Denon AVR-1603

I really wanted a surround receiver to have a much more realistic sound experience watching movies and replaced my Sony stereo amplifier from the ES series for this model. After some years of listening and trying several speakers I was not very satisfied with the Denon and decided to buy back my old amplifier. For only 100 euros I bought back my Sony 590ES and enjoyed listening to music again. What a difference!! Comparing them side by side I found out that the Denon really messed up the music. Parts of the music where just gone! I experienced with different speakers but no difference, the Denon keeps very flat and just misses sounds and instruments the Sony perfectly displays.

hi all think the amp is cool but wen i turn it up it cuts off 4 a bit . an 2day i woz listen 2 some tunes 1 hour in 2 it i could smell this burn i went 2 it an it woz off .turnd it bk on but all i got woz stand bey woz flashen .do u no wear i can take it 2 b fixed please help

You get what you pay for in this product, I only wish it was a gift!Outstanding sound and features.

The Denon AVR1603 is very temperamental.

After less than a year of use the Denon AVR-1603 receiver began shutting off whenever the volume reached a certain point. I'm not even talking very loud. The whole unit just powers off. Brought it in to get fixed, worked again for just long enough for the warranty to expire and the problem came back. Now I am S.O.L unless I want to listen at minimal volume. Avoid this piece of junk at all costs.

I bought this reciever to replace my old Yamaha AX-550 integrated amp. Since my budget was low, and I desperately craved a surround receiver, I bought this one at www.hifiklubben.no for around NOK 3500/€420. Prices have dropped much since then (jan 03), they now (sep 04) sell the new models AVR-1604 and 1705 for around NOK 2700/€320.

This reciever delivers a totally different sound than the old Yamaha - which is the only product I can directly compare it with. It's much more forgiving towards bad recordings, it's smoother sounding - altogether much more flexible. But it lacks the "speed" and "attack" the Yamaha had with well produced audio. In short; with the AVR-1603 most music sounds very good, but nothing sounds really really great. If I were to buy a new surround receiver today (which I'm not, because the Denon is quite good), I'd save up a little more money and buy a Yamaha RX-V650/750. Anyway, considering the pricedrop (in Norway, at least) the new models should be extremely good value for money. Good sound, good specs. Probably best in it's price range.

Btw: I use it with a Sony DVP-NS705 DVD-player and Monitor Audio speakers.

I love my Denon, sound stays clean at high volumes...much better than "the most popular brand" In fact I still havn't found the "ceiling" After an extended use period at power output, the Denon stays reletivly cool!