After reading a slew of these bad reviews on this receiver, I thought it only fair to say a couple of words since I own last years model (same power, no dd decoder, dd ready however). The amplifier section is very good for the price ( paid $300 bucks). No it won't blow some expensive seperates away, but it will compete well with the Pioneers and Technics out there. I don't dig on DSP's so the DSP sounds makes little or no difference to me. The remote and controls do take a little getting used to, but for clean 5 channel power it gets a four star.

First off, let me admit that I bought this receiver because it was the only Dolby Digital receiver I could afford. (Bought it for $499.00 at Future Shop.) Also, I have no real experience with "nice" receivers - my last was $150.00 and included 5 speakers. That said, I am VERY impressed with the sound produced by this unit! After I hooked everything up last night we put in our Twister DVD and I had chills running up and down my spine. The surround and quality was so good during the opening scene I actually felt... afraid! We put in "My Best Friend's Wedding" next and I was disappointed not to hear more bass tones, though this could be due to the DVD not having much bass, my configuration, or my speakers. I'm still testing. The metal cabinet seems a bit flimsy and after I turned it off last night it made some faint hissing and popping sounds -- not sure what that's all about but I assume it's normal. A salesman at another store tried to convince me that my system couldn't POSSIBLY have a DD decoder for $499.00 but I assured him it did. He said I had gotten a steal! Overall, I am very impressed with this system and can't imagine a more expensive unit sounding much better.

$299 at http://www.theweb-shop.com delivered (no shipping charges). I don't know of any affordable Dolby Digital receivers which have bass redirection on the mains in pro Logic mode. And why would you want pro Logic when Digital is built-in? Also, Dolby designed their Low Frequency Channel to have additional bass information, so ANY DD receiver will require a separately powered subwoofer for anyone with a passive satellite speaker system. http://www.dolby.com/digital/dig_q&a.html This receiver even has TWO optical Dolby Digital inputs. The sound in DD is great. Admittedly, some higher end receivers has better overall music quality, but you get what you pay for. In this case, you pay for a DD receiver, not an FM receiver.
DSP modes stink on all systems. DSP is a bad marketing ploy to the HT consumer.

And as many people here have said before, if you have a bad sounding system, you should look at your entire system, and not just one component. Please give the name of the magazine which had the hiss of which you were speaking.

I'd give it only 4 stars for the lack of music depth, but since so many uninformed people are giving such low ratings, I'll have to make it a 5 to offset this.

Was initially happy with neat features but quickly became very unhappy with the audio quality and returned the unit (despite weeks of adjusting almost every parameter). Biggest problem - the surround channels lacked any power (even with their levels turned up) and what was there had a *very* annoying hiss. This is not a little, you must be an expert to hear it hiss, but a clear, sounds like bad radio reception hiss. Read a recent newstand review which claimed a similar problem.
Decided that DD on a $400 unit is like turbo on a Fiat (not a good idea) and sprung for the Denon-3200 which makes the JVC sound like something you would get free with a magazine subscription.

The JVC RX-884V may have 5 Binding Posts, but they are not 5-way. They are only 2 way, Banana Plug and Bare Wire. Of those 5 sets only 2 are UL-Approved, so if your Banana Plug pairs don't fit right in the Surround and Center Channel slots don't be surprised.

This is indeed one of the worst receivers to date. 2 words, noisy, clipping. This has a crappy DSP Processor and the DSP can't even have good Dolby Digital performance which the Pioneer VSX-D607S has. If you find a low price for this receiver do NOT get it no matter what. The Sound will take you by your head and slap you. The Sound is not the only bad thing. The DSP Settings suck too, and the amplifier, damn!!! Don't go for this receiver. Go for either a Pioneer VSX-D607S (Better Amplifier, better DSP Processor), Sony STR-DE915/925 (Better Amplifier (not less noisy but more punchy and higher-current), Better DSP Processor), or a Yamaha RX-V793 (Better everything, perfect for a entry level)

You get what you pay for and I got an OK receiver that does what I want it to do and sounds great doing it. It is hooked up to an Energy Take5 System with an ES12 sub (monster speaker cable all around) and a Pioneer DVD 505 using the digital in/outs on the receiver and DVD. As far as over heating, mine did the same thing initially - I make a bet you have the speaker ohm setting wrong. I set mine properly for the 8-16 ohm range and the over heating disappeared immediately. No hissing - just crystal clear digital sound. Analog sounds decent as well. DSP modes suck (IMHO) on all receivers and this one is no different. I set the MODE to either digital (DVD), pro logic (satellite/VHS TV/movies), or OFF (music) and I don't use the EQ settings either. I play the signals as they were meant to be played and they sound great. Occasionally I have to turn the sub level down a couple of db and the surround up a couple of db, but this is fairly easy with the GUI screen remote access. Listen to a DVD with heavily encoded rear channel sound (Tomorrow Never Dies) and you will find 100 watts is ample. If you are a purist/audiophile, then why are you looking at a receiver like this anyways - you should be looking at separates that will cost you thousands of dollars more. With a decent cable and speaker setup, this baby sounds pretty damn good for the $$$$. I would normally give it 4 stars, but in light of all the negatives listed below that are probably caused by other things in your system (cable, connections, interference, etc.) or incorrect setup, I'll give it 5 stars :-)

I recently purchased a JVC 884. I think it performed ok for it's price range. It has lot's of neat features for the buck. However, after a couple of weeks it became appearent to me that this unit was not doing a very good job in the Pro-logic mode, or for listening to music. I turned it back-in and bought a Onkyo 656. It has a lower power rating but, it sound a 100% cleaner than the JVC and the channel separation is much better. Of course, there's always a price to pay for better quality. The Onkyo costs around $200.00 more than the JVC (via Internet prices). But, there is a big enough difference to justify the addtional cost. Sorry JVC884 owners!

this receiver is nice for the money, this is my first dolby digital receiver, nice sound

I used to own this receiver and it's not bad for the price. However, I've listened to several different 884's now at several different retailers and there IS DEFINITELY a pronounced hiss in the surround channels. Some people can live with it--I couldn't and moved on to a Denon AVR2400 combined with a Technics SHAC500D DD & DTS decoder. I really like the setup and I lost the hiss (I seriously doubt everyone that's mentioned the hiss have blown speakers as someone has suggested).
Anyway, If you're in the market for a budget receiver then maybe this JVC is for you. The S-video inputs are a big plus at this price; if you don't plan on expanding your system in the future then go for it. Personally, I feel paying a little more for a receiver with a quality power supply and expandability (5.1 inputs, pre-outs, etc) is a wiser choice.

It all comes down to you get what you pay for/can afford.