Denon AVR-1611

Denon AVR-1611 review

This five-channel amp tries to bring Denon's legendary sound quality to a low price point without greatly compromising on cutting-edge features. As such, the AVR-1611 boasts 3D compatibility through its four HDMI v1.4 inputs, and chucks in a few other unexpected frills such as Dolby Pro-Logic IIz, which expands the soundstage to include front height channels – as long as you have another amp to run the signal into. What you also get is Denon's impeccable sense of style. The unit's stylish black finish cleverly camouflages the buttons on the fascia, which gives it a clean, uncluttered look and the large display panel provides a lot of information.The rear panel seems sparse at first glance, particularly when compared with the brand's pricier models, but it covers all the basics and, thankfully, the speaker terminals are all binding posts. Unlike the Yamaha, the AVR-1611 can decode Dolby TrueHD and DTS-HD MA soundtracks, and offers seven DSP modes to spice up music and movie playback, including a Virtual surround mode. Installation is aided by Audyssey's auto setup mode, as well as a group of technologies (MultEQ, Dynamic EQ and Dynamic Volume) designed to monitor the sound once optimised.