There is a general thread on Denon AVR and since I just got myself the Denon AVR1610 and there is no specific thread on this AVR, think I'll start one so that owners can come in to share their experience on problems, solutions, tips and views to get the most out of this entry-level AVR. I got mine from Desa Home theatre in Kepong for RM1299 over the weekend and I think it is very good value for money. Just a few points for those considering this AVR. This is Denon entry-level 5.1 channels AVR and is last year's model so is just HDMI 1.3 and is not ready for 3D video. If you want 3D video, you have to consider this year's model 1611 or Onkyo's entry level TX-SR308. Both have HDMI 1.4a for 3D video.
In fact the sales guy was trying to convince me to get the SR308 for an extra RM100 when I was there but since I don't care for 3D and the Denon 1610 has Audyssey auto calibration (which the Onkyo lacks) I stuck to the Denon. I cannot comment on the audio quality for both but I think they are lebih kurang since both are True HD entry level AVR with similar price. Sifu's here may want to tell us more about their pros and cons.
Hope other owners will share their experience with the 1610 in this thread.

Not sure if you're going to get the kind of response you're expecting by having a separate 1610 thread. Not my intention to throw cold water ..... just my 2 cents (from a fellow Denon kaki). Known owners of Denon AVRs here on LYN are only a handful, probably numbering below 40. Active members are even less, and of those, are pretty fragmented in terms of models. So I would not expect a flood of response to this thread. Just keeping it real ....

Having said that, congrats on your new purchase and welcome to the Denon family. I'm sure you have visited the main Denon thread and realise that Chief Fanboy htkaki and Deputy Chief Fanboy ronaldjoe will be more than happy to answer any of your Denon-related questions. lol .....

It would help if you also share with us your setup besides the avr ... e.g. source, speakers, HT or music, config (2.0,2.1, 5.1, 7.1), room (dedicated or hall). Have you run the Audyssey calibration on your setup?

Cheers.

All the Denon fanboy going for 4311. So should open another thread AVR4311.

Thank you, bro, for your comments. I understand the Denon sifu's here have big budget and go for the high end models so I thought I open this thread to cater for the low-budget type and HD beginners like me. Recently, I saw a few posts by new owners of the 1610 so hopefully they can share their experience here.

With the addition of the Denon 1610, I have just completed my migration into the HD world with a modest budget set-up made up of Samsung entry-level BD player BDC5500, LCD TV Toshiba 32AV700 and HD media player Yangxi HDPro. I have also carried over a DVD player, the Philips DVP3560. My config is 5.1 with probably 10 years old budget Weige speakers and Volcano sub-woofer. So nothing Hi-Fi but I find these perfectly adequate for my 10x12 study room. My use is mainly for DVD, music CD, some BD and my camcorder videos.

No, I have not run the Audyssey calibration yet. Just connected the speakers last Sunday to the Denon with all at default and thankfully, everything work first time. I had a scare at first when I could not turn on the Denon with my remote; I have forgotten to on the hard power switch - that's for not reading the manual.

I connected the BD player, the DVD player and the HD media player to the 3 HDMI inputs with the HDMI output to the LCD TV and all worked perfectly. After reading about HDMI handshake issues and compatibility with some BD players, I was glad they all worked together. At first I did not get the blue HD Audio light on at the Denon but after changing the Audio output on the Samsung 5500 to Bitstream (Audiophile), the blue light came on. What a relief!

Will run the Audyssey and do some tweaking later on, the thick manual is very daunting! Now just enjoy my new toy first.
(Does the Audyssey really improve the set-up?)

This post has been edited by ronaldkwok: Oct 26 2010, 04:51 PM

The short and quick answer to this is "yes". Just make sure you take at least 6-8 readings/positions during the calibration process, and try to do it when the ambience is quietest e.g. late at night, and switch off all other "noise" e.g. fan, air-con, kids!

Based on your post, looks like you're well researched and on the right track. Yes, the Denon manuals are known to be daunting ..... that where batpig's guide comes in handy:
http://batpigworld.com/

Enjoy your new toys and welcome to the HD world. You can spend more time in the blu-ray thread and get more poision there. cheers.

Good to see a dedicated thread of the 1610 and congratulations on your purchase.Definitely a good deal for a budget and I doubt stocks will last very long at that price.I bought mine a few weeks back together with a Plasma and a Philips BD player . Mine must be a better version since I paid more for it..haha.Anyway no regrets here since I have been using two and a half amplifiers for my 5.1 HT DVD setup a long time back.May recall one of the stereo amps to do 7.1 service for the front height speakers.Now having fun reading the manuals and setup instructions.Getting a quiet morning to setup Audyssey seems more elusive than I thought.

Kc

It is good to have specific model also. When I read around Denon thread, most of them are big kakis.... so I also feel shy... haha.

TS, welcome to AV world. More spending will follow for sure especially with the never ending poison.

Enjoy

Welcome to the Sky Dragon club. Just make sure you post in the Official Denon Thread when you have upgraded this amp.... *_*

The original Sky Dragon thread belong to elite. They don't even know 1610 exist

i think there will be better response if combine few entry model like 1610/11 1910/11 2310/11 in one thread. Suggest TC edit de title a bit

Good idea Vince. Btw... why people associate Denon with SkyDragon?

Denon in Cantonese is Tin Lung (or Tian Loong in Mandarin) which literally means Sky Dragon. That's what I think is the association but other sifu's may have a different explaination.

BTW, thanks for all the feedback and support, especially to terranova for moving down from the sky high Denon to the entry level of 1610!

This post has been edited by ronaldkwok: Oct 27 2010, 11:01 PM

Yep, that's it. That's why its sometimes fondly referred to as Sky Dragon on this forum.

Bro ronaldkwok, don't say like that la ... If you know me, you will realise that i started with a stero amp Denon from the pre-HT era, and moved on since then. Although my current Denon is a 4310, I moved up from a pre-HD 2807 model. So basically we all start the same and just move on .... i'm sure your 1610 will give u much pleasure until you catch the itchy-upgradatitus bug too like most of us in here.

Whoa, Sifoo starts to poison liow...