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

Similar Products Used:

yamaha

DTS, Low price

Remote, Lack of 5ch stereo mode

It's simply the best DTS receiver I've seen for that price. The DTS mode is amazing. The stereo mode could I've been better. I'm not sure about the 100W/channel though. Feels more like 80W/ch to me.

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Technics SA-GX530

Not to expensive for the deal

Crappy cheap remote,dont like the way the unite looks,sounds like crap compared to yamaha.

When buying a reciever what question do you ask?What is the most reliable product that is thought to be the best and has the most tecknology available.And so the question is asked why buy anything like this junk or aiwa ,kenwood,sony when you can get a much better sounding reciever by yamaha or harman kardon that have been in the business for much longer.And if you by a yamaha you also know that you are backed up by the best name in the world that has many awards given to it buy review magazines and sites.So who in there right mind buys this junk when you can get a rxv-495 or maby a HK avr 35 or 45 for the same price,and beleive me you are getting a much better deal!I totaly agree with the two guys below that say go and buy a yamaha.Dont settle for low end junk like this.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha,Harman Kardon

Ease of use,overall quality of sound,simple setup,plenty of options for Treble,Bass,and changing speaker volume levels,S-video switching,price,main volume control.

Remote too big,manual not much help,bass weak on Digital settings,and 100 watts per channel in digital? I don't think so!

For the price fo getting into a DTS/Digital Dolby system this is hard to beat. For $299 from Circuit City(they will wheel and deal somewhat) This system has plenty of variables. The S-video is a snap,and I loved the treble,bass,and volume settings,easy to figure out,and even has a volume setting for each individual speaker,so it can be used with virtually any speaker system. Since my speakers are Technics 15 inch bass for mains, my front speakers have to be turned down a bit to match,and is a snap.
Bass is actually perfect on stereo settings, but a little weak in Dolby pro logic, Dolby Digital,and DTS,so a good subwoofer is definately a must! Remote is way to bulky,could be smaller. The manual for both the reciever and remote is of little value,but setting it all up is an easy "common sense" thing..no problem there.
100 watts per channel is about right in the stereo settings, but more around the 60 watt range in the digital modes.
Overall it can be a perfect fit to any existing stereo equipment you may already have,and may not be the best system around,but excellent for the price

Similar Products Used:

Technics,Aiwa,Pioneer

DTS,Dolby Digital, wicked price

100WX5, I don't think so

I bought this receiver because of the low price and great features. However, when I got it home and hooked up my new Infinity RS-5 speakers, stereo mode sounded like crap. At first I thought the speakers just sounded good at the store due to the sound room and high end amp they were using. However, after reading a lot of other reviews I have also come to the conclusion that the stereo mode sucks. No bass, and 100W is highly over rated. Movies sound good with my surround speakers and center channel.

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Harmon Kardon 300

Plenty of SVideo, decent sound for the price.

Beware DishNetwork/Echostar subscribers: The supplied remote is not compatible.

For the price it's a decent deal. My only real problem was that the remote is not compatible with my satellite box. I called Kenwood with my problem and they said this this unit was not compatible with newer DishNetwork/Echostar boxes. My satellite box is 3 years old. Hardly cutting edge.

With a little experimentation you can get good sound from this unit but.... If you have owned higher end equipment before you will not be satisfied. Do yourself a favor and spend a few more bucks.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Sony Pro-Logic

Ease of integration with my other components, HT quality for Dolby Digital, PRICE!

Manual could be more intuitive

Just picked this up at Bernie's in the northeast for $199, and it is still available on sale at this nice price. This is my first DD/DTS receiver, and I did some shopping prior to the purchase. I am using a PROSCAN DVD, and I find the sound is crisp, clean and downright awesome! This thing is the most electronics I found for the money in this tier of receivers. Alot of flexibility on the input and output side of the house.

As mentioned, the manual is non-intuitive, so you find yourself combing back and forth for information. But once the initial setup is complete, sit back and enjoy the dynamics! Great unit for this price!

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ONKYO TV-XS343

Price, DD, DTS

Remote, Subwoofer Pre-out Levels, Manual

Picked this up as an interim upgrade to my prologic system for $400 cdn. Read excellent reviews on this so decided that i couldn't go wrong for the price. The DD and DTS were fantastic, and 2 coax i/p's were what i needed for my system. Brought it home and hooked it up to my Klipsch synergy speaker system. Wow.....what a difference from my pro-logic Sony receiver.... then i went to hook up my passive subwoofer :P
I'm using my Boston Acoustics RS-12 subwoofer (from my car) as an interim sub until i save the money up for a klipsch ksw-12, this is hooked up to an HH v-500 amp (250Wrms/ch, 500Wrms bridged). When I hooked this up and ran the test tones thru it..... no output from the sub..... verified all the connections (amp was in 2 ch mode then, 250Wrms into sub)and everything was good, decided to turn up the HH amp, got it to max output and had a slight noise coming from the sub....... ?????? Set the HH amp to bridged mode (500Wrms) and set the subwoofer up accordingly, ran the test tone at mid output, same noise, turned it up to about 9 (on a 1-10 scale) and managed to get a SLIGHT rumble from it(sub level set at +10db on receiver).....what the hell?? I called a friend and borrowed his powered mirage sub, he has it set to 4 with his yamaha 495 receiver, hooked it up to the kenwood and had to set it to 9 before i got an acceptable output from it (No i am not a bass freak).
I emailed kenwood.....turn your sub level up on the receiver, it was already at +10db....some help they were. I called the technician at the local kenwood repair shop, guess what, he said that the kenwoods had the lowest pre-out levels of any of the receivers available usually less than 1v p-p although it's advertised at 2v p-p in there manual.
Other than this low output level which really limited bass management for me, the vr-309 sounded great, although somewhat bright thru my klipsches (to be expected with this setup). The manual was somewhat vague, I knew enough from experience that this was not a real problem for me, but if you are someone who has problems setting the vcr clock look out!! :)
The remote leaves everything to be desired, If you are looking at this receiver plan on spending the extra dough for an all in one aftermarket remote. The salesman had said it was bad....he was wrong....it's the s%*t's. 5 secs to program the next item, or you have to start over, although it feels comfortable in your hand.
In the end i returned it for a full refund, back to pro-logic, saved some more cash and bought a higher end receiver (worked flawlessly with my subwoofer setup, shook the house next door the first night :) )
Overall this receiver can't be beat for bang for the buck, save for an aftermarket remote and you're all set. I was running a sub/sat speaker combo, so maybe running full range mains may make a difference. It looses one star for the remote and another for the subwoofer output. 5 stars for value though.

Similar Products Used:

yamaha 495 595a 795a 995, pioneer 608 vsx-24tx, rotel rsx-965, marantz 7000

Value, Dolby digital sound

None at this price

This is my second review and I am reposting because I have had more time to listen to this unit and compare it to others. In Dolby Digital mode with DVD's this unit is easily the equal of my Marantz 7000 and I would say it has more dynamics and a clearer sound than the Marantz. The Marantz is better in music mode, has a little more bass, and of course also offers 5 channel stereo with a straight forward, no gimmicks sound. They both have the same subwoofer output levels, and both have a substantially clearer sub output than my Sony 333ES had. On either the Marantz or the Kenwood, if you set the Front speakers to NORMAL under the setup options, you will get almost no output to the subwoofer. This is intended to send a full range sound to the fronts while also sending a sub signal out. In fact all three of the above receivers kill the sub out almost entirely if you set the fronts to "NORMAL", which is unfortunate. With my Klipsch KSW-12, both the VR-309 and Marantz 7000 send plenty of signal to the sub and I have to cut the KSW-12 gain back to halfway on the KSW-12 back panel. This is with the VR-309 sub output set at "0" db. This is my 3rd Vr-309 and they all performed the same way (the 1st one was returned while I tried the 3080 and the 2nd one went to my dad). The Sony 333ES had a higher crossover freq (100hz) to the subs and seemed to send too much to the sub which interfered with the mains. For under $300 the VR-309 is 5 stars and for under $800 the Marantz is also, but you have to pay a lot more to get a little more performance, a better remote, 5 speaker stereo and more inputs/outputs. I all fairness I should mention that at VERY high volumes, the Marantz's massive power supply prduces much cleaner sound with each note remaining distinct.

Similar Products Used:

Sony 333ES, Kenwood 3080, Marantz 7000

Features, ease of use, Subwoofer out, and of course Dolby digital and DTS!

Remote could be better, sounds slightly bright when turned way up, less headroom than other amps at high volumes. No DSP surround fields for music.

I must say I'm very happy with this unit. I'm replacing my Yamaha DSP-A1000 and TX-550 tuner because of a switch problem in the amp which would cost $175 to fix, and the aging remote thats going bad. The Yamaha also was Pro-Logic only. I do miss the 23 sound fields and 7.1 surround from the Yamaha though, but it had no digital inputs and didn't support the new formats. The two pieces this is replacing cost me $1900 in 1991, and I must say the Yamaha amplifier section has a richer more natural sound. The Yamaha also weighed in at 44lbs, compared to 19 lbs for this guy. But I'm done paying big bucks for something thats obsolete in 3-5 years. This cost me $250 at Fry's on sale, and if it goes bad in two years there's no heartache. The sound is very clean even at high volumes, although it can get a little bright, and lacks headroom there. For "normal" to fairly loud music volumes it does a good job, and it's even better for movies. I have no problems with the remote controlling my other components, just pay attention to the remote maps in the user manual.

Overall it's a fantastic component with excellent sound for the price. I'd have to spend over $800 to get something that sounded better, and possibly without DTS.

I'm using it with Energy e:XL16 speakers and an e:XL12ES powered sub.

Setup:
This receiver
Carver Holographic Imager
Pioneer cassette deck (?)
Sony-ES CD changer
Mitsubishi SVHS VCR
Energy e:XL16 speakers
Energy e:XL12ES powered sub
No DVD yet
Sharp 32" TV

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha DSP-A1000, old Sony receivers.