Another solid denon product
Pros:
Denon quality, RGB video upconvert
Cons:
typical quirky Denon setup
The Bottom Line:
Fair price for an RGB upconvert 7.1 receiver with the Denon name
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Overall Rating:
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Author's Review
I bought this receiver to replace a Denon unit I've had for almost 15 years. The old Denon still works perfectly but it lacks any useful video switching (it has one S-video in and one S-video out, all others are composite, no cross-converting etc). So i relegated my old pal to the garage and bought this unit.
The feature that sold me on the 1708 is the RGB video up-convert. The unit is hooked to a Panasonic plasma, and I wanted a better signal than the old S-Video. After using the TV at S-video level for a year, I can say the RGB input is a HUGE step up in image quality. The new unit converts all video input to RGB output, so even my old VCR looks a lot better.
The setup routines are full of typical denon quirkiness, but I've gotten used to that over the years. Setup was quick and relatively painless. My universal remote was programed for the old Denon, and it operates the new Denon without a hitch. Just like the old unit though, you need to keep the actual Denon unit handy unless you want to go to the front panel to switch sources.
Sound quality is a little fuller than the old unit, and of course now I can enjoy 7.1 hometheater (the old unit 'peaked' at ProLogic II).
I'm very pleased with my upgrade, and I'm sure this unit will serve me well for years to come.
