Power, Loudness control is just right, Built like a tank, s-vid switching, pre-outs for all channels, dot matrix display, etc...

Without remote you have a 2 channel amp. period. can't do anything without remote but listen to cds and tapes.

Very robust. clean and powerfull sounding receiver contrary to the previous Kenwoods I have owned, full of features, metal front panel, pre-outs for all channels, 5.1 DD surround modes, DSP Logik, amongst others, but overall the sound is incredible with my AR's.

Similar Products Used:

Kenwood Denon Yamaha HK Onkyo Proton JVC AKAI

Rf input and digital input for Dolby Digital.

No DTS. Not equal power to all speakers. 100 x 3 & 70 x 2.
You have to get a specific kind of DVD player otherwise will skip the audio when playing. I own a Sony player and it works great. Stay away from Toshiba with this receiver though.

This is a pretty good Dolby Digital receiver. I like the Dolby Digital sound in laserdiscs and in DVD's. Music sounds pretty good on Cd's and the radio. The antennae is not that good and the remote pretty much sucks.

Good Power. DD sounds great.

Stereo mode is weak. Gets Hot.

*Bad Remote
*Doesn't recognize DD signal. (switching in and out will fix problem)
*After four years of fairly frequent use, it caught on fire but thermal protection cut off power. No longer working.

Similar Products Used:

n/a

I picked up the KR-V990D as a demo unit for an incredible price of $299. Before I get into the negatives (of which there are many) I will say that the price I paid was really unbelievably cheap for the features. This unit has an AC-3 decoder, a bazillion (okay 5) S-Video ins & outs and full S-Video switching, on-screen display, and plenty of power. Sounds good, too. The Dolby digital was especially smooth.
Unfortunatly, it has the following problems:
1. The remote uses IR frequencies that no other programmable/learning remotes can handle. I verified this by trying my Sony DSS remote, a Memorex learning remote, and talking to the OneForAll people.

2. The AC-3 section seems to have difficuly locking on to an incoming signal. I sometimes have to cycle power to the receiver to get a lock. Once a lock is achieved it is 100% stable. Note: the only AC-3 input I've used is the coax fed from my DVD player. I can't speak for how well the RF input works.

3. The DSP modes (large and small rooms) are pretty pathetic. I don't normally use the DSP settings but had to try them out.

4. The "universal" remote isn't.

Since I'm at the end of a 30-day trial period, I'm taking it back and spending a grand on either a Denon 3200 or Pioneer THX -- still deciding. If you want a really cheap way into Dolby digital, this receiver might be a good start (if you can find it for $300). If you want a solid center piece for your home theatre, look elsewhere.

don't go for this amp unless u only concern about price!! i know it's very very cheap, but sounds really poor and the power is not smooth at all.always have problem with the ac-3 input.

I have owned this product for 2 years and am completely satisfied.
A few issues:

1. Kenwood did and may still offer a free upgrade to this receiver. It encompasses only certain early serial numbers. This unit was one of the first dolby digital receivers, and the encoding criteria had not been finalized for 5.1. (This might account for the lock up problem referred to by one reviewer.)
Check at 1-800-kenwood for the availability of this free upgrade for only the cost of shipping it to them.

2. The carrier frequency for the remote is unique, but the when the wired ir accesory senders that are intended to be coupled to the receiver are employed, the receiver itself generates a usable ir signal to control other components. The remote is universal but all ir signals must be processed by the receiver and retransmitted through its wired senders to the other components. True, other learning and universal remotes will not operate the Kenwood, but when used as designed, the Kenwood remote is universal. Or just use your one for akl for everything else.

3. I wish the other reviewer was more specific when regarding the Kenwood as a sorry piece of junk after hearing the Yamaha. With both general listening to encoded dvds and testing with Video Essentials, I found decoding th AC-3 signal to be clean and distortion free.

4. We all know that there are many more significant factors in determing the sound in a system that far outway any coloration by this receiver or by most quality electronics; not neccesarily in order but all of far greater consequence, software quality, the software reader(laser disk player, dvd player), speakers, speaker placement, room size and acoustics. The receiver functioning as a source selector, signal decoder and amp is probably the most passive piece of equipment in the system.

5. Don't be afraid to own this product. Save the $6k+ you'll need for a Lexicon and some THX licensed amps and spend it on some quality speakers designed for home theatre, an adequate powered sub, and some research on speaker placement and room design and acoustics.

Great sound, but a little to difficult to run to other components.The remote also seems to not have a very wide range.

Good power, great sound, good durability

LOUSY remote, and can't find a universal to match this receiver. Has bad digital bitstream lock problems with many DVD players. Remember, this unit came out before DVD. Works fine with my Toshiba SD-2107, but not Dad's Panasonic DVD-A110

This unit has great sound quality and works great with laserdisc. You must connect it to a TV to use the on screed display to program it.

I like the sound quality. Maybe not the best but adequate.

Poor remote in regards to range and not programmable on universal remotes. I spoke to Kenwood rep who stated that it uses a frequency that most universal remotes don't use. Very limited amount of Dolby Digital inputs. It has coaxial and RF input(laserdisc), there is no optical input unfortunately.

If you can find this at a really cheap price then I say pick it up. I had a problem with 5.1 input. I sent the unit to Kenwood and received it back in 2 weeks in perfect working condition. You can probably find better receivers now at more reasonable prices and with more digital inputs.

cheap price

old,no new features

I bought this two years ago and it was the cheapest
reciever with dolby digital at the time. They are
right about the remote, you have to point it right at
the reciever to get it to do anything. I never liked
the on screen menu it was to much trouble.The DSP did
suck it is worthless. I never had any of the sound problems
the other people talked about.Kenwood replaced it after
two years with the 2090 so I got a hell of a deal.It
wasnt a bad sounding unit it just didnt have all the features
I wanted.There are all kinds of new recievers that are cheaper
and have more features. If you have this unit dont feel
bad its not the worst.