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Denon AVR-X3600H AV Receiver Review

Doodski

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If you can mod the X3500H so that the internal power amps can be disconnected, it would measure reasonable well too.
Denon sure has loyal followers. I provided warranty service Denon for some years. The company was a dream to work with in a good way but the product was Sony Sony Sony... Nothing special but a loyal following of customers.
 

peng

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

Yes, once you assigned the front left and right to pre out, it stays that way regardless. The only trick is that in order to "assign" them you have to select 11 channel processing.
 

capt.s

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Now I'm curious if on the 3600 whether the ECO mode is good or bad for someone using only pre-outs and full external amplification (such as 5 external amp channels). Does eco mode hurt preamp performance like amp performance? Or does it prevent amp performance from hampering preout performance?
I believe it doesn't but it'd be great if Amir could verify that for sure. I use ECO mode to keep the AVRs temp down when listening in stereo feeding a Parasound A21.
 

SimpleTheater

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Denon AVR-X3600H 9.2CH IMAX Enhanced AV Receiver Offers Best In Class Features
https://www.audioholics.com/av-receiver-reviews/denon-avr-x3600h
For $1,100 the Denon X3600H comes with 11CH of processing to do a full 7.1.4 speaker system with the addition of a 2CH external amplifier. The only other receiver that offers this capability is the Onkyo TX-ZR830 which is being discontinued as we await announcement of the TX-ZR840 replacement model.
Maybe I’m missing something, but my Yamaha RX-A3060 (and all its future incarnations) can do this. I have a 4 channel amp handling ceiling speakers, but I could have assigned only 2 channels, but I wanted to take a bigger load off the AVR. Regardless, this Denon costs less and probably outperforms the Yamaha’s. Very impressive unit.
 

audioBliss

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I'm missing a graph of this nature. A lot of people would look to use the pre-outs on this. This paired with some hypex amps would make for a descent setup.
index.php
 

peng

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or some Pre/Pro from the usual suspects Denon, Integra, Marantz, Pioneer, Yamaha, etc

Denon has not made a prepro (except the pro gear) since the $7,500 fully balanced end to end AVP-A1HDCI.

I would love to see their integrated amp measured. 65 lbs, 50 WPC, for only ¥ 780,000, not bad it you go by $/lb but ridiculous for $/W.:D Marantz on the other hand seemed to have drop their price, their flag ship PM-10 (200 WPC) is listed for only ¥ 600,000, US$7,999, better buy from Japan. Can't help but wonder if the measurements can justify the high price and low output of such integrated amps made by the same D&M, still owned by Sound United I would imagine.

https://translate.googleusercontent...ted_ap&usg=ALkJrhhL3F1kMM96l7fGfmAqEB3LcJGkfw
 
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SimpleTheater

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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.
I agree. @amirm needs to get a young intern to pass the torch in the next decade or two when he finally decides to retire.
 

peng

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I believe it doesn't but it'd be great if Amir could verify that for sure. I use ECO mode to keep the AVRs temp down when listening in stereo feeding a Parasound A21.

As I mentioned before, Marantz has already confirmed pre out is not affected by ECO being "On". I can search and provide a link if you like.
I have also measured the preout with and without ECO on so I know it for a fact. It only affects the internal power amp.

Found it, see post#6:
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...86-denon-s-eco-mode-what-does-do-exactly.html

Response By Email (NJ Customer Service & Support) (10/11/2016 12:08 PM)
Hi Michael,
When ECO Mode is used, voltage for the amp stage decreases about 1/3 and amplifier stage energy loss decreases about 1/6 compared to ECO Mode being OFF.
It is recommend when using external amplification to leave ECO Mode set to ON. This will reduce power consumption to less than 70W.
When using ECO Mode ON at lower volume levels (under 45 Absolute) power consumption is about 1/2 as compared to leaving ECO Mode OFF. This is useful if using the AVR at night and you do not want to disturb others.
When using ECO Mode Auto, the circuit will control the power supply voltage by a relay. If the volume level is more than 45 Absolute the circuit will cut off. If the volume is less than 45 Absolute the circuit will switch on automatically. If listening at the threshold level (45) you will hear the relay clicking on and off frequently. Voltage for the amp stage does not change here, so power consumption would be the same as normal.


Thank You,
D+M Custom Install
 
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capt.s

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As I mentioned before, Marantz has already confirmed pre out is not affected by ECO being "On". I can search and provide a link if you like.
I have also measured the preout with and without ECO on so I know it for a fact. It only affects the internal power amp.

Found it, see post#6:
https://www.avsforum.com/forum/90-r...86-denon-s-eco-mode-what-does-do-exactly.html

Response By Email (NJ Customer Service & Support) (10/11/2016 12:08 PM)
Hi Michael,
When ECO Mode is used, voltage for the amp stage decreases about 1/3 and amplifier stage energy loss decreases about 1/6 compared to ECO Mode being OFF.
It is recommend when using external amplification to leave ECO Mode set to ON. This will reduce power consumption to less than 70W.
When using ECO Mode ON at lower volume levels (under 45 Absolute) power consumption is about 1/2 as compared to leaving ECO Mode OFF. This is useful if using the AVR at night and you do not want to disturb others.
When using ECO Mode Auto, the circuit will control the power supply voltage by a relay. If the volume level is more than 45 Absolute the circuit will cut off. If the volume is less than 45 Absolute the circuit will switch on automatically. If listening at the threshold level (45) you will hear the relay clicking on and off frequently. Voltage for the amp stage does not change here, so power consumption would be the same as normal.


Thank You,
D+M Custom Install
It's surprising still how hot the AVR gets even with ECO on (not surprising I suppose with 9 amps idling). I imagine it'd be feasible for them to implement turning the amps off in stereo pre-out mode. I'm sure that'd be a great selling feature many would appreciate.
 

Shakes

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Wait a minute, do I understand right that you replaced the AV8805 with this little AVR-X3600H at less than 1/4 the cost? I replaced my AV8801 with a AVR-X4400H and I was not disappointed but you seemed very brave to go further than me in that kind of upgrade/or downgrade actually??
I did go that route. After I upgraded to the 8805 I never really felt that my system improved audibly at at all. I was curious to see what the testing numbers would show, and when they were published it confirmed what I was thinking. From there, it came down to the only thing it offered was 2 more channels of processing that I did not require in my system, so I kept an eye on this newer model jumped when i found it on sale. Still very happy with how it sounds and used the money on more worthwhile projects!
 

Promit

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I really want to see one of the 4, 6, or 8 series Denons hit the test bench now. Somebody make it happen!
 

QMuse

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I wonder if blind tests would show that listeners can actually hear the difference between this AVR and, say, a Benchmark DAC and amp for 2 channel playback. That would be research worth doing.

I cannot imagine difference to be audible: noise is quite low so it would be masked by ambient noise and distortion is also quite low and it would be masked by speaker's distortion.
 

peng

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It's surprising still how hot the AVR gets even with ECO on (not surprising I suppose with 9 amps idling). I imagine it'd be feasible for them to implement turning the amps off in stereo pre-out mode. I'm sure that'd be a great selling feature many would appreciate.

If you measured the temperature you would see that it wasn't that warm, certainly well below the set point for the build in fans. That's why I always put at least one fan on top of such devices. The equivalent SR6014 will be slightly warmer because it has the extra buffer stage, the HDAM modules.
 

peng

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I did go that route. After I upgraded to the 8805 I never really felt that my system improved audibly at at all. I was curious to see what the testing numbers would show, and when they were published it confirmed what I was thinking. From there, it came down to the only thing it offered was 2 more channels of processing that I did not require in my system, so I kept an eye on this newer model jumped when i found it on sale. Still very happy with how it sounds and used the money on more worthwhile projects!

I hope you get a good price for the 8805 though. I kept the 8801 and used it in one of my two channel systems.
 

peng

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I really want to see one of the 4, 6, or 8 series Denons hit the test bench now. Somebody make it happen!

I think the 8500 may measure a touch better than the 3600 with the FL/FR disconnected as Amir has done. The difference is, the 8500 allows you to disconnect all 13 internal amps so it is a legit competitor of the 8805 if you don't need balanced I/Os and it will likely measure better than the 8805 in THD+N, DR, and IMD because it doesn't have the HDAMs. It has the same DAC as the 8805 but its FR should be better because unlike Marantz, as far as I can tell they didn't use that "super slow" filter, so wouldn't pump ultrasonic either.
 

Bear123

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I think the 8500 may measure a touch better than the 3600 with the FL/FR disconnected as Amir has done. The difference is, the 8500 allows you to disconnect all 13 internal amps so it is a legit competitor of the 8805 if you don't need balanced I/Os and it will likely measure better than the 8805 in THD+N, DR, and IMD because it doesn't have the HDAMs. It has the same DAC as the 8805 but its FR should be better because unlike Marantz, as far as I can tell they didn't use that "super slow" filter, so wouldn't pump ultrasonic either.

You think the HDAM of Marantz will actually result in worse measured performance compared to equivalent Denon models? I was actually wondering if the Marantz versions would measure better because of the HDAM(not because I'm aware of any specific technical advantage, but because Marantz markets HDAM as a feature that offer superior fidelity)
 

Bear123

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This thing offers pretty decent performance that would even please many 2 channel aficionados. Not state of the art compared to what some people use for 2 channel music reproduction, but pretty darn good.

I wonder if blind tests would show that listeners can actually hear the difference between this AVR and, say, a Benchmark DAC and amp for 2 channel playback. That would be research worth doing.

Out of curiosity, what other components would one have to add to the Benchmark DAC and amp to give the bass management, speaker eq, and sub eq capability that would be necessary to match the fidelity of the Denon X3600 based system? Without this, there would be no comparison on sound quality. Also(and perhaps more importantly), what would the resulting measured signal of these addition(s) be compared to the Denon?
 

peng

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You think the HDAM of Marantz will actually result in worse measured performance compared to equivalent Denon models? I was actually wondering if the Marantz versions would measure better because of the HDAM(not because I'm aware of any specific technical advantage, but because Marantz markets HDAM as a feature that offer superior fidelity)

I always wonder if the HDAMs would not increase distortions, because it is an unity gain buffer stage placed right at the end of the preamp signal chain. So logically, anything that contributed to distortions would still be there and the HDAM will undoubtedly add its own distortions, however tiny, resulting in a theoretically possible and likely higher distortions, all else being equal.

The I read Dr. Rich's comment in the hometheaterhifi.com's review and he seemed to be alluding to the same idea. If you are busy, just read the paragraph before the conclusions, where he wrote:

https://hometheaterhifi.com/reviews/receiver-processor/processors/marantz-av8805-processor-review/

"Harmonic distortion has not improved from the AV8802 to the AV8805 as was expected from the new chips. The change in the worst-case THD specification between the chips used in the AV8802 and AV8805 points to a 50% distortion reduction. We know the distortion is not from the AKM AK4490 DAC since the THD increased as we changed the output level from 2VRMS to 4VRMS with the volume control.

It is possible the HDAM discrete circuits past the new analog ICs are the dominant distortion source. The only way to find out is to open up the case and start probing internal boards which is not something we do here at Secrets."

Now if you remove those unity gain HDAM buffer amps and the balanced I/Os, the 8805's signal chain would be virtually identical to the 8500 and even the 3600's, at least in block diagram form. Obviously the 3600 has the lower grade AK4458 DAC chip too. The other major difference is the DAC filter selection. Marantz chose the slow roll off filter, causing their models FR to drop off early and lost >2 dB at 20 kHz.
 
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