Slimline AV amp with pre-outs advice

[angeldust1]

Would appreciate some advice. Front speaker Pre-outs on my old Denon AVR1905 AV amp have stopped working, and one option is to replace it. I have some specific requirements:

Must be slimeline (less than 15cm tall) to fit my very nice rack which I don't really want to replace (most AV amps are just over this height).

Must have at least front speaker pre-outs so I can run my 2 channel Hi-Fi amp.

Needs to be 7.1.

Budget ~ £600, less if I can get away with it.

The Marantz NR1604 / 1605 would seem to fit the bill. the 1604 can be had for almost half the newer 1605 (£350 rather than £600). The only advantage of the 1605 seems to be built in bluetooth and WiFi. You can buy a extra bluetooth module (RX101) quite cheaply, but what would I be missing out on if I don't get the WIFi?

Any other options I should consider? Thanks in advance for any advice. My AV knowledge is somewhat out of date.

 

[hifiman2008]

1604. Identical sound. Discounted as they just want to clear old stock. Could be cheaper if u shop around. Great piece of equipment

 

[Peter Kudelstaart]

Yamaha also has a slimline av receiver, the RX-S600. But this model only has 5.1 I think. Might be interesting to compare the Marantz with the Yamaha.

 

[ayjaycee]

I've had the 1604 for a while and think it's great. Sounds very good and the physical size means that it looks a hell of a lot better than the usual hulking great AVRs - it will fit almost anywhere and still have breathing space. Personally, I haven't missed wifi as I have got it plugged into a 'Homeplug' network adapter and I have never really been bothered about the lack of bluetooth.