vintageaudio

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 5 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $349.00 from Good Guys

Summary:
I bought this audio video to upgrade my older amp that was mainly used for audio. The vr-4080 is a powerful amp. It has clear crisp sound and power to back it up. It has most of the common input and output hookups. There are also speakers connections for RCA and wire. The controls are easy to use and easy to understand. The surround sound is excellent in my opinion. The display is large and easy to see. The unit smart looking and has smooth lines. It has a built in cooling fan that keep the unit cool during hi output operation. I have operated the unit at full volume for hours without any problems. Overall I would say this is a fine AV amp. It is a little behind the times concerning optical input and output Some of the newer dvd's and cd's can not make full use of their features and capabilities. This unit is well suited for the person who is able to make full use of is power and sound capabilities.

Strengths:
Ease of operation
Large displays
multiply audio video hookups
Clean sound
Lots of power
Lots of surround features
hook ups for 2 sets of speakers and surround speakers plus sub woofers.
Can use as a bridge amp to power each set of speakers or use the internal amp.

Weaknesses:
Remote is hard to use at first.
Not enough optical in and out
Does not work well with older audio equipment

schless

Overall Rating
 4 of 5

Value Rating
 4 of 5

Used product for
More than 1 year

Price Paid:  $599.00 from auction site (new)

Summary:
Bought this online auction new numerous years ago (BEFORE EBAY was popular), wanted a surround sound with a mating cd-jukebox with netnamer (hooks to PC and internet) and lots of other features. This unit has served extremely well over the years, and only now in 2006 have I run up against the problem of not enough optical inputs (who would have seen so many sources coming like DVD changer, CD changer, HDTV, XBOX360, TIVO-satelite etc).
FOr more punch from the system I have two additional amps and powered sub woofers. It doesn't just rattle my windows it rattles the neighbors windows with nice clean crisp sound. no clipping or noticeable (to me) rolloff.
Remote is a bit tricky like people say, and now with all the new devices around might not have the codes in it for the latest gagets.
Just for a little old school I have a Kenwood Linear turntable also. People barely believe that an LP is playing such highs such lows ... a LP in excellent condition sure can sound good too.
May have to upgrade to a VR5900 for the additional inputs sometime - and this one will head to the bascement TV room

Strengths:
versitile
lots of clean power
clean looks
smooth controls
good amount of IN/OUT (except optical)

Weaknesses:
no DVI
no HDMI
no Component Video
Only two Optical and two (?) coax inputs

Similar Products Used:
sony
denon
jvc
pioneer

Price Paid:  $225.00 from EBay

Summary:
I purchased this receiver from eBay for $225 as a return buy, not a used item. The problem was the remote''s LCD screen. Since I purchased this from a non-autherized dealer, there was no warranty. Since Kenwood realized the unit was under 2 years old, they still replaced the remote at no cost. This speaks very highly of Kenwood. Now, on to the receiver.....I have now had this unit for 6 months and absolutely love it. I used to use JVC and even Onkyo, but no more. The clarity of the music and the sound is amazing. I used to thing with my old ears that I wouldn''t be able to tell the difference between a $100 system and a $5000 system. This system changed my mind. As for the previous review, I had similar problems with the remote and the base. After reading more closely to the manuals, I realized that this was user error. Once I set up the RF antenna correctly, and realized that the settings for each imput device can be saved separately, the system worked great. Base is ground and house shaking during movies, but it can be backed off for CDs and any other music you may have. The features are very good also. It has 2 ac plugs in the back. This is nice for people who have cd changers that do not have the ability to turn their cd player on or off. It has binding posts for all speakers and digital imputs and outputs. (the 4090 does include more) I also like that the unit has a cooling fan. It helps a great deal with overheating. I also like how it auto recognizes digital sources. (ie dolby digital as opposed to DTS) One minor complaint is the binding posts are too close together. One other minor complaint is the remote. If you loose it, or it dies, be prepared to pay well over $100 to replace it. It would be impossible to access all the feature without it. The remote, to say the least, has a steep learning curve. Unfortunately, unless the whole family is willing to invest in learning the remote, (good luck), you will never be able to really use it as a universal remote. But once you learn this remote, it makes complete sense, but so does Calculus, I guess. I strongly recommend this unit, especially now since it can be had for such a low price. List is $850, but it can be had for less than half price on the auction sites. You should not beleive just one review, good or bad, so look at all the reviews before you decide. Good l

Strengths:
Sound, looks, functionality, features, quality, cooling fan, and did I mention sound?

Weaknesses:
the need for a college course to learn the remote. I didn''t realize learning remote meant what the user had to do.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, JVC, Onkyo

Price Paid:  $500.00 from Circuit City

Summary:
This model's replacement is the Soverign VR-5080. Brings high end quality to a reasonable price. Power band on new model shows 80 watts/5 20-100,000 hertz. These are bench tested numbers and are not equaled by most other brands. The Sharc surround system is the same you'll see in the $2700 Onkyo's. I like the fact that kenwood is staying with five channels, which is widely adapted in the movie industry. Whether we like it or not, its too expensive to create 6-8 channel movies.

I bought this model, because the quality audio output was more important to me, than a lot unnecessary bells and whistles, and powered channels that aren't needed at this time.

Strengths:
Lots of clean power and Sharc Dolby/DTS/DSP System.

Weaknesses:
Controller is somewhat complicated. Designed too early to take advantage of new Dolby Pro Logic II.

Similar Products Used:
Denon, Yamaha

Price Paid:  $349.00

Summary:
Awesome unit for the price I paid. Crisp highs, and better than average inputs. I have this driving all Klipsch speakers, RF-3's in the front and can I say that people who complain about bass output, obviously have their speakers to blame. I have glasses shaking off the coffee table watching DVDs on -35dB with my 440w Klipsch KSW-12. Only real complaint I have is the lack of optical inputs. Only has 2, one for DVD and one for CD. Unfortunatly I have just got an XBOX with the AV pack which has dolby digital optical output. My dilema, where to hook it up? I ended up hooking the S-Video to the Video1 jack and then the optical to the CD1 input. You can fool the receiver, by selecting Video 1 to get picture and then selecting CD to get audio. The picture will remain from Video1.

Strengths:
Clarity, remote (once you get the hang of it), power.

Weaknesses:
Wish had more optical inputs. Only CD and DVD.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Denon, Onkyo, Yamaha