Denon AVR-X3600H AV Receiver Review

[Xyrium]

It's nice to at least see heatsinks that don't look like aluminum foil, and a DAC that isn't complete garbage, in an AVR.

The fan underneath (or is that the top) is odd, if underneath (fighting the natural desire of heat to rise).

Edit: What's funny is how so many people accuse the inside of a PC of having EMI, then I look inside one of these and think...

 

[Music1969]

Nice to see there is decent Engineering remaining at Denon.

 

[Alice of Old Vincennes]

Maybe "they" are responding to this site. I suspect AVR measurements will improve dramatically. Anyone who spends a grand on an AVR will spend a lot more on speakers and monitor This site shows up regularly on Google review searches. Amir is moving the needle.

 

[Bachemar]

If you’re listening to music in Stereo mode, does the L/R amps remain disconnected? Considering it’s only using 2 channels?

 

[Sal1950]

This site shows up regularly on Google review searches. Amir is moving the needle.

From your lips to God ear.

 

[amirm]

Trying to figure out if it’s the power supply causing the problem or parasitic coupling from the amp to the preamp. If the amp is disconnected but other channels are driven will the preamp output be clean at 2V?

I will test but my sense is that if any amp clips, it drags down the power rails that impact the DAC.

 

[amirm]

If you’re listening to music in Stereo mode, does the L/R amps remain disconnected? Considering it’s only using 2 channels?

If you set it to 11 channel mode, yes. That is how I tested it.

 

[Sancus]

I should note, for those interested in Auro3D or simply an older unit that may be cheaper on sale, the AVR-4500H has this same 11 channel mode that requires you to use the pre-outs for the L/R channels, so I'm guessing it functions the exact same way.

E: Oh, and in case it's confusing, you can turn 11-channel mode on but still only use a lower number of actual active channels, so it won't mess up surround mixes/movie watching or anything like that even if you don't have a full 7.1.4 setup.

 

[BsdKurt]

The ironic thing here is that when I bought it and sent it in to be tested it was for as @amirm says, “because you want its features, not because it is doing anything special.” After reading the x3500h results I expected mediocre results. I bought this model for my bedroom because I wanted blue tooth headphones for when my wife falls asleep before me and I want to finish watching something without waking her up.

Special thanks to @amirm for expecting engineering excellence and his scientific, uncompromising approach when testing and reviewing audio equipment. If Denon were to allow us to disconnect the center channel from the internal amp as well as the L/R channel this would be an absolute home run for me.

 

[wje]

Nice review. I had the Denon 3500 (predecessor) for a few weeks about 2 months ago. It was available for a good price (under $500) from Crutchfield because the 3600 had been released. I was just using it for its pre-amp capabilities as well as the HEOS music system. I only returned it because I wanted to change directions a bit and go with separates and the Bluesound Node 2i. However, the HEOS music system integrated had some great features. I could use the "free" version of Spotify in HEOS. With the Bluesound, I can only use Spotify if I purchase a subscription.

I did pick up a used HEOS Link for a great price (used, locally) a few weeks back. I need to get that device integrated and set up in my system this weekend for more music options.

 

[Promit]

Holy hell, I did not expect the 3600h to just annihilate the 3500 and indeed the rest of the competition. Makes me wonder how the 4500 and higher models measure, if they were already at this quality level. But I may just go ahead and upgrade my 3400 to a 3600 instead of worrying about the more exotic models, with this performance.

 

[maty]

That is at 1 watt where noise is dominant. That's why I measure at 5 watts.

Marantz SR6013

1 watt -> 82 dB
5 watt -> about 82+3+3+1 = 89-90 dB.

Denon XR4600H has at least 5 dB more, too much I think. Very strange.

 

[hmt]

If you want an really good preamp, buy the AVR X8500. It has a preamp mode for all channels. BTW, Gene from Audioholics mentioned that you even get 4V without severy clipping out of the AVR. It is better than the more expensive Marantz AV8805 in this respect.

 

[amirm]

Marantz SR6013

1 watt -> 82 dB
5 watt -> about 82+3+3+1 = 89-90 dB.

It is not a linear scale. At 1 watt noise dominates. At 5 watts, it becomes a sum of distortion+noise. Because distortion is non-linear, you can't compute it.

 

[nm4711]

Thanks for the review Amir.

For those who have this amp (or pretty much any recent Denon amp) one feature to be aware of is ECO Mode. In theory this feature reduces power consumption + heat at lower listening levels, and when set to "Auto" will drop out as you get to higher listening levels. I have no idea if or how this mode might affect the measurements that Amir found in testing. If you're concerned about a negative impact to SQ just set it to Off.


AVSForum discussion
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...86-denon-s-eco-mode-what-does-do-exactly.html


User manual
http://manuals.denon.com/AVRX3600H/NA/EN/HJWMSYqdgglnxg.php

View attachment 59178

Last week my brother and I put a DSP between the Center preout and two analog inputs of a x3200w. With the analog input and a pair of amps assigned to Zone2, he can use his Center without passive crossovers.
At first it sounded very bad. After trying different things, like using the analog output from another source, we figured out, that the preouts from the AVR had to be very bad, wich I couldn’t really believe. Luckily I turned of the ECO mode and suddenly everything sounded fine. Maybe they fixed that with the newer models, but I would use the ECO mode with caution.

Edit: After reading the first lines of this Review again, I think I found an explanation: In ECO mode afaik the voltage for the amps is lower, so they dissipate less heat. This also means they clip earlier, which reduces the performance of the preouts, as amirm pointed out.

 

[maty]

Noise must be the same at 1 watt or 5 watt, or almost. And distortion very similar too.

One thing is 1 or 2 dB of difference. Here are at least 5 dB. Maybe they have made a fundamental improvement on Denon's latest series. If so, it is supposed to be appreciated on the new Marantz SR6014 (until without measurements) as well, I mean.

https://h-m-entertainment.com/marantz-sr6014-review

Denon X3600H

Marantz SR6013

 

[audioBliss]

There is an ARCAM here for testing.

Which model?

 

[hmt]

Last week my brother and I put a DSP between the Center preout and two analog inputs of a x3200w. With the analog input and a pair of amps assigned to Zone2, he can use his Center without passive crossovers.
At first it sounded very bad. After trying different things, like using the analog output from another source, we figured out, that the preouts from the AVR had to be very bad, wich I couldn’t really believe. Luckily I turned of the ECO mode and suddenly everything sounded fine. Maybe they fixed that with the newer models, but I would use the ECO mode with caution.

Edit: After reading the first lines of this Review again, I think I found an explanation: In ECO mode afaik the voltage for the amps is lower, so they dissipate less heat. This also means they clip earlier, which reduces the performance of the preouts, as amirm pointed out.

Makes sense since eco mode cuts power on the amps and thus the preouts will clip much earlier. I use my X4500 as a preamp and this is the reason I only use eco mode auto.

 

[Tks]

A miracle. Had the jitter been better, this would've been perfect - all things granted.

 

[Ctsit]

Hi all,
New to Home theater so apologies if the question is stupid. I want to buy the 3600h and want to utilize the full 11 channels. I understand that the 9 channels are powered and the remaining 2 are not. I have an old (fully functional ) demon 1900. Can I use that to drive the remaining 2 channels. If yes how would I set it up?

Thanks in advance.