Very Nice On Screen Display, S-Video Switching and front imput.

Underpowered, mediocre imaging (especially the rears), No 5.1 inputs

Overall a great value for the price when I purchased it. The crossover in mine is shot. It has never worked correctly, even after I had it repaired. The imaging is fairly good, however, the surround effects are a little weak. Fairly good DSP modes and very easy to use. It has no external inputs or pre-outs which mean it is not upgradable to DTS by using external decoders.

Well I've had this reciever for 8 months now and I personally think this is a good reciever. I have not had a single problem with it. Some of these reviews are talking about lack of power but I don't understand what they are talking about. I have the reciever teamed up with a pair of Paradigm Monitor 9's and at 45 volume I'm almost bringing down the house and yes I like my music loud. I don't know if they got a dud or do they have very inefficient speakers. There is a switch on the back of this reciever for different speaker impedances. Any ways my whole home theatre speaker system is all Paradigm and this reciever powers them just fine. Awesome dolby digital when teamed up with a DVD player.

Well, if you haven't figured it out yet by reading all the previous posts, the JVC 884 is a great deal for the $300-$400 price range. I don't understand how people can try and compare this unit to others costing twice that amount or more.
I would recommend this unit to anyone looking for something in that price range. I also would be very surprised if anyone can come up with a better reciever in that same price range.

Lots of features for the $.

Overheating problem, poor surround output.

I've had this receiver in my budget H.T. in our brand new home for about 6 months. It is a decent receiver for the price I paid for it. It looks great, easy to operate, has Dolby Digital capabilities, has 1 coax/2 optical digital inputs, an S-Video connection, banana type speaker type connections, on-screen display, and a switch on the back to set speaker impedience. Now the big negative thing for me about this receiver. It overheats terribly. I have it in a nice glass door simulated oak (open back) component rack and I have to leave the door open any time the unit is on or it will overheat and start doing strange things like droping the signal from the satelite receiver and start making the powered sub go crazy. It could have more surround output in pro-logic and DD. The only other problem I have with the receiver is with the sub setting. I usually set the sub at +5 for pro-logic and DD, but when I switch to FM or a CD with just the front speakers, the sub is way too much and I have to adjust it to -5 or less. Overall it is a good receiver for the money. 3 stars for performance and 5 stars for price.

Well I just returned my 884 and bought a Denon 3200. The 884 to say the least was an decent unit for the price (now on clearance at Good Guys for $299)you will not find a receiver with those features in that price range. I paid $399 for mine when I got it. But I had two major problems, yes I did get a slight amount of hiss from the rears but not nothing that was noticeable unless you are right next to the speaker (I run 4 Energy XL16, XL Center and an ES10 Sub)and it never did get very hot. The major problems I had was the fact that you could only watch one source and the VCR was only able to record the source you were watching. The 3200 has selective source inputs for the VCR's. The second problem I had was after watching a DVD and switching to another source like DBS the DVD could still be heard crossing over. I had to switch back again to get rid of the noise. I was returning my 884 for warranty repair when I looked at a Denon 3200 and Yahama 995 and bought the 3200 after I got full credit for the 884. After I hooked up the 3200 and took it for a test drive, well I was blown away!! The 3200 (granted its twice the cost at $849) is a much much better sounding receiver. The DD was crisp and the seperation was excelent. I thought the JVC sounded good...I was wrong the 3200 blows the JVC away and the 3200's 5 channel stereo mode is truly impressive. If you are on a very tight budget the JVC might be a consideration but only if you need the S-Video the JVC offers. If you dont need the S-Video then look at another reciever. You need to consider the fact you may have already outgrown the JVC and look at the Denon 3200 or the Yahama 995. For future expansion the 3200 and 995 have 6 channel inputs. The 995 also has DTS. I never wanted to pay $800 + for a reveiver I thought it was to much, but I came to realize there really is a difference from the "entry" level units to the lower "audiophile" units.

I've owned my JVC for 6 months. The performace that it gives is very good for the price range I could afford. The features offered are more than some higher priced units. This with the lower price effects high end performace. The 5.1 System works and sounds great for normal HOME use, 30-50. The surround mode which is discrete, just like DTS but less responsive, works great. The matrix side of the surround operation works very good even through TV broadcast. I do use the S-Video feature with my JVC TV. The unit is not at all complicated on the back panel,1-5 channel (fiber optic) input and 1 sub woofer input. Not 6 seperate inputs that the lower end models have of all manufactures without the decoders. The on screen display is great for us older generation people. Ive looked at lots of manufactures and listened with different speaker systems. For the money and performance the JVC is very nice.

I now understand why some people have given this receiver more than a passing grade, they either haven't listened to other receivers in the same price range from manufacturers that care about the quality of the sound or they are only attracted to the gimmicks or extras.
I previously owned this receiver, however, I always felt I was missing something. Although I could not do a direct A-B comparison with my old receiver, an Onkyo, I felt there was something wrong. After switching to a Denon AVR-1700 I found out what I was missing, a sweet musical quality that contained some depth. Don't get me wrong, I know that the Denon at this price point will not give me the listen through quality of more expensive gear, but it still sounds a great deal better than the JVC.

The JVC is bright and compressed in soundstage depth compared to the Denon. Most disappointing about the JVC are the D/A converters. I have a ProScan DVD player (8610) which is basically a re-badged Panasonic A310 DVD player and an old Sony lasderdisc. Note: The Panasonic DVD player has received very good reviews pertaining to its D/A converters, so before you trash the sound of a DVD player have a listen. Not all DVD players sound bad. Refer to the review at SoundStage (www.soundstage.com). Getting back to D/A converters I listened through the JVC's unit and the Sony and although the differences were minor the Sony was better, with the JVC being a little brighter and more veiled. BTW the Sony was a poor comparison to the ProScan. Listening to the D/A converters in the Denon (24/96 Burr-Brown units) blew away the Sony with a mellower deeper and wider soundstage. These were not subtle differences.Comparing the Denon's D/A converters with the ProScan is more difficult, as the differences are sublte, the Denon having a slightly wider and deeper soundstage. It is also a little more laid back in sound.

The JVC also has a hissing problem when using a DSP mode or Dolby, both Pro-Logic and Digital. The hissing problem is not present in Stereo mode. The hissing problem is not evident until the volume is at 60, 10 dB below the Dolby Digital reference point with my speakers. My speakers do like a bit of current in the bass. No such problems with the Denon. I can't believe anyone can settle for this type of noise, even if you listen at a level lower than 60. Something else the Denon does not have is a silly swith for 8 or 4 ohm speakers. I was surprised to see some Yamahas with this switch. As far as I know no Denon, Onkyo or H/K has this.

The JVC has have a lot of features and gimmicks not available at its price point in other brands, such as S-viedo swithcing. I'll give up S-video swithcing for good sound quality, which the JVC is lacking. Although it has features and gimmicks found usually in more expensive gear it lacks the ability to be part of an upgraded system. That is, it lacks DTS or the 6-channel discrete inputs for outboard processors. It also lacks pre-outs and a matrix surround mode, which is the best surround mode available since it only extracts out-of-phase information and sends it to the surround channels.

In the end the JVC is adequate performer with typical receiver sound quality, but for a little more one can do much better. Do yourself a favour and send a little extra, foregoing the gimmicks and go for a product that will give you some enjoyment with sound that is sweet and not fatiguing. Also note that JVC staff are not helpful in providing more technical data on their receivers, such as the type of D/A converters used, how many bits, etc.

The JVC along with the Denon were auditioned in the following system:

ProScan 8610 DVD player
Old Sony Laserdisc
Mirage FRx-Three fronts
Mirage FRx-Centre
Energy eXL-R rears
Energy eXLS-8 subwoofer
Monster Cable interconnects
Speciality made interconnects and coaxial digital interconnect
Monster Cable speakerwire

This is mr Hussein. I hate my JVC. It overheats. I am going to send scud missile to Japanese. They will pay for overheating!

It's obvious that there are several different opinions out there about this receiver. I purchased mine about 2 months ago and have found that my opinions are also a bit mixed. I have found that listening to music CDs with my Paradigm Mini-Monitors and PDR-10 subwoofer has been more than adequate. I also have found that watching DVD's in Dolby Digital is pretty cool too. I did, however, notice the hiss coming from the rear speakers when the volume is up loud. It is only annoying when my ear is within about a foot or two of the speaker, but still, it is annoying. For the average person, like myself, this won't be a huge problem. I do understand how some people would be a bit bothered by it. For the price, this receiver is not a bad deal at all. Obviously there are many other receivers that are out there, but for all you goofs who make 6 bucks an hour who are complaining about the sound quality achieved with this JVC, do yourselves a favor and get a better paying job so you can afford a better receiver. If you are that concerened with a little hiss that is not noticeable in normal listening situations, sell it and get a new one. Real simple. Otherwise, take a look at your checkbook, realize you saved a buttload of money, pop in your favorite Dolby Digital DVD, and get over it. 4 stars, because of the slight hiss. Bye.

Well, it is a mixed bag. First off, I hear no hiss and have no overheating with the unit (Klipsch Quintet speaker setup). Its great for Dolby Digital, which is my main use. The down side are as others have posted: the volume control is nuts, you've got to get to 60 out of 90 to begin producing real sound. The remote could be better (bigger buttons), the sound effects modes are for the most part not too good. But for the price, its great, especially if you need SVIDEO. It was either this or the Yamaha 995, which would have been $500 more. Best bet is to buy from a reputable outlet that has a 30 day return policy with no restocking fee, give it a try, and send it back if you don't like it. My serial # on the unit starts with 133...