SOUND,SOUND,SOUND BRAND NAME connectivity! it even has optic infront!! ease of use

no logo of DOLBY,DTS onscreen

DENON,what more could i say??i never heard the true meaning of home theater,just about now..when i brought home my 1603,in replacement of my pioneer!! when i connected it(about 15mins bec easy to setup)to my wharfedale speakers the very first time i hear my surrounds shouting out loud,clearly,you can hear every detail,i tried it on movies,cds,anything you could ever imagine!! its like having a best friend who never turns you down!! now i believe in DENON, so from now on theres only 1 AVR brand for me to trust..DENON!!by the way i also auditioned YAMAHA,ONKYO,PIONEER.. i kinda like the onkyo also,but lacks connectivity(optical ins)

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PIONEER

sound quality on DD movies, like the new Bond flick, and perfectly acceptable for music too. I love DPL II for music listening.

I don't know if this is a weakness, but you have to turn the volume up quite high to get loud levels in a large room. Still I have not heard clipping or anything untoward, even when pushing my system with an action movie.

I watch a lot of digital cable TV movies and wanted to upgrade to a receiver that had Dolby PL II. I was able to trade in an older Marantz SR-685 receiver and get a good buck for it. I was immediately impressed with the quality of the AVR-1603. I have read about the Denon pieces lacking something for music, but I have not found that at all. Listening to music soundtracks in movies and also to digital music stations, I think the Denon sounds terrific and somewhat crisper than the four-year-old Marantz.

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Marantz SR-685

Excellent Sound, Excellent power, Over all the best priced quality receiver that for under $300.

No 6.1 Channels and remote kinda of sucks.

I've been looking for a receiver for a well over a month. I looked at every model: sony, onkyo, harman kardon, etc. I went to circuit city to test receivers. The H/K were amazing but too expensive, the sony's sound quality wasn't good, and the onkyo was disappointing in power/price/sound quality. I really wanted to test a denon. I finally found a place that sold them. The salesman put in The Patriot DVD and I was blown away!!! It was so loud, so crisp and clean and the volume wasn't turned all the way up. The harman kardon is the only receiver that sounds just alittle better but 55 watts just isn't enough and the price is much higher. The 80 watts (rms) is more than you think. I tested The Patroit when I got it and it sounded even better with my polk speakers than it did in the store. You have to hear it to believe it. I didn't have a hard time hooking it up but on-screen display would be nice. I only inteaded on using the 5.1 channels but 6.1 would have be nice. The new 1604 model has the 6.1 but it's $449. The remote does kinda of suck but it's not that bad. Plenty of hook up's for me. I have my tv, vcr, dvd, and ps2. If you want a receiver that sounds like a $1200 receiver but don't want to pay for it then get the Denon Avr-1603, you won't be sorry.

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Fisher and Sony

Sound quality!!! Price 70 wat rms min Good surround setup Denon name

None really for its price its a great little amp.

I purchased this as an entry level amp. Before purchasing this amp i looked at all types in this price range, even though it only has 70 rms, it is more then enough power. The reason i chose this amp, is because of its quality, nearly fully cranked up this pumps out sound which is crystal clear, no distortion what so ever. In movies, the sound is precise and clear, with easy adjustable surround settings which lets you set the surround to your liking. It produces 5.1 just right(no dsp, as i like my surround to come in its natural way). Although to have a full cinema effect, it needs to cranked up fairly high. In stereo, it produces great quality sound, even though it was purchased as a home theatre amp it produces great quality music. It is not the loudest amp( compared to a THX amp),it will still makes the windows rattle but( still has plenty of ommmph ). The quality makes up for it, especially at this price range. Plenty of inputs is always good, and the digital inputs is pretty good, 3 of them. In use with Accusound ES-55 speakers

Sound, Sound, Sound. Cost, Cost, Cost All the fetaures most people really need the rest I think are jsut add ons that most people really never or hardly ever use.

A lot of recivers have more digital imputs but three is good for most people out there.

This was a Denon refurbished unit. I'm really happy with it. I upgraded from a 9 year old Pioneer Pro Logic model with 125wats per channel. I was happy with that but wanted the newer technology. I was glad to find this at ecost.com for 199 free shipping! There is obviously better recievers out there but I really wanted the most I could get for as little as I could spend. This has everyhting I need. Mind you some other features might be nice but I really won't need them. My father has a THX moddel and although it sounds good its not that much better than what I got for 200 bucks! Denon sound is great and going from 125 wpc to 80 wpc is almost identical until you start to crank it up and really the 80 watt Denon getts plenty load unough for my house. The Pioneer will go loader but I wouldn't ever want to turn it up that loud unless I'm trying to impresss someone and still they would only need about 30 sec. of impression.:o) Anyway If you are looking at this reciever and wandering if you should buy it I would say a big YES. I really am happy with it.

Great sound Price Good feature set for an entry level receiver (and user!) Added extra digital inputs (2 more than the 1602)

none really - apart from the remote not working with any of our other gear!

Bought this as an entry level receiver along with a Polk audio RM6000 sat/sub set - with cable & stands about $2050 all up. Looked at equivalent sony & yamaha setups, but went with the denon/polk setup instead, mostly for 2 reasons: 1. Have owned a denon mini system for several years and have had faultless performance & reliablity, even after 4 house moves & 2 countries. Loved the clean sound, even with bookshelf speakers 2. I was much happier spending the extra money to go with "specialist" brands - I really didn't want to fork over all that money, only to become disatisfied with the sound/performance after a short time

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none

Power, sound quality, build quality

Remote(not really that bad), a few more digital inputs would be nice.

I bought this receiver primarily to use in my bedroom. I think this receiver for the price is a killer product. There are shortcomings, but if look at what you get for the price, there are very few weaknesses. The primary strength hear is a clean 80 WPC and moreover the sound is very clean, warm and transparent. The setup is very easy, intuitive and I found I hardly had to use the manual. There are plenty of inputs, but I wish the new receivers would have a lot more digital inputs. The remote could be a little less cluttered and more intuitive, but you get used to it. I think as an entry-level HT/Music receiver not many compenents can even come close, especially when you look at sound quality, and eventually that is the bottom line. I don't think it is built to power a very large room, but more than suffices for a small to medium room setup.

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Yamaha, Adcom, Harmon Kardon, Pioneer Elite

-80 watts is enough, choose speakers carefully -Component video switching at this price -Memory feature to recall settings

Poor instructions, not intuitive Difficult to setup Remote not well designed No on-screen display

Does a pretty good job in a HT setup but musically it fails to impress. The presentation is laid back and fails to involve. Switch to HT mode and the same laid back character still persists and I find myself turning the volume up all the time (neighbours permitting) to get more ooomph, but ooomph it'll give proving that 80 watts is enough. Still tweaking it, instructions are not very helpful but I'll get it right eventually. Works best at higher volumes, or maybe I just didn't set it up correctly. Paired with Wharfedale 8.4 fronts, 8.1 as surrounds, Sony WM40 LFE and El cheapo Yamaha centres.

Good Power Many Inputs in the Back Denon name and Quality

Remote Control looks funky Remote only works within 30 degrees of IR sensor, Sony used to work all over the room. Big unit, had to cut out insert in back of shelf in order for the door to close.

Great Receiver. At first you think 80 watts/channel is small but this Receiver puts out. Lots of inputs on the back for all my equipment. A little difficult to setup the Pro Logic II but once it is set it great. Pro Logic II comes in music and cinima modes. This unit replaced my malfunctioning Sony STRDE-885. I love the Denon Quality.

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SONY STRDE-885 (100 W/channel) JVC 7020VBK (100 W/Channel)