Inexpensive, stylish, well rounded

I mostly dislike the ability to absolutely tweak every aspect of the receiver

Ah, the Kenwood VR-3090 and those of us who bought it through uBid.com. What more can be said? Not much, but this site was so informative at my time of purchase that I feel compelled to write this review.

I’m a wee bit embarassed to say that a lot of the reason I purchased this receiver was due to the way it looks. I love silver components, and once I saw the remote, I just knew I would love this receiver. I wanted a machine that would decode DD and DTS, have S-Video inputs (including a set in front), support banana plugs, and look good in my home theater. Not only did the VR-3090 have all this, but uBid was almost giving them away. What sealed the deal for me was the matching CD player uBid was also selling (the CD-3260M) that allowed me to input CD and track titles through the receiver’s remote control. How cool!

But of course the most important part of a receiver is the sound, and the VR-3090 is wonderful. The only other DD receiver I have used in my home theater is the Denon AVR-5700, and yes, the sound was noticeably superior through it. So if you have the money for that item, stop reading this review and go get that one… For those of you still here, I can’t give you my thoughts on DTS – I still haven’t tried it. I also don’t listen to a lot of music, but what I have heard isn’t what I would call amazing. Still, it is more than enough for my tastes.

As for the remote, I think it’s great. It looks good and does indeed control your entire system (with the exception of TiVo). Yes, you do need to hands to operate it, but I find this much more agreeable than holding two remotes while a few more are resting in your lap. However, there are some aspects that most certainly need improving: Setup was cumbersome and not intuative at all, especially the part where you program the IR codes for your other pieces of equipment. I am of the opinion that the battery life is long enough, what I would like to see change is more advanced notice when your batteries are about to fail. The "Low Battery" warning might as well be a "Dead Battery" notification. And finally, changing channels is just ridiculous without physical buttons like the ones for the volume control.

Now that I’m several months older and wiser, I probably wouldn’t get another silver component. There’s a reason they don’t make many like this and that is because it can be distracting in a dark room. I also now wish that the front AV inputs were now on the rear of the machine. In the beginning I didn’t connect my camcorder nearly as often as I thought I would, and currently my TV has front AV inputs so I’m sort of doubled up now on something I don’t really use.

I’d like to make some comments on the component’s display. What I love about is the size of the letters and especially the volume. When I had the aforementioned Denon hooked up to my system I had to squint and move around the room to find just the right angle to see what the volume was or even what device I was using. And the dimming option is great, though you can’t totally black out the words. What I don’t like about the display is the lack of information and the inability to label inputs. It took a while, and still confuses my girlfriend what exactly is hooked up to what. On my old Sony receiver I could call Video1 "Playstation" or "TiVo" or "Minidisc" or whatever out of the ordinary device you had connected.

One last thing before I go, I want to mention that I am currently using the VR-3090 in conjunction with the aforementioned Sony Pro-Logic receiver (which now reads "5.1 EX" by the way) to create a pseudo-EX experience. And while it’s neat to say you have it, the extra rear center channel really doesn’t seem to be superior to a solid 5.1 speaker setup (with TOY STORY 2 being the exception). Just my thoughts…

Speakers:
FL,FR,SL,SR: JBL N24
FC,SC: JBL N-Center
SW: Onkyo 100W 10" powered

DVD: Sony DVP-S3000

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Denon AVR-5700 and AVR-2800, Sony Pro-Logic Receiver

sound quality,Kenwood's outstanding customer service.

None found as of yet.

This unit will go where ever you take it! I have it connected with XLO reference series interconects,digital and speaker wire. This all leads into Meadowlark Audio speakers.The sound is open! very dynamic, not stale. I personally can't believe it's not seperates! (you'd have to hear both to understand that statement)This is a steal! You'll get a taste of high end audio without the price tag, or all the HYPE. The hard part will be turning it off! I know there are more expensive units out there but, if you are looking for performance, the Kenwood VR 3090 is a MUST HEAR! Listen with your ears, not your eyes though! It does have a very different look to it. Maybe to make it easier to find amongst all the over rated junk out there.

amazing sound, inputs inputs inputs, looks, remote, low price for the amount of options

hard to setup, bible sized instruction manual, remote battery life is not long,

This receiver was a great purchase. I think that it would be great for someone who understands audio and video, it was difficult for me to set-up. I wish there was more options and buttons on the face of the receiver so that when the batteries of the remote goes out (and it will all the time) more can be done when listening.

Amazing sound. This thing can crank. I hooked it up and the neighbors were over in 30 minutes. I was watching die-hard and the police came over because the heard "gun shots". I told them I was wathcing die hard and they told me to turn it down. This thing can get real loud!!

If you want to have a sick sounding party-- BUY this.

4 Cerwin Vega towers
Cerwin Vega Sub
Wharfdale Center

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jvc rx 7000

Nice remote

Switching Sound, Build Quality, Kenwood Support

After having it hooked up for three days it would not come out of protection mode. Called Kenwood and they said to send it back, which would have cost $40.00 to ship and God only knows how long it would have been before i got it back. Local guy fixed a short for $30.00, I got it back in a day. 7 days later, it did it again. This time I sent it back to Kenwood, six weeks later it was back and working. 3 days later it has done it once again. The folks at Kenwood have horrible customer support/service!
I'm considering whether I should use this piece of junk for a boat anchor or a shooting target. Most likely the later because I will feel so much beter that way.
The remote is great, no mater what other people say who cares if you must use two hands.
For what its worth buy a denon or a yamaha and get yourself a phillips pronto remote. You'll have a less stress free life if you do!

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Good looking Remote.

Everything Else. Not enough power (65-70W per channel @ 8 ohms). Does not offer wide frequency range. No 5.1 input. Weak customer service.

First of all they tricked me into buying this. It has 5 X 100W @ 6ohms and not 8 ohms. I noticed after I bought it at ubid.com (at the time it looked like a great deal). I used this for nearly 10 months. In this period it went into protection mode 3 times. First time around I got it out of protection mode myself. Second time I had to get it fixed by a service guy (spent nearly $60 on shipping took 4 weeks to get it repaired). Just recently when I biwired my connections it went into protection mode again and would not come back. I have had it with this receiver. I would not recommend this to anyone even if one gets it for $100. I think a $149 Panasonic receiver (which looks exactly the same BTW) can more reliable. I don't think I would buy any Kenwood product ever again. The same goes with ubid.com. (I think only junk products come for bidding here on ubid. Think about it, other brands don't end up here no matter what.)

I think it's time for a new receiver with Pro Logic II. I am going to trash it ($500 wasted + caused me so much pain and frustration) and get a Denon-3802 or Onkyo-595 receiver.

In several words; Expansive SoundStage, Tremendous Movie Audio Presentation, Flawless Auto-Switching Circuitry, and Unique Fit & Finish! This in several words illustrates my overwhelming pleasure with the set-up and operation of Kenwoods upper line of equipment the "Component Series". Enough clean, undistorted power for the average size Home Theater experience. A triple rating for the included ToughPanel LCD Remote and it's functionality.This purchase interacts with my other newly acquired Kenwood CD-3260M 200 cd jukebox, and the fabulous DV-2070 DVD player. I applaud you Kenwood, consistently changing the cosmetics in your line to stand out among the black boxes!!! Highly-Highly Recommended!

Sound quality, design, *TONS* of S-Video inputs

Remote's a bit on the slow side.

This is by far the best reciver for the money you can purchase. Setup took a bit, but was fairly simple once
you get the hang of the PowerTouch remote. I purchased
this unit for 650$ (plus shipping) from www.wholesaleconnection.com, and so far it's been
worth every penny.

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Processing, Remote, Style, Extras

Remote

I have used this receiver for more than a year now and it has worked flawlessly. It even survived being shipped back to the States when I moved back here from overseas. For it's day, it was loaded. It supported all current processing formats, albeit somewhat outdated now. I have had no problem with it decoding DD or DTS. No power or fuse problems at all. The build quality is good and it is a step above "the basic black box" in the style dept. It also allows for cheap IR signal routing. I have it and the CD 3260 200 disc changer, and DV-3070 DVD player all behind a cabinet. Using 3.00$ IR repeaters and the onboard router/receiver, it works great.
The remote is not everything to everyone. It offers keyboard functions, backlighting, hard-wiring to IR repeater systems, ac line power, learning, two way comm (disk and track titles appear on remote, and preprogrammed X-10, Lutron and Makita codes. What other remote does? It's flaws are inherent in early generation touchscreens: not enough "hard buttons", big, and having to sometimes move through one page to get to another. But all in all, it's positives greatly outweigh it's negatives. IN my system it controls the items above, plus a sherwood RVD-8090R (for bass shakers, t.v., Motorola Digital cable box, X-10 Lighting controls, and even my Hitachi camcorder!
Enough about the remote. The receiver does get warm, but none more so than others, it's sound is great. (many higher end components use the same processors) It's only flaw is lack of 5.1 inputs. (a harken back to it's day of production when the need was just being recognized. And for 427$, there is a lot of crap out there in that range, and this is a real solid performer.

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Powered by 24 bit Motorola (2)DSP56009 and (1)DSP56007. The best chip you would get in high component recievers. No
hiss at high volume. Very clean sound!

Ugly front face!

I'm piss cause I paid $999 @ Fry's Electronics. This is the best reciever money can buy compared to DENON,Yamaha,Onkyo and Pioneer. Bought a $14 fiber optical digital cable instead of 5.1 rca hookup was so easy from a Sony DVD-550D to the reciever. From there the sound was so incredible with Infinity CC3,and a pair of RS3. This is the best reciever in the market! I would highly recomend to anyone getting into home theaters.

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Technics Dolby Pro Logic

Freatures, price

build quality, banana plug spacing, remote

This is a quick and non-complete review. I also bought one of the Ubid specials, it seems that Kenwood has replaced the 3000 line with the 4000 line, and Ubid is blowing them out. It is my understanding that Ubid does not allow returns, and refers to Kenwood for warranty repair. My unit arrived with defective DSP chips. Everything else seemed OK. I immediately took it to a Kenwood authorized repair shop, and they said that the Kenwood warranty will cover the repair. I'll have it back in a week or so, and will post a more complete review later. At the price I paid, $467, I don't mind this problem.

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AMC PR07, otherwise separates only