Denon AVR-1600 A/V Receivers

Denon AVR-1600 A/V Receivers 

DESCRIPTION

Dolby Digital A/V Receiver • 60 watts per channel • Composite video switching, 3 inputs, 2 outputs • Pre-outputs, Left, Right, Center, Sub

USER REVIEWS

Showing 11-20 of 35  
[Jun 12, 2000]
Rob Mason
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Great value, power seems stronger than 6o watts.

Weakness:

small remote buttons, no DTS.

Using this receiver to control my family room system with M&K S-75s and M&K sub, Toshiba DVD 3108, Panasonic 32" XF. Sounds great, especially for $167 from an auction site. Great entry level receiver with room to grow thanks to the additional 6-channel input.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 01, 2000]
Jim Morlock
Casual Listener

Strength:

Quality of Sound, Easy to operate front panel layout, Personal Memory Plus, Overall value.

Weakness:

Remote control won't operate my Magnavox CD player or my Panasonic VCR. Can't tune the receiver or control bass or treble settings from the remote. Lacks some features found on more expensive models.

I purchased the Denon AVR 1600 receiver a few weeks ago and have been very pleased with it. I picked up a re-furbuished unit from Ubid for $157 plus $25 for shipping & handling. The receiver came with 90 day warranty from Denon and it looks and works like new.

The AVR 1600 is a lower end model in the Denon AV receiver line but it meets my needs very well. The overall sound quality is very clean and satisfying. In addition, the receiver's features and front panel layout make it convenient to use. I use it primairly for playing classical music with two pairs of bookself speakers. My listening room is 16' by 20' and the receiver provides ample power. The volume settings go from -60 db to +18db and I find the -10db setting sounds pretty loud.

I needed a receiver with a limited depth (front to rear) to fit in my entertainment center cabinet. I found this receiver to be smaller, depthwise, than many of the other recievers on the market.

I wanted a receiver with "5 channel Stereo" which provides the ability to play music through 4 or 5 speakers with out using Digital Signal Processing modes. I found the AVR 1600 to be the lowest priced receiver with this feature. Other recievers with this feature include the Onkyo 575, the Marantz 7000 and the other models in the Denon line. I ruled out Pioneer, Yamaha, the Onkyo 474, the Marantz 5000 receiver's because they lacked "5 channel stereo".

The AVR 1600 has a user friendly front panel layout. There are seperate button's for selecting each input source and the playing modes which make it easy to use. I like the layout much better than the Denon AVR 1800 which sells for more.

Personal Memory Plus is a Denon feature I have grown to appreciate. The receiver turns on with all of the settings memorized from the previous session (e.g. input source, playback mode, radio station, volume level).

This receiver has A & B speakers which can be sperately turned on and off by front panel buttons. This feature allows me to surpress the speakers sound when I am using my wireless headphones. (I have Sennheiser RS6 headphones with the headphone radio transmitter hooked up to the "VCR audio out" connection on back of my receiver.)

This receiver does not have a DTS decoder, lacks connections for a digital satelitte receiver, lacks a digital out connection (for recording to a CDR), has no S Video connections. In addition, only the front, center and right main speakers have banana plugs. The left and right surrounds and the "B" speakers all have binding posts. You might want to consider alternative receivers if any of these features are important to you.

Based upon the reviews on this site there are many good receiver models on the market to choose from. Some of the worthwhile brands and models that I considered include Onkyo (474,575),Yamaha (RXV 495, HTR 5140) and Denon AVR (1700,1800) Pioneer 608 / Elite, Marantz 5000. If you are in the market for a receiver be sure to read the article "How to Select a Receiver" by John T. from Canada. It is full of good advise and helped me understand the various receiver features and choices.

Please feel free to contact me by email if you should have any questions about the receiver.




Similar Products Used:

Nothing new - 29 year old Pioneer Receiver

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 21, 2000]
Ben
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Denon Quality Sound, Customization

Weakness:

Weak Bass

I paid $290 for this at a local retailer and got the 5 year warranty for only $20 and the digital monster cable for $30. I thought it was an excellent deal. Brought the receiver home and it just wouldn't produce any sound (all the buttons worked). It was an open box model. Took it back and got a sealed package. After some adjustment and tweaking, it sounds excellent for music and movies.

Similar Products Used:

Technics, Pioneer, Yamaha

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 03, 2000]
Nathan
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price,ajustability,Digital decoding

Weakness:

Remote,low power(60watts)no s-video switching,

I just got my receiver from UBID.com for $187+ship, which was an incredible deal. You WILL NOT find a better quality receiver with DD for less. (I've looked!) First I will tell you the good points, and I'll let you know I read the reveiws from this site before I bought it. The DD decoding is really good, the first DVD I put in was Clear and Present, and the channel separation was great. Smooth even pans across the sound stage. (Infinity Cresscendo CS-3007's front, JBL HLS-center, Infinty HLS rears, no sub) Moderate power levels although could be better. Detailed sound although slightly bright. Stereo playback is good although I can't seem to get the bass out of my CS-3007's that I had with my Technics (120watt vs.60watt diffenrence?) It has a lot of surround modes, although all I care about is Prologic and DD, but the other modes are a bonus for this price range. Low THD (.08) but I notice a hum when amp is at 7/8 volume. Otherwise I hear no audible clipping up to the upper limits of the amplifier. All in all I am happy with the unit, for the price it is far above anything in that range. Oh ya, the remote- sucks, how many volume buttons can you put on one remote all the same size. Very small writing and small buttons. Buy a programable remote like Marantz, it will save you a lot of trouble.

Similar Products Used:

Technics,sony,marantz

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jan 02, 2001]
Chris
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

lots of POWER!! great warm sound, really good movie sound reproduction, awesome DD and DTS decoders, 5-channel stereo, VALUE!!!

Weakness:

none I can find other than cheesey remote (but who buys a reciever for it's remote??) and for the price, I don't want to hear any complaints

it seems like anyone can be satisfied even with a horribly produced soundtrack on either music or movies when there's some bass to back it up. although this reciever has good clarity and a good spacious soundfield, it excels with its spectacular bass output. I love this reciever because the two channel stereo mode is great for music, and especially because movies have never sounded better. great product for a small price!

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Mar 07, 2001]
Antti
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Low price, sound quality, brand.

Weakness:

No bass nor treble controls on the remote, no DTS (never needed it though).

I have been using the product for about six months, and am very satisfied. No problems whatsoever. 60 watts per channel is more than one needs. Just can´t turn the volume even close to top levels, because of the neighbours and also my ears. Deffinitely enough power.
Suits great for both; watching the movies and listening to music. Sound quality is great. For the price, I think this was the best buy at the time.
P.S. The new model has also DTS-decoding.

Similar Products Used:

None.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 13, 2000]
Fendi Tan
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Denon, Dolby digital, Affordable price

Weakness:

60 Watt, spade plugs, too many button remote with no function for me

We choose this because it's Denon and still affordable. Actually there's no major weakness, we love it. It sounds good for us but with this 60 watt (I think it's less than 60) It's a little bit hard to find matched speaker system.
I sometimes use it with external power amp and I found it should have all channel pre outs.
So not very excited but it's ok especially the price.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Feb 22, 2000]
Mike
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Excellent sound for the $$$, good features.

Weakness:

Video switching circuits.

While the sound is typically Denon, meaning very good, I was disappointed in the video switch feature. If there is a sudden change in brightness such as a camera flash or lightning bolt, the picture breaks up in vertical and horizontal sync. This happens no matter what my source device is or what I use as a monitor, and disappears if I connect directly to my monitor. My dealer replaced the original unit but the replacement was the same. The service center knows of no fix. I sent a fax to Denon asking about this and I was completely ignored. Keep this in mind if you're considering a Denon unit. If you can live with this, you'll have a very good sounding system.

Similar Products Used:

Marantz, Harmon Kardon, Technics

OVERALL
RATING
2
VALUE
RATING
4
[Nov 22, 1999]
Curt Allen
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Nice, smooth sound (not harsh), excellent value for $$

Weakness:

No dts, no binding posts for speaker B, and surrounds

I owned two previous Denon receivers, and then a Harman Kardon, and I'm glad to be back!!

With NHT SuperOnes,SuperZeroes for my home theater, the HK unit just seemed too bright. This is not the case with the Denon; it's smooooth, the perfect combination with the NHT's sometimes overbright balance.

While I don't have a DVD player... yet, the D/A converter works well with my Philips CDC926 CD changer (which ordinarily uses a bitstream converter). It sounds... different. The highs sound higher (but not better) using the Philips' DAC, but the Denon DAC seems to have a better rounded upper bass. (Could be my cables) Jury's still out on which sounds "better". If anyone knows what kind of DAC it is, please email me, I'm very curious.

The only quibble I have is the remote. It is laid out logically, but the buttons are just the right size for my 10 month old! Denon's old brick-size remote was a little more ergonomic, and the new AVR-1800's and AVR-2800's remotes definitely are better sized.

All in all I am a satisfied customer. While this receiver is not the last word in detail, it is a poor man's entry point into the world of digital video, while sounding better than most mass-market junk out there.

At a list price of $399 (I got mine for a LOT less!) it is an incredible value for a 60w Dolby Digital receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR600, AVR1500, HK AVR25MkII, AVR5

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Dec 30, 2001]
Matthew Klein
Audiophile

Strength:

Great for the price that I got it for, all sorts of incredible features

Weakness:

Center Channel, no DTS

This is a great receiver, but I just needed to post this comment, the center channel on this unit is pathetic, I am listening through an AR 4-way center, and it sounds like the people's vocals are being recorded underwater, they are so quiet and muffled. I am now selling this receiver to get one w/a better 5.1

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo 484

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
5
Showing 11-20 of 35  

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