Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
I purchased the AVR-1601 back in 2002 refurbished off of ubid.com. The unit has been very reliable over the years. The only issue is that after the warranty ran out, I started to use all of the auxiliary inputs and found that the video input for the VCR does not work(probably refurbished incorrectly). No matter, the unit still has plenty of room to handle my DVD player, PS3, PS2, and Wii. The sound has always blown Bose enthusiasts away when they visit my house. I try and tell them , "all highs, all lows, it must be Bose", and they never believe me until they hear the Star Wars Episode 1 race scene. [ The Infiniti dedicated subwoofer helps.] I will be upgrading soon to take advantage of HDMI and the sound of the new DTS modes BD provides. BTW, any DVD with DTS sounds incredible on this receiver. It may be a lower model, but the clarity was revolutionary for this price. I know there are many better units on the market now than my AVR-1601, and I will skip over all of them to buy another Denon product.

samfatboy

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Visitors rate this review
5.00 of 5, 2.00 votes

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