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Review 3 of 5 Summary:
This receiver is over five years old, but I felt that it was a good value at the time. I purchased it new in the beginning of 1994 from the Price Club for $319.99. At the time, this was a good price for a Dolby Pro Logic receiver with the features that this one had.
I could never get good Dolby Pro Logic home theater sound out of this receiver. I thought that the power output to the rear channels was too low (20W) compared to the other channels. Even though I tried adjusting the rear channels all the way up and lowering the other channel levels, I could never really hear much sound from the rear channels. The front channels seemed to overpower the rears. The center channel sound level also didn't match that of the front channels no matter how much adjusting I did. Granted, some of these problems can be attributed to my use of different brand speakers of varying efficiency, but I was still disappointed with its performance in this area. I'd like to have been able to hear what it sounds like with an entirely matched home theater speaker system. It might do okay within that context.
I really didn't like having separate bass and treble controls, only the equalizer. If you've got the time, it can be fun to play around with the equalizer, but it can be tedious when all you want to do is turn up the bass or treble a notch. The steps for the volume when I used the remote control for adjustment were spaced too far apart when I used highly efficient speakers in front. At normal TV listening volume, there was no way to get the listening volume I wanted. One setting was too low, and the next step was too high.
Overall, according to 1993-94 standards, I was mostly pleased with the performance of this receiver for the price that I paid. I still use it for regular 2-channel listening. However, if you don't have speakers that are very close in efficiency, I don't think you'd be happy with its Dolby Pro Logic performance. Of course now you can buy low-end dolby digital receivers for what this unit cost new in 1994. Today you can get much more for your money. Isn't technology wonderful? : ) Strengths:
Output power through the front channels (100W per) 2-channel mode. Low distortion (.007% THD). 7-Band graphic equalizer lets you fine tune sound to your liking. Remote is easy to use and if you have other JVC components it can link to them using their Compu Link system. Music on CD sounds very good with efficient speakers. Weaknesses:
Volume level steps are too far apart for highly efficient speakers (i.e. at my normal TV listening volume, one step is too soft and the next is too loud). Center and rear channels power output differ from the fronts and are too low for good home theater systems (65W center, 20W rear). No bass and treble controls. Must use the equalizer to adjust the bass and treble.
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