A great-sounding, complicated beast
Written: Nov 11 '00
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Great sound, can be found cheap, lots of features
Cons: Impossible remote
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| bmolotsk's Full Review: Kenwood VR-309 |
Having owned one of Kenwood's first "AV" - type receivers for over 10 years and having been wholly satisfied with its features and sound quality, I immediately sought out Kenwood's line of Dolby Digital receivers when I was ready to upgrade last year. As usual, Kenwood offers a tremendous "bang for the buck" value in terms of sound quality and features for the price.
No one will accuse Kenwood of being audiophile-level gear, but I could not pass up true 5.1 Dolby Digital reproduction, two types of digital inputs (coax and PCM), S-video outputs, and a host of other features for the price. I bought mine from egghead.com (then onsale.com) during an auction. The unit had already been replaced on store shelves by the newer (but only slightly different) KVR-3090, but I grabbed this one at a great discount.
When this unit was first introduced, it was at the top of Kenwood's midrange consumer product line (it has since been replaced by the KVR-3090 and others). Again, for the price at which you can get one, the features and sound quality cannot be beat. You have plenty of inputs, outputs, and plenty of power to drive your speakers.
Unfortunately, the unit suffers from one of the worst remote controls and poorly-written manuals of all time. The remote is big, bulky, complicated, and badly laid out. The buttons are small, labelled confusingly, and impossible to read in low light. The manual is worse, in that it is actually TWO separate manuals -- one for the receiver and one for the remote. This means that you have to look in two separate places in order to try and figure out how to do something.
I've had this unit nearly a year and still have not been able to master the remote control, or all of the functions of the receiver -- simply because the manuals and controls are so arcane.
That aside, the real reason I bought the receiver -- the sound -- is downright amazing. Dolby Digital sound reproduction is deep and natural, and the receiver is able to "fake" multi-channel separations for soundtracks that do not have them. Once you figure out the right combination of settings necessary to actually get the receiver to produce sound (correct output type on DVD player, correct input type on receiver, correct speaker setup on receiver, correct speaker selection on receiver), you will be impressed. Promise.
My previous Kenwood receiver lasted me more than 10 years. I fully expect the KVR-309 to last just as long, though I expect to relegate it to the bedroom or kids' playroom eventually as I continue to upgrade my home theater. Get one refurbished, or used, and get in on true 5.1 Dolby Digital surround for a rock-bottom price (I paid well under $200) -- mine is refurbished and hasn't hiccuped once.
Recommended:
Yes
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Epinions.com ID:
bmolotsk
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Member: Brett Molotsky
Location: Cherry Hill, NJ
Reviews written: 15
Trusted by: 5 members
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