Designed as a network receiver, the DRA-100 will stream content up to 24/192, plus DSD64/128 (2.8/5.6MHz) over both its Ethernet connection and the front-panel USB. There’s built-in wi-fi, complete with twin antennae, which are also used for AirPlay and Bluetooth. Around the back are two optical digital inputs and one coaxial, plus two sets of analogue ins, while alongside the speaker terminals there’s also a pair of audio outs, switchable between fixed and variable-level operation, a mono subwoofer out and a headphone output, which has a three-position gain setting to cope with tricky loads.
Under the skin, the Denon uses inhouse Advanced AL32 Processing, to give a smoother sound by expanding 16-bit music formats to 32-bit before DAC conversion. DDFA (Direct Digital Feedback Amplifier) architecture from CSR is used to…