5.0 AMPS, great sound, does $400.00 mean anything to you, easy to use, very accurate

The remote is kind of annoying but you get used to it, no bass and treble controls from the remote (lazy)AND THATS IT NOTHING ELSE TO COMPLAIN ABOUT

This is a great little receiver. It clearly shows Denon is really the best in the market. BANG FOR BUCK says it all I have been into high end audio for about 8 years now and use some really expensive audiophile gear, but would recommend this piece to any of my "hifi frineds". I work in the buisness and did a side by side test with the "highly acclaimed" Onkyo tsx575x (the replacement in my establishment for DENON which I regret) The Denon hands down blew away the 575x. The Highs were crisper the lows were more defined and the volume was louder due to the higher amp rating of the Denon. I can't seem to understand the industries fetish with this embarrassing product. "OnkyNO" But back to the Denon really nice the best thing out there in the sub $500.00 price range. I would bet my system on it (Denon AVR3300, Bryston 2 channel in front, Vienna Acoustic Bach, VA center, Rell sub, NHT 1.5 rears) ONE LAST THING STOP COMPLAINING ABOUT NO DTS it means nothing it is a farse nobody is using it anymore all the movies that have DTS also have Dolby DIG 5.1 SO STOP DTS IS DEAD AND NOT COMMING BACK what movies r u watching ne way

Similar Products Used:

OnkyNO 575x, Sony receiver, Kenwood VR106

Small package, really inexpensive on uBid, 6 channel input

Poor treble and bass, lack of 5-way binding posts

System components: Denon DCM 460 cd changer, Toshiba 3109 DVD player, Polk RT7 front, Polk CS 275 center, Polk RT/fx surround. Kimber Cable PBJ's for cd changer, AudioQuest Jade for the DVD player, AudioQuest 12G speaker cable.

While my Denon AVR 1400 was in the shop being repaired (for over three months), I was (un)fortunate enough to have one of these on loan from my audio dealer. Let me give you some thoughts on this Denon 1600.

Out of the box, it's pretty small - about 2 inches shorter and 2 inches less deep than the Denon 1400. It's considerably lighter too, probably 5-8 lbs. The overall feel is, well, cheap. It have 5-way speaker binding posts for the front and center channels, but silly spring clips for the surrounds. This meant unless I wanted to remove the banana clips from my surround speaker wire, I'd have to do without. Perhaps you expect this on a $200 Awia, but considering this Denon retailed for $399, it's disappointing. The remote is tiny, with about 3 dozen buttons jammed into a 1.5in x 4in face. It's the same remote than Denon had shipped with their DVD-2000 model. Fine for a DVD player, but woefully inadequate for a receiver. Inputs are bountiful, and it does include a 6 channel input for DTS and other surround modes of the future.

First, stereo performance. Let me start off by saying that the 60 watts appears to be far overrated. I really have to turn it up to get the same detail in both movies and music as the Denon AVR 1400, which is rated at 65 watts per channel. I suppose one small advantage is that it runs considerable cooler, so you can put it on the small shelf below the TV or put it behind glass doors without worrying. The 60 watts it does have is pretty ugly, too. At moderately low levels, the left and right speaker volumes differ considerably - the left drops off, leaving only the right to play on. When playing at normal listening levels, the sound is at best ok, but certainly not engrossing or captivating. The treble is very tinny with the Polks I have, very similar to the Yamaha I had tried with these same speakers. However, the Yamaha had a very good midrange and a strong bass, both of which are missing from the Denon 1600. Even turned up pretty high, the bass is neither tight nor powerful, despite positioning the speakers in different places around the room. The midrange was very similar to what I hear in car stereos - it's there, but it really isn't involving. I had much more satisfying sound from the Jamo CS1 powered computer speakers I tried out.

Now, let me briefly comment its surround performance. I cannot comment on the surround channels since the speaker wire I have is terminated with banana plugs. Unfortunately, I had just given away the last bit of my old 14G MonsterCable speaker wire, and I didn't have any other wire to use. The front channels were fine in both Dolby ProLogic and Dolby Digital mode. The center channel was another story. Now, I know that I have a pretty poor center channel - a Polk CS275 - so it's not a great speaker to begin with. With the Denon 1600, it sounded like I had put the speaker back in its box and then placed it on top of my television. It was terrible. Like most other Denons I have listened to, the center channel on this receiver is somewhat muted in comparison to the left and right channels. Inevitably during action scenes, you can barely hear the dialog over the sound effects. It's quite annoying, but this same fault occurs in most of the Denon receivers.

Positives? Well, you can get them cheap now (well under $200 on uBid) and they run cool so you can shove them in those crappy particle board TV stands.

Negatives? A terrible investment at list price considering the poor features (spring clips, terrible remote) and the sound.

For $399, it deserves 1 star for value. For $150, it's an acceptable solution for a second surround system, but not for two channel stereo, and deserves 2 stars.

Similar Products Used:

Denon AVR1400, Yamaha RXV 592

Innexpensive, Dolby Digital, Binding Posts on the Main and Center speakers.

The Remote is a Piece of $h!1. Someone at Denon should be fired, or beaten, for designing it.

It's pretty good. It is a reciever I am using until I can get a better one with DTS, more power, and S video switching. I wanted the five channel stereo and Dolby Digital and I got it in the 1600 for a great price. I have two complaints,
1. The remote. If you buy this product go out and buy the cinema 7 universal or something simalar and store the denon one away. I am supprised that a reputable company such as denon would put out such an inferior product (the remote)
2. Hissing. I have very effecient Klipsch speakers and there is a slight hiss from the reciever. I don't know if it just mine or if they would all be like that. I couldn't trade it in because I got it off the internet. Other than that it is great. A perfect step up from my small system with pro logic. It is by far the best thing I could get for the money that I didn't want to spend.

Similar Products Used:

cheap Sony's, onkyo and yamaha low end.

Cost and Quality

I use this receiver for my home theater center w/ front left and right loudspeakers and surround speakers. I am not as picky as some of the other reviews but I still know good quality. I have equal clarity and sound output through all channels. For me the bass is fine. If you want good bass, go out and buy a good 400-500 dollar subwoofer. Otherwise you will be complaining about the 1600's lack of power like some of the other reviews. Oh and the remote, Well, I can palm a basketball and I can still use the remote without a problem so I won't complain.

Bottom line. This is a great receiver for home theater use, just don't buy bad speakers to play your audio through.

Value-for-money, RDS/RadioTEXT (shows songs now playing), Easy setup menu (speaker distance in stead of delay time), Personal Memory Plus (to use different settings with different audio sources), A+B main speakers switches, muting switch.

No extra AC oulets.

I was looking for this particular receiver for some months when I suddenly saw in in a package deal with a small 5.1 speaker set and a CD-player (I don't understand the use of CD-player with a Dolby Digital Receiver, but I was able to sell it at instand to a friend of my father's). I didn't hesitate and bought it. I am very satisfied with the complete set. I use a Pioneer DVL-909 DVD-player that I also use to play my CD's. The DAC of the receiver sounds better than the one aboard my DVD-player. I used the coaxial digital input to set the system up, and since there is no RF-distortion in continue to use it.
It was quite easy to figure out the best level-setting in my room beacause I only had to enter the speaker distance.
I also used the audio setup from Pink Floyd's The Wall (DVD R2).
The remote control is good. I can easily reach every knob with my thumb. It also works with my DVD-player and VCR. For some reason it doesn't work with my TV, which I don't mind. My TV has too many functions (teletext) to fit on the receiver's remote and switches automatically when I turn on my DVD-player.
I don't use the DSP-modes (like Jazz club, Rock Arena etc) since like to hear the sound as clean as possible. Neither do I use the bass and treble.
The AVR-1600 is easy in every-day use. I didn't have to explain it to my girlfriend.

Similar Products Used:

None