clearity, options, POWER

when I hooked up my cd player and my tape deck to the imput jacks on the back, it sounds like crap, I had to fiddle with it for a while to get it sounding good

this stereo is tizight, I got one hell of a deal for what I paid, if your looking to buy a good stereo and get what you pay for I would recomend this one!!!!

Great sound clarity. High wattage.

No complaint here !!!

Wow, this thing even makes my 15 years old pair of Yamaha sound great. I bought it as a replacement for my Yamaha system which has been dying slowly. When I played my CD, man the music sounded great!!! The same old songs I have been listening to just came alive. It just makes listening more fun. I am no audiophile but I know what I like. My set up is not a high-end one but with a good receiver like this, the listening experience can be a much more enjoyable one. This system is just for my listening when I work with my computer, so, I did not care about getting an A/V system. I was going to get the the HK 3470 at first, but after reading reviews for it and the DRA 685, I decided to go for the Denon. Also, I found a place where I could get if for just $327, so why not !!! I have it hooked up to 4 speakers, two Yamaha in front and two little Optimus in the back. Good receivers can make even so-so speakers sound good !!! Money well spent, IMHO.

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Some old Yamaha system.

Very powerful, clean sound.

Hate to sound like a broken record but I hate the remote, (very cheap).

I have owned this piece for about 6 months now and I am satisfied. It's very powerful, I think precise for the price and rarely gets hot. I think it edges out the Nakamichi RE-10 in terms of sound and solid feel to it (except for that darn remote). I am happy with my purchase.

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Denon DRA-835R

Clean sound

Small remote buttons

My use for this receiver is that it drives my whole house audio. The signal is sent to my Phoenix Gold SAM-200 Impedence Matching unit which then sends the signal to 10 volume knobs throughout my house- which each control a pair of built-in ceiling or wall speakers.

I love the depth of sound this unit produces. Right now, however, I am having trouble figuring out why the left and right channels are not balanced in volume output- but I don't think that's the amp.

I highly recommend this one!

Execptional Power, Run's Extremely cool, Simple to use

I love Denon however thier remotes have something to be desired they just are not the quality they should be.

This is a really great reciever has plenty of power i am running a set of JBL L100T3's and a pair of Polk RT55I's without any problems whatsoever. Updated from the DRA435 which is also a fantastic stereo you can pick a used one up on E-bay for around $70.00. The 685 has noticably more power especially in the high's.

Very much reccomended... Buy a nice Universal remote however

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Denon DRA435

Deep power reserve,breathtaking Denon sound.

3 guesses..................Remote!
But it's worth it!

My Denon drives a pair of Cerwin Vega dx-9's, and a pair of Cerwin Vega dx-7's, through an Audio Source 10 band EQ.
My 27 year old 135 wpc Kenwood absolutly shook my house. No kidding. I did not feel there was a LOT of room for improvement.
Then I bought the Denon. I have been an avid music lover for many years, this reciever is humbling. The same tracks i've
heard many times before suddenly revealed at least 5-8 more instruments in every song.The warmth,space,detail and precison is truly breathtaking. I must admit I truly love very solid,loud sound. I like and demand power. I will Push my big vega's to the limit. That limit with my Kenwwod was about 1/2 "throttle". I have consumed alcoholic bevereges and still have not found that limit with the Denon. My vega's turned into
absolute monsters with this reciever. I cannot take the sound pressure past 1/4 "throttle". At that level, the live band IS in the room with you, crystal clear, and The Denon is absolutly wanting more. I do not.
I feel this reciever IS a work of art, and if you love music like I do, worth almost any price. Buy one. Take care.

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Replaced Kenwood eleven three.

Very, very powerful,clean, and silent amp,very nice FM Tuner

No sub output, no light emitting diode in motorized volume conrol

Denon wastes some of their capital by including a "Multisource" adjustable line level out, but fails to include a summed subwoofer output on this model. You can still hook up a sub as I did via splitting the preamp outs, but a sub out these days is essential and should have been included.
The face of the receiver is plain black/gold lettering, and matches nicely in appearance and performance with the Denon 3300 DVD player (which plays DVDs, CDs, and CDRs with MP3 files).
The preamp is top notch - dead silent volume, bass and treble controls, and not a hint of hum or extraneous noise anywhere - even with the volume turned way up with no source material.
The power amp is more powerful (100 watts rms per side)than most will ever need.
For me it drives four JBL speakers and a Vega sub (line level) to the threshold of pain,,, and the volume control is only up a quarter of the way. You would have to get a very large seperate power amp to get this much power in a home theater product.
If you mostly enjoy listening to CD's, your stereo mp3's on CDR, etc. - get this stereo receiver.
If you like watching/listening to DVD's - get this stereo receiver plus one or two sets of speakers and a nice subwoofer.

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Various others over the years

Best 100 watt receiver for the money

none

This is in response to the last reviewer, Royd...who unfortunately purchased a used and broken unit from someone at ebay.

First, for about $100.00 more, you could have had a new one
delivered to your door, without the bidding game at ebay.
If the seller will take it back, that is what I would recommend. A new Denon DRA-685 has tremendous power, far more than your old receiver.

If you are not successful in pursuing the ebay seller then you may seek help through ebays "safe harbor."
If all else fails, get the unit serviced by whomever Denon recommends to bring it back to specification - then return here to review the unit.

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I hope someone can help me. I just purchased this used through Ebay. It supposedly was used for 6 hours by a radio production company for one of their public radio promotions. I brought it home, hooked it up to my Boston Acoustics A60 speakers. I am very dissapointed. My Technics was very powerful, a quarter of the way with the volume control and it was much louder than the Denon at half way. I also like the sound of the Technics better. I paid $99 for the Technics at Sears a year ago. I am using lamp wire for the connections. Is something wrong with my receiver, or is this the Denon sound? I know Denon is supposed to be high end equipment, and the receiver weighs a ton, much heavier than my Technics. The remote has so many buttons it's difficult to figure out. I've read the reviews here and don't understand how other reviewers are so impressed with the volume output and tonal quality of this unit.

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Technics SA-EX110

Great sound quality. Very easy to use and has a good configuration of the front panal. The sound is rich and very clear.

The remote is kind of basic. Also, it could use some lighting around the volume nob.

Alot of people have been saying to me that the DRA 775RD is superior to the DRA 685, but aside from the RDS tuner which the former posseses, the over-all preformance of the DRA 685 makes it the better machine. Both receivers share the same flaws since they are very similar models, such as less than effective tone controls. If you own a 775 or 685, you NEED some sort of equalizer. Also it isn't a big complaint, but there could be some sort of lighting on the front panel, arount the volume nob for example.

The Denon DRA-685 is honestly one of the best QUALITY 2-channel receivers available in my oppinion. The sound is very clean and smooth and has a full and warm feel that other models i had of similar "price" lacked. For anyone who wants a two channel receiver, THIS IS THE ONE TO GET.

Also, the DRA-685 is 100 watts x2, while the 775RD is only 90 per channel. The sound is quite good compared to some other models of the same "level" such as the H/K and Rotel which don't give you as good a sound.