Price Paid:  $147.00 from Rex

Summary:
Well not much to say but I got mine 3 days ago and it is a step up from my old sony reciever that costs me $240. Tomorrow I am going with my friend Josh to get him one just like mine. Go buy one its worth it....and all those idiots that talk about the bulky remote should know that its a freakin universal remote that controls more than 4 devices so lets think.....duh....it should be big!

Strengths:
It is awesome. Bass is great I got it hooked up to my Cerwin Vega'a right now and it take them to the max(300W is the max on the Vega's)

Weaknesses:
Not a single weakness.

Similar Products Used:
Sony, Kenwood

Summary:
Overall, for the price, it is a pretty decent piece of equipment. If you are a beginner and want to upgrade a piece at a time, this is a good model to learn from. It delivers pretty good clarity and power and gives options for your basic home theatre setup. The 100 watts per channel are nice, but get speakers to match. The compulink option is nice (if you have other compatible JVC components) for one-button control.

Without co-axial or optical hookups, be prepared for a lot of spaghetti behind your system. The remote is easy to use, but kind of bulky and hard to handle.

I got this about 18 months ago and thought it was great, until I learned about all the other stuff I should be able to do (and hear). But the time and the money was not wasted as I am upgrading from the 664 currently.

Strengths:
Decent output at 100w/channel; pseudo-surround is not bad for the price, easy pre-set equalization for those who do not want to tweak all the time

Weaknesses:
No bass/treble control, radio is a pain to use, and submenu navigation sometimes feels like it is more trouble than it is worth. Without a built in DVD decoder, this unit forces you to spend more on a DVD player with a decoder.

Summary:
I bought this in the July or August of 1999 on impulse because it was on sale at Circuit City for $159. It is a much better receiver than my old one (Teac junk), particularly with regard to the high-end clarity and bass depth of the amplifier. It does a fine job as a basic home theater unit, if you do not want or need digital interconnects nor want Dolby 5.1 or better. It is "Dolby 5.1 ready", but that means you'll be stuck paying a fortune for a DVD with a built in decoder and analog output jacks. There are many JVC pseudo-surround enhancements, and they do work, but I generally prefer a neutral sound.

I would certainly recommend it versus similarly priced receivers from Sony, Teac or other companies, it is excellent for this bracket. It even feels more solid than many other units in this price class. Watch out because I've seen it recently for as much as $250, and this for a semi-closeout item. I would give it a higher overall rating except that newer products have much more advanced features, and their prices are dropping to under $250 rapidly.

Strengths:
Excellent sound quality.
Excellent quality of construction.
Solid feature-set for the price.
Good remote control.

Weaknesses:
Awkward front panel controls that involve sub-menu navigation makes it difficult to use quickly. (I much prefer the remote.)

An huge and ugly cyclops-like volume control knob.

Similar Products Used:
N/A

Summary:
Not bad for the value if you like poor quality and lots of bells and whistles. I got ripped off on my purchase, but if you have a good set of speakers and components, it may be worth $100.

Strengths:
Nice wattage. Sounds good on low volume.

Weaknesses:
Sounds like ass in dolby surround mode. Doesn't reproduce music very well either. Would be nice to have bass and treble controls.

Similar Products Used:
Technics 2-channel receiver --> much better sound quality

Summary:
I bought this receivered about 7 months ago and it's been a good piece. Clear sound. Works well with my Panasonic & Sanyo VCRs, RCA Laser disc player, Pioneer Mixer, Toshiba TV, Sony CD player, Bose AM-7 and Cerwin Vega speakers. For the price of $149.00, there's nothing else you can ask for. I am going to buy the JVC-888VBK soon.

Strengths:
Good Digital Ready receiver for the price...