Price, available number of inputs (phono, CD, etc)

Only 2 optical inputs, not discrete circuitry

This is a good receiver. Not great. I have been using this receiver for over a year and I am very familiar with what it can and can not do. The manual is horrible, the remote is okay for me but I have pretty small hands and fingers. The wires that came with the receiver (I bought in a home theater package) were junk. I upgraded to some 12 ga wire and noticed a huge difference.

This receiver does not even come close to my friend's Denon but his was 3x more than mine. My friend's Onkyo sounds better and cost less than this did. This receiver is good, and it will win some stereo wars with the neighbors but it is not 5 star material. The learning curve is pretty steep and it doesn't do 5 speaker stereo like Onkyo does. I got a good deal for the whole home theater and since I live in an apartment I can't listen to music that loud.

I like my receiver but there is a lot better out there for 200-300 dollars. Let your ears make the choice. Nothing special, I could have found something better but I could have bought something worse too.

Similar Products Used:

RCA, Onkyo, Denon

*For new VR-507 & HTB-504* A lot of features & enough jacks on back for all combinations

Sound quality not good especially for Music CDs

After reading many reviews here and there for VR507 I decided to take my chance with the Music CD sound quality and bought HTB-504 while on sale with 10% discount.

The CD Music quality is not bad, just not exciting. Anyhow for this and another reason I got a Technics SA-DX1050 (same price for receiver alone) to compare.

Result: The Technics is far better especially for CD Music. So if CD Music is important for you get Technics. If you want features and jacks get Kenwood but the DSP modes Technics' few are better than Kenwood's lots.

You may read my test and review on the Technics SA-DX1050 at SA-DX940.

I don't mean to bash Kenwood (I did not complain my Kenwood KR-V9010 till recently) but I just feel I should contribute my view having made the comparison and help out people who are still wondering what to buy for Music CD & Home Theatre receiver.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood KR-V9010 & Technics SA-DX1050

crystal clear sound,ease of use

none

Once you have a full understanding of how to operate this receiver youll know just how great this receiver is.I use JBL northridge series speakers and JBL pb-12 sub.For all you VR-407 owners here I will briefly tell you now how to set it up.First set front spks to "normal" and make sure center is yes surround yes.Then set each speaker volume adjustment as follows l/c/r +2, ls +4 rs +4 sub try +2,make sure it is in digital "auto" and pop in U-571 in DTS and this set up will sound like you are in a theatre.Mostly this info is for the guy a few reveiws back that couldnt get DD or DTS to work.This receiver has very good sound and has been trouble free.After this i am a loyal kenwood owner and will upgrade when kenwood comes out with a 7.2 DD ex DTS es model.Summary:It has all the hook ups the moderate enthusiast will need, If set up properly you will find it very powerful and clean and would put my set up against anything in this price range and even much higher price ranges, get one and enjoy.

Similar Products Used:

kenwood vr-405

Great sound, user setting choices, DTS&DD decoders, Price.

Runs Hot, no volume dial indication only dB on led screen, only has basic bass and treble controls. could use a few more audio inputs

I purchased this unit to advance into the DD/DTS world. This is a new unit, not a refurb. Boy, what a joy in listening entertainment. In 1998 I purchased the Optimus reciever which has everything the VR-407 does, just no digital capability. I am a bit of a cheap audio enthusiast. My 200W powered sub-w,centerch,and surrounds are all RadioShack Optimus brand (Now RCA). My fronts are Two Sony floor standers with weenie 8" woofers with no ports. I paid about $380 for all these new. The subwoofer was my only vice,(had to have the 200W instead of the 100W onsale for $99)it was $200 by itself. Makes it the most expensive component in my cheap system. Anyway, these speakers have served extremely well (all 100W rated). The VR-407 sounds better in Prologic than the Optimus and with DD/DTS, need I say more. DVD's Rock on this system. Highly recommend the Haunting in DTS. Felt like a little kid scared to go to bed after watching. Highly recommended for any person Short of an Audiophile. Some like to have a house to put their stereos in.

Similar Products Used:

Optimus STAV-3690

Plenty of power to drive anything from satellites to small floorstanding speakers.

Crappy two channel sound reproduction, not enough optical inputs, runs hot,....

I bought the system w/speakers as a stop gap system.
I just have to say, for those of you giving this system a five star overall rating you obviously have not auditioned many other receivers. When people give every thing they buy and happen to like a five star rating it can be very misleading. If you give this system such a rating you are saying that this system can compete with other manufacturers like Denon And Onkyo's top of the line systems,... not true, not even close.

Similar Products Used:

Yamaha, Denon, Onkyo.

Price, sound, features

Manual and remote...C'mon Kenwood, you can do better.

I am pleased with the sound of the VR-407 driving 4 Yamaha 2-ways, center, and powered sub…it gets louder than either the neighbors or myself can tolerate. The sound is crisp and clear, even at lower volumes, but shakes the very Earth when required.

I have so far watched/listened to “Gladiator”, “Lost World”, “The Eagles ‘When Hell Freezes Over’”, and briefly to my spouses Bee Gee’s “One Night Only”. *briefly is about my limit* I am not the least bit disappointed in the DTS, or the Dolby Digital sound. The 2-way stereo isn’t too bad either.

Now for the bad stuff…
The manual is deplorable. A clear, comprehensive (hell, a 'CLEAR', concise manual would have sufficed), type specific manual would have rocked.
Stepping up from a Technics GX-490 Pro-Logic receiver, I was baffled and confused (Not to worry folks, confusion is not contagious). I would have gladly paid $10 more for the unit if it had a decent manual, and I suspect there are others who feel likewise.
I did manage to get it setup and programmed over a 2-day period, time better spent listening to and watching DVD’s.

The remote belongs in a Barbie house. ‘Nuff said.

All in all though, the value is good, the sound is stellar through my speakers, and I do not regret my decision.
5 stars for value
4 stars overall...(would have given 5 stars overall with a decent manual and remote)

Similar Products Used:

Marantz?(long time ago) Technics GX-490 Pro-Logic

Price, features, size

Remote control, setup instructions

My purchase decision for an audio a/v receiver was based mainly on size. My entertainment center could only fit a 5 3/4" component. This greatly limited the field of choices. I found some JVC models that would have fit but was concerned with the reviews on these models.

When I went to the store the salesman tried to sell me the VR-410 which had this awesome wireless (not infared) remote, but it cost about $200 more for about the same features. This model has a very cheap remote. If the remote is important then definitely buy the upper model.

Setup instructions in the owners manual were wrong. I should have gone with my intuition the first time. It would have saved me lots of time.

I like the features and find that the options meet my needs. I don't need to spend hours configuring the component. I don't like the standby light that stays on when the power is off. I keep thinking the receiver is on. Overall, I am pleased.

Great price, good number of inputs, 100watts of power

remote, no on screen, manual is poor

This system is well worth it. Great sound at low price point. For those of us that need to conserve cash it's great. Those of you that think you need more than 100watts of power for 5 channels you either a) have sorely inefficient speakers or b) drive your speakers to distortion or c) have to fill a concert hall. If you absolutely must have more power then get seperates...poweramp and processor/decoder. Otherwise you would only get a marginal difference in sound quality. The Onkyo I have used was the high end PC upgradable model with DTS ES discreet, THX EX, DTS Matrix etc. Only thing was...it's sound was no better than my Kenwood, and far more expensive...the power rating was not that much better than could be expected 130watts (onkyo) vs 100watts (kenwood). ZFor the price you can't beat this system.

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer, Sony, Denon, Onkyo, Harmon, Yamaha, Panasonic, Technics

Great Price, Great sound, Lots of power, Dolby Digital

A friend of mine bought it online as a gift at YourInsider.com and got a really good deal.

As soon as he gave it to me I unpacked the receiver and hooked it to my dvd player, Tv, cd player, playstation, etc. I was very impressed. It had so many features for such a good price. It even was powerful with 100X5 watts of power. When i hooked it up I did not have a center channel at the time so I had to use it in stereo which was a little upsetting but It sounded great anyway. It had great sound easy controls and it looked very nice with my other equipment.

It is very easy to set up and very easy to use. I could not believe how easy and quick it was to set up.

The only concern I have is the size, it is huge, it hangs very far over my stereo shelf and I am always scared it will fall off. It is much longer then anything I have ever owned before.

Lots of inputs, including s-video. Looks very nice. Says it has 100 watts per channel.

For claiming 100 watts per channel, it sure sounds quiet. The manual is horrible. Don't even read it-it's a waste of time. Does run a little hot over 4 hours of use.

I love this receiver, except for one thing. You have to turn it up to at least half volume to get any sound out of it. I'm not sure if it's the speakers (Boston Accoustics CR-7's) or the receiver, but it could be a little louder.

Other than that, it's a great piece of audio equipment. More S-Video inputs than you'll ever need, unless you play a lot of game systems like me.

I still haven't been able to try out everything, because I don't have enough speakers for the 5.1. But with two channels, everything is wonderful and I've had no problems with it whatsoever.

Once I figured out all the nuances (with no help at all from the manual) everything has been great.

This may not be the receiver for those just getting into home audio, because of the horrible manual. The average person would be lost at trying to get it to work. But for those stepping up to the second level of receivers or someone looking for DTS, the VR-407 is great.

Similar Products Used:

Technics