I was going to purchase a Denon, Yamaha or Onkyo Dolby Digital receiver, but I ran out of money! I purchased the VR-209 from Circuit City about a week ago for $375.00 based on a review in Stereo Review and comparison listening with an Onkyo DS-747. I hooked up the VR-209 to a pair of Paradigm Monitor 9's in two channel mode. I was very impressed! The amplifier was very clean and I could not hear any clipping until I pushed it well beyond wall shaking levels! I was a little hesitant about using a Kenwood "mid-fi" product with my $700 speakers, but I was extremely impressed. I am very picky with my electronics and I must say that this unit is a great value. It was suprisingly quiet (for the money!) I have not had the chance to use it in a full home theater setup, but I think it would probably run out of steam with speakers that have a sensitivity below "93." In short, I would recommend this "mid-fi" receiver to anyone on a budget and is not looking for a receiver to act as a video switcher (no S-Video.) On an unrealated note, Circuit City will try to charge you a 15% restocking fee for returning any merchandise so make sure your REALLY want it (unless you want to buy a more expensive unit from them in 30 days!) They will not receive my return business.
I'm giving it 5 stars for it's incredible value!

This is a followup to my previous post.The Kenwood has held up well with my tourture tests over the past few weeks. I'm still impressed with the unit. I have noticed three issues that detract from the unit. The FM output can not be lowered (as the other inputs) with the line level output selector. Secondly, the stereo separation is good, but not great. I had been listening to moderately better separation from Onkyo and NAD. Lastly, the FM coaxial input is push on only! I tried to get my TERK screw-type connector to attach with little success. I had to purchase a $2.99 adapter that really annoyed me when the simple inclusion of threaded terminal would've allowed push and screw type connectors. As a whole, it is still a good unit for the money. I have been tempted to get another receiver, but one look at my receipt changes my mind! As soon as I am able to test the capabilites of the receiver in a full home theater, I'll post back.

Before purchasing the Kenwood VR-209 I was using a Harman Kardon AVR20 receiver for pro logic. The upgrade was made to get more watts per channel and to get ac-3. You just can’t beat an ac-3 receiver with 5x100 watts for 399 bones. Its unbeatable for the price point plane and simple. However, listening to music or pro-logic is a different story. Music sounds very average (I know what do I expect) but pro-logic sounded terrible, I had to almost blast the rear speakers just to hear them. I decided to break out my H/K just to compare the sound and there was no comparison the Harman Kardon is very good for music. So I decided to buy a 5 channel outboard amp (H/K PA5800) and a Technics 500 DD+DTS sound processor and use it with my receiver. The amp is Kenwoods week spot. Plenty of power but it doesn’t bring out the nuances. Don’t get me wrong I got more than my moneys worth from this receiver. Loved it. Although I am moving on to seperates. Nothing can beat this value for your buck.

These receivers are over priced at circuit city by about $80 compared to other specialized stereo stores..here's your chance to use the repricing feature at circuit City and get an extra 10% off on the differential amount.
Seems like a pretty good buy with AC-3 for under 350 bucks!!!!

Sounds great. Remote isn't too great, but the sound is wonderful, and to get Dolby Digital for $265! Whoa

Cock Diesel

The AC3 decoding in this unit is as good as any I've heard, and the price is phenomenal! The unit is now at the heart of my home theater system. Hats off to Kenwood.

My model 209 was a visceral response to getting DVD quickly, having been given a Philips 850AT DVD unit with DTS and built-in decoder for the holidays. I had been researching a "system" either new or compatible with my exisiting system, a venerable NAD Monitor Series 7600 Receiver, Sony ESP-2000 digital preamplier, NAD and Proton power amps, and a beautiful Definitive Tech speaker system. I have planned a higher-end system, but my needs suddenly became acute when my NAD receiver became victim of a power surge. I am looking at a Sony 9000 digital preamp mated with a Sony ES-5 tuner, and a Harman Kardon Citation 5-way amp. My need became acute for a "quick" fix, and the Kenwood VR-209, which had several surprisingly "excellent" reviews, fairly high power amp sytem (100w.channel x 5) with a built in AC-3 decoder, suddenly appeared at my local Now audio at a price matched only buy several internet dealers, a price of $299!for a unit with a retailprice of $500. Why not? My orders have been placed. But this "filler" is absoletly amazing. Basics? Excellent decoder bunit, automatic sorce signal-type detection and switching, better than average Dolby Prologic decoder, and EXCELLENT tuner, and a fairly clean amp. ($299, CRAZY!) My viwes are changing. This unit will now be mated with another Phipips DVD unit and DT speakers in a new bedroom system. But somehow my views have been profoundly affected by this much quality at the "fiscal low-end" for home units. The remote control itself is amazing, and has control macro-function cability to carry out several serial remote unit functions. The unit is silidly built, sedate and an absolutely amazingly good unit for new but finacially constrained home-movie lovers, or finacially smart audiphiles period. I'll hate to move this unit out of my AV-room!

I bought this reciever for $199 at www.spidergear.com about 3 weeks ago and I am still amazed by it! First, let me comment on the sound quality. It is just as good, if not better than higher end recievers, such as those 800 dollar yamahas or 500 dollar sony's. The digital decoding is absolutely stunning, it puts you right in the movie and makes you forget the sound is even coming from speakers. And BTW: I have a generic KLH Center Speaker and KLH 4-way 15" Floor standing speakers. I also have some infinity surround speakers and it still sounds great! I must say that the power of the unit is not exaggerated, it powers my 15" KLH's effortlessly and does not get real hot like many recievers. There are a few things I do not like about the reciever. For one, and possibly the most important for me: it only puts out bass down to 40Hz, which is well above what my speakers will do. Also, it lacks a balance (L/R) control so you can't listen to one speaker at a time without unhooking one.
The remote control that comes with it is great, it does almost anything you can think of. The buttons on the front of the unit are efficiently arranged and the display is very intuitive. Overall the quality of the reciever is very good. The massive heatsink inside helps to dissipate all that heat and probably prolongs the life of the receiver. I will end this review on another note: If you want a VERY good priced Dolby Digital reciever, this is for you. I am convinced that with good speakers this reciever would still sound great. If you don't mind refurbished merchandise, you can get this reciever for $229 including shipping at www.spidergear.com

I have to give it a 5 star rating despite it's few downfalls because of it's ABSOLUTELY GREAT price.

Just got my VR-209 from SpiderGear for $199 - Awesome Price! (Think I took the last one too :) Although this was a refurb, it was packed just as new, double-boxed also.
The controls are great, both on the remote and the unit itself. After hooking it up and inputting speaker distances, I could adjust the levels for EACH speaker through pink noise embedded in the unit - NICE! The unit also features a dimmer to attain that home theater effect as well.

Currently, I'm running a VCR through the unit in Pro-Logic Mode. First movie played was Disney’s Lion King (I would have done Top Gun, but someone else had taken it, DRATS). The stampede scene blew me away, (As well as my under-rated center channel…) I can't WAIT to get a DVD player to try out the Dolby Digital, it's what makes this unit truly so great. I’ll post again once I get it hooked up.

You can't go wrong getting this unit - 5 STARS!