Kenwood VR-3090 A/V Receivers

Kenwood VR-3090 A/V Receivers 

DESCRIPTION

Dolby Digital - DTS - AV/Receiver - 100 watts x 5 channels - Video Inputs: 4 Composite, 4 S-Video - Video Outputs: 1 Composite, 1 S-Video

USER REVIEWS

Showing 21-27 of 27  
[Jun 08, 2000]
Patrick
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Remote,Dolby ditg., Value, Very High End due to new model coming out!! DTS, Very strong!

Weakness:

Really none!! Maybe one, u need remote for most comands.

This Reciever rocks! The sound is high quality. DVDs cant sound any better! This unit was $1,500$ in stores everywhere, and now you can get it for $400$ on Ubid.com due to the newer model coming out soon. Out of all the deals I have got on the web, this one is the best. It sounds sooooooo gooooood !! My wife keeps yelling to turn it down and why do I keep watching the same DVD!!! lol ,, "BECAUSE IT SOUNDS SO HOT"

Similar Products Used:

Pioneer Elite, Denon 3300, Onkyo 676,

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 09, 2000]
David Moulton
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Price

Weakness:

Overkill on the remote...

I really listen to a lot of music, and have recently begun to fall in love with the 5.1 sound from DVD's. The VR 3090 is my first Home Theater Receiver, so I have no basis for comparison.

I can comment on the general sound, which is great, except when adjusting the volume by way of the remote during playback. There seems to be an electrical "staticky" sound that is transmitted through the speakers. Annoying, but fine if you aren't changing the Volume all the time.

The remote is a nightmare. It is big and clunky and requires two hands to operate. The screen should be backlit all the time and even when it is backlit, the reflection from other light sorces sometimes makes it more difficult to view. Another complaint is, in order to operate the remote, you have to look at it. More conventional remotes allow the benefit utilizing your sense of touch to identify different buttons for different commands. On the 3090's remote, not only do you have to look at the screen, but often it takes 3 selections to adjust an item, whereas on a conventional remote all you have to do is depress the appropriate button.

All in all, it is an excellent receiver for under $450. Try going to your favorite audio store and purchasing a receiver with the 3090's features, for less. Needless to say it would be tough to do. If I had to do over again, I probably would have spent a few extra bucks for a Dennon 2800 or 3300 on Ubid.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[May 17, 2000]
bill
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

multiple S-inputs, DD, DTS, $$$...

Weakness:

remote is "clunky"..

I recently purchased one of the hundreds of these things that they seem to be selling on UBid everyday. It had all the features that I was looking for: 100w x 5, DD, DTS, Multiple S-inputs. Eventhough I was a little weary of the Kenwood product line, the reviews seemed to be good (here and by the pros) and I was able to give it a "test ride" before the online purchase, so I jumped at a good price.

I must say that so far I am not completly in love with the unit. First of all it arrived with a defective DTS decoder.
I am not sure of the severity. I am still waiting to see if UBid will replace or refund, or if I need to go the warranty/repair route via Kenwood.

I currently have 5 Mirage speakers and a Klipsch sub connected. The front floor Mirages sound incredible when playing a cd alone, and the whole system rocks when viewing a 5.1 DVD. I did get to "hear" the first 8 minutes of the Normandy invasion of Saving Private Ryan before the DTS decoder zonked out, and it was amazing.

As for the remote. It is a touch screen that is programable. It is certainly capable of doing a lot things, but I have not really programmed it much yet because I am sure I will have to reprogram everything after the DTS service situation is taken care of.

I just don't like the fact that you need to use two hands to drive this thing. It is also difficult to read when the backlight is off and the backlight just does not stay illuminated for a long enough period of time. (I know this sounds nit-picky, but it is really a hassle when you are trying to make quick adjustments to picture or sound.)

I am giving the unit 4 stars in each catagory despite the faulty DTS decoder. I am not taking that into account for the purpose of the ratings.

Similar Products Used:

several

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[May 22, 2000]
Justin
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Incredible Power, clean sound, quiet operation & flexible remote.

Weakness:

Limited functionality without remote, no buttons on remote(must be looking directly at remote to use), CD-1 input is for coaxial digital and my cd player has an optical digital output and I had to use the video1 input for my cd player.

I bought this reciever brand new on ubid.com for $439.00. WHAT A BARGAIN!!!! I wanted a Denon AVR-3300 but kept getting outbid. I loved the way this unit sounded. When playing a CD through the digital optical input, it just plain kicked butt. Very powerful and clean sounding. I found the remote to be greatly functional but difficult to use. I would prefer a standard push button remote. I haven't had a chance to review the dolby digital output but I am going to assume that it sounds as good as the rest of the reciever. I didn't think Kenwood could build a reciever to sound this good. Also, Kenwood could of done a lot better job on the documentation for the touchpad remote.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
5
[Feb 07, 2000]
Eric Glaser
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

This reciever has one of the best sounds I have ever heard. The touch screen remote works well and is very smart (although the macro could use some work). When used with other high end kenwood porducts there are extra bonuses. I love it and it will stay with me for a long long time to come

Weakness:

The unit does not work with JVC DVD players so I have to go and purchase another one. I'm leaning towards the matching kenwood unit with tons of features. I also think that the macro could use some work.

The best sound I'v heard from a reciever. I still have it hooked up to my (smaller) college dorm speakers and it has a great sound. I can't wait to hook this puppy up to my huge Cirwin-Vegas at home. The remote is not only easy to use but it is a lot of fun and adds many features otherwise not possible without a touchscreen remote.

Similar Products Used:

My last reciever was a sony but I like this sooooo much more.

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Jun 02, 2000]
Steve
Casual Listener

Be careful if you plan to buy this receiver from UBID! They advertise the unit as having a 2 year warranty from Kenwood, but that is NOT necessarily the case. I took my 3090 to a certified Kenwood dealer for repairs and I was told that the system is not covered by Kenwood. He told me that Kenwood, beginning in February, 2000, decided not to honor warranties for items purchased from sites like UBID. He said that Kenwood only covers internet purchases made from Kenwood or firms like Crutchfield.
When I called Kenwood, they told me that they do not "technically" cover items purchased from the likes of UBID, but they will look at the warranty issue on a case by case basis.
I am calling the Illinois Attorney General to see if they have had complaints about UBID. If not, I am going to ask that they investigate UBID's business practices. Advertising items as being under warranty when they are not is illegal.

OVERALL
RATING
4
VALUE
RATING
4
[Jun 28, 2000]
steve
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

inexpensive, powerful, clean sound, remote

Weakness:

I guess it could have more power

First off I do love the receiver period. It provides clean sound to all speakers, and movies sound better than at the theater. I will nit pick though. It is true that if you lose, step on, or flush the remote, you are screwed. this baby controls everything. without it you could select a source and adjust volume, that is it. I did have to reset the remote once. It lost the T.V. and VCR settings. They were still listed in the remote, and would power the units on and off when selecting the type of T.V. or VCR i had, but didn't work when trying to turn them on and off the normal way. I had to remove the batteries overnight to do this, as the remote has the ability to keep your settings for a period of time for times when you have to replace your batteries.

It is 100 watts @6 ohms too. I would have to have a room twice the size of mine to care about this, not to mention I bought 6 ohm surrounds to help me out. I only mention this because it seems kenwood is trying to be sneaky about their 100 watt rating.

Once again this is a fine piece of equipment, and It looks like Ubid is done selling these units, so if you didn't get one, you're out of luck unless someone else has some.

I'm not basing my rating on the remote reset. There are too many people playing around with it to blame kenwood for that. It could have been any number of people goofing up my settings.

Similar Products Used:

nothing new or good

OVERALL
RATING
5
VALUE
RATING
5
[Sep 05, 2000]
Chris
Audio Enthusiast

Strength:

Sounds fantastic, many inputs, support for all formats, high power

Weakness:

Remote, heat, weak sub output

This receiver would be perfect except for one thing. It keeps dying. I fried the output transistors once and returned it for repair only to have it happen again. It is a heat related issue, but when you're listening loud it gets hot and quiet is not an option, otherwise why would I buy a high powered received. I'm going to send it back, I hope they have a lemon policy so I can get a new one/better one/ refund, whichever. Besides that it is awesome. The sub output is a little weak, though. I don't know why, but my friends Sony produces much more output. Besides that, no complaints at all. The DSP modes are really cool. If you are considering getting one of these, realize that some of them are seriously flawed and a more reliable receiver might be a good idea. Some people have had no problems, so dont totally not buy it because of that.

OVERALL
RATING
3
VALUE
RATING
4
Showing 21-27 of 27  

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