dakayus Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I was wondering if the apparent lesser receivers work equally as well as the bigger 7.1's and such. In particular I'm looking at the denon dra-685 and the denon dra-395 and how the sound quality differs from the 280X and 380X series. I basically just want to get another receiver that sounds pretty good. I'm running an HK-3380 and well... the sound isn't clear and it's rather shallow sounding plus I'm giving it to my parents for christmas along with an svs pb-10 and KLF-20's []. Also I'm tryign to budget around $400 or so. Oh I completely forgot what speakers and such I'm running off of. I'm going to be utilizing RB-75's, I recently acquired a pristine pair in cherry!, along with a sub-12. Anyone have any other recommendations for 2 channel receivers or 5.1 or anything that's cheap yet decent? I looked into pioneer elite receivers and I just don't particularly care for the sound. Perhaps the setup was bad, but it sounded very thin and lacked depth. *I was auditioning a pair of RF-82's coupled with the TX-80 I believe* I particularly want a warm sound. I think I'm just rambling since I'm looking forward to the KLF-20's which are due to arrive soon as well as the prospect of purchasing another toy for myself. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I am using a Denon DRA-685 with RB-35's for my workshop. I am very pleased with the setup. Very balanced sound, full and clean. It is in a 19-29 shop and don't set the dial much past the 9 o"clock position. If I am running the table saw or planer I will set it at around 10 and can still hear the music. Of course I have in ear plugs in. I can only imagine your 75's sounding better with the 685. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Audio Flynn Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 I found as I chnaged my Klipsch my Denon integrateds sounded really harsh. If you want to stay SS I would try the Outlaw with 30 refund policy I think they still have. OR A few Scott tube integrateds have been for sale lately. My Scott LK-48 sounds excellent with my RB-5s; not the bass slam of a SS integrated but exceddingly musical in the mids and highs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakayus Posted December 20, 2006 Author Share Posted December 20, 2006 Hey woodsman which other receivers have you tried out before? I'm just curious because I bought the HK and thought it was pretty good until I compared it to one of my older 80's onkyo receivers. The older onkyo was decent at that time, and upon comparasion it whoops the HK hands down. Particularly in the round sound and in clarity. I just don't want to use it because it doesn't have an LFE plus no remote, and also for asthetical purposes as well. I WOULD like to try tubes, but it doesn't have that dynamic PUNCH in there which really brings music alive in my eyes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
woodsman Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Sorry, can't help you out on that. I put that setup together just for the shop. So I have not heard the rb-35's with anything but that denon. I have some rb-75's setup with a classe cap101. Of course that sounds much better, but of course more money. Your question was about recievers, so I answered accordingly. Yes there are many options to go with. I was thinking you were wanting the tuner, as well as all the other features that are associated with a reciever. I don't think you would be dissapointed with the 685. Jeff Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 You mention the HK 3380 sound is not really very clear sounding with your speakers. I've had the Denon 685 powering both my 4.2's and the rf-7's and it seems to have a crystal clear sound compared to my old 1960's warm sounding Kenwood 60 watt integrated. Even my 45 watt denon receiver has the same of type sound with just a bit less punch due to the lower power output I'm sure. I was going to suggest trying the Outlaw two channel stereo receiver but someone beat me to it. How about something used from Audiogon? I've had very good luck there a couple times. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jheis Posted December 20, 2006 Share Posted December 20, 2006 Not sure about the models you're looking at, but I'd recommend that you stay far enough up the Denon food chain so as to make sure you're getting "made in Japan" Denon as opposed to "made in China Denon." I made the mistake of allowing myself to be talked into a Denon AVR 1804 - sounded like crap & lasted about a day in my system before it went back. YMMV. James Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
n2dablue Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 Dakayus- Wow, about 2 years ago I was asking almost the very same questions that you are asking now. The only difference is that I had a set of KG4s that I wanted to sound their best on a budget. I have heard an A/B comparison between Denon's current stereo models (the 295, 395, and 685) and one of thier multi-channel units, configured for stereo use (it was a 380x - cannot remember the specific model). My opinion was that even the 295 sounded a little bit better than the 380x, and the 685 was much better than that. If I was going to go with a current-model Denon for stereo use, I would have purchased the 685. After that little outing, I had the opprotunity to pick up an open-box Onkyo stereo receiver for next to nothing. I brought it home and was very, very dissapointed, but in the sound and build quality...just wreaked of cheap, and for good reason - it was! After returning the unit, I was doing a some more homework, and ran into a great deal on an older Denon stereo receiver from the early '90s. The model I bought is the Denon DRA-835r, and I picked it up for a steal: $160 without a mark on it!!! In my opinion, this receiver is better sounding, and much better built than Denon's current stereo reciever line (even the 685), and am still using it today, with a pair of original Fortes. I believe the 835 was on the upper end of the line at the time, and I think Denon put more effort into their stereo recievers back then too. In short, it is a terrrific peice of equipment and will always have a place in my home, even when I switch to tubes. Yes, it came with a remote, and even if none is available with one that you find, just about any universal remote will have no trouble controlling it. I cannot remember the exact watts per channel, but I know it is 100 or more - Way, way more than you need to get those '75s singing nicely. I believe the warm sound you are looking for could be found in a DRA-835 or one of its bothers of that generation, the DRA-825, 1025 and I think there was a DRA-1035. They are not always on Ebay, but here is a DRA-825: http://cgi.ebay.com/Denon-Precision-stereo-receiver-amplifier-DRA-825R-huge_W0QQitemZ290064772345QQihZ019QQcategoryZ3279QQssPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem Anyways, just thought I'd throw in my $0.02 - feel free if you have any questions. Paul Larson 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tigerwoodKhorns Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 I still have my Denon DRA95 that I bought in 1988 for $500 when I was 19. If you want a serious bang for the buck receiver, I just bought a Panasonic XR25 digital receiver. The new XR57's are under $300 at JR.com and the XR55's are liek $220. I have it hooked up to a pair of B&W DM3000's (tower speakers) and it is really nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakayus Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 Thanks Paul for the info. I was originally looking into the pioneer elite vsx-80 but I don't think all that money for the mosdac or whatever the speaker controls are, are not very useful for me, and the other HDMI switching stuff or multi room options. I just need a basic receiver that sounds pretty good. Um is there a sub out on there? LFE? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Speedball Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 The "stereo" receivers do not have a LFE/subwoofer output jack.............you can use the speaker level posts if you sub has that connection. Go to denon.com and it will show and tell you everything about them with very good pictures. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
synthfreek Posted December 23, 2006 Share Posted December 23, 2006 The Outlaw received an awesome review in Stereophile this past year. It does have a sub out as well as a stellar phono drive. If I remember right the reviewer used this $600 receiver to drive his $50,000 Wilson speakers. You would think a budget piece of gear wouldn't do speakers like that justice but that wasn't the case. I'll bet you can pick one up for close to your budget if you look around and be a little patient. INFO Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dakayus Posted December 23, 2006 Author Share Posted December 23, 2006 Ahhh nuts, and I just bought a 30 sub cable. Actually my old HK-3380 had the LFE on it so I figured all other current models probably have that as well. As for the outlaw, I know a lot of the brands out there are great and everything, but how is the matching? I think of the good brands as top musicians where they all sound great, but it's their particular playing style that you prefer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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