here is an FYI you might find interesting....
denon makes a derivative model of the avr1400...a derivative is a new model # for the same item, so that 2 dealers dont have to "compete"...

www.netmarket.com has the AVR-55 (derivative of AVR1400) for $159!

that is a smoking deal...i have bought from them and they are legit...you dotn even have to be a member to buy stuff, but a trial membership is only $1 i think...

CORRECTION!
the model in question is AVR50, not avr55

sorry folks, i got model numbers on the brain...

and i checked it this morning, AVR50 is still available and still $159.00

i feel this is a very clean unit for the price.i got it at the good guys for $299.00 wich i thougt was good,because the next day it went on sale again for $399.00 wich i new i got an even better deal.the surround is very clean compared to the other units i looked at and the main soun was much much cleaner than the yamaha,sony,technics,and a few others i lookerd at.the only thing i do not like is you have to turn it up alot more to hear it.i am using psb 500i centurys wich dont take much to power them for wich they are pretty effcient speakers.i do like the 5 chanle stereo feature for it plays in real stereo.i feel this is a good startinghome theatre and audio system.

I've had this unit for almost 2 years now...still impressed and happy with it. The quality is unmatched. It's now for sale so I can buy the 3300. Email me if anyone is interested. If you have a DVD player with a decoder you are all set. The wattage is ample unless you have a huge barn. :)

Great sound quality, and easy to operate

None that I can think of

I cannot think of a thing that I don't like about this receiver. All of you who said (weak bass) need to get yourself a different set of speakers. I have BOSE 501 fronts, Bose 141 rears, JBL HLS Center, and an infinity Sub. I also use Monster cable for all my connections. I get more bass out of this receiver than I need. Movies sound great although the center speaker needs to be turned up a little when listening at low levels. The music kicks, whether your listening to Easy instrumental or hard rock. I have yet to have a problem. And as far as power goes, I can turn this thing all the way up and the quality is still fanominal <--(I don't know if that's spelled right). I'm getting ready to sell it, only to upgrade to a Dolby Digital receiver. I would recommend the AVR-1400 to anyone interested in an entry level Home Theater system.

And I kind of like the remotes functionality, although it has buttons and stuff that only the better models with on-screen menus can use. That, I thought was a negative.

Similar Products Used:

JVC Prologic receiver

JC, what kind of statement are you trying to make by posting 1 star? Certainly the 1400 is better than that. Do you actually have any experience with Denon? Maybe you heard a Denon with cheap speakers that sounded good (probably still worth more than a 1, especially with Polks) and a Yamaha with more expensive speakers that sounded better. Because I assume that an Audiophile would at least know something about audio, I am not convinced that you can believe your own logic. Therefore, you leave only the impression that you were upset that the review process was not working to your satisfaction. Next time, why don't you just e-mail Francis - he usually deletes duplicated or off-topic reviews eventually.
Now, to get back to the purpose of a review, I have to say that this is a reciver for a lower-budgeted stereo or home theater. For the money, the sound is unbeatable in my opinion, yes, even when compared to a comparably priced Yamaha (which tries to cover this up with a few bells and whistles). Now, sure this product isn't perfect but at the price level it deserves at least a 4. It is easy to find used and that a reduced price which would definitely be worth:

nice clear clean sound

needs more power

nice home audio starter reciever,clean surround,true 5channel stereo.

how much can I expect to pay for this reciver (canadian dollars)?

can't decide the sony e9000 and denon 1400, any help?

Quick facts: Denon AVR-1400. AC-3 Ready, Dolby Pro Logic, 6 DSP modes, preamp out, remote, 65Wx5. List price: $549
I've been considering buying a receiver for quite awhile now. The small, 12-watt compact stereo I bought when I was 14 just wasn't cutting it 10 years later, so I decided to take the plunge and get a real piece of equipment. So, the challenge was to find something decent for about $500. (Some audiophiles may chuckle when I used "decent" and "$500" in the same sentence, but that's ok. I know I don't have $10000 to spend on a tube amp and another $5000 to spend on a 100x oversampling CD player.)

I did all the reading and paper comparisons I could, and then started shopping around. It came down to the Denon AVR-1400 (introduced July 1997) and the Yamaha RXV-592. Both had the features I was looking for (AC-3 ready, Dolby Pro Logic, pre-amp outs, DSP, plenty of inputs) and good reputations. I looked at a few other brands like Onkyo & HK, but they didn't have features I wanted in the price range. The Denon had 65WX5, while the Yamaha had 75X3, 35X2. Since I'm currently restricted to apartment rental, I didn't need 120WX5 to fill up the living room.

I took my four favorite CD's, a nice sample of classical (Vivaldi cello concertos), jazz (Mark Isham), acoustic rock (Dead Can Dance), and alterative rock (Depeche Mode), and headed to the local electronics shop. They had a Denon AVR1400 and a Yamaha RXV592 in their demo room. Both were matched up with a pair of Polk RT7's (which I own) and a Sony CD player (which model, I don't know). The difference was, quite frankly, astonishing. The Denon was smooth, lifelike, and vibrant for the whole frequency range. The Yamaha had excellent bass to mid response, but the high end was horrid. I don't know the correct audiophile term for it, but the high end sounded like it was crackling or playing on a shorted speaker. It was so rough it hurt my ears just listening to it. Even turing the treble down on the Yamaha didn't help much. I was just amazed at how good the Denon sounded. I never figured I'd hear that much of a difference between two receivers. I was sold on Denon after a good sampling of the CDs I had brought with me.

Why does it sound so much better? I was told that it has a higher quality amplifier in it. Maybe so. The sound from the Yamaha was mostly clear, but too harsh at the high end. The Denon does a much better job in smoothing the sound. It just feels right (this may be an odd expression when we're talking about how it sounds, but it really does add feeling to the sound). Now, don't misunderstand me, the Denon isn't short on high-end frequencies. The full range is there, clean, crisp, and well presented; it just doesn't feel like you're at some Metallica concert where the treble rips your eardrums apart, like the Yamaha did.

Like Yamaha, Denon claims to have designed it for "natural sound," and, unlike Yamaha, delivers on the claim. It has a very warm feel to the sound. There are 4 DSP modes for music and they all sounded fine, but I don't know if I'll use them all that much. The "Live" did sound good with my acoustic rock cd (since it happened to be a live recording - which, btw, is the best live recording I've ever heard for anything outside classical music). "Concert hall" added some simulated echo. I didn't pick up on the other two, "Jazz Club" and "Concert Rock."

So what about the DPL? Well, I don't have a hifi vcr yet, so I listened to a sample at the store, and it sounded good as well. The Denon has some DDSC-A circuit for clean pro logic decoding. Since I'm a chemical engineer and not an electrical engineer, I can't really tell you what it is, but it does sound clean. I didn't pick up on any "bleeding" in the rear channels, but I didn't do an exhaustive listening test. Like all the other DPL receivers, you can set volumes for all the channels.

My main concern, however, was that music sound great on the equipment. Movies (at least the ones I watch) are rich in mid-to-low frequencies, but never in high frequencies. This might explain why the Yamaha garnished such great reviews for a home theater receiver, where the high-end sound is pretty much non-existant. It shows its weaknesses when you're just sitting back and listening to a music CD. The Denon doesn't disappoint in the music category. Clean signal, good, crisp bass and treble. Vocals come over well, both male and female. It's no slouch for instrumentals, either.

The remote is a bit crazy, with about 20000 buttons on it. It's multibrand and learning, so it can control my high-tech GE 2-head VCR and 19' Magnavox TV without programing. It controls all Denon products (obviously). I was disappointed that it doesn't have buttons for direct track access on a CD player, so I need to keep my CD remote handy. Although they advertise a GLOKEY remote, it's not quite what you think it is. The main buttons, volume, ff, rev, stop, and play are glow-in-the-dark assuming you've left it in the light for awhile. It should have been backlit if they really wanted it to be useful in the dark.

The machine is well constructed, and controls on the front are uncluttered and laid out well. The volume dial is free turning, so you have to look at the display panel to figure out what your volume level is. It can accept A and B speakers. The speaker terminals feel a bit flimsy, but everything else is solid.

There's more stuff to the receiver, but I'm too lazy to read the whole damn manual. Eventually I'll figure all the features out.

I have the AVR1400 hooked up to a pair of Polk RT7's. I have a Denon DCM 460 cd changer (which I would definitely recommend) hooked up to the receiver, and it sounds great.

The receiver was $499 plus tax from United Audio. These guys sell pretty near list price, unfortunately, and I didn't have much luck getting the price down. I could have probably gotten it cheaper through mail order somewhere, but I can't say I really trust some of the mail order places I called, not to mention no one carried this particular model.

For my $500, I wouldn't have spent it on anything else, for all the brands I looked at. The Denon AVR-1400 is probably the best choice for an entry level AV receiver that doesn't compromise on sound quality.