Price Paid:  $82.00 from Ebay buy it now

Summary:
I am a college student and i have 8 speakers including two pro dynamics that i got for free that retail for 1099 a piece. This reciever is the best thing i could have ever bought for 82.83 i didn't have the manual with it but figured out he remote pretty quick it is a bit slow etc. and i am thinking of buying the phillips pronto http://www.pronto.philips.com/ anyways i think its a very sweet UNIT esp for the price i got it at

Strengths:
AWESOME can do alot with the remote once you get it figure out

Weaknesses:
Remote could be easier to use

Price Paid:  $540.00 from bx

Summary:
vr 2080. i have owned my unit of junk for about 4 years. the remote is alright but slow and the cursor is non sense. the sound output is actually good across the range, i have 2 SM225 infinitys' with 15's in them and the low bass slams hard. looks are great i bought the matching cd player, so they look good together but their has been problems. the thing has been in the repair shop 3 times during warranty and out of warranty. the unit is immaculate, i even have the original box , i baby the damn thing but it gets hot, the fan hardly ever comes on. i use an external fan to get temp to my taste. first problem i had was it was buzzing out of both speakers intermittently and the fan quit, the secong time it produced no sound, and the third it was buzzing again, after i got back from Kenwood's "preffered repair shops" the link that allows the cd player to actuate the input automatically quit working, i think my next set of components will probably be from krell or carver, this would make for a good bedroom radio. i will probably not buy any kenwood products in the near future for i have also had other rediculous problems with them. did i mention the cd player stopped playing out of know where and it recently lost all memory of the cd titles, time to upgrade just waiting for the $$$$.

Strengths:
REMOTE NEAT. LOOKS ARE GOOD, OVERALL SOUND PRETTY GOOD

Weaknesses:
OVERHEATING, REMOTE SLUGGISH, UNUSUAL BREAKS

Similar Products Used:
SONY ES A/V CONTROL TA-E1000ESD (GOOD STUFF SOLD TO FRIEND)

Price Paid:  $0.00

Summary:
This reciever although physically not very good has awesome DTS decoding, it literally slaps Dolby digital across the room. I would not recomend buying one becuse i already had to get mine fixed and i should proabably renew my warranty while i'm thinking about it, well anyway if you want good DTS this reciever was the best at the time i bought it in 1998! but today about everthing with DTS decoding in it's class beats it.

Price Paid:  $170.00 from UBID (not a refurb!!

Summary:
This reciever was well worth the money. I bought it over 2 years ago and I haven''t had a problem yet. The 2 room feature is great! Most recievers don''t have a amp for the second room. With me being a college student, we abused this reciever. It was never turned off and it was used every day, all day long. We would have parties and use both room channels at the same time, filling the room with sound from 4 speaker, all producing stereo at HIGH volume and it never overheaded!!! AMAZING!! The remote is clumsy, I agree, but I still like it. With this remote, I can very easily customize the audio settings of the reciever. DD and DTS are great through this reciever. Excellent sound quality. I never had a very good opinion about kenwood and was skeptical about buying this reciever, but for the price I couldn''t pass it up. I am now a believer in kenwood once again.

Strengths:
A/B Channel with seperate amps, dependability, many adjustments to customize to listening preference

Weaknesses:
remote is a pain, could use more power, but was plenty enough for me

Similar Products Used:
pioneer, jvc, technics, yamaha

Price Paid:  $800.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
The VR-2080 is my first leap into digital. I bought my first stereo system with Marantz, Bose, Sony,& Pioneer components in the early 1960's & a Prologic system in 1993. I purchased VR-2080 on a recommendation I read in Home Theather Magazine over 3 years ago. During that time I've had one problem, a fuse burned out & was replaced under warranty, other than that, it just blazes along producing great sound. It's my 9th receiver, or amp & tuner combo in the past 30 yr's & I give HIGH mark's. Today there are better digital receivers out there with alot more features at a price that is less than what the VR-2080 cost. Even though I'm ready top upgrade to the new 6.1 and beyond formats, I won't for now because of this receiver's sound & overall guality. If it's still working when I do purchase a replacement the VR-2080 will ago into the master bedroom to upgrade a small digital system & I'll bet cold hard cash it will ROCK there to!

Strengths:
Excellent stereo sound, separation & extension.The frequenty range this receiver can produce is amazing.It extended the sound of my 6 matched Infinity speakers to a range I had never experienced before & that includes the listening room where I first heard them. For the price & time I think it was the best digital receiver available. Styling was very good.

Weaknesses:
Lame remote difficult to use. Poorly written & layed out Manual took quite awhile to get it setup & running the first time.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Denon, Marantz,Pioneer,Panasonic, BK + other brands