Nice wattage. Sounds good on low volume.

Sounds like ass in dolby surround mode. Doesn't reproduce music very well either. Would be nice to have bass and treble controls.

Not bad for the value if you like poor quality and lots of bells and whistles. I got ripped off on my purchase, but if you have a good set of speakers and components, it may be worth $100.

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Technics 2-channel receiver --> much better sound quality

Excellent sound quality.
Excellent quality of construction.
Solid feature-set for the price.
Good remote control.

Awkward front panel controls that involve sub-menu navigation makes it difficult to use quickly. (I much prefer the remote.)

An huge and ugly cyclops-like volume control knob.

I bought this in the July or August of 1999 on impulse because it was on sale at Circuit City for $159. It is a much better receiver than my old one (Teac junk), particularly with regard to the high-end clarity and bass depth of the amplifier. It does a fine job as a basic home theater unit, if you do not want or need digital interconnects nor want Dolby 5.1 or better. It is "Dolby 5.1 ready", but that means you'll be stuck paying a fortune for a DVD with a built in decoder and analog output jacks. There are many JVC pseudo-surround enhancements, and they do work, but I generally prefer a neutral sound.

I would certainly recommend it versus similarly priced receivers from Sony, Teac or other companies, it is excellent for this bracket. It even feels more solid than many other units in this price class. Watch out because I've seen it recently for as much as $250, and this for a semi-closeout item. I would give it a higher overall rating except that newer products have much more advanced features, and their prices are dropping to under $250 rapidly.

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N/A

Good power on all channels.(100 watts each channel)5.1 dolby digital ready(AC3)

Air vents are on the top and sides. Not enough extra inputs for an extra appliance.

It is a good powerful unit, it works well with my Sony DVP-530 DVD player. The sound is crisp and clear with strong rich bass to go with my sub-woofer, and my 15 in. woofer front speakers. I gave it a 5 star rating cause i'm very happy with it's performance and i got it in an auction for $144.

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Zenith Dolby pro-logig surround sound

I bought the JVC RX-664VBK at Circuit City over a year and a half ago and I must say I am a very satisfied customer. I use it for music and video (VCR) and the sound seems great to me. This unit has plenty of power and features, including Dolby Digital Ready. This means that by adding a DVD with a built in Dolby Digital Decoder, you're all set. DVD prices are falling fast. One design issue for me is the lack of bass and treble controls, but by playing with the loudness button and the several preset equalizations, I always find a good sound. I got a package deal with DCM speakers, JVC Stereo VCR and JVC cassette for $1,000. No, not audiophile, but very good equipment.

I found this for a good price at the Good Guys for $159.00. I wouldn't want to pay too much more. It is a fine receiver for the price and for what it has with it. I run Paradigm Mini Monitors for the fronts, the CC-350 for the center, and Cambridge Soundworks Ensemble III's for the rears. These speakers are forgiving for this type of receiver. The only complaint I have with it is the amount of hiss I get from the rear speakers. Also, I find the DAP modes to be almost useless, sometimes making the music sound 'tinny.'In the future I am upgrading to Harmon Kardon or Marantz since after hearing them, they are a major step above JVC for clarity and quality.
I will give the 664 a rating of 4 since I have been happy with it and it was bought at a good price.
Don't pay over $200 for it.

Good Digital Ready receiver for the price...

I bought this receivered about 7 months ago and it's been a good piece. Clear sound. Works well with my Panasonic & Sanyo VCRs, RCA Laser disc player, Pioneer Mixer, Toshiba TV, Sony CD player, Bose AM-7 and Cerwin Vega speakers. For the price of $149.00, there's nothing else you can ask for. I am going to buy the JVC-888VBK soon.

It is awesome. Bass is great I got it hooked up to my Cerwin Vega'a right now and it take them to the max(300W is the max on the Vega's)

Not a single weakness.

Well not much to say but I got mine 3 days ago and it is a step up from my old sony reciever that costs me $240. Tomorrow I am going with my friend Josh to get him one just like mine. Go buy one its worth it....and all those idiots that talk about the bulky remote should know that its a freakin universal remote that controls more than 4 devices so lets think.....duh....it should be big!

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Sony, Kenwood

Inexpensive, amp sounds fine.

Hard to use, poor quality tuner, no radio signal strength meter.

This receiver is really a pain to use, especially the tuner. Also, the tuner has no signal strength meter, so it's hard to properly adjust the antenna. The tuner seems to be of low quality overall. The amp sounds fine to me, though. I suspect that the thesis that all amps sounds pretty much the same is true (although I haven't listened to expensive amps enough to really form an opinion). The lack of tone controls bothers me a little, but not nearly as much as the lack of a signal strength meter. I use this for stereo only, so I don't get the benefit of the receiver's surround sound capabilities. It sure is cheap for an alleged five 100 watt amps.

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Kenwood KR-6030

I bought my JVC from an auction and got a good price, $177. This receiver has a lot of features for a low price. It sounds great with my home theater setup and good for music. My only complaint is that they do not include bass and treble controls, only preset 3 band modes. It took me a little while, but I finally found the settings I like. All in all, for home theater at a cheap price, Great! I give it a 4. For music, it sounds good. I give it a 3.

Decent output at 100w/channel; pseudo-surround is not bad for the price, easy pre-set equalization for those who do not want to tweak all the time

No bass/treble control, radio is a pain to use, and submenu navigation sometimes feels like it is more trouble than it is worth. Without a built in DVD decoder, this unit forces you to spend more on a DVD player with a decoder.

Overall, for the price, it is a pretty decent piece of equipment. If you are a beginner and want to upgrade a piece at a time, this is a good model to learn from. It delivers pretty good clarity and power and gives options for your basic home theatre setup. The 100 watts per channel are nice, but get speakers to match. The compulink option is nice (if you have other compatible JVC components) for one-button control.

Without co-axial or optical hookups, be prepared for a lot of spaghetti behind your system. The remote is easy to use, but kind of bulky and hard to handle.

I got this about 18 months ago and thought it was great, until I learned about all the other stuff I should be able to do (and hear). But the time and the money was not wasted as I am upgrading from the 664 currently.