I was a happy owner of the Denon DRA-800H until I read Amir’s review. As a scientist I believe in numbers and those I've seen on ASR are pretty bad.
Now that I’m aware that I have audiophile grade speakers (Elac Vela BS 403) driven by a modest Stereo Receiver I feel the need to sell the Denon tu buy something better.
The problem is: will I ever appreciate the better sound quality after spending hundreds of $ to buy a decent streamer and amplifier?
Here is the whole story: I had a passion for HiFi devices when I was in my twenties but in recent years I have been content to listen to music with a Sony 100+100 W RMS receiver from the 90s connected to a pair of Advent 4002 (and, more recently, to B&W 685S2). About a year ago I decided to move on and buy a network streamer (Marantz, Denon or Yamaha). When the seller suggested the DRA-800H as an integrated amplifier/network streamer solution I immediately liked the idea of a device that, on paper, had almost everything I needed. I asked to listen to the Denon and the shop owner hooked it up to a pair of Elac FS 407s. Well, I was afraid I would start crying in the listening room out of emotion. I did not remember hearing anything more magical since the days when I used to attend HiFI shows. So I came home with my brand new DRA-800H and after connecting it to the B & W685S2 I realized that the sound hadn't improved significantly compared to my dear old Sony receiver. But at the same time I had confirmation that the Denon had exactly everything I needed: DAB + and internet radio, numerous analog and digital inputs, the ability to connect to my DLNA server. I wasn't interested in AV capabilities but I appreciated being able to use a common Chromecast Video connected to an HDMI input to stream audio from my smartphone. It works like a charm with my MacBook Pro through AirPlay2, takes voice commands from Alexa , the Heos App is not exciting but reliable, the device is stably connected to the wifi home network and there is no problem in playing FLAC files from the DLNA server.
Of course I immediately realized that the next step would be to change the speakers. I could not immediately afford the amazing Elac FS 407 (and I do not have place for them in my apartment), so I focused on the Elac Carina and Vela BS 403 bookshelf. After listening a couple of times to the little Velas connected to a Luxman l-505uxii (that costs 8 times more than my Denon...) I decided I was happy with them. I took them home, connected to the Denon and I was satisfied with the sound, a definite improvement over the B&W, even if their position in the room is the worst ever: they are in fact placed in a bookcase, 4.5 meters away and I'm listening only 2.5 meters from the bookrack. Fortunately the downfiring port of the Velas is quite forgiving and the addition of a MartinLogan Dynamo 700W subwoofer further improved the sound.
Back to the DRA-800H, I listen mostly Jazz and Baroque music but also Rock and Pop mostly from Internet radios and Tidal (HiFi subscription). The Denon is in “Direct" mode (tone control excluded and no other sound processing) and when the volume is low the sound is not particularly engaging (this is also due to the fact that there is no “loudness” control and that a "real audiophile" does not use tone controls, but this is a different story). Everything starts to shine after rising the volume to >50 and the power of the Denon is more than enough (I believe never went more than 80 out of 99 with any audio source). I ear no background noise, I’m not aware of any distortion but I can ear a difference between “Direct" and “Normal” (also called “Stereo") mode. I’m pretty sure I cannot reliably discriminate between a 320 kbit/s MP3 and a FLAC file. The Denon does not get particularly hot and I have never perceived any smell from the inside. But now that I know it’s a lemon I cannot enjoy my system anymore, at least not as before.
Probably many other DRA-800H happy owners are now in the same situation as me. I read mostly very positive user comments (more than 90%) from Amazon (4.4 out of 5), Crutchfield, Best Buy, Richersounds (4.6 out of 5). I guess that most of them, like me, are not able to discriminate the sound of a mediocre consumer amplifier from the sound of a good one, even if connected with quality speakers (Focals, LS50s, etc.)
There are also very positive (almost all 5 stars) reviews on specialized sites:
https://www.soundandvision.com/content/denon-dra-800h-stereo-network-receiver-review
https://blog.son-video.com/en/2019/08/review-denon-dra-800h/
https://www.digitalvideoht.it/prove/audio/sorgenti-ht/sintoamplificatori/denon-dra-800h.html
https://www.hifi-regler.de/testberichte/test_denon_dra-800h_stereo-netzwerk-receiver.php
https://www.lowbeats.de/test-denon-dra-800h-stereo-receiver-mit-heos-streaming-multiroom/
https://tiny-reviews.com/reviews/2826-review-on-av-receiver-denon-dra-800h
https://www.hifitest.de/test/hifi_sonstiges/denon-dra-800h_20410#bewertung
https://www.hifisound.de/out/media/pdf.php?r=uIyATeDQyHD3GFuWVu7AyrxdiCOCK0st8PvEqgxuL7X2qMlY%2FsKjDx%2BQXF460h6pPrOuDbYjZo7tuza7tl1MFQ%3D%3D.pdf
I wonder if they are paid by Denon, if they are mediocre reviewers or if they know this is a good product for the average user that is hardly discriminating in terms of sound quality.
Now what? My big fear now is to save and then spend $2000 tu buy something definitely better than the DRA-800H only to realize that the listening experience is the same or only marginally better (unfortunately I don't have audiophile friends with expensive amplifiers to lend me).
I guess I would have to go to a HiFi store with my Denon DRA-800H receiver to be tested in parallel with other products even if this is somehow limiting (I was considering among the others a Hypex NC250MP Class D power amplifier from Audiophonics or other brands but I guess they are not easy to be auditioned in a physical store).
Any suggestions?