Denon DRA-395 receiver - impressions & photos

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I just picked up a used Denon DRA-395 FM/AM stereo receiver for use in our living room in a basic (read cheap) 2 channel system for TV, movies, and FM. Bought it to replace a vintage Sansui AU/AT-717, because it has a remote and is easy for my wife to use.

Does anyone use this budget 80wpc AM/FM stereo receiver and/or have you compared it to NAD, Rotel or others in similar range?

I find it warm, dynamic, but not the highest order detail. Dialogue is clear and bass seems good, and it is able to drive 4 ohm speakers very well. Its design is that the power amp is separate from the preamp board by the heat sink and a seperate phono stage, analogue input, and video board as well. It uses microprocessor controls, which is a weak area for me, but the amp portions seems quite good. I haven't used the phono input but read it is quite good.

What are your thoughts on it?

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I am now using Kimber Kable 4TC speaker wire and PBJ interconnect from a Denon DVD-1930CI player w/ the added detail that was missing. Even though I bought used I think it was unused for a long time, so I ran it in non-stop for a week and changed cabling to produce the needed impact that was missing. Still mid-fi, but very good mid-fi. Maybe my ears adjusted to it as well. It sounds really detailed w/ hi-res monitors, but I like the body of full range speakers w/ this receiver in our lively room.

[chris@panteg]

I don't know much about Denon recievers but it looks to be a good score ' as you say over there , i run a yamaha rxv1700 in the family system , it does the job .