Does it do windows?
Written: Jun 12 '01
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Pros: Extremely flexible, superior sound quality, sharp looking
Cons: Remote is cumbersome and is required for all receiver functions
The Bottom Line: The receiver is outstanding, but the remote, although very cool looking, is tough to work with. A solid choice for sound quality.
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| msg4589's Full Review: Kenwood VR-3090 |
Just like my old Kenwood CD player, I outgrew my aging Kenwood receiver. My old receiver only had Dolby Surround, the tuner had ceased functioning properly, and with only 2 non S-video inputs, it had to go. I had just purchased a DVD player and got on the DSS train and realized that I had to upgrade the heart of the home theater system. Since I am a devout and loyal Kenwood electronics owner, I started my searching there. I naturally started at the top and found the VR-3090 on UBid for $350. Amazingly enough, my order stuck and I was running home each day to see if my new toy had arrived.
When I opened the box, the first thing that jumps out at you is the remote control. Its about the size of 2 Palm-Pilots, but takes 9V worth of power through 6-AA batteries. The manual claims that this remote will last you forever. Too bad the batteries don't last that long. I have owned this receiver for over a year and I have replaced the batteries about 4 times. It might be the fact that I constantly am watching TV in the dark and have to turn on the aqua blue backlight. I was pretty impressed by the power of the remote. It knows many, many, many codes for all the major brands of electronic equipment and with some time, it can be your universal remote. Even if your brand of electronic equipment isn't in the database, you can make the remote learn commands by aiming your existing remote at it. I wouldn't be surprised if you aimed you garage door opener at it, it would do that too.
After I got past the remote I was looking at a powerful silver box with a few buttons on it. My old receiver had well over 100 buttons on the front of it. You could control anything by utilizing the buttons on the face. However, this receiver has only 6 buttons on it. Power, Speakers A, Speakers B, Mute, Input Select, Display Mode, and the volume knob. As you can expect from this limited selection of buttons, not much can be done without the remote. You can cycle through the many inputs and change the volume, but nothing else of use. Everything is operated through the remote. Sometimes just changing the radio station requires skill by removing the stylus, turning on the backlight and tapping the screen a few times. This can get a bit annoying if you grew up like I did and expect something to happen with one click of a button.
Ooops. Look like I got back to the remote again. Sorry about that. Anyways, the receiver itself is powerful and breathtaking. I found a center channel speaker and quickly had 5 speakers pushing sound into the living room. Watching T2 on DVD through a digital fiber cable and S-Video was amazing. When I said this was the heart of the home theater, I really mean it. Every wire that leaves or enters ANY of you home theater components goes through the receiver. The layout of the rear of the Kenwood VR-3090 doesn't help this fact. When trying to hook up another component, it takes skill and dexterity in trying to figure out what is plugged in where. I suggest making a photocopy of the diagram for the rear of the receiver from the instruction manual and keeping it nearby.
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 400
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Epinions.com ID:
msg4589
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Reviews written: 4
Trusted by: 1 member
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