price, availability, and price range ( now available only as used, and apparently quite reasonable )

really none at this price point

I guess I have read the reviews, and find it astonishing that people who purchase receivers in this price range feel that they have to treat them as audiophile gear, it just isnt realistic to do that! Im not gonna throw a bunch of hertz andseperation percentages around, theres been plenty of that. What I do have to say is probably more imporatant to a listener than a tech head...

Im a musician, and i kind of know what to expect from audio equipment, and i have to say that this is very pleasant sounding gear for its price range ... I bought mine ( nw discontinued, so available as used) off E Bay in very clean condition for 112.50 including shipping. It arrived with the remte and manuals, which is good, because without them it would almost be pointless to own it ! I like it ... it has a pleasant sound, and everyone thorws around the 100 wattx5 number, and while thats quite cool, i can say that what the power means to me is that I can watch movies at a " Get the popcorn poppin" level and retain nice clear sound.

Unlike other reviewers, i am not using it with megawonder 3x15 tower speakers with turbo horns, I have coupled it with some respectable yet VERY inexpensive JBL 2600's (6" woofer and titanium tweeter ... EBay - $ 60- $80/ pr) for the front, an Infinity CC1m center speaker ( Circuit City sale 129.00 or E bay gently used 50.00 - 80.00 ) , a pair of JBL M5's ... 5" woofer , soft dome tweeter, dicontinued, E Bay - 25-50.00 / pr and a new Sony 12"120 watt powered sub ( department store .. 150.00 NOT on sale ) ... and i have assembled a home theatre that MAKES me want to watch movies,,,, My neighbors system , onkyo, denon, klipsch is admittedly LOTS better, but its Supposed to be, mine is inexpensive and, again, QUITE satisfying ... If you are looking for an initial forray into the home theatre world, and consider yourself an average, 8 to 5 workday Joe, youd be doing yourself a HUGE injustice if you didnt buy this reciever ... Just prepare yourself by looking at your input needs ( ie ... what components you are planning ) because it IS a little limited in that respect .... but will easily accept a satellite dish, dvd player, and hi fi vcr ... what else does life have to offer ???

I am awarding stars with price and realistic expectations in mind ...

OH !! by the way .... distortion rating is .8%, if it matters, ( it doesnt to me ) at 50 watts it is rated at a VERY respectable .02 % ... ok thats it for my techy lingo ... thanx for listening to me !!!

Power;AC-3 output;Remote

No DTS

I had recently spent a lot of money upgrading my Home Theater system with power tower speakers and a quality DVD player. I also needed to replace my old crummy Pioneer Pro-Logic Receiver but did not want to spend too much. After reading the reviews here I decided that my best bang for the buck for an AC3 receiver was the Kenwood VR-209. Even though I was a little apprehensive on getting a Kenwood I decided to believe the good words spoken here and give it a try.

I was lucky enough to get a Refurbished 209 from U-Bid for only $150! It was a cinch to set-up! From the very first AC3 sound effects that enveloped my hearing and feeling senses I knew this was the best $150 bucks that I have ever spent. JUST AWESOME BABY!!! The sharp, clear, booming sounds that this AC3 produces is TOP-NOTCH!!! My little dog came running and hid under my legs in fear of the sound effects bouncing off the walls! I was planning to migrate soon to a receiver with DTS, after listening to this baby I can live without DTS for a long time to come. Believe all the good words that have been posted here!

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Denon

Price/Power, DD 5.1, Remote

Setup, Remote

I have been using my Kenwood reciever mainly for my Home Theater setup. I've got Boston Acoustic Lynfeild VR series speakers all around and a Pioneer DV-414 DVD player. I am very happy with my set up. The remote can control my TV, VCR, but not my DVD player other than power, play, and stop. Oh well. I do notice that 2 channel music sounds a bit better when I turn off the subwoofer, but I think that may be due to my main left and right channel speakers are powered towers.

Looks, Price, Remote Control, Dolby Digital.

No S-Video, No DTS, Initial Set-up, The included FM antenna.

I purchased this for about $150 shipped, refurbished. I used it with my Infinity RS-3's in front, JBL's in back, JBL 150 W Sub, and Philips DVD player. I have a monster cable coaxial for the Dolby Digital, and golly did it take a while to set this thing up. It didn't phase me much, because I love setting up equipment, especially new stuff. The remote design is beautiful and contols all of my equipment well. I also like the subwoofer level control on the remote, so I don't have to reach behind the sub to change the level. I love it with music (which I primarily use it for), but I can't use my rear speakers with music unless I go into Pro-Logic, which isn't too great with music. I am happy with my purchase and recommend it to anybody that's not trying to amplify a stadium.

I think this is a great reciever for the price(I paid $150). I use it mostly for music and it sounds pretty good in stereo mode but in pro logic mode it is not as good.

Real Affordable

Few tune-up and settings, remote control work awkward

This is a solid receiver for the budget minded buyer. It is no frills but it does sounds good. It is one of the cheapest Digital receiver I've found but I found it better sounding than JVC or Pioneer entry level digital receiver. The one thing I really hates about it, is the remote control. I've never been able to set it up properly for all my component and sometimes it just stop working. Besides this, this is a great buy. Of course if you have money to buy get yourself something else but if you dont, stop searching...

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood Vr2080

Highly affordable; great Dolby Digital sound.

Bit bulky; Controls are a bit confusing.

This is a great DD receiver for those who don't want to spend a lot, but get super sound from DVD's.

Sound quality

Remote

I bought this stereo from a girl at work, still in the box unopened. I was not really sure what I was getting or paying for, however I needed a stereo and it seemed like a good deal. Her boyfriend bought it for her and then right after that they moved in together so she didn't need it anymore. Lucky me. I have been mostly pleased and would recommend this to someone else for a good starter system. It has hook ups for most any accessories you would want to use. The few flaws I have had with this system are as follows. The remote. I am not really sure if it is the remote or if it is me at this point, but for some strange reason it will not run the cd player, the Kenwood CD 203. I would think that it should and says in both manuals that it will. It does not. Secondly, the surround sound randomly stops putting sound to the rear two speakers. This is an annoyance, but not a permanant problem. All you have to do is reset the system. It only happens about every 6 months or so. Other than that I am very pleased with the sound quality, and ease of use. I am curently using two very old, yet top of the line for their day pioneer 3 way speakers with 10' subs for front, A JBL PSW 1000 subwoofer, Kenwood Center channel and some Infinity Reference speakers for the surrounds. While I need to replace my main speakers I must say I am impressed. I have heard much more expensive systems and can say that mine holds up quite up well. I am not a "enthusiast" just your everyday listener who can actually tell sound quality. This system actually sounds better when played loud. One other thing I would mention is that this system requires a sub. I actually turned it off and wow, I had to turn it right back on. It convinced my friend who is opposed to electronic stuff to buy a sub for his system in the making. Once again I am very happy with this unit and would recomend it to most people.

Similar Products Used:

Techinics, Pioneer, Sony

Nice sound on unpowered sub out (needs it), bass response otherwise unremarkable. Nice 5.1

remote stops working for no reason. lacks some control flexibility.

I like the receiver. But the remote often simply stops working. I've written to kenwood so if I get an answer I'll repost.

You need to use the unpowered sub out with this unit. Paired up with a nice powered sub though it sounds excellent. Really great sound when getting LFEs from an AC3 source.

I have it paired with the Bose cubes and the clarity is excellent. Add the powered sub and it rounds the sound out nicely.

Anyone else have these remote problems? It's really ticking me off.

The sound quality (power and precision) is excellent. This receiver does justice to all types of music, including rock, classical, and movies. Some people may want to add a sub since this receiver "only" goes down to 40Hz. There are pre-amp outputs for the sub and rear speakers. It doesn't have DSP, but I'm not the type to ever use bells & whistles like that anyway. Its feature set is more than adequate, and the Pro Logic decoding sounds great (I don't have a Dolby Digital source yet).This is a great buy at $380 from Circuit City or $350 from Crutchfield.