A Classic Reborn

I had a small Denon receiver back in the early 80s and I only recently tossed it out as it seemed to have picked up a static issue with one channel (I think balance knob related). I loved that old 30 watt per channel receiver having spent oh so many hours in High School, Undergrad and Grad school listening to my favorite tunes while I studied or just hung out. Fond memories.

So when I spotted this pristine, vintage Denon unit on eBay, how could I possibly resist. You must be mine. I took the "buy it now" approach to avoid any possibility of being outbid (as if I would let that happen!)

When I got home from work today, I saw that it had arrived. Like a rabid raccoon digging through a garbage dumpster, I dove into this cardboard box headlong and pulled out a gleaming, almost perfect stereo receiver. I stood for a moment, almost breathless, marveling at its darkened LED and muted black surfaces. It was absolutely AWESOME! You never know with eBay purchases if the pictures are retouched and accurate, but in this case, they were dead on! Click the pic for a closer look for yourself.

I immediately yanked my old Sony out of the shelf, half snapping wires and cables in the process, virtually tossing it on the wood floor in the hallway. In its stead, I gingerly slid the Denon and began meticulously attaching the speaker wires and linking the CD and equalizer to its ports. I popped in a disc, pressed play and waited... after what seemed like an hour (but was probably only 2 seconds), the opening measures of AC/DS's Hells Bells filled the room.

In a word... EXTRAORDINARY!

It may just be my imagination, but the fidelity seems significantly better than I have heard in a long time. Something about this old technology that sounds different than an iPod connected to a bluetooth speaker or even the now-abandoned Sony AV unit that has been relegated to doorstop status. I am LOVING it!

Total cost of this successful experiment. 75 simoleons... that's right, a mere 75 smackers! And that included $25 for shipping this fairly large package to my door. AMAZING! I suspect that this 60 watt/channel sound machine and I will spend many hours together while I listen to the same old discs that I spooled up all those years and memories ago.

This is the good stuff!