After listening to the JVC RX-888VBk for about 48 hours I had to return it. It played normal stereo CDs great, nice tight base and everything, but I had a low HISS/BUZZ in my rear right speaker. I switched speakers around but it was still there. I got it at a really GREAT price ($300)from Brandsmart in Deerfield Beach but I also hated the pain in the Bu** way to adjust base & treble. This reveiver has all the bells and whistles. If it wasn't for the BUZZZZZZZ I would have been happy. Ended up getting a Denon AVR 95. No DTS but sounds great. I hear DTS isn't all that and that it never will be.

After having this unit up and running for about a month I have to say that I am very pleased with it's perfomance.I run the volume control at about 45-55 and thats perfect for me.
If you need a DD/DTS reciever buy this one!!
Frank

S-Video, On-screen display, great price

Remote could use some features

I bought this baby after returning a sad receiver (Sony 935) to the hell hole where it was spawned. The sony sounded good but after 30 days I could still return it so back it went. The biggest problems were...only 2 s-video inputs, only front speakers had banana jacks rest were spring clips???, a blue DD light that could guide ships into port and the remote from hell (went through 2 sets of batteries in 30 days!!! When I brought it back I looked around and found the JVC. What a gem, On-screen display, s-video jacks up the yin-yang and cheaper too. I've seen some reviews about hissing from the surrounds but mine are whisper quiet. In fact even with the receiver on I can here the hum from my subs transformer. Set up was a breeze. If you set your center speaker to small you'll have no problem with the sub. The sub does come on if you crank the amp even if the speakers are set to large. The volume is beautiful. Some people complain that you have to turn it up high but that's the beauty of it. With the sony just a slight touch of the remote would crank the amp up too much, especially at night. With the JVC fine tuning the volume to where you want is a breeze. I went to the sony at first because of my dvd player (500D). But Sony receivers have so far been pretty sad so I went back to my last receivers brand JVC. I'll be sticking with this brand for awhile now. It has no problem playing at loud levels in my dedicated home theatre (12'wide X 32'long X 9'high).

System

Sony 500D DVD
JVC Receiver
Toshiba 55" Theatre view TV
Bose 310 front
Bose 201 rear
Sony Centre
Cerwin-Vega powered Sub

This is without a doubt the best receiver you can buy in it's class (or at least until my wife agrees to let me buy a Marantz SR-18)

Similar Products Used:

JVC RX-515V, Sony STR-DE935

Power, Discrete amplification (no output ICs), Dts Svideo switching, Excellent pro logic quality

The most under rated receiver on the market. Many reviewers complain about the volume control. How high it is turned has nothing to do with power output. It is simply taper. Think of a volume control as a signal multiplier. The higher it is turned the higher the multiplication. The highest multiplication just occurs near the end of it's range. This gives good control of volume in the range where most normal people listen, a good choice in my opinion. As far as pro logic goes a good decoder only decodes sound in the rears when it is present. The rears are only ambience. Listen to Jurassic park to demonstrate this. The sound field is awesome. Picked up my second 888 for the master bedroom at costco for $259 a total steal. As good as the best for 10% the price. What can I say...

Similar Products Used:

Dennon, Yamaha

DD, DTS, DSP, upgrade to the RX-888VBK, all the bells and whistles of the RX-888VBK and more, price!

No backlit remote, (but what do you expect at this price!)

First, let me say that this model is the RX-8000VBK, but this sight doesn't have a place to review this model yet, so since this is the closest model, here we go.

Secondly, I have just used the Technics 930 for about 3 weeks before my JVC, and I thought it was OK. It had many bells and whistles for the price ($250 from Montgomery Wards), but it burned very hot. I could probably have fried an egg on it. It was too hot to touch. It must go back.

I have been looking for a receiver in the $300 to $500 price range for awhile and had settled on buying the RX-888VBK, until I saw JVC released the "2000" models. I did notice the two big complaints were the "noise" of the speakers, (especially the surrounds) and the volume level needing to be cranked up. The RX-8000VBK has taken care of the hissing issue. I have listened to all my sources, (TV, VCR, DVD and CD) and found no hiss, not even at the highest levels. The sound is crystal! I do have to turn up the volume to 45-50 to truely appreciate the DD on a DVD (A Bug's Life). This is very minor since I never really will ever need to go above 60 on the dial.

I have left this running for 8 hours at a time in an A/V cabinet. It would get warm, but never hot. This is a big plus for me considering the problems with the Technics.

Let's talk price. I picked this up at e-Cost.com for $298 delivered. They were actually selling the RX-888VBK for more. I spoke with JVC about the price difference and they said that competition has driven the price down. They also said the the RX-8000VBK is a better unit, mostly because of the digital out, which the 888 does not have.

I never saw the user manual for the 888, but the one for the 8000 is actually helpful. Not only did it tell me how to change the size field of the speakers, it told me why. Ditto for the delay for the center and the surround channels.

I could go on longer, but if you buy the RX-8000VBK over the RX-888VBK, you will not be dissappointed. The 888 is an excellent receiver, but for less money and digital out, I have to go with the RX-8000VBK!

Similar Products Used:

JVC RX-664VBK, Technics 930

good sound in stero mode(running cerwin vega hd speakers-20 yrs old and a set bose 201 bookselves

volume control needs to be turned up to at least 50-60 and higher

I can't say anything about surround sound mode since I am not set up for it. I bought this unit at my
local costco's as a floor model in mint condition with all documentation and remote-for $200.00 plus
tax. I did upgrade the speaker wire to monster cable xp and I am happy with the result. This is
definitely quite an upgrade from what I had been using. I run both sets of speakers in A & B mode
in stereo mode. The only complaint is the lack of punching bass response that I was used to with
the older pioneer. This was probably distortion. The controls on the reciever takes some getting
used to and can be confusing at first. I will probably in the future invest in a subwoofer to beef up
the bass response. All in all this unit is a keeper considering the price.

Similar Products Used:

20 year old 45watt pioneer

Cost, Features

Looks

I have been using this receiver since Feb. 2000 and have trying to figure out the poor performance of the Surround Processor being enabled (button w/ red ligh in center) while watching normal TV (cable)

1. This receiver has very poor SNR on all the analog inputs...cable, vcr, etc.

2. I just got Digital Cable from Comcast in the Northern VA area and hooked up the digital coax input from the cable receiver. The sound is great, not only do I have 40+ movies that look like DVD for $53 /month (that's better than DirectTV), but the sound on all movie stations, PPV, and music channels is coming down in Dolby Digital format. AWESOME!!

Unfortunately, the standard channel 2-61 (local,ESPN,etc) are still analog to support non-box users, but that's OK.

DVD using the TOSLINK cable is awesome as well.

Basically... JVC put in a piece of crap front end for analog sources, use the 3 digital inputs whenever possible.. thats what this receiver was meant to do (for about $300... what a deal)

BTW, Digital Cable in my area is blowing away DirecTV price wise. Comcast told me that whatever DirecTV does, they will always make their deal sweeter... now with digital picture and Dolby Digital sound... who needs all that dish nonsense.

Oh yeah, the big 2 stations of HDTV... talk to me in a few years DirecTV

Similar Products Used:

None

Great sound - lots of inputs, plenty of SVHS

Needs heads up OSD

First the manual is fine my son is 3 and could understand it. Next the volume is in decibels, 40 is a standard conversation - 65 is a lawnmower. The surround modes are fine put them next to an Onkyo or Yamaha (1000 + ) and they'll do just fine if your sources are clean and your speakers are good (Paradym)

Similar Products Used:

Onkyo, Yamaha, Sony, Technics, Pioneer

Very good overall value. Clear sound.

Stupid remote control.

Seems like JVC have some kind of problem with the prduct control from the factory. Looking at the reviews below gives the impression that you either hate this machine or just love it. Mine is very good. No hiss, no buzz. I do not have to go very far up the "volume-scale" to blow my ears out either.
Summary: This is a damn good reciever, but check out and listen to the exact machine you're buying before bringing it home.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon, Marantz. (Luxman)

Fully loaded receiver with a lot of power

Great receiver for the money. Yes, you can get better one but for more money(if you have them). Interesting but there are a lot of strange reviews here(looks like Sony fans). People saying that this receiver sucks compared to what they used before or gonna buy later(well, if you have $2000 Yamaha then what the hell made you buy $350 JVC????).
I'm really happy with this receiver. It's great in DD and DTS, has S-Video switching, more than enough power. Remote could be better, but that's OK.