Denon DRA-395 Receivers

Denon DRA-395 Receivers 

DESCRIPTION

AM/FM/FM Multi-Source/Multi-Zone Stereo Receiver

USER REVIEWS

Showing 1-10 of 10  
[Jan 15, 2020]
Blasjr


Strength:

Very nice sounds.. Idont have to say...

Weakness:

Only the connections of equalizer is not supported Of the tuner out. Pls. Give me some idea

Purchased:
New  
Model Year:
2009
OVERALL
RATING
2
[Feb 16, 2011]
mjtab
AudioPhile

I bought this receiver used for a small 2 channel home theater system. It had been in storage for about 6 years with the previous owners. It took weeks of use before the sound started coming alive and months before it really began to shine after many years of inactivity.

I'd characterize the sound as warm and creamy so it sounds best detailed cabling and clear speakers. This 80 wpc stereo receiver is capable of driving my 4 ohm speakers w/o any distortion or clipping of the amplifier.

This receiver is very versatile w/ LFE subwoofer output which I use with monitor speakers and a sub for movies. It also has 2 extra zones for other rooms or the patio. I actually used one of the zones to power a tube amp for another set of speakers for music listening for a short time. To be honest it did not offer the best performance as a preamp feeding a $2K tube amp, but it was fun to play with. The FM tuner in it quite nice sounding too and I use it quite often for classical and late night jazz.

This receiver was $400 when new and is a good value used for a bedroom system or a TV room.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Nov 12, 2007]
Scooter
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Strong Amp. Functional loudness button.

Weakness:

Broke down twice in under two years. Does not have an actual preamp section. Poor customer service. Still waiting.

I used ths unit for a little under two years total. After 20 months, the unit failed and was sent to a Denon super service center and given a clean bill of health. Then, just after the warranty expired, the unit failed again. I wrote to Denon, but I have not heard from them for many weeks since. It was disappointing, since the Denon name was known for above-average quality. That may no longer be the case in the age of mass overseas production. The unit does have a strong amplifier and satisying sound quality. It's not "high end" by any means. The unit does not have an adjustable preamp section. The "multi-room" signal level can not be adjusted.
I thought the product would last a lot longer...

Customer Service

Expletive Deleted

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo and Yamaha receivers

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
3
[Jan 29, 2005]
korando
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

It's really good stereo receiver to use with everything stereo, music or video. Its Loudness features increase the bass and treble imaging. Really easy to use. It was not expensive as others that I tried.

Weakness:

The Loudness function may over sound with some music records. I think it has limits to surround the sound. It's not an A/V receiver... Well, I wish a same quality A/V receiver at same price...

I first used it in my restaurant as a receiver/amp to creat ambient. It worked just great as low volume and high volume usign 3 pairs of Bose 201 speakers. And then I took it to my home and connected it with same pair of Bose speakers and one Polk subwoofer and it sounds like a music hall, and also added a pair of onkyo speakers to use them on second zone.

Similar Products Used:

Many from Onkyo, Denon and Sony.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Apr 30, 2004]
arthur nelson
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

all the features of much higher end systems with clear imaging & punch

Weakness:

The remote - No cd on switch if you want to mate this with a Good Denon Sacd or Hdcd Player as I did- put on gold outlets and a detachable power cord and you can die owning this product.

Quiet power,superior switches & controls,very realistic & clean sound. This unit is a steal for the price as it has a heavier amp. section than other similar receivers. needs the powererd subwoofer, high end connects like Tara Labs (also high end cables)ans a dedicated 20 amp 120 volt PS Audio receptacle($50.00)add good speakers to this combination and you will feel like you"re sitting with the Orchestra or Band. It needs these things to become a superstar in Audio under $1000.00

Similar Products Used:

Marantz- Kenwood

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 09, 2004]
gelo7
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Decent sound if you use a powered subwoofer with it.Decent tuner,phono input,high current design?.

Weakness:

Not enough bass,not very detailed,fixed power cord,it seems to have more less power than my 60 W Rotel amp.

I use this amplifier to drive the excellent Energy Veritas bookshelf speakers.At first I was satisfied with the sound quality until I noticed that there was not enough bass in the sound so I decided to turn on the Loudness feature but there was just too much coloration in the music(for my taste),my speakers are supposed to go down to about 50 Hz in my room but it did not sound like that unless the Loudness was on.I believe you will be more satisfied if you use a powered subwoofer which I am not planning to buy.Please save up some money and buy or audition a Rotel integrated amplifier(You will get a more natural and detailed sound).Good luck.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer.Yamaha.Audio Source.Rotel.B&K components.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 03, 2003]
Gordon White
AudioPhile

Strength:

Highly detailed Excellent Imaging and Soundstaging Excellent phono stage Flexible design

Weakness:

Could use some warmth and texture - it's no tube amp.

I bought this receiver as a back up to my beloved but unreliable Eico HF81 tube amp. When I first hooked it up it sounded bright, etched, cold, and very two-dimensional. After two weeks of CD burn in, the receiver transformed. Now the sound is open and detailed with excellent imaging and soundstaging. In fact, it betters my reference tube amp in those categories. Unfortunately, it's not nearly as warm and involving as the tube amp but nothing is. The phono stage is detailed and quiet and my favorite feature of this receiver. I would definately consider this receiver if shopping for an inexpensive audiophile integrated. It sounds way better than it should. Just be sure to give it two weeks to burn in or forget it.

Similar Products Used:

Eico HF81 tube integrated - my reference

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jan 20, 2003]
drewsaur
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Meaningful loudness control. Tone controls that are +/- 12dB. Subwoofer out with separate volume control. Tone defeat. Good, clean power. Discrete pream section. A reasonable tuner section. No audible crossover between signals; very quiet electronics. Display has dimmer that includes "off" selection that only shows display for a few seconds while operating controls; adds to clean look of living room.

Weakness:

Remote is overcomplicated with small type.

After a frustrating search for a nice, reasonably-priced integrated amplifier (under $600) that worked well at low listening levels, I came to learn that none really existed. After experimenting with NAD products, including the C320BEE, I became frustrated with the way that these products sounded at low listening levels. Bass and treble controls only boost or cut 5dB, and there were no loudness controls. At the very low listening levels I tend toward, these products made my system sound not altogether different from an AM radio. Enter this nice product. Yes, it's a receiver, not an integrated amp. But it has all of the tone control you'll likely ever need: a real loudness control (that is, one that boosts both bass and treble, rather than just bass), and tone controls that can boost or cut up to 12dB! To that, add separate output for a powered subwoofer AND separate volume control for the SW channel, and you've got a winner. Audio quality for all reasonable listening levels is as good as the NAD, and the control over the audio is everything it should be. Add to this a tone defeat (that can still be combined with tone control) and digital readout of all volume and tone variables, and you can see what a bargain this unit really is. Video switching is an additional bonus that I never thought I would need but have found to be handy.

Similar Products Used:

NAD C320BEE NAD C350

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Oct 19, 2002]
DeeChiSound
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Power, Quite Pre-Amp. Nice power supply. Bigger than most HT recievers.

Weakness:

Hard to say. Just the little things that don't matter like gold plated jacks and such.

I purchased this reciever do to its many features and power rating. I am not much into home theater and I didn't want to spend oddles of money on a intergrated amp. And besides I still listen to a tuner so this product seemed like a no brainer. It powers my B&W 602 S3 speakers very well and gives them a very full and balanced sound.

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo stereo reciever, Marantz 2270.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Apr 28, 2002]
DavidGA
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

power, clarity, great bang for your buck, easy to use because of its simplicity, sub-out, binding posts

Weakness:

THD rating is .08 if you want to call that a weakness. It''s not. For me, however I just wish it was a little lower, even though I probably wouldn''t be able to tell the difference.

I wasn''t going to write a review of this receiver before I hooked up AQ Diamondback interconnect and a pair of double-type 2 speaker wire, however there were no reviews and I figured I''d help people out. This receiver was the perfect upgrade for me. I was using a 15 year old Denon DRA-550 (55x2) receiver. The 550 had great sound and I wasn''t about to compromise sound quality for extra features. I really wanted the Denon AVR 3802 but could not afford it. I use AR15s and a Cerwin Vega LW12 subwoofer. The DRA-550 had the push-spring (not sure of proper name) speaker wire terminals and obviously because of it''s age, there was no Sub-out option. So I had the sub hooked up through the generic method (speaker wire running from amp to sub and then to fronts). I wanted a receiver that would allow me to hook up speaker wire terminated with banana plugs, and also I wanted a sub-out option. This receiver gave me both. I also wanted a receiver with a remote (goes without saying). This receiver met all my needs. The sound quality of this receiver is remarkable for the money. In store where I bought it I had the guy going back and forth between AVR-3802 and DRA-395 through the same speakers at similar, fairly loud, volume levels. The 3802 is definitely more powerful and therefore had more control over the speakers, but just barely. There is no question: The DRA-395 is a very good receiver. 80x2 conquers my 55x2, there is more control over the bass, highs are not overly bright as I found them to be with my DRA-550. I can achieve high volumes while maintaining very clear sound. The AR15s help out to in terms of clarity at high volumes. The only slight fall back of this receiver is the THD rating: .08. I was really hoping to get under the .05 mark, but no big deal I guess. I''m only 22 years old and I expect to keep this as my primary receiver probably for the next 15 years. The multi-zone option opens up potential for more spending way way down the line (nothing I have to be addicted to now). Now, we all know how easy it is to get caught up in buying high quality cables; this receiver does not have optical or s-video jacks. A blessing in disguise really. I am only about $600 away from making my system ''just the way I want it''. I give this receiver a rating of 4, simply because I refuse to give anything short of amp/pre-amp a 5.

Similar Products Used:

Denon DRA-550, Onkyo TX-811 (both fairly dated receivers)

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 1-10 of 10  

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