Price Paid:  $110.00 from Pawn Shop

Summary:
This is another impulse buy from the local pawn shop. They actually had two there, but one had a bad center channel amp or something (no sound from it in any event). I bought it to use for my computer of all things, having recently upgrade to a 5.1 compatable sound card. I connected up my 5 Wharfedale Diamond 7.2 speakers and Topaz 8 sub. You could have knocked me over with a feather. It sounded not just good, but outright excellent. I then took it out to my main listening room, and connected it to my high-end Technics (no, not a contradiction in terms!) SB-7000A loudspeakers and Sony ES line CD player. Although the speakers are fairly efficent, the reciever sounded louder than my Denon AVR-3300, which was tripple the retail price of the JVC when it was new. And it was cleaner and had much better imaging. When I used ith with my Denon (yes, I have lots of Denon and Wharfedale; they seem to go well together) DVD player for multi channel sound, then some of the weaknesses in the power amps began to creep in, at what I would consider a moderate volume the highs were somewhat harsh, and the bass just vanished on some bass-intensive scenes with out using the sub. And this was using a Wharfedale Emerald Centre, the two Technics as mains, and Wharfedale Modus 1.6 as surrounds, with a EV X-Array sub-woofer (powered by a Peavey 1.3K power amp). In short, amazing on stereo, excellent on small multi-channel setups, and poor on larger multi-channel setups. To be fair, my normal HT system is a Denon AVR-5800 assisted in bi-amping with 6 Peavy CS-400 power amps. As for features, it has a good many for a unit in this price range (retail or used), including an On-Screen Display, semi-universal remtote, and JVC compulink, although this is currently the only JVC component I own. A single S-Video in and out is kind of useless, other than to display the OSD on the S-video input on a TV. It would have been a more worth while feature if it up-converted standard video to S-video. Having two digital inputs is nice, although again a coax and an optical would have been more versitle than two opticals. The system does a good job od decoding 5.1 encoded material (Dolby Digital, anyway), with no drop-outs or stutters as I have experienced in other lower-end 5.1 setups. There is no reason that this system should not be able to decode DTS surround, as the DSP chip used in it is DTS compatable, and the DSP board and chip even have the DTS logo printed on it! I am going to see if there is some way to enable the DTS on this unti, and I will report back if I am successful. But, in closing this is a terific receiver for medium to small home theaters, and a marvelous stereo receiver.

Strengths:
Good power reserves in stereo mode. Works well with bookshelf speakers. Many high-end features in a mid-range package. Sounds better than my $1000USD Denon AVR-3300 in stereo mode.

Weaknesses:
Quickly runs out of power in surround mode. A couple of rather useless features thrown in to make the spec sheet look better (S-Video in particular).

Similar Products Used:
Denon AVR-3300, Denon AVR-70, Denon AVR-5800.

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
A very flexible and attractive reciever. I have owned this reciever for almost three years and it has been very reliable. The reciever allows speaker levels, surround mode, and speaker type to be set up individually for each input. This means that with a bit of tweaking, you can optimize the reciever for everything from that old cassette deck to the latest DVD players. Don't be fooled, Dolby Digital is every bit as good as DTS. There is no reason to insist on DTS compatibility. There are very few DTS DVD titles and most of them have Dolby Digital 5.1 soundtracks too. As with any other amplifier, you want to keep it out in the open. It will get pretty warm if you lock it away in a small space. The reciever is full overload protection features and the owners manual explains all the features very well. I especially like the remote control, it is one of the best I have used. The buttons are contoured and the layout makes sense to me intuitively. The weakness of this reciever is that it is a mid range unit. You will not get the same sound and picture quality as a Harmon Kardon, but it will do all the same things for a whole lot less money. Yes, we upgraded to the Harmon Kardon AVR-220 recently. And yes, it was an improvement. To the JVC's credit, it was not as much of an improvement as I expected. Just a little better, no more.

Strengths:
Power, functionality, nice remote, compatibility with other JVC components through the "compu-link" feature

Weaknesses:
Mid-level amplifier not as clear as the best: Harmon Kardon, Onkyo, Carver, Quad, . . .

Similar Products Used:
JVCs (4 models over last 15 years), Kenwood, and Harmon Kardon

Price Paid:  $268.00 from online store

Summary:
I actually have a JVC 8010V but it is a similar product. I ahve been knowcking my brains out trying to get rid of the buzz from the rear right speaker. I swapped cables, I tested other speakers, and I hooked up other speakers to the rear right output. The only explanation is the rear right output from the receiver. I have a very nice set of Infinity surround sound speakers so I know it is not the speakers - especially since I tested each one on the rear right channel and all of them produce the same result on that specific channel. If anyone has any more information on how to fix it, please e-mail me.

Strengths:
great sound, lots of features

Weaknesses:
very low but noticeable buzz from right rear speaker

Price Paid:  $320.00 from Ebay

Summary:
At the time of purchase, I needed a very affordable replacement amplifier for my old Sony integrated that burned up. Being a college student at the time, $320 was a lot to spend. But, I have had it for over 1 1/2 years and only now that I have purchased new PSB 5Ts, Denon CD player, JVC DVD player, OXOS interconnects, and large-gauge, high strand-count wire, is it the weakest link in my system. It has taken a severe beating with constant birrage of maximum volume levels, poor ventilation, dust, multiple moves (6 in the past year)...and is still performing as new. It offers very respectable stereo performance with EQ bypass on (S.E.A. digital eq off). Capable of driving moderately effecient speakers to practical limits w/o noticable distortion. Way more receiver than most will know how to use if it's a "first."

Highly recommended for general stereo and HT use. Do not expect ultra linear, ultra detailed power...it's not THX-certified after all. But DO EXPECT excellent features, power, and reliability for the money.

Well done, JVC.

Strengths:
-AC-3 optical input (5.1)
-S.E.A. (eq)
-Adjustable sub out
-Good THD in stereo mode
-Test tone
-Build quality

Weaknesses:
-No Coax Dig. input
-No binding posts on center/surround
-Difficult tuner to operate from remote

Similar Products Used:
Sony integrated (It sucked).

Price Paid:  $350.00 from Bitter Nueman

Summary:
this is an awesome sounding reciever. i have it in 10'by12' bedroom hooked up to a pair of mtx loudspeakers for fronts, a pair of klhs for my rears, crappy optimus center channel, and two 15" rockford fosgate subs. it brings a new meaning to home theater.

Strengths:
High power, good sounding, naming of radio stations, compulink

Weaknesses:
i wish i had spent another $50 or $100 to get a much better model

Similar Products Used:
Technics