Simple Interface, You get a lot for the money

Can't adjust tone, when in HT mode.

So far, so good.

The sound is quite good to my ear. It sounds WAY better than my old Sony, which had a weird buzz in the surounds. My biggest complaint is not being able to adjust the tone when in HT mode. Would also like to be able to adjust the sub-woofer cross-over point.

A big influencer in my purchase was the simple interface. My wife is technically impared, and Kenwood (once it is set up) has about the simplest operation of any receiver I looked at. This was actually my second choice, but my wife liked it best, and it was $100 cheaper than my first choice, Yamaha.

When you compare features/price, there is not much else in this territory. Yamaha and Onkyo are more expensive. Sony has more features for the money, but in my opinion, they are mostly useless features. I had a full-featured Sony before, and I never used most of the "bells and whistles". Look for features your going to use. Kenwood has that covered.

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Sony. Also looked at Yamaha, Technics, and Onkyo.

Price, DTS, 5.1, good home theatre sound, decent stereo sound, nice design, two power outputs, video switching, easy to set-up

Weak bass (if you don't use a powered subwoofer), no preset "sound modes", awkward remote+manual

I bought this for one reason only: it was the cheapest receiver I could find that had DD and DTS decoder built-in. I paid $259, and I am very happy with it.
The biggest weakness is that the bass is rather weak in stereo mode, without a subwoofer. If you want to use the receiver mainly for playing music, and like a lot of bass, make sure you use a powered sub. I'm using it with KLH speakers that I bought used from a friend, and a KLH powered 100W subwoofer.

The remote is pretty good once you learn how to use it, but the manual for it is not very well laid out. It took some looking in it before I figured out all the functions on it, once I did that it worked fine, I can control the TV, cable box, VCR, DVD player and receiver (duh) just fine with it now.

The theatre sound is excellent, very clear and distinct. If you're looking for a good entry-level home theatre receiver, and want to spend as little money as possible, I fully recommend getting the Kenwood VR-309!

I give it a vaklue rating of 5, because frankly I can't ask for a receiver to have anymore features and better quality than this one does for this price.

The 4 star overall rating might seem high, but the only thing I really miss on this receiver is a selection of sound modes, and some kind of "loudness" control. Stereo sound could be better too, but it's far from bad (and it might just be my speakers...). All in all, it's a very good receiver!

Similar Products Used:

Technics

DD,DTS, s-video inputs are a real plus, Midnight mode is a plus for us with kids.

I agree with the group the remote is a throwback to the 80's. Also no on-screen interface.

I believe that having matching speakers will balance out any theater system. One must also consider the use of a powered sub. Mirage Bi-polar speakers are by far some of the best speakers I have ever listened to before. The cost of the system is awesome. I have listened to a Harmon Kardon and I can honestly say I am IMPRESSED with the way my receiver hangs in there.

My system
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Kenwood VR-309
Mirage Center, surrounds and front speakers and subwoofer

All speakers are Bi-polar
All speaker wire is as fat as my thumb....LOL

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Kenwood..........all the time

Great Price for a digital receiver with these features

Power not strong to be rated 100watts x 5 and a powered sub is a must.

All in all this is a great receiver for the price, but a added power sub is a must for good bass response.

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First digital receiver ever purchased.

Dolby Digital, DTS decoding, S-Video

Lack of pre-ins, pre-outs

Cant be beat for the price.

S-Video switching works like a charm - great reviever

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Sony and Teac recievers

Price, S-Video, 2 Digital Ins, 1 optical in.

No low end, No separate bass and treble

Ok, There is nothing out there with s-Video and 2 digital in for $200.00 I got a factory reconditioned unit for $200.00 I hope it had good quality control, So far no real problems. One dvd scene in the abyss jumped on the screen, I have heard others have seen skips, possibly a fault with the S-video and loud audio pssing through the unit. It has not been a real problem so far. The switching of the S-video works fine, I need to do a direct test to see if there is a quality loss but I dont think its noticeable. The biggest problem in this unit is the lack of low end. It sends no low end to the front speakers like many other receivers. You must! have a powered sub, HAVE TO. In stereo and theatre mode with a powered sub it gives a great balanced sound. I have all low end speakers/subs a Toshiba DVD sd-1200 system and a 60" Hitachi, and I just can't wait to watch movies every night. I had an Aiwa receiver before the Kenwood and its T-bass output blows away the kenwood, but it lacked the mids and highs. With the Kenwood I was forced to buy a powered sub and now the bass is back and the system is better all around. The remote takes some practice and does not work eveything exactly but I mayy checkout a Universal. This is without a doubt the best value around. Nothing is in its price range. If you do not need s-video keep looking and listening, but for those who want to switch audio with high quality s-video with one button you can't beat this model for $200.00.

Similar Products Used:

Aiwa, Harmon & Kardon

Price and Performance

For this price,absolutely none

First of all,to any of you that s--t on this reciever for the power output look at hometheatre mags specs.Also check
out Joe hageman's review on etown.com.Better yet,get the right speaker system and be prepared to be impressed.I've
got to laugh at these people who say it sounds like 6o watts
instead of 100(they must have SPL meters in their heads!)
Anyway,this receiver sounds great!I run a set of PARADIGM
ATOMS with a PDR10 sub,and it sounds awsome!It doesn't have
many DSP modes sure,but the are all but useless anyway. Anyone who listens to music on anything other than stereo is altering the way it was meant to sound. Same goes for dolby digital and dts. This reciever rock's in all of these. If you don't think so...get a new set of speakers or get your hearing checked. My living room is 16 x 15 and the VR309 fills this room cleanly with music and movie soundtracks at decibels that are at dangerous levels. Any louder would be downright stupid. The remote, for the reciever is great. It operates all my components flawlessly. The fact that the buttons are big, aids in the ability to operate it in the dark by touch. I have had the 309 for over a year and couldn't be happier with the performance. I have listened to alot of systems, and for this price you can't beat it. My system consists of the 309, paradigm speakers, kenwood dv303 dvd player, kenwood cd424 changer, and a sharp 32" cinema select tv.

Excellent value, especially at the time of purchase. Superb sound quality and power handling.

Bass boost is not really bass boost, it just makes the bass level jump to +10 rather than exclusively amplifying low frequencies.

This receiver has been the center of my system for the past year or so, and it serves its purpose very well. I have it connected to 5 sony speakers, but no sub. I've had no problems with it whatsoever. The sound in Dolby Digital is great...very room shaking and loud at -40 dB, and that is with NO SUB. In DTS mode, the difference in sound is very easy to notice, and it's A LOT better. I wish more movies would use DTS. Gladiator simply rocked. My DVD player is a Toshiba SD-1600 and it's connected via a coaxial digital connector. Simply awesome. I've also used my PS2 with the toslink and that is equally impressive. For all these people having trouble, make sure you don't overlook "little things". For example, the optical sound input is only available for the device connected to "video 3". Coaxial digital sound is only available for something on "video 2". To get DTS to work, I find it best to set the mode to "auto sound digital". The 309 will automatically enter the appropriate mode. And don't forget to choose DTS from the DVD menu. DD is the default most of the time, DTS must be selected for it to work.

The major strength of the receiver is the value for the money. Usually see it for $399 but I paid $299. But it's a steal at $399. Has DD and DTS, S-video switching, 3 video inputs, easy to use and programmable remote, optical as well. Sounds GREAT in my home theater system. Seems to be of good quality also. I love the thing.

None that I am aware of.

I would strongly recommend this to anyone - especially someone looking for a good quality entry home theater receiver. Check out the January Home Theater Magazine. They do a comparison on 3 entry level home theater receivers - including the Kenwood 309. They think the 309 is the best by far and a tremendous value for what one gets with it. Haven't had a day of trouble with it after 7 months of use. Also, Kenwood customer service was great when I called them to ask a question or two when I first got it. Don't wait - buy it now.

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Pioneer and Fisher receivers.

S-Video 2 digital ins. Price

Unreliable display cuts out, 1 digital in stopped working, svideo flashes on high impact dvd scenes

For the price there was nothing in its class and I was very happy with the unit when it worked. After a couple of months I lost a digital output just stopped working, I am down to one now. Due to heat the displayy goes out after a few minitues when it powers up, I can't read what setting I am on. You get what you pay for and the unit is made up of cheap compenets I would look at the yamaha 5150 if you can find one the price has dropped and it is a better product. You are taking a chance with this model

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yamaha