The receiver that gives it back
Written: Jan 17 '03 (Updated Jan 27 '03)
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Pros: All-around excellent features and performance
Cons: nothing I consider a fault at this price point
The Bottom Line: I would have given it an unconditional 5 stars but the all-in-one remote doesn't support any DVD players.
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| dgeesaman's Full Review: JVC RX-7000V Receiver |
I bought this receiver 18 months ago as the beginning of a home theater system. The receiver is really your biggest potential bottleneck in a system as far as features go, but it's worked well and as I've added components I still see no reason to upgrade for a long time. My intent is to build an affordable, high quality 5.1 home theater system, and I believe this receiver is a perfect choice.
It has built-in support for the following components:
DVD (digital connection), DVD (RCA connection), CD, Tape/MD, TV/DBS, Phono turntable, FM/AM, VCR.
Connections in back are comprehensive:
DVD Audio: 5.1 RCA, Coaxial*, Optical*
DVD Video: S-Video, RCA
CD Audio: 2-ch RCA, Coaxial*, Optical*
Tape/MD: 2-ch RCA in & out, Optical out*, Dedicated Optical in
VCR Audio: 2-ch RCA in & out
VCR Video: S-Video in & out, RCA in & out
TV/DBS Audio: 2-ch RCA, Coaxial*, Optical*
DBS Video: S-Video, RCA, Coaxial*, Optical*
* Note about digital connections: there are a total of one Coaxial and two optical connections that are shared between the DVD, CD, DBS, and MD options. So if you have all four one of them must run on RCA connection. I suppose I'd prefer to live without RCA connections on these components in return for dedicated Coaxial and Optical for each, but at this price point it's barely a niggle.
Speakers: 2 pair fronts, 1 center, 1 pair rear surround, 1 powered sub output, 1 line-level sub output. The fronts are the only connections with a screw/banana type terminal, I'd rather get these for all connections. The rest are the insert wire/close latch type which don't work well for large wire.
The user manual is accurate and comprehensive, but unfortunately it doesn't do any special job at demystifying the setup of a home theater system. A patient and problem-solving person can set up a system around this receiver without much stereo experience, but to get full use it will take some experimentation or outside research to understand what all the features mean. This really is par for the course in home theater.
The amplifier has always sounded clean and powerful to my ears; it puts out a combined 500W RMS maximum. It's enough to drive my Polk RTi100s with vigor.
The AM antenna is extremely flimsy and cheap looking, but I don't really care since I don't listen to AM. FM is just a length of thin wire that can lay out across the floor behind the receiver, it seems to work well enough.
For audio adjustments the RX-7000 has an SEA feature with several style presets (concert hall, jazz, rock, etc), as well as a 5-level manual equalizer. It also has one of those gimmicky Bass Boost buttons. (If I want more bass, I go directly to the powered bass adjust on my speakers).
Home theater options include full DTS support, Dolby Digital, and Dolby Pro Logic. You also have a good array of configuration options such as center delay, rear delay, balances, bass crossover adjustments, Dynamic Range Compression (Dolby Digital mode) and LFE (Dolby Digital or DTS mode) support.
The remote serves well as a basic all-in-one remote. The component code list doesn't handle minor brands, but most of my components worked. It has no code support for DVD players (although the play/pause/stop buttons of for the VCR would appear to support it). It has no learning or macro capabilities, so it doesn't offer any special help to make controlling the complexity of a component system more manageable for non-enthusiast users. The buttons are easy to use and it's built with better than average durability.
This receiver also supports JVC's Compulink system, which I have no experience with. Compulink only works to connect JVC Compulink components.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 300
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Epinions.com ID:
dgeesaman
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Member: David
Location: Harrisburg, PA, USA
Reviews written: 50
Trusted by: 2 members
About Me:
Mechanical Engineer, 31. Enjoy golf, distance running, hiking/backpacking, auto racing, fishing, and ice hockey.
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