It's awesome and it's NOT made by Sony

Remote is pretty weak

I am so happy with this receiver. I originally bought a sony de545 (you can read my scathing review on this webpage) and it was TOTALLY HORRIBLE. I was deciding between this kenwood and the pioneer 507s. My brother is a big kenwood fan so i went to the store and listened to both and the kenwood was better.

ANyway, i think the receiver is great is decodes all the channels perfectly and the only knock i had was that the bass reproduction was horrible at just about any level (except in dts or digital mode). The instruction manual is pretty wimpy so i set out and read some posting. Now my front speakers are IMHO large. However, basically if you have a sub set your front speaker size to NORMAL and instantly the receiver dropped A TON of bass into the sub and now everything is perfect in any mode.

Ican't stress 2 things enough 1. I am totally satisified with this receiver 2. DO NOT PRESUME that you know something everyone else doesn't and that Sony makes any acceptble receiver in this price range (under 1000 really).

Similar Products Used:

Sony 545

sub, price to performance ratio.

Cheap feeling remote (but can't complain for the price)

I had a Kenwood KR-V5580 Pro-logic reciever that gave great steroe sound, but lousy surround sound. I was hesistant buying Kenwood again, but I did some research and decided to try this reciever with the HTB-503 setup. I bought it at Sears using thier price match and got $90 bucks off! This system rocks, the sub is one of the best in its price range, and the sound from the reciever is very clean, also the features you get with the reciever are very generous in this price range. Remote does feel cheap, but I found it fairly easy to use. If you don't have a lot of money, but want good value in a home theater setup get this system.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood

(DTS, Dolby Digital, 6 Channel Input, Front AV Input, Total 600 Watts) ALL IN ONE. Great quality for the price.

Only one DSP mode, But not so bad.

I brought HTB503 after lot of research. I called Kenwood, Circuit City, Read Review and must have been at Cirtuit City n number of times. I am satisfied with the system. I have seen atleast more then 30 movies in this 3 months time. When i saw "TOMMORROW NEVER DIES" the first blast in the start scene of the movie gave a blow to me and my friends. We felt we were in the scene just feets away from bomb explosion. very good effect. I heard it with six channel input mode and also "SAVING PRIVATE RYAN" in DTS mode was superb. It is a good buy i got mine HTB503 for 474 from CIRCUIT CITY. It comes with Kenwood VR-407 (reciever) one center, two front, two surround and one sub woofer. Each with 100 watts output. I don't think at the current moment there is anything like this for the price.

coaxial, fiber optic, DTS, AC-3, component connections, sound, and definitely PRICE!

Remote too small, funky UNIVERSAL controlling option on other components.

This is my first receiver, but I've shopped around for half a dozen other brand receivers for many months now. I'm not going to list them here, because of my limited experience in this catagory. Also, the price of this Kenwood VR-407 receiver in a HTB-503 home theatre system package is just very difficult to beat (for under $700 total). The sound quality is crisp and clear. There is a lack of different sound environment such as; HALL, CONCERT, ROCK, THEATRE, etc. I don't care for that though and find only DTS, DD AC-3, and optical connections important. The sub has auto power off, which is very nice. Dragon Heart and Saving Private Ryan was a wonderful experience watching at home. Basically this worthy receiver has most every features you would likely use and find from higher priced receiver.
Remote is cheap though and kind of bad way of configuring other components to control (UNIVERSAL wannabe).

Features for the price

Radio did not work. Bleed over from Audio Input 1 into radio and AUX.

Well I was all exited to get this receiver based on the reviews I saw here. My father had a Kenwood that gave him great service for over 20 years (still going) so I was expecting the same. I was wrong. The video input would work as did all of the speaker outputs (test tone was heard loud and clear) but the radio (both FM and AM) would not pick up anything except some bleed over from the video which I could also hear on the AUX input.

I contacted Kenwood and they had me check everything (connections, etc.) and then reset the unit. Same thing.

This is the first and probably last Kenwood I will try. I'm returning it for a Pioneer VSX-509S.

Similar Products Used:

Sony, Sansui

Great for a first time surround sound system purchase. DD 5.1, dts, 600 watts, I bought the complete home theatre package HTB 503...

Haven't found one yet, read a lot of complaints about the remote, but I find it uncumbersome and well organized.

This is my first purchase of home theatre equipment, (besides my DVD player). My knowledge of Kenwood's name and quality prompted my consideraion of this model. When compared side by side to a Sony receiver of high price, I found that the Kenwood was by far the superior machine. With almost 50% more inputs, front side a/v jacks, s video inputs in addition to rca style. 2 optical inputs, easy to learn features and automatic surround sound mode selection based on the signal output from your input devices. (I rented "The Bone Collector" encoded in dts all i had to do was select the dts playback mode on the dvd, the receiver automatically changed to dts mode and i got a beer...
Overall: Easy setup, simplistic straight foward controls, plenty of power to make the neighbors wet the bed at 3 am (although there IS a night time listen mode...) and more than sufficent inputs to accept many devices (you could connect a dvd, vcr, dss, game, cd/mini disc, phonograph and still have the front side inputs!) Very Pleased with my purchase.

Similar Products Used:

None.

Excellent sound on dts and dolby digital outputs from either the optical or co-axial digital outputs.
Good bass management, though definitely best with a subwoofer
auto detects format

even after 7 months remote still sucks but I rarely use it
can only adjust treble/bass in stereo mode not in 5.1 digital or prologic surround sound
manual is no good, but after a few days you wont ever need it...if you do, then go back to school (I'm kidding!)

This is an update of my review 7 months ago (apr.30 I believe) after I have used it extensively.

I Have played about 50-60 dvds as well as burned cds through this receiver as well as over 100 vhs tapes and I have yet to be disappointed. Most people are likely going to by this receiver because of the dts and dolby digital capability and that is primarily where this receiver succeeds. Only once did I notice any kind of drop out during Terminator 2 dts through the optical connection but I hear this is common when using optical connections with dts. Since the I have bought a better Dvd player (Pioneer dv-333 $319) and upgraded the Kenwood front speakers and speaker wire as well as switching to coaxial cable for digital playback.

I havent had a single problem with this receiver and it never overheats and strangely enough doesn't gather dust like everything else in my room. I usually run it about 6 hours continuously when I watch dvds and sound is always crystal clear.

Even though I have played burner cds as well as regulars I would not purchase this receiver for primarily stereo playback. Although sound is good through either fm or cd audio there just isnt that spacial feeling I have gotten from really old receivers.

I've still been checking out the newer receivers on the market and really the only feature available in this price range is circle surround but if you want dts and dolby digital that isnt necessary.

The only feature I would really like (and I dont beleive this reciever has it) is that you could use the rear surround speakers as channel B so you could listen to 4 speaker stereo. I havent had a chance to try this but I am sure it isnt possibly without reconnecting speakers

Similar Products Used:

vr-357

None except maybe its price + inputs

Everything from it's remote to the sound quality to the power or lack there of!!!

I had and earlier review before this, and I would like to disregard all the things it said. Maybe I just got stuck with a faulty unit but still kenwood should provide some tech support to help resolve the problem. So overall my impression of this receiver is that it sucks!

Similar Products Used:

My little sisters radio

sleek and sexy

none

i had sex with my reciever it was great

Similar Products Used:

none

S-Video Switching, Dolby DTS, Lots of configuration options.

Poor feature description in manual, Crappy Subwoofer cable.

Got this one at Circuit City as part of the Home Theater package. Sound is excellent. Power is adequate. Installation is easy enough but I think manufacturers should describe the features in detail. The manual gives very basic info but no example of how the features work. A buyer not familiar with the terminology is left looking for answers from salesmen.
The subwoofer cable that is supplied with this kit is way cheap. I will be replacing it at once with a Monster Cable.
Since the sub and amp are both powered it could even be dangerous if shorted.
This is an excellent unit for the price. I am very satisfied.

Similar Products Used:

JVC, Harmon Kardon, Pioneer