Review: Denon DRA395 Stereo Receiver

Category: Amplifiers

If you’re shopping for a stereo receiver under $1000 - - or even if you’re shopping for an integrated amp in that price range - - you should have a close look at Denon’s DRA395.
In the past ten years, I’ve had receivers from Sony ES, Yamaha, Teac and Pioneer Elite. I’ve also had integrated amps and separates from Rotel, Acurus and Antique Sound Labs. And despite its low price, the Denon DRA395 is the most enjoyable musical product I’ve ever owned. It’s particularly attractive if, like me, you need to conserve space or are simply tired of looking at racks full of components.

At $349, the DRA395 offers 80 watts of power and binding posts for two sets of speakers. It has an excellent tuner, a killer moving magnet phono stage and plenty of inputs and outputs. Best of all, it has a headphone jack that offers performance damn close (but different in character) to that of my Creek OBH-11 headphone amp. Plus, you can control the speaker and headphone volume via remote control, and in terms of convenience, that more than makes up for the Denon’s few shortcomings in headphone performance.

THE DENON RANGE

The Denon DRA295 is a nice entry-level receiver with a 50wpc amp section and a remote, but no phono stage. It costs $249, and for your bedroom or office, I can’t imagine a better deal. The top of the range DRA685 will run you $499, and it offers 100 strong watts of power in a substantial chassis with a phono section. Because I have a small condo, I chose the DRA395, which occupies the middle ground.

The DRA395 has multi-room capability, a feature I’ll probably never use, but that might be of interest to people looking for an affordable whole-house entertainment system. If you only need sound in two rooms, the second set of speakers terminals will probably suffice. The DRA395 comes with a flimsy remote, but it controls nearly every feature, even allowing you to switch speakers.

I didn’t open up the DRA395, but a peek through the vents in the case revealed a nice power supply and convincing heat sinks. It looks like op-amps are used liberally, which would explain how Denon can offer a good phono stage and headphone jack at such a low price. Of course, even higher-priced integrateds like the $499 Rotel RA-02, which I also auditioned, use op-amps in their phono sections. (Credit Denon for offering a phono section at all, let alone three models of stereo receivers in this age of home theater.)

PHONO PERFORMANCE

After letting the Denon break in for a few hours, I started by listening to CDs. But it wasn’t until I spun some LPs that I got a real sense of appreciation for Denon’s accomplishment with the DRA395. This is easily the best phono section I’ve ever heard on a modern receiver. It’s warm, smooth and detailed. It’s let down only slightly by the amp section which, as you can imagine, doesn’t play music with the conviction and drive of separates or a quality integrated amp. The trade off is that the Denon is easy to listen to for a long time. It’s not a bully, but rather, a warm, fuzzy teddy bear of a receiver.

On my Sheffield Lab direct-to-disc pressing of Prokofiev’s “Romeo & Juliet,” the sound was full, creamy-smooth and nuanced. Frank Sinatra’s “Strangers in the Night” was zippy and fun, from beginning to end. There was no shrillness, harshness or bitterness to speak of.

I have only two issues with the phono stage, both easily forgivable. First, the Denon tends to emphasize sibilance on recordings with an excess of it, like Peter Gabriel’s “So” and the 180-gram Pope Music pressing of Lori Lieberman’s “House of Whispers.” (Listening to the song “Switzerland” has been an endurance test, no matter which combination of turntable, arm, cartridge, phono stage, amp and speakers I’ve used.) The second problem is that surface noise and imperfections are more forward than with the MM/MC phono section in my Rotel preamp, and also my standalone Rotel phono stage. But the overall performance of the Denon with LPs was so satisfying, I have no desire to add an outboard phono stage.

CD PERFORMANCE

At first, I was disappointed with the Denon’s sound when playing CDs. Then I realized it wasn’t the Denon so much as my source. My $249 Pioneer DV-563A universal disc player costs 1/3 what my analog rig does. No wonder CDs sounded a bit thin in comparison to CD.

The Denon/Pioneeer combo, however, exhibited a sweet midrange that made it a pleasure listening to the sublimely recorded strings on Nickel Creek’s self-titled debut and their follow-up, “This Side.” The piano notes on Bill Evans’ “The Paris Concert” (volumes one and two) suffered a bit, but remember, these performances were originally recorded for one-time radio broadcast, not LP or CD release. However, the Paavo Jarvi/Cincinnati Symphony Orchestra performance of Berlioz’s “Symphonie Fantastique” on Telarc was spectacular.

Rock music sounded a little brittle and compressed sometimes, like Neil Young’s “Greendale” and various Rolling Stones ABCKO SACDs. However, the recent Peter Gabriel SACD reissues (“Us” and “Plays Live” in particular) were very exciting, with heart-thumping dynamics. With a better CD source, I have no doubt the Denon would have sounded even more pleasing.

TUNER

If the Denon DRA-395 were a tuner alone, I’d be happy with it. I’m not an avid radio listener, but I can’t live without a tuner, either. Though the Denon doesn’t match the sensitivity of my old analog Yamaha and Marantz tuners, it destroys digital units I’ve had from Yamaha (late 80s) and Philips (early 90s). I don’t listen to AM, but on FM, it sounds great, and it locks onto distant stations like a vise. Noise rejection is impressive, too. And there are more presets than available stations, at least in my neighborhood. It should be noted that the Denon does this with the meager FM wire antenna that is supplied free of charge. My expectations were exceeded by a good measure.

HEADPHONES, ANYONE?

You don’t need easy to drive cans with the Denon. The headphone amp in the DRA395 easily drove my 300-ohm Sennheiser HD580 cans with authority. The sound was highly resolved, whether the source as LP, CD or tuner.

My Creek OBH-11 (with OBH-2 power supply) is lean and accurate with a great midrange - - very British in character. The Denon, by comparison, was somewhat soft and less detailed, but more forgiving (only slightly, though). It’s almost tube-like, in fact, putting out euphoric sound. And, after using the Creek for about six months, it was a pleasure to have remote volume control capability with the Denon. Now, I can load up my Philips CD changer and listen for hours without having to get up and adjust the levels when I switch CDs. I enjoy the Denon so much, in fact, I just sold the Creek.

SUMMING UP

If you’re a purist, you won’t like the Denon. Plus, it doesn’t have the “audiophile” sonic signature (which I interpret as cold and unforgiving). It’s a softie, with slightly rolled-off highs and plump bass. Also, it has tone controls and a loudness feature, which some people abhor (both of which are defeatable, and I found no use for either). But, unlike a high-end integrated amp, the Denon can serve as the heart of a simple two-channel home theater system. That’s how I use it.

It’s a great feeling knowing you got more than you paid for. Sure, the Denon isn’t perfect. But my living room looks a hell of a lot better since I got it. It replaced no less than SIX boxes: amp, preamp, phono stage, tuner, headphone amp and headphone amp power supply.

The Denon also plays music in a way I wasn’t used to. It doesn’t demand your attention, but it appeals to your senses. You can immerse yourself in a book and not feel the need to turn off the music. On the other hand, the Denon’s easy listenability makes long LP marathons an engaging experience. Turn off the lights and turn it up, or close your eyes and put on your headphones, and you’ll be immersed in some very pleasant sounds.

The Denon recreates atmosphere particularly well. (Just listen to Bucky Pizzarelli’s “Swing Live” on SACD, or the Mobile Fidelity LP of Wes Montgomery’s “Bumpin’” to see what I mean. The Denon may not always get the music exactly right, but it’s great at telegraphing the space in which it was originally recorded.) Oh, and by the way, it reproduces movie soundtracks with clarity and authority. It’s all I need as far as home theater goes.

Maybe my hearing is going. But whatever is happening, I like it.

Associated gear
Denon DRA-395 stereo receiver with MM phono section
Rega P2 turntable (with P3 glass platter and None-Felt mat)
Denon DL-160 moving coil cartridge
Pioneer DV-563A universal disc player
Philips CDR-785 CD Recorder
ProAc Tablette 2000 loudspeakers
Radio Shack MegaCable 16-gauge speaker wire (bi-wired)
Various Kimber, Audioquest and MonsterCable interconnects
MonsterPower HTS2500 Power Center
AudioQuest MC cartridge demagnetizer
Record Doctor II record cleaning machine
Sennheiser HD580 Precision headphones
Sony ProAudio MDR-7506 studio monitor headphones

Similar products
Various stereo and HT receivers from Sony ES, Pioneer Elite, Yamaha, Teac and others
Seperates and integrated amps from Rotel, Acurus, Antique Sound Labs and Creek