For those wondering about making b-stock purchaces, I have some first-hand experience to relate.
I went ahead and purchased a DENON DRA-395 from SecondAct.biz, one of DENON's authorized distributors of b-stock and reconditioned items. Mine was b-stock, which means it could have been a dealer demo, or a returned item, etc. It included a disclaimer about possible dings, scratches, etc. I really hesitated on that last point before I clicked the "Purchase" button, because I hate scratched stuff. (The instant I took my wife's iPod Nano out of the box, I stuffed it in a hard plastic case.) But, I clenched my teeth and clicked the button anyway. While the receiver was in transit, I kept telling myself that even if it was a little scratched up, so what. I saved $150.00 over the purchase of a new unit, and really, wasn't I being a little neurotic about scratches? When it arrived a few days later, I was greeted with a stamped warning on the box, "This unit may be scratched, dented ...", etc. I opened the box. At first glance, it looked okay. Then I noticed a large crack running about a third of the way across the front panel. I also noticed that the front left foot was not sitting level. But it worked. "Get used to it!" I told myself, "It works. It's fine!" But of course I couldn't get used to it. So I decided to take it apart to see if I could at least lessen the obviousness of the damage. Once I got the top and the fornt panel off, I could see that the receiver was probably dropped on the front left corner, which bent the chassis and kinked the foot at an odd angle. The bent chassis stressed the front panel where it connects to the chassis, causing the crack. I got out two pairs of Vise Grips and applied some Neanderthal metal working to the chassis in an attempt to straighten it out. I would say that I got it about 60% back to where it should have been. Enough to destress the front panel so that the crack closed. The front left foot still sat a little crooked, but it was improved. "That looks better!" I said to myself, "I can live with that!" But of course, I couldn't. So a few days later, I tracked down a replacement chassis and front panel for $50.00 at Partstore.com. This weekend I'll dissassemble the receiver again to replace the parts. Well ... I still saved $100.00. -- jonheal Jon Heal says: Have a nice day! http://www.theheals.org/ ------------------------------------------------------------------------ jonheal's Profile: http://forums.slimdevices.com/member.php?userid=2133 View this thread: http://forums.slimdevices.com/showthread.php?t=23912 _______________________________________________ audiophiles mailing list audiophiles@lists.slimdevices.com http://lists.slimdevices.com/lists/listinfo/audiophiles
