samfatboy

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
Thanks to this review site, I picked up my 1601 2 years ago on Ebay for $150.00 plus shipping. Fantastic investment. I bought a TEAC at a big boxr store a few months earlier for a lot more money. The difference is astounding. With the Denon, all music I play sounds live, whether it is a CD, DVD, or MP3 at 192 kbs. I pick up sounds that I only heard before in high end headphones -- like the sound of Jimmy Page plugging in his amp.

I am NOT an audiophile, but I do notice a difference between my Denon and almost anything else I listen to. I bought this unit for my bedroom surround system, and it blows the TEAC I have in the family room away. I am going to buy another Denon for the family room and give the TEAC away.

I use Klipsch THX speakers for the surround, center and sub woofer, and they put out a very smooth, full range sound. My dog went wild when one of the tracks I played had a cat in it.

I know this unit is old, but it is a good one that will probably last a long time.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Ultimate Eletronics

Summary:
Had the soldering resistor problem as the unit would switched back to stand-by after turning on. Ultimate knew of the problem and fixed it without charge. Unit is great sounding. Beats the other brands at this price range even with the slight problem.

Strengths:
Sound

Weaknesses:
Soldering problem, apparently widespread (= quality control).

Price Paid:  $400.00 from Ultimate Electronics

Summary:
This unit quit on me 10 Days after the 2 year warranty expired. It's a good receiver I liked it, but I would not recomend anyone buy it due to how many people have had the same problem. Avoid it. Spend the extra for a newer model.

Strengths:
Good for movies and stereo

Weaknesses:
UNRELIABLE

Price Paid:  $0.00 from A.B SOUND

Summary:
OK.. i just want to let everyone know about these failiures on the 1601 model... i got this thing like over 1 year ago.. and the same thing happened to me. One day i turned it on and then it shut off and go back into standby.. i took it to the denon warranty shop and they fixed it..(this thing failed 3 months after i bought it) anyways.. the problem IS a Half watt Resistor for the power supply.. nothing big.. anyone could change it with a bit of soldering experience.. anyways.. it seems that almost all the 1601 models have this faulty Resistor, and they will die on u sooner or later.. i hope for u ppl that are still under warranty that it will fry while the warranty is still good, cuz this is the only problem ive ever heard with this denon.. overall its a great receiver

Price Paid:  $199.00 from Hi Fi Buys

Summary:
I really liked the unit and thought it was a perfect entry level piece. However, it gave up the ghost after nine months of use. It would turn on and then immediately power off. I returned it to HiFi Buys, where they credited me full purchase price towards an upgraded unit. i asked about teh reliability of this model, and the salesman said he had seen numerous returns on this model, but not on the higher end Denon models. I purchased a Denon AVR 1802, and the sound quality difference is astonishing. the extra power makes a huge difference.

Strengths:
Simple to set up, user friendly surround modes, not a lot of extra junk that is confusing and never gets used.

Weaknesses:
It fried after nine months; remote is poorly laid out, as well as ugly and multicolored, and does not have universal capability to control other common components. Does not have Pro Logic II.

Similar Products Used:
Denon AVR 1802 (Superior to this model, so far).