Denon DRA-N5BK Desktop Networking Music System

• Plug and play your iPod, iPhone via front USB input or built-in iPod dock. Rechargeable even during stand-by
• Airplay wireless music streaming from your iPad, iPhone, iPod Touch or from your iTunes music library on your PC/MAC
• Easy to read front panel OEL display which supports 3 languages (English, Spanish, French). Easy to use simple remote controller
• Supports WAV and FLAC 192kHz/24 bit high resolution and gapless audio playback

I was a bit hesitant with the $500 price point, and thought I would probably return the unit if it was anything less then amazing.

It's here to stay.

I set the DRA-N5BK up in my finished basement, where I planned to use it. First step was to connect it to my home wi-fi(located on the second floor of the house). I used the WPS button on my router and the back of the Denon, and was connected in about 1 minute.

Next, sign into Pandora. I used the keypad on the remote, like you would text from a phone without a qwerty keyboard, to enter username/password. In less then a minute, all my Pandora channels were available on the Denon, sweet! After selecting a channel, a % counts up to 100 in under 5 seconds, and a song begins to play. There is never any buffering again until you change stations, and even then it only takes a few seconds to spool up.

I also have an online SiriusXM subscription. This was the same experience, signed in and connected with no delay.

The display is easy to read, and provides all pertinent info, including artist, song title, and album name.

I am using Bose 201 speakers, which sounds great. The Denon system has no problem pushing these bookshelf speakers. The 65 watts/channel was more then enough power. I also added the Bic V-80 subwoofer (purchased through Amazon)BIC AMERICA V-80 8" 100 Watt Powered Subwoofer, and with these 3 combined speakers, it is absolutely plenty of power to create great sounding music in the 15'x15' area I have in the basement.

I was also pleased with the sound quality of the Pandora and Sirius feeds. I have a Roku hooked up to my living room setup, and even at moderate volumes, the sound is distorted because of the broadcast quality coming through the wireless connection. Not the case with the Denon, Pandora and Sirius sound crisp even at very high levels.

I have also used the ipod dock on top of the Denon, again no problems at all, I can choose to control the ipod through the Denon, or directly on the ipod.

I thought it would be nice to have an FM tuner built in, then I realized the "Internet Radio" source provided me with all my local radio stations, from NPR, to my local Rock/Pop stations, etc...really impressive.

I would recommend this to anyone looking for a straightforward, simple to use, great sounding, 2.1 receiver. It really was worth my money.

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I literally spent weeks searching for an Internet based radio that was capable of delivering room filling sound. All of the most popular ones seemed to be more oriented toward the type you would use as a bedside clock radio with very poor quality speakers. There were some exceptions, such as the Grace Mondo and Logitech Squeezebox Internet radios, but these came with a single mono speaker. Both sounded good, but not capable of room filling sound. That's when I finally discovered the Denon DRA-N5BK Networking Music System. I purchased it with the recommended Denon SC-N5BK speakers and chose not to add a sub-woofer.

When the system arrived, I was a little dismayed to discover that the instructions were on a CD-ROM. While I suppose it's not really a big deal, I felt that for the price paid, Denon should have included a print version of the user manual. I just find that when you're setting up a system such as this, it's a lot easier to do so if you have a copy of the manual by your side. I placed a call to Denon expressing my concern. Not only were they understanding, but they also agreed to immediately send me out a print copy of the manual. The very next day I received a large envelope in the mail. It contained not just a print copy of the manual, but a beautiful binder in which it was enclosed. Now that's what I consider class.

Using the manual, I had no problem connecting the speakers and following the clearly written instructions to set up the rest of the system. The manual mentioned how to set up the system using the WPS button on my router, however after calling customer support, I was told that it could be set up without using WPS, which is what I did. After entering my password, the radio connected to the Internet in just a few seconds.

My next step was to sign in to both my SiriusXM and Pandora accounts. Thankfully, once you sign into your accounts, you'll never have to do so again. I say this because using the keypad on the remote is time consuming, especially if you have a long e-mail address and/or password. I won't deduct any stars for this, but do feel that there could be an easier way to sign into accounts. If I had to sign into my accounts every time I used the radio I would have returned it. Thankfully that's not the case.

Both SiriusXM and Pandora worked flawlessly, although the sound quality of SiriusXM is better simply because Pandora streams at only 128 bit rate, while SiriusXM is broadcast live. Using the speakers mentioned above, I have no trouble at all filling up a large room with beautiful, crisp sound that has superb treble as well as mid and low range bass. The sound is astounding, period.

In addition to the stations mentioned above, the radio is capable of tuning into tons of Internet stations, as well as all of your local area stations. It also comes with Apple AirPlay support so you can wirelessly stream audio tracks from any compatible PC, Android device, or Apple mobile device. The music system comes with an iPhone/iPod Touch dock, which works perfectly on all versions except the iPhone 5 and iPod Touch 5th generation. To use those, you'll need to purchase the lightning adapter from Apple to convert the 30 pin connector on the dock to the new 8 pin standard.

The one area that I feel Denon could have improved upon is the display screen. While much less expensive radios, such as the Logitech Squeezebox and the Grace Mondo come with color screens, this one is plain black and white. It displays the album name, artist and song title, but does not display album covers such as on other radios. I'm deducting 1 star, as I feel that for the money paid, the screen should be in color and the album art should be included with the display. Obviously, this has no effect on the quality of the sound, but to me it was a feature that I would have liked.

The bottom line is that the Denon DRA-N5BK Desktop Networking Music System is a top of the line product. It delivers beautiful room filling sound when combined with the recommended Denon speakers and there's no need for an additional sub-woofer. This is an excellent product from an exceptional company. Aside from the screen issue mentioned above, this is pure perfection.

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I was in the market for a plain receiver to hook up my turntable to. A friend of mine told me about this unit. After reading I thought it sounded interesting. After buying I'm blown away!!!

Internet radio, Pandora, Spotify, XM radio, give you endless options for listening. That coupled with A analog input and a digital optical input this has become my home theater system as well as my turntable receiver. Not to mention Ipod docking station and USB input.

With all these options you figure the catch would have to be a lack of high end sound. NOPE! It sounds great!!! It fills my living room with deep rich sound. I opted for the Denon SC-N5BK speakers that are paired with it.

Cant say enough good things about this unit.