

Mine does the same thing with the right ch. I am guessing that some of the caps may be getting old. I originally got mine cheap because some of the inputs were not working properly. That turned out to be a bad solder connection. More recently, the switched power outlet was intermittently working. That too turned out to be a bad solder connection. I went over all the boards after that. Is the e-mail address above ok?

gdb

Speaking of Denon gear....I purchased an AVR-4800 from a CP member a while back and have yet to even plug it in. As I know absolutely zero about HT or multichannel units, I'm wondering if anyone can point me towards a good resource for learning the basics of hook up and speaker selection/matching. I need to get that unit into operation one of these days! Typical newb query I know, sorry cranky veteran oldtimers !:p

skrol

I'm just learning it myself.

gdb

Well when you're up to speed, I'll hire you to come out and get me squared away !! I have enough trouble with 2ch. stuff due to my being only marginally more inteligent than a bag of hammers !:(:D

seafire

skrol wrote: »

Mine does the same thing with the right ch. I am guessing that some of the caps may be getting old. I originally got mine cheap because some of the inputs were not working properly. That turned out to be a bad solder connection. More recently, the switched power outlet was intermittently working. That too turned out to be a bad solder connection. I went over all the boards after that. Is the e-mail address above ok?

Hi Stan yup but I will repeat it:

[email]blizzard@icon.co.za..althou[/email]gh I am in Mauritius now my mailbox is still SA based.Looking forward to anything you can send so I can start giving my cranky old timer the once over:p.BTW I recall that having the bias dialled in on these babies is very important to get them sweet sounding but if its on the mark they really surpass even today's receivers in terms of sound quality
Corey(seafire)

skrol

Mail sent

Enjoy!

skrol

I was looking at that (bias adjustment) in the shop manual. I didn't want to pull the system apart because my wife uses it often but now that I have another receiver (AVR-888) I might give it a try.
thanks
Stan

seafire

Thank you Stan.Interesting...my wife uses our 825R in the bedroom with a marantz cd7300 cd player to listen to her music.Years back i bought a Denon 3802 receiver for our bedroom and she promptly asked me to remove it and re-connect the 825r because of it's superior sound as she didnt really care for all the bells and whistles in the bedroom:p.Being typical male I challenged her judgment and lost the SQ difference was like chalk and cheese for the 825R:o!.Since that day it has now become my wife's property and has a permanent stay of execution CoreyThank you for the mail will let you know when I have it

seafire

Thank you Stan I received all the mail...this will be a great help stay in touch Corey:D

cnh

seafire wrote: »

Hi Stan

I have the Denon DRA 825R which I bought in Germany in 1990 while there on business.Today I am rather sad that I didnt buy the 1025R or the dedicated POA 800 OR THE PMA 860.Most of these amps one reference awards in Germany including the 825R.I also have the cassete deck DRM 700 A unfortunately didnt have the money to buy the DRM 800 A which gave the then reference deck Nakamichi dragon a major run for its money in the German audio tests and lost to the dragon with 2 points but was voted over all winner because it costs half the price! I am online now if you want to chat
Corey

Out of pure curiosity what did that sell for (U.S. dollars) back then. When you bought it? I bought a Kenwood receiver around the same time for about 800 so I'm wondering how much more the Denon would've been or not? Still own the Kenwood...there was a time when their receivers and integrated amps were OK. Maybe not a Denon...but good.

cnh

cnh

skrol

I believe that Kenwood made good stuff back then. I don't know what the Denon DRA-825R sold for originally but the DRA-835 that replaced it was going for about $650. I was looking at the DRA-635 for $450 when I found my DRA-825R on a clearance rack for $300. It needed help but nothing a soldering iron would fix.

skrol

I just scored a Denon DRA-835R on EB for $12.50.
Stan

lightman1

skrol wrote: »

I just scored a Denon DRA-835R on EB for $12.50.
Stan

Bonus!
I'm still running POA-1500 power amps.

skrol

This is probably not a fair comparison as these two receivers are for different purposes but here it goes.

I did a side by side comparison of my 1989 Denon DRA-825R and my Denon AVR-888 in my 2 channel system (just for grins). To be fair, I compared with all tone controls, etc set flat, all time corrections null'd out on the AVR. The speakers were the RTA-11TL's.

I found that the AVR-888 handled bass better than the DRA-825R. It was tighter and better controlled. The AVR-888 is rated for a little higher power (100 w/ch vs 90 w/ch) but I doubt that it would make much difference.

However, that is where the SQ benefit ended for the AVR in this configuration. The DRA-825R was much more open and more detailed in the mids through highs. This is obviously subjective but it is very noticeable even without switching between the two receivers.

As far as the lack of bass control in the DRA-825R, I am wondering if there is some aging of components going on. I may look into this while I have it out of the system. I will soon also have the DRA-835R that I can compare.

Stan

EdMan57

Hey guys,anybody know the difference between the DRA-825R and DRA-825RA?I just scored a clean 825RA off Ebay and I would like a little more info please.Info like the year built,some basic specs and where to find an owner's manual.Thanks.


Ed

skrol

I had my eye on that DRA825RA but having an 825R and a 835R, I figured I really did not need another. I have long wondered what the difference is between the R and the RA as far as specs. I believe the RA is 95 watts / ch vs 90 watts for the R.

I think I may still have a service manual for the RA. I know that the main board is quite different than the R. I am swamped at work but when I get a chance, I'll see what I can dig up.

robbie p

Can enyone please help me!

I want to by a DENON DRA 825R but i dont know if it works with my Canton plus C woofer (passive)

Thanks

Robbie

skrol

Welcome to Club Polk. These receivers don't have a separate sub output so you would have to use the other set of speaker outputs (for a passive sub). I don't know what the impedance is but you may have to watch as it will be paralleled with your main speakers. If needed you could add an external amp for the sub.

I attached the specs from the service manual.

uspb63

Any of you guys know of Denon DRA-25. I need more info. How would you compare it with the X25's. Thanks. A newbie.

phillipgold

I'm parting with my Denon DRA-55V and wanted to hit up the forum before ebay. Anyone interested?

tonyb

phillipgold wrote: »

I'm parting with my Denon DRA-55V and wanted to hit up the forum before ebay. Anyone interested?

Are you interested in reading the rules of this forum for selling stuff ?