I got rid of the denon. I got the Rogue pre 99 super magnum. It sounds pretty good. I also bought the Antelope zodiac DAC pre. A hand full of people not knowing what’s what for gear, but with a pretty legit music background thought the Zodiac alone as a pre/dac sounded better than the Rogue pre with the Zodiac working together. This is with cheap speakers. I have Penaudios coming in next week. That will be the real test.. So yea ROGUE ST100 needed a pre, who knew.. The difference is real. 1500 real? Yes I would say so and I like to have my money in my account.