Price Paid:  $600.00 from Crutchfield

Summary:
Great receiver when is was working. This received was plugged into a Monster Power/Surge Protector HTS2100. I can't understand why the four (4) intergrated chips died.

Strengths:
Nice sound. But, Denon sound better, cleaner and crisper.

Weaknesses:
DTS, Dolby Digital and Surround Sound Processor died. JVC wanted $300 to replace the four (4) IC. The receiver is worthless. On good for listening to CDs and radio station in stereo mode only.

Similar Products Used:
I now owned a Denon 1082 Receiver and what a big difference. Buy Denon.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Independent wholesal

Summary:
JVC wants $900 for this piece of scrap metal that didn't even last 18 months? I found it trying to give professional sound with an amateur interface. Too many bells and whistles. Could have focused the cost of developing it into more powerful, but less confusing sysems. Kinda like the way windows ruins a computer when DOS does the same thing better and faster for a person who has brains. Suddenly, the display is gone, there is no throughput, and JVC will not respond to inquiries posted at their website

Strengths:
Sounded nice when it worked.

Weaknesses:
It's JVC. They now have not responded to my inquiry on the failure of this component, as they did not respond to my inquiry on the failure of their top of the line DVD a while back.

Similar Products Used:
Older JVC tuner amps.

Price Paid:  $380.00 from uBid

Summary:
The JVC RX-1028VBK is a fine receiver. Plenty of power, with clean sound. I currently use this receiver to power speakers in my bedroom and dining room via Kimber Kable. The receiver is located, or rather hidden in a pantry next to a JVC 200 disc CD player, both of which I can control any where in the house via the RF remote. Very convenient to be able to switch from CD to FM stations while in either room. I power my home theatre setup in the living room with an Onkyo TX-DS676. I actually feel the JVC has the better sound, however the Onkyo has 5 channel stereo and a learning/ macro remote. If this receiver had either of these features it would be superior to the Onkyo, IMO. I haven't experieced any problems in nearly two years of almost daily use.
My ratings are:
Value Rating: 4 stars, Great deal
Overall Rating: 4 stars, Very good product

Strengths:
Plenty of power: 130 watts per channel, min RMS, driven into 8 ohms, with no more than 0.02% THD. Multi-Room/ Multi-Source, RF remote. Compu-link, which integrates JVC CD players to this receiver.

Weaknesses:
No 5 channel stereo, remote does not have learning capability or macro functions

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo TX-DS676

Price Paid:  $587.00 from bestpriceaudiovideo

Summary:
This was a OK receiver for me until I upgraded to an Onkyo Integra 7.1. for $200 more than I paid for this thing new. I instantly heard the difference in sound quality. I owned a HarmonKardon ProLogic reciever before this one, and was sad I updgraded to this. But I could not afford to upgrade again w/o my wife stabbing me hehehe. The reason I got rid of the harmon kardon was because i wanted to go Dolby Digital etc...
I have nothing horribly bad to say about this receiver, just that its definately an AVERAGE sounding receiver at best. I think my FISHER stereo sounded better than this thing 8 yrs ago. The 1028vbk has alot of bells and whistles but thats about it. I had to put the volume up past 40 to be able to hear it above a whisper. If youre just getting into building your 1st Home Theater setup then its ok. If you want true GREAT sound quality look somewhere else PLEASEEEEEE. Don't make the mistake I did. Like I said this thing has average sound at BEST. After owning this thing i personally would not pay over $100 for it. Let me sum it up with an analogy. Car terms: This thing is like the Ford Escort of receivers. Runs well serves its gerneral purpose but overall it's just junk. ;-)

Strengths:
Lots of Opticals inputs. Solidly built.

Weaknesses:
Sound quality isnt very good.

Similar Products Used:
Onkyo Prologic Rcvr,Harmon Kardon,This Thing,Onkyo Integra 7.1

Price Paid:  $349.00 from ubid

Summary:
Haven't had any problems with my reciever. I have it hooked up with Klipsch synergy Quints and a Toshiba 5109 dvd player, and the results for my modest family room are excellent. Plenty of power. For the price, I feel it is an excellent reciever.

Strengths:
versatile, with relatively easy hook-up.

Weaknesses:
seems to heat up a bit. Manual needs rewriting .