cheap affordable way to get 5.1

Sound quality

You get what you pay for. Whoever says that the strenght of this reciever is the sound quality, has never listened to a decent system. This unit is ok is you want an affordable way to watch movies in 5.1, but if you are into high quality sound and music...go somewhere else. I hooked up my speakers up to the unit and it sounded like crap...no clarity at all. Then I hooked it up to my MCS reciever and the speakers came alive.

Huge power. Easy set up. Easy to veiw the programing as you select the audio formats. Comfortable controler size. Priced for everyone.

No complaints.

This is my first effort at a suround sound system.I bought the Kenwood vr505 as a starter unit and matched it up with a set of Prolinear dual driver towers. I picked up a Prolinear 8" 100 watt powered sub to pump up the base. Matched the centre channel, an Energy EXLC with a set of Energy EXL15 outboard (5" woofers with aluminum tweeters)I now have a great system. I use a Toshiba SD2710 DVD and play a lot of movies. Mainly war stuff or Sci Fi. Talk about power. At one quarter volume the Windows are rattling. The power from the sub runs thru me like a sonic boom. Excellent clearity from the sligtest tinkling to the loudest bells. The remote is small but managable. Quick to run through the pre sets for sound selections. Fairly good control over speaker positioning with the ability to control individual speaker volume. In a 15'x10'room the 505 is awsome. I have had no problems getting base sound from the 505 as I selected deeper sounding speakers when I bought the system with this in mind. Three cheers for the VR 505.

sound quality easy to setup

effects and remote control

I didn't need much of an amp, I just got this receiver so I could play PS2 Games in 5.1, and even though I have marginal speakers I am still getting really good sound of this receiver. I have to agree with everyone else about the effects being somewhat questionable, but I don't use them anyway (hehe) great bang for the buck and playing video games in 5.1 is awesome!

Dolby Digital 5.1 and DTS. 2 coaxial inputs and 1 optical input. Fine tuning for speakers. Easy to set-up and use. Very good quality sound and price.

Remote a little small and not universal. No s-video inputs/outputs.

Very good sound and features at a good price. Easy to set up. Sound very clean and quite powerful. DTS and Dolby Digital sound great. Overall, I'm very pleased with this reciever. It has a lot of useful features, such as auto. signal detection, and 5 DSP modes, which I don't use, but are nice to have anyway. I would recommend this product to anyone looking for good sound for a real good price.

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Sony str-de315 Pro-Logic A/V Reciever.

Good CLEAN audio at intense levels, (used for testing only). Mid level audio is nice and the bass boost works for low audio levels. Nighttime feature a plus with family sleeping near by.

Cinema/EQ needs an ON/OFF indicator. Wish I could select the low pass filter for my surrounds while leaving the center narrow banded.

It has taken me some time to set up this receiver. I found the manual poor, but Im an tech junkie, so I would have liked a schematic too. The Cinema/EQ button seems critical for getting good sound from DVD''s and other shows with dialog. Turn it off for music though. This unit is flexible and powerful. I can make my ears ring for 30 minutes after the fact with my Fisher 15" 3 ways, and JBL N26''s. I would trade in the DSP modes for an A/B speaker switch, but I just hate DSP modes anyway. I have had no problem reproducing good bass, without a Sub-W. DTS and Dolby Digital are great, speaker adjustments are somewhat flexible, but lack total independence. Found a hidden feature, when Cinema/EQ is on you can not adjust the BASS/TREB under the SOUND menu.

Similar Products Used:

Fisher Audio, Sansui Receiver.

excellent price. under 300 bucks with discount. easy operation and set-up. effective and efficient level of 500w.

I have only used it for one day. and so far I cannot find any. reliabilty issue will hopefully not arise in future. but one never knows.

Overall I guess I am being to hasty to criticize or review this product. but so far I feel very satisfied with my unit. especially the price quotient.

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pioneer and aiwa systems used and still prefer kenwood.

Excellent Value and Good sound Quality

8-16ohm compatibility is too high, no digital outputs and only one optical input

A very good value for less than 200 bucks.Sound quality is good. Play quite loud. I was using an adcom GTP-500 preamp with a GFA-555 amp but I like the sound from the kenwood a lot better. The reciever has built in DTS and Dobly Digital converters built in which is real convieniant. Another cool thing is you can have sound from a source like a cd or tape deck while having the video output for another source being used. It is better than I had originally thought it would be.

Bottom line: this is a great entry level reciever for casual listeners who want to raise the volume up an above 90 decibals.

Features for price, sound quality, clean power, fine tuning adjustment for speaker placement.

instruction manual, small unlit remote

I can recommend this Kenwood receiver for anyone wanting good quality sound on a budget. I purchased this model based upon price and previous reviews being positive. After having used the equipment, it more than meets my expectations. The set-up takes a little bit of work but is not all that complicated. In fact, options for measurement of the speaker distance combined with audible test tones enable you to really "dial in" the sound. My DTS versions of "Apollo 13" and "Jaws", as well as "Star Wars 1" and "The Matrix" really display the receiver's capabilities. The Cinema EQ makes for the right touch with the DVD's. Nice clean power for our home theater room!
The receiver's capabilities for stereo and Dolby Pro Logic via analog signals are also very nice. Adjustable bass and treble provide a good basic setup. The additional settings for specific environment reproduction (jazz, music hall, etc.) are also valuable.
I decided not to purchase the Kenwood 507 for $80 more to get Dolby Surround 2, but if you've got the extra bucks it might be worth it. A larger, lighted remote would make this one a 5 star within it's category (budget 5.1 receivers.) Nevertheless, this receiver fit's my needs beautifully and sounds great.

DVD's

Everything else

You get what you pay for. Remember people you are making an investment so spend an extra 150 to get the Onkyo TX-DS494. Now there is a bargain for the money.

the Kenwood was great with movies...it really was. But, if you listen to music or watch tv programs then it really really sucks. You can fiddle with it all you want but you won't get the bass. Even if you have a sub--I do 12" 120 watts--there is still no bass and no way to increase it. The only setting that makes it somewhat enjoyable to watch tv or listen to music is the Jazz DSP setting. Yea, so it is a stretch.

So if you want to waste 150 bucks to buy this receiver just know that you will have to either return it to get something better or buy a seperate system to run thru the tv and your music. Don't buy this cheap product!!!!!!

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Technics Tuner ST-K55 + Technics Stereo Integrated Amp SU-G95
Now have Onkyo TX-DS494--read review posted

price...quite good, digital outs

user manual...(no english version!!!)

for now I'm satisfied with the KRF-V5050...especially in digital output mode
it's a good deal (taking into account the brand) and I think that this receiver it's gonna stay with me for a long time
almost forgot: very good quality sound in cinema eq. mode