Faartcoomer
New Member
Hello Everyone,
Hopefully this isn’t too many questions for one post, it’s always a rabbit hole trying to figure stuff out.
I recently pulled a DRA-750 and BX-150 out of what looked like a dungeon at an estate sale. The BX was super clean but needed an assembly transplant from my BX-125 (also came very cheap, but was silver). But the DRA is quite grimy, it powers on and all of the buttons work but I’m not going to test it before I give it an interior and exterior clean. Since I’m still pretty new to this, I have a feeling when I do test, it’ll be pretty tough for me to tell the difference, and I’ll have to give it a good while before I have a decisive opinion.
Should all things work correctly, does anyone have any idea how the DRA-750 stacks up to my current amp, Yamaha A-500? The specs and features are sort of similar, the Denon has higher THD and is almost twice as heavy. I’ve read lots of praise about both units, but am unsure if the Denon is being compared to receivers, which I know can spread quality a bit more thinly with the tuner section. My Yamaha has the advantage of being cleaned by a professional, while the Denon will be up to me and YouTube. The two companies seem to have pretty distinct reputations for their sound, and I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts about that as well as build quality.
One of my complaints about my system is that it’s almost a bit too musical, some stuff sounds incredible but my more abrasive music just has something missing. I haven’t really tracked that down yet, it could also just be that I can’t get it as loud as it needs to be as satisfying as when listening through IEMs (not that the equipment is limited, I just live in an apartment). I’m using a separate phono stage, so that’s not much of a factor here unless the phono stage on either unit is going to best my Bellari VP130, which I realize is totally possible. My gear: TD-316, 2M Blue, VP130, A-500, Polk R200.
It’s unpopular but I actually really like the look of the Yamaha, but the rosewood sides on the Denon are just going to take the looks cake by default. Whichever amp I decide against will be shipped to a buddy, which will be gnarly if it ends up being the Denon but so be it. I’ve heard great things about the phono stage on the Denon and it might be better utilized by my friend.
The last and possibly more important question is, is it worth it to keep looking at integrateds/receivers at this era/line hierarchy status, or should I really just be buckling down and watching for separates or something like an a2000 or equivalent? There’s a Denon PMA-757 near me for a reasonable price, and I’ve thought about moving up to an A-700 before, but I’m not sure if that actually makes sense to do. Would the answer change if it was something like a PMA-1080 or 1500r? Obviously I can recoup some cost by reselling, but that’s not guaranteed to happen as quick as I’d like it to, and may not be worth the effort.
On that same train of thought, does anyone know the likelihood that it will be cost effective to buy non-working separates and getting them working? Of course I know it will all depend on what’s wrong with it, I’m just curious if that’s ever standard practice for anyone especially if you’re not often coming up with large sums of cash, but can kind of chip away by buying not-working, repairing, then renewing. Theoretically it doesn’t sound like a horrible idea as long as the costs don’t exceed just buying a functional unit.
Thanks for any and all thoughts.
Hopefully this isn’t too many questions for one post, it’s always a rabbit hole trying to figure stuff out.
I recently pulled a DRA-750 and BX-150 out of what looked like a dungeon at an estate sale. The BX was super clean but needed an assembly transplant from my BX-125 (also came very cheap, but was silver). But the DRA is quite grimy, it powers on and all of the buttons work but I’m not going to test it before I give it an interior and exterior clean. Since I’m still pretty new to this, I have a feeling when I do test, it’ll be pretty tough for me to tell the difference, and I’ll have to give it a good while before I have a decisive opinion.
Should all things work correctly, does anyone have any idea how the DRA-750 stacks up to my current amp, Yamaha A-500? The specs and features are sort of similar, the Denon has higher THD and is almost twice as heavy. I’ve read lots of praise about both units, but am unsure if the Denon is being compared to receivers, which I know can spread quality a bit more thinly with the tuner section. My Yamaha has the advantage of being cleaned by a professional, while the Denon will be up to me and YouTube. The two companies seem to have pretty distinct reputations for their sound, and I’m curious to hear people’s thoughts about that as well as build quality.
One of my complaints about my system is that it’s almost a bit too musical, some stuff sounds incredible but my more abrasive music just has something missing. I haven’t really tracked that down yet, it could also just be that I can’t get it as loud as it needs to be as satisfying as when listening through IEMs (not that the equipment is limited, I just live in an apartment). I’m using a separate phono stage, so that’s not much of a factor here unless the phono stage on either unit is going to best my Bellari VP130, which I realize is totally possible. My gear: TD-316, 2M Blue, VP130, A-500, Polk R200.
It’s unpopular but I actually really like the look of the Yamaha, but the rosewood sides on the Denon are just going to take the looks cake by default. Whichever amp I decide against will be shipped to a buddy, which will be gnarly if it ends up being the Denon but so be it. I’ve heard great things about the phono stage on the Denon and it might be better utilized by my friend.
The last and possibly more important question is, is it worth it to keep looking at integrateds/receivers at this era/line hierarchy status, or should I really just be buckling down and watching for separates or something like an a2000 or equivalent? There’s a Denon PMA-757 near me for a reasonable price, and I’ve thought about moving up to an A-700 before, but I’m not sure if that actually makes sense to do. Would the answer change if it was something like a PMA-1080 or 1500r? Obviously I can recoup some cost by reselling, but that’s not guaranteed to happen as quick as I’d like it to, and may not be worth the effort.
On that same train of thought, does anyone know the likelihood that it will be cost effective to buy non-working separates and getting them working? Of course I know it will all depend on what’s wrong with it, I’m just curious if that’s ever standard practice for anyone especially if you’re not often coming up with large sums of cash, but can kind of chip away by buying not-working, repairing, then renewing. Theoretically it doesn’t sound like a horrible idea as long as the costs don’t exceed just buying a functional unit.
Thanks for any and all thoughts.
