Denon AVR-2500 (1 Viewer)

[Nick_Bates]

A went to an open house down the street today and saw the owner had a Denon AVR-2500 receiver as part of his home stereo system. Didn't quite get the model numbers of the other components but I went home and did some research on this model and apparently it was the top model in 1995, despite not having DTS and Dolby Digital. I'm not interested in a "home theatre" system, just good quality components for listening to my CD collection. I currently have the following components all purchased in 1987.

Denon receiver DRA-35V. It's basic but wish it had a remote
Denon DCD-610 single cd player. Works but takes a long time for the CD tray to open.
B&W DM-100 bookshelf speakers-very crisp sounding but a friend of mine told me I need to have speaker stands for these and not place them on a tile floor like I am currently doing. Is this true?

I think the Denon AVR-2500 receiver would be a cool upgrade. If the owner or the realtor says it's for sale, how much would you all pay for a receiver like this? Thanks

 

[SethH]

I wouldn't spend more than about $150 or $200 on it. More than that and you could get a very good refurb unit that was made in the past two years or so.

 

[FeisalK]

it depends on what you are planning for - if you want to move towards a multichannel system, then the AVR-2500 is somewhat obsolete and for the same (or a little bit more) money you will get a more recent model with newer processing functions (esp DTS, and Dolby ProLogic IIx is a blast!) and newer DACs and amplifiers. (OK, newer amps may not be much improvement, since the technology is somewhat mature)

if you want to stick to a stereo system - again, for the same money there are good stereo amplifiers; and at the same price, for 2-ch i would pick a stereo amp over a receiver any day (except maybe if its a Panasonic XR55 receiver)

I mention the XR55 because it (1) is a digital amplifer that takes in a digital signal and uses it to control the amount of power to the speakers (2) its cheap (~250 or less) and sounds awesome and (3) has relays onboard that make use of the surround amplifiers to power the main speakers if you are using it in stereo only mode. however it is sold out (!) and you might have to wait till June for the replacement XR57 model.

 

[Arthur S]

The Denon AVR 2500 has some of the best main amps around. They were renowned for their "slam". In 1996 I was able to listen to 5 different receivers in my home at the same time. The Denon was very, very impressive. I bought one and it is in mint condition.