Great sound, no customer support.
Written: Sep 01 '03 (Updated Oct 09 '03)
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Pros: Excellent sound
Cons: Minor annoyances with the display, front panel and remote control. Poor customer support.
The Bottom Line: Great sound and great features, with minor annoyances, and poor customer support.
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| mplieb's Full Review: JVC RX-8030V 6.1 Channels Receiver |
I've had this JVC unit for almost two months now, and am very happy with it. I have gotten used to its little quirks, and the sound is great and features are very good. Particularly is the speaker setup wizard. Makes setting up surround sound very easy.
Only real gripe at this point is there is no customer support. That is to say, the only way to get support is by JVC's website, but as of this date, I have heard no response since for as long as I have owned this unit. I have not tried calling their headquarters, but that is the next step in order to attempt to get a response. Fortunately, I have not had a problem that requires support - I was asking questions about the features. But if this is how they support their customers, perhaps you should look elsewhere.
I purchased the RX-8030VBK after owning the Panasonic SA-HE100, which I returned for a refund (Circuit City has a great, "no-questions-asked" return policy.) The JVC unit was about the same price, but has far better sound quality. The THD in stereo of the JVC is .06 compared to .9 of the Panasonic, and its noticeable, even in surround sound modes.
One nice feature that I have not taken full advantage of is that the unit also has a speaker setup wizard built in, that guides you through that process.
The unit also has a 5 band equalizer, rather than just bass and treble controls. And while there is no "balance" control, you can adjust the levels of either speaker in stereo mode, and all speakers in surround sound mode.
If you are looking for a good unit with great sound, this unit does fill the bill. It has some minor annoyances however.
The manual is difficult to read. The diagrams lack useful information, and though I am not a neophyte, and work in the IT field, I had trouble.
When you tune to a radio station, the front panel display shows the frequency for a few seconds, but then reverts to the surround sound status as the default. It seems unlikely to be able to change this.
The tuner controls are hidden beneath a cover on the front panel. From a design standpoint, this was not a good idea. Although all functions can be handled by the remote, it is still odd.
Similar to other brands, this unit uses a dial to "jog" through different settings. I guess it is for conservation of space - having all those features accessible via buttons would make it easier, but would result in a huge front panel.
The remote control has a non-illuminated LCD which must be used in conjunction with the front panel display on the receiver. The LCD shows very limited information, and is useful, but seems a bit cumbersome requiring its use with the front panel display. The remote is not illuminated, but you can negotiate it after getting used to it. And a basic control, such as dimmer, is only available from the remote.
Lastly, JVC does not have very good customer service/technical support access. Your only choice is email from their website, and one email has already gone unanswered for two weeks. I have not tried calling their headquarters in Wayne, NJ, but that is in the back of my mind.
Are these negative points enough to avoid this unit? I don't know. JVC is a good, middle of the road brand, and I would challenge you to find a unit with the same specs and features for the price. That's why I bought it! I paid $260 including tax at Circuit City using their "Price Protection Plus" guarantee (after a hassle with the sales manager, the operations manager honored their posted guarantee).
Recommended:
Yes
Amount Paid (US$): 260.00
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Epinions.com ID:
mplieb
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Member: Marc Liebeskind
Location: Highland Park, NJ, USA
Reviews written: 7
Trusted by: 0 members
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