Denon AVR-3600DTS

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Denon AVR-3600DTS
Just got this unit. Replaced a Harman/Kardon AVR-75 due to reasons listed under my review for that unit. I installed the 3600DTS and went through the onscreen menu (very nice) to set it up for the first time. It too comes from the factory with the front speakers set to 'small' (80hz and up), so if your fronts can't handle it and you don't have a powered sub be sure to change this setting to 'large' (full range). I played some CD's first to check the quality of the audio, and I must say I was thoroughly impressed. This unit is worlds apart from the HK, where the HK was harsh and tinny, the Denon unit was smooth and accurate, though I don't listen to many CD's at home, I will still enjoy them much better when I do. The layout on the front panel is very nice, and easy to comprehend. The back panel is layed out nicely as well, with the speaker outputs able to accept banana plugs (the HK did not). The remote is layed out nicely and easy to read, and I like the simplicity of it. Like the HK, this unit really excels in HT. I played CutThroat Island with AC-3 and this unit just cranked. Explosions were loud and accurate, imaging was real and the bass was extraordinary! I can't wait to get a powered sub, but it'll do until I get one. Overall sound quality is as good as the HK, but where the Denon excel's is in bass response. This unit is a beast and weighs a lot, you're going to pay for it, but so far I thinks it's money well spent, definitely worth the extra that I paid for the HK. Compared to the HK, I would say the only area the HK comes close is in Dolby Digital, the HK really performed well there but lacked the bass I heard from the Denon. The Denon's front panel is far better than the HK, the Denon's remote is better, the musical sound quality is far better, plus the Denon has DTS. I have not listened to DTS yet, but I will soon and will give a comment on that feature. The DTS is definitely an after thought on this product, a Denon rep told me that the reason they came out with the 3600DTS was because it only has 5 channel inputs and would not be upgradeable if you had a DTS unit, so they decided to throw the chip inside. Kind of cheasy, but I'm not going to complain, there is no indication on the front panel that DTS is on or working, you just set it to Digital and it will automatically pick it up. Overall, the Denon AVR-3600DTS is one of the best receiver's I've heard (the only one better is the Denon AVR-5700). I rate it an overall 9 because of the hiss that is still existant when no source is playing. When compared to any other receiver in it's class, the Denon is a certain 10!

Overall Rating: 9
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=27337

Denon AVR-3600DTS
Ditto to the above except I compared this unit to the Yamaha 2095. Also, didn't hear the hissing on my unit when switching between sources.

Overall Rating: 10
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=27339

Denon AVR-3600DTS
For 2-channel stereo and Dolby/Dolby Digital this unit is terrific. With the Denon DVD-3000, and B&W 602 Series 2's on L/R/C and surrounds, the receiver performed without complaint - with power to spare. Unfortunately, the DTS is a different story. It appears that the DTS decoding on this model was done after-the-fact (DTS stamp, as in ink-stamped by an employee at Denon, on the product box, no DTS indicator on the front panel of the unit, the 'DTS' logo is a peel-off sticker??? What the hell?) and with the unit I purchased, DTS playback was unacceptable. For starters, center channel sound crackled at certain frequencies - so much so that I thought my speaker tweeter was damaged. Second, once I played DTS-encoded source, the receiver didn't recognize anything but DTS-encoded source until I turned the receiver off then on again. Design flaw or not, this is broken. I have since notified the reseller that I will be trading up for the ACR-5700, which if you can afford it (>$1000 more) buy it. However, as far as the AVR-3600 is concerned, if you want good sound for stereo playback and good 5.1 w/DTS built in from the ground-up, listen to the new AVR-3300 before the 3600. It's cheaper and it does DTS much better.

Overall Rating: 7
Weight: 1 (Unreliable Vote)
Date:
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Link to this vote: http://www.excelsis.com/1.0/displayvote.php?voteid=27340

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