You Get What You Pay For…
Written: Sep 07 '06 (Updated Sep 08 '06)
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Pros: Low purchase price, reasonable power and features
Cons: Bottom-feeder drawbacks, only useable for single-room setup, no direct access to Pro-Logic, irritating remote
The Bottom Line: If you can’t afford something better, buy it. Prepare to be frustrated by this unit’s shortcomings
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| oinktrnt's Full Review: KLH R5100 5.1 Channels Receiver |
Bought this a few years back for about $100 @ Best Buy at a time when I didn’t have much money to replace a dead high-end Pioneer receiver. For that amount, it is a good deal, with a reasonable amount of power and features.
H-O-W-E-V-E-R
1-The first drawback to the low purchase price is a lack of multiple speaker plugs. If you want to have speakers in your living room and some alternate ones in the kitchen or bedroom, you are out of luck.
2-Minimal LED display: the only things that light up on this device are the power button, red speaker LEDs, and white LEDs for whatever function you have chosen. The front panel has a black face with grey lettering on the buttons with no illumination. This is all right if you are in a brightly-lit room with the unit at eye level. Otherwise you will have to bend down to find the right button. You might be able to memorize the 27 front panel function buttons, something I can’t manage to do. Also there is multifunction knob at bottom center. I find this to be about as easy to use as the idrive in BMWs.
3-The remote repeats the receiver’s color scheme for 35 of its 36 buttons. The exception is the orange power button. The lack of contrast between the gray lettering and black background doesn’t help locating the desired button. The volume/fader buttons are larger and more useable, but I found their function circuitous and vexing. Pushing the up or down arrow buttons raises or lowers the volume. To change the level on a particular speaker the ‘level’ button first must be pushed. If you don’t push the up or down button fast enough, they go back to the main volume function.
4-There is no direct access to Pro-Logic on either the receiver or the remote. You have to press the ‘surround’ button quite a few times to get there. If you mistakenly go past Pro-Logic, you have to start over. The receiver cannot be set to fire up with Pro-Logic.
CONCLUSION
While this unit is okay for the price, I wish I had waited and spent more money for something else.
Recommended:
No
Amount Paid (US$): 100 and tax
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Epinions.com ID:
oinktrnt
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Reviews written: 5
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